In a move that could transfigure the structure of Indian electoral politics, just months ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the Cabinet, presided over by Chief Minister Mayawati, on Tuesday approved the division of the State?into Purvanchal (eastern region), Bundelkhand, Avadh Pradesh (central region) and? Paschim Pradesh (western region).
Though the government has not announced how the State will be divided, it is likely that the 75 districts will be split with Bundelkhand getting seven districts, Avadh Pradesh 23, Purvanchal 28 and Paschim Pradesh the remaining 17. If this were to happen, U.P. would lose its political pre-eminence and its four parts would be behind Maharashtra with 48 MPs in the Lok Sabha, followed by West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh with 42 each, Bihar with 40 and Tamil Nadu with 39.
Ms. Mayawati announced that a resolution would be tabled in the winter session of the Assembly, beginning November 21, and it would be forwarded to the Centre. “Since the creation of new States under Article 3 of the Constitution can be done only with the Central government's approval, a positive response to the Bahujan Samaj Party government's proposal is expected from the Centre,” she told journalists after the Cabinet meeting. The decision had been taken “on popular demand.”
“Small States and administrative units facilitated better and integrated development.” U.P., as she stressed, accounted for 16 per cent of the country's population — 19.95 crore, according to the 2011 Census — and was spread over 2.41 lakh square kilometres.
Interestingly, her decision to move a House resolution on the creation of four small States comes four years after she first proposed such a division at a public meeting on October 9, 2007. Of course, earlier, she had spoken only of trifurcating the State into Purvanchal, Paschim Pradesh and Bundelkhand.
Ms. Mayawati used Tuesday's announcement to slam the Opposition parties, stressing that their wrong policies had blocked the balanced and vigorous development of the State. And even though the maximum number of Prime Ministers had come from Uttar Pradesh, they “also failed to take constructive steps towards developing the backward areas.” She herself had sought a special incentive package of Rs. 80,000 crore from the Centre, but the request fell on deaf ears. More recently, she wrote two letters to the Prime Minister, suggesting a division of U.P.
A surprised Opposition described the move to divide the State as a political stunt. It indicated that she had accepted defeat ahead of the Assembly elections, Pradesh Congress Committee chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Congress Legislature Party leader Pramod Tiwari told journalists.
Maintaining that they were not opposed to the creation of smaller States, the two leaders said it would be more appropriate to pursue the exercise through a second States Reorganisation Commission. Purvanchal and Bundelkhand could create problems, Mr. Tiwari said, as some parts of these proposed States lay in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. In 2007, he said, Congress MLAs Vivek Singh and Pradeep Jain (now Union Minister of State for Rural Development) had proposed a Bundelkhand State just as the Rashtriya Lok Dal moved a proposal for Harit Pradesh (western U.P.), but the Mayawati government opposed the move.
The Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav said in Kushinagar that the BSP's proposal would not hasten development — indeed, SP chief and former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh had always opposed the move to divide U.P.
Keywords: Uttar Pradesh split, separate statehood, Mayawati, UP government, Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Awadh Pradesh, Paschim Pradesh
This is right Decision to Split the U.P, Super Decision
Street politics at its best.
A much awaited & welcome move indeed! The case of small, newly carved states in India proves they have performed much better than their mother states. Mayawati's governance may be questioned on development issues, but then those in opposition are no better. Congress & the BJP have no moral standing in the issue of corruption and lack a popular local leader. The people of UP have not forgotten & will probably not forgive SP's years of misrule. Given these conditions, even if this move seems a political stunt to the opposition, so be it. At least, Mayawati has taken a stand on a long pending issue and the timing couldn't have been better.
One thing is for sure. Cost of governance is increasing very high and is overweighing. The Courts are functioning for cases filed, against, and between the Governments. Running government also has become more a business than a service. Seems its time to think on a diffent model of governance.
