The Hindi Belt Claims the Right to Define the Nation's Cultural Identity for the Whole of India
The other day, Thiagarajan and P. Rajeeve voiced the grievances of the southern states. They were eloquent. They condemned the Centre for taking away more and more power from the states, complained against partisan distribution of funds, and hoped that delimitation would not be rushed through in haste.

The seriousness of their grievance must be examined in the context of the Hindu majority living in the Indo-Gangetic plains, a region comprising states often described as BIMARU, which considers itself 'Real India.' Certainly, they have population weight, but their obscurantist ideas should not be allowed to misshape the future of India. This group is strengthened by the business-oriented state of Gujarat, which has significant political influence.

They are unhappy that the rest of India is not like them in their Hindutva exclusivist convictions. Why is Bengal not so excited about cow devotion? Why does Mizoram refuse to participate in Ayodhya temple construction? Why does Tamilnadu question Hindi imposition? Why doesn't Goa grow enthusiastic about Sanskrit? Why do Keralites doubt Adani motivations in Thiruvananthapuram port? Why does Rahul describe Ram as mythological? Why do the TMC loyalists insist that the BJP don't own Ram? Such questions are endless.

Choose Enlightened People as National Leaders
Unfortunately, our present set of leaders speak to the nation as though they were talking to their admirers, Hindutva adherents. Their understanding of global realities, clashing ideologies, historical processes, and even India's own diverse cultures and convictions is extremely limited. Amit Shah proclaims that Hindi is widely accepted, Sanskrit is the mother of almost all Indian languages, and Modiji has solved all problems in the Northeast and Kashmir. Is it true?

Yogi goes to Bangalore to ask why they are not worshipping their own Hanuman but honouring Tipu instead. Beware: the monk-turned-politician is proposed as Modi's successor! As the leader is, so shall the followers be in a short time. Will we soon be closer to the human development levels of Japan and Germany or that of Eritrea and Burkina Faso?

South's Sub-nationalism Helped Health, Education, Economic Development
The dread that the Southern states harbour in their hearts is that they may be brought down to BIMARU levels of development if their weak representation at the Centre becomes even weaker with the possible delimitation in 2026. Their anxiety can be better understood with the explanations provided by Nilakanthan RS in his book, "South vs. North" (Juggernaut Books, New Delhi, 2022). He considers imposing delimitation on the more progressive, open-minded, and successful states of the South as penalising them for their achievements in areas such as health, education, economic growth, population control, and for setting a model.

Nilakantan attributes these regional successes to sub-nationalism; for example, CN Annadurai affirmed a Dravidian identity. Nilakantan complains that the Centre ranks states according to their success in centrally controlled schemes. It has no relationship to actual development. For example, he laments that the regressive Hindi belt has dragged Indian life expectancy to 69, far behind even several African countries.

The infant mortality rate is highest in MP 48 and UP 43 (some put it at 64 since many deaths are not registered). On the contrary, Kerala's infant mortality rate is 7 (close to that of the US, at 6), while Tamil Nadu's is 15 (Nilakantan 19-21). Haryana, too, records a high Infant mortality rate, though the state is prosperous (Nilakantan 43).

BIMARU Region Drags the Whole of India Down
More girls die early in the BIMARU region, often with their mothers. Half of the children in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand exhibit stunted growth (Nilakantan 29). Children tend to perform better in the South, where literacy rates are high (Nilakantan 37). Bihar performs last in terms of literacy improvement (Nilakantan 62). Female literacy, too, is lowest there (Nilakantan 114). Will sturdy factory workers or frontier defenders come from BIMARU under-nourished families?

Per capita growth in UP is abysmally low (Nilakantan 116). Yogi's boasts win no attention, as UP's all-around performance is poor, except for the Kumbha Mela show and temple construction display.

In the South, K. Kamaraj encouraged education by providing meals to students for 200 days a year; local bodies also partly supported the scheme. Recognising its benefits, the Supreme Court made midday meals compulsory for India in 2001. But the South still leads in the field of education (Nilakantan 72-73). In Kerala and Tamilnadu, eight in ten move to higher secondary schools. Dropouts are rare (Nilakantan 79).

