UP chief minister Mayawati’s proposal to split Uttar Pradesh into four states may have sparked off a tedious debate in the media and in political circles but it has evoked absolutely no interest in the four regions.
There has been no fireworks, no celebrations in Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Paschim Pradesh and Avadh Pradesh, in fact, there is anger welling up in Avadh Pradesh which is designed as a remnant of the other three states.
Unlike Telangana and even Uttarakhand earlier, the demand for statehood in Purvanchal and Paschim Pradesh has never been people-oriented. While the people of these states have maintained a stoic silence on the issue, it is only the political leaders in these regions who have been chasing the statehood dream. It is because of this lack of involvement of the common man that the statehood movement could never translate into a massive people’s movement.
“Purvanchal has also remained politically active, yet development deprived since decades. The people are not interested in statehood, they simply want development. The Purva-nchal people are politically aware and realise that they will lose their political clout completely if Purva-nchal is cut off from the rest of the state,” said Manjari Garg, a political science lecturer in the degree college in Gorakhpur. In western UP, proposed Paschim Pradesh, the demand for statehood has been raised from time to time by Rashtriya Lok Dal president Choudhury Ajit Singh.
However, for the common people, the demand for a high court bench in Meerut is more important while Jats, the dominant population in the region, are more worried about getting into the Central OBC list.
Meanwhile, in Bundelkhand there is some public participation in the statehood movement but the majority now seems to be disagreeing with Ms Mayawati’s concept of Bundelkhand and want districts from Madhya Pradesh to be included in the proposed state.
“What is Bundelkhand without some districts from Madhya Pradesh? This is a half-baked concept and we certainly do not want this Bundelkhand,” says Rana Kumar Singh, a youth activist. Though Ms Mayawati would like to believe otherwise, wide section of people in the proposed Purva-nchal, Bundelkhand and Paschim Pradesh know that statehood is still a distant dream and the announcement is an election gimmick.
“Even if the Congress agrees to split UP, it will take not less than 5-10 years to create a state. The geographical boundaries, financial stakes, feasibility reports, cadre divisions etc. have to be worked and this is not an easy job.”
The Uttarakhand movement remained active for almost three decades before the state was created.