This is perhaps just a political gimmick and of course size does not matter at all but it is the honest,professional and visionary people who run the state.Any body who does not know the administration and management can't run a system whether small or big.Before the invasion of Britishers India was divided into several provinces scattered,directionless and without clear vision ;that is why people divided and ruled us.But they were outsiders.Why we ourselves are dividing our country.Again Divide And Rule.Not This Time
In my opinion this great move by Mayawathi, according to Abhedkar's ideology "smaller states can be better manageable". From this step I understood she really follows Abhedkar foot steps. If you look at the case of Andhra Pradesh, the ruling politicians never allow the bifurcation, even the opposition party TDP, they are playing games with Telangana.Author mentioned about number of MPs, what were the benifits UP got all these years even after having so many MPs?except to play power games. And the BJP which is supporting For Bifurcation of AndhraPradesh, should support Mayawati's move.
This is very good move and waiting the central govt decision
Modern Hindi, thanks to Arya Samaj and later the Congress Party, combined a number of distinct languages like Bhojpuri, Avathi, Mythili, and Rajastani into one 'super tongue'. But linguistic traditions die hard! Bhojpuri boasts of a thriving movie industry, distinct from and competing with Bollywood! The demand for recognition of Rajasthani and Mythili is growing! Though the Constitution initially defined Hindi as "Hindi, including Punjabi", popular demand got recognition to Punjabi as a distinct language! As happened in TN, AP and Karnataka after 'linguistic reorganization, division of UP may endow the new States with greater cultural cohesion and accelerate economic development and social progress!
More states : More official : More corruption. The best would be to improve governance and accountability. The decision is more political than administrative. The respective local masses in these areas of UP may see some advantage in this, but they are to loose in the longer run. A balanced decision based on economics and social development issues will be wise.
That there is a political motivation is undoubted, but one can't say whether this is good or bad already. 3 new states mean 3 more chief ministers, 3 new High Courts, hundreds of new ministers, thousands of new bureaucrats, growth of regionalism, and a possible economic growth. If Jharkhand has been able to teach any lesson, it now needs to be debated. Whether this trifurcation of the state will strengthen the regional diversity and promote better law and order should be studied and not rejected without serious debate. Mayawati hasn't been the most honest CM, but do we have examples other than Nitish Kumar's? In a country where we have corrupt judges at the Supreme Court, its a cliche to say that politicians are corrupt. This move clearly benefits the market for politicians, lawyers and bureaucrats, for the people it will be a temporary rejoice for regional assertion. That's how new states have been born, and where all those divisions apolitical?
The proposal of dividing UP in number of smaller states & the timing when it is proposed, undoubtedly thrown the opposition into great confusion. The way Mayawati handles things, one must have to agree her excellence in Politics. Moreover, it is also logical to divide UP in number of smaller states for the sake of development. In fact, it should have done long back. When the central govt. is preaching for centralization in the name of development by bringing in policies & governance in the form of Development Blocks, Gram Panchayat and others, then why not the largest state be divided? Though, no one can guarantee if the actual development would take place in practice or not, however, it'll be easier for any willing government to reach to people. I must say Mayawati has outdone her opponents in a single move.
At last she has taken good step for UP. Even if 2/4 state will get good CM, those state will rock. She has badly managed the complete state. No progress so far. Backward people remain backward and rich people becoming more richer.
wonder why there is such a hullabaloo in carving out India's largest state into small but still sizable territorial units to ease the administration and move towards decentralization of leviathan center when its possible and constitutionally viable and legitimate. After all with 90 odd parliamentarians, maximum number of prime ministers coming from UP with its vast territory and population could not benefit any over 60 years,why not give a shot to rend the state and mend the issues.last but not least, one chief minister could be corrupt in a united state and can affect the whole state, but its highly unlikely that four heads representing four individual states turn out corrupt, at least one could be worthy and why loose that with status quo of keeping state too big to only prove as useless to administer.