The National Education Policy 2020 emphasises the establishment of a national testing agency for admission to the college level. This is an unfair arrangement, as states differ in social needs, priorities, pace and style of social evolution (Nilakantan 82). The hidden strategy, it is feared, is to block lower-class individuals from accessing higher education.

States bear two-thirds of the expenses and one-third of the revenue (Nilakantan 170). Moreover, the revenue of the smaller states in the South goes to subsidise the extravagant schemes of mighty states like UP, Bihar, and MP.

In addition, the Union government increases the cesses and surcharges, not intending to share the resources with the states. Taxes are called cesses. Thus, they have developed a clever strategy to rob the states (Nilakantan 175-76). Today, the Union government interferes in all financial matters, crowds out the fiscal space of state governments, distributes resources as it chooses, and changes rules (Nilakantan 169). This is not in keeping with the spirit of the Constitution.

Education Should Equip Students for Employment
Insistence on the mother tongue for teaching other subjects is seen as an effort to privilege Hindi belt children and cripple English medium education, which has opened out to Indians global opportunities. India is thriving on international remittances. Gradually, English has become Indian. It is spoken in India… not Sanskrit, which developed in central Asia. Sanskrit turns out to be a horror when it is imposed (Nilakantan 86-87). Sanskrit equips you for no job except to serve at an ever-growing number of temples.

Take note: "jobless growth" is here to say for a long while. It is estimated that 2 million jobs are being offered every year. In the meantime, 12.5 million college-educated are in search of jobs every year, and four times that number with no education are in the same state of helplessness.

Unoccupied youth grow restless; they give rise to revolutions, as seen during the French, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Cambodian Revolutions, as well as the Arab Spring. Or they may choose to become street rowdies! We can look forward to upheavals of every kind in days to come (Nilakantan 103). Cow vigilantes, moral police, and Yogi's dharm yoddhas can serve as a temporary diversion. Having learned to handle violence cutely, they can turn it against the very persons who introduced the dimension of violence into religious zeal. The one who draws the sword perishes by the sword.

North-South Divide is a Symbol of Polarisations of all Kinds
The North-South divide is merely a symbol of the estrangement of Bengal, the Northeast, Kashmir, Punjab, and Central Indian tribes, as well as diverse forms of polarisation at various levels. For example, the Supreme Court accuses the Enforcement Directorate of crossing all limits. The Court has stayed its probe into a Tamil Nadu government corporation. Again, the Court charges them for keeping the accused in jail for too long without trial. Hard feelings are roused.

Notice polarisation in another sphere. More than 27 Maoists were killed in Chhattisgarh with their leader Basavaraju. What is the solution to the Maoist problem: elimination or reconciliation? What is the best way of addressing cultural or minority differences: a sensitive approach to national integration or total alienation promoted by Hindutva insensitivity to cultural differences? A majoritarian government always prefers bulldozing.

Banu Mushtaq's Kannada tales in her book "Heart Lamp" (translated by Deepa Bhasthi) won the International Booker Prize. The author was greatly surprised. It describes the marginalisation and even demonisation of minorities in India and the suppression of women.

Gradually, society itself tends to spontaneously take on polarised extremes. People are brainwashed into adopting radical measures. Seven Haveri (Karnataka) gang-rape suspects were given heroes' welcome after bail. That is the Hindutva reward for crime and encouragement for similar performance!

Let Us Put Our Tensions with Pakistan in Context
Now that the intense struggle with Pakistan is over, it is good to ask some questions. It is time to evaluate. Let us begin by paying respect to our armed forces. But, it is harder to hail our political leadership or our administrative machinery in the same way. A question that comes up first: why was there an intelligence failure at Pahalgam? Could not the entire harsh adventurism be prevented?

Napoleon used to say, "You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war." We are making the same mistake over and over again. And if our 'art of war' is constructed on Islamophobia, it remains there as a self-inflicted wound. When Yogi warns us against "foes in disguise," is he referring to Muslim minorities?