If it is for the betterment for the state and as a whole for the country then steps have to be taken, as we know that UP is the most populated state of India and population is the major concern for the nation, therefore for :-the better allotment of resources, :-better communication between the state and the people we need to take steps which are essential for the Affordability, Accessibility and Accountability of facilitation of integrated development.
Looking from the people's point of view this is indeed a very good decision. Smaller states can be managed better. To deliver political parties have to put extra efforts. More power goes into the hand of the people. Mayavathi is replying the Congress in the same coin. This is a catch situation for Rahul. If he opposes, he would lose his image before the public. He cannot support as it is Mayavati's policy. Good move Mayavathi.
In India where from these idea taken? If UP splits in four state what about north-east India,Telangana(Andhra Pradesh)& vidharba(Maharashtra). Hence India has in trouble from their resident more than pakistan or China. Its really has to change!
The sudden announcement by Mayawathi, CM of Upper Pradesh to split the State into three units should not come as a surprise but a welcome step towards bringing about an equitable development of the State as a whole,which is not the case at present, It will be pertinent to recall that Sardar K.M. Panikkar a great Administrator and Historian, and a member of the State Reorganistion Commission wrote a dissenting note saying that it was essential to succesful working of a federation that the Units should be fairly, evenly balanced. The partition would be greatly to the advantage of the people of UP as the present unimaginable size of the State stands in the way of efficent administration, he added. It is somewhat surprising that the political parties have not taken kindly to the proposal. Let us not play politics in this vital issue concerning the lives of the people of the State - particularly those living in the backward Bundelkhand.region.
So in a way she has agreed that during the last five years of her rule, there was not even a single effort development of the State.
Though the latest move taken by UP CM apparently seems politically motivated,considering the timing of her decision to divide the state and putting the ball in court of Congress led UPA government at a time when UPA government is already faced with much uproar on the Telangana row, it can hardly be argued that the most popullated state of country with 80 Lok sabha seats should not be transfigured. But merely division of state into proposed smaller ones will not serve the development oriented need of public as may be argued in case of Jharkhand. Only honest implementation of state run wellfare schemes and development initiatives assisted by transparent and accessible administrative machinery may turn the fortunes of people and society at large. But still the proposal should be looked upon critically by central government without imparting political colour to the much sensitive issue.
People,from the local street to the capital streets,want development to take place in their localities and they aspire for a more reach of all necessities. That necessarily doesnt mean that, we need more and more states. We need think about the reforms that have to come in governance. We need to forge unity and raise above the local and partisan politics.At some point of time there was political commitment regarding integration of the princely states to form what we are and now the direction is towards spliting. We need strong states to build in a strong centre, to forge and strategically manouvere INDIA with a strong foreign policy in this globalised era. Will making of more states make a strong centre? will the politics of splitting states help in local development and craft a strong centre? NDC should be the forum for that.
i support this very strongly.... it will improve law and order, better administration , good governance.. see 4 high courts in itself will lead to fast judgement, but one thing here , Mayawati have taken this issue very late , only 6 months of her tenure, she can do nothing.I dont think after making her statue parks etc, people here are going to vote for her, so its a good issue but timing is late.... i wish this could be done as early as possibly,, up is land of opportunities , but due to improper governance its not yet explored. i hope for better .
Some sensible plan long overdue. A thorough reorganisation of states with manageable sizes,with no language, communal basis will be one of the steps in the economic development of the nation. Merger of Pondicherry for example with Tamilnadu mooted by Mr. Morarji Desai makes economic sense.
On any account, I do not consider this as a good move by U.P. Chief Minister Smt. Mayawati. There is no hurry for all such reforms now. India is facing the worst problems and let us first sort out our problems. We can take all these kinds of reforms after 50 years. The Central Govt. must discourage any such move by the Mayawati Govt. I am afraid it will also encourage some other States to make similar moves.
This is just a gimmick. All political parties should agree to this division and promise to implement it if elected to power. Then as the Congress is doing dilly dally in it's implementation as in case of Telengana. This will take the wind out of Mayawati's sails and all her other corrupt deeds will come to the fore.