Against this background, war-mongering becomes a psychological compulsion. Before World War I, Europe was a victim of such an inner drive. But five years of intense wars broke them down. Two World Wars destroyed them.

We can already foresee that the 'primordial' nature of Indo-Pak tensions shall keep South Asia behind for a long while. After all, Seneca the Younger had warned, "Whatever has overstepped its due limits is always in a state of instability."

The war hysteria of the politicians and bureaucrats hides the pain of people who suffer and people at the borders and ignores lives lost and property destroyed.

Truth Deficit
Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna alleged that there was a "truth deficit" in the legal profession. While this may be true, there is a significant truth deficit in the fanatical expression of Hindutva ideology during neighbourhood tussles, both on social media and in leadership statements.

Your Indian identity does not consist in being anti-Pakistan. Accusation of each other of Pakistan links is childish. Demeaning expressions like "Go to Pakistan" to political rivals is in bad taste. Boasting about having humiliated a weaker neighbour is self-deprecating. Is Samam, Danam for sturdy China alone, and Bhedam, Dandam for weaker Pakistan?

Indian Muslims have clearly manifested their loyalty. Asaduddin Owaisi has made it evident. But Ali Khan Mahmudabad of Ashoka University has been arrested for his criticism of the exaggerations of Operation Sindoor. Jaishankar said India was looking for partners, not preachers. He and Shashi Tharoor should remember that when they preach to a Western audience.

A Dangerous Doctrine: Any Terror Incident Is an 'Act of War'
Please understand the various dimensions of the so-called India's 'new doctrine,' which asserts that any terror incident will be seen as an 'act of war'. What about the violence perpetrated by the Bajrang Dal against Hindutva critics? Of the cow protection force? Of moral police? Are they not acts of war against our domestic neighbours? A Dalit wedding procession was attacked in the Agra area recently. This type of war goes on endlessly: minorities are assailed, Dalit women gang-raped, and tribal gatherings disrupted.

Bahubali Shah has been arrested for criticising Modi. It is very interesting what Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said in Court: "I am under arrest because the Top Leader (Erdogan) thinks he owns Istanbul." Our Top Leaders have similar pretensions.

The Media Must Act as a Watchdog when the Rule of Law Fails
In Guwahati, Shantanu Borthakur spoke to 'Assam Tribune' employees on the media's' watchdog role.' He pointed out that corporate ownership of the media is a danger. He agreed that our relationship with the government should be 'constructive,' but never lending blind support.

India will have too little persuasive power with Bangladesh or Pakistan about respect for minorities when RSS-BJP preaches another type of philosophy at home: conform or be condemned.

The Supreme Court laments that in UP, civil disputes are often converted into criminal cases. It feels that there is a breakdown of the 'rule of law.'

At the national level, 63% of the police support custodial torture. A Dalit youth, Sunny Kumar, 21, died in UP in police custody. What is it but custodial murder?

Prevent the Fragmentation of the Nation
The Prime Minister is particularly proud that India's GDP ($4.187 trillion) has outgrown that of Japan ($4.186 trillion). Now, he wants to walk past that of Germany ($4.53 trillion).

The question that remains is: will these trillions belong to India's millions or to a select few billionaires? Thomas Jefferson wanted to crush corporate bosses who were challenging the government's social projects.

"Will India's per capita income rise?" asks the average citizen. "Will state-level initiatives be encouraged," ask state leaders. "Will ethnic, cultural, religious, and other diversities be respected and each group's unique contribution be given scope," ask minorities.

The fact that a significant measure of Southern achievements in the fields of Education, Health, and Human Development was due to Christian contributions cannot be ignored. FCRA rules need not be so formulated as to cripple Christian organisations in the South or North, East or West.

While the PM is rightfully proud of the nation's recent economic progress, he must be immensely grateful to Congress for the economic foundations that they had laid. Minorities had effectively supported it. Modiji is standing on the shoulders of giants. His strategies will be effective if he diligently prevents the nation from fragmenting.