Mayawati knows that her party may not get the requried majority in the forth coming assembly elections but wants to be a Chief Minister forever. She encourages the split of state into any pieces not only 4 states but also 40 states to keep her chief ministership intact. This will definitely irk the BJP as its grip will be diluted if the state is fragmented. The BJP supports the split in Andhra Pradesh for their venomous wish of getting some seats in Telangana region as there is no hold in Coastal and Rayalaseema area but will oppose the split in UP, Karnataka, MP, Jharkhand etc. as they are strongholds to it. Every political party is doing nothing to the welfare of peple except trying to keep themselves in the power.
Mayawati's move to split UP has raised the Congress and SP's hackles up and has started the slanging and "slamming" match in right earnest. The surprise decision has rattled every political party and left them in a daze and not able to visualize whether it would favor them or not.Political analysts across the country will now begin debating the pros and cons,at the same time guesstimating which party will secure majority in each proposed state,not that the center is going to readily approve the fracturing.The wily CM,having set the ball literally rolling,will now be all set to strategize by going all out for winning her bold gamble.
We are moving towards creating 300 Kingdoms similar to what we had before East India Company invaded India..........The worst part is that all these Kingdoms are Linguistic based, which will lead to future disasters. What India needs is to dissolve all states and create territories with vertical and horizontal borders similar model to USA and Australia and ruled by Federal appointed Governers.
Mayawati claims that "Small States and administrative units facilitated better and integrated development". This claim is baseless as evidenced by the chaotic situation in some north-eastern states like Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, and the continued progress in larger states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat. Development has everything to do with good governance, professional honesty and vision, and nothing to do with the size of the province being ruled.
UP has become too big to be governed and breaking it up will hopefully lead to better governance
After ruling five years she realizes that she cannot win election by making parks,monuments,statue,why to worry,use new formula "divide and rule".In 2007 she makes plan for splitting i would welcome her decision but now this is just a trick. In this splitting Purvanchal has to worry most.They are going to be neglected most in other part of India.Now in Mumbai,U.P. and Bihar person are not going to be discriminate but Purvanchal and Bihar. Purvanchal have worst condition still fighting with encephalitis,low living standard, unemployment,lower literacy, low hygiene and sanitation and poor supply of water and electricity. I want to say to Ms. Mayavati if she really wants to help people just resign herself from C.M. post and in election only those candidate must ask vote who feel they are capable of run a state.
This is nothing but to give politicians more and more opportunities to loot and plunder the exchequer. Even if you split the group of scoundrels to manage the state of affairs, the net result is not going to be the same, even if we ignore the administrative cost of creating additional states. Problem is not the size of the state, but corrupt work ethics of politicians governing the states. Look what has happened to Jharkhand and Chattisgarh. Are they doing any better than they were before? But who learns from experiments in India?
She wants to look like she got majority in 4 states.. with eye towards PM post. The day she becomes PM, I will forgo my plans to return to India.
My request to the national leaders not to divide india again into small pieces of land! What we are doing? Again we are going back to the 16th century!!!What this will reflect on our foreign policy and international mirror? Think..... and then play the politics with the nation.This is my country, this is our country and the Uttar Pradesh is the identity of our nation.Dont ever dare to divide it.
This is probably the best action by Mayawati. There is a crying need for this division. This will ensure rapid development of this huge mass of population. All smaller states have done well, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Sikkim 7 HP, one needs to visit them to see the development. This will also ensure that no single state dominates Indian politics. This is really a selfless move by Mayawati as she has agreed to become the CM of a smaller state from a big state. All national parties like BJP and Congress must support it. Mayawati's stature has really gone up in my eyes.
It is a laudable political and administrative move..It is an appropriate time for the centre to seriously consider the question of divisions of states. The opponents of Ms Mayavathi can not counter her arguments because her stand does not lack merit in it.The centre at the best can postpone taking decisions on it, as is usually doing in other vital issues.
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