North India vs South India – The Geographical Division

The former Chief Minister of Karnataka recently raised the issue of how the North was developing at the expense of the South. The goal of Delimitation is to ensure equality in the number of voters respectively in each constituency. Delimitation is a procedure for altering the boundaries of parliamentary or electoral seats. It is normally a lengthy process that lasts up to five years and is carried out after the Census when the population is calculated.

North India vs South India – The Geographical Division

There is often a debate between the Northern and Southern regions of the Indian Peninsula. Many highlight how the Northside is advantageous over the Southside. There has always been a debate leading to numerous discrepancies. The states to the North and South of Vindhyas signify North-South India. The Hindi-belt states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Delhi, and Haryana are widely regarded as North India’s heartland. South India includes Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Karnataka. This fictitious divide between Northern and Southern India dates back to pre-independence. This split debate gets active from time to time, resulting in the polarisation of North-South India. The polarisation of North-South India has now become a huge topic for the politicians who use the disparities as an advantage.

The Fault Lines Along the North vs South India – The Geographical Division? 

1. The Geographical Fault Line – North and South India have had quite diverse historical experiences. Many of the invasions that came through the Hindukush passes shaped and reshaped North India’s historical experience. While South India was mainly unaffected by such attacks, the proximity of the trade and sea across it had given the South a distinct culture from the North, which was largely impacted by trade via land routes.
2. The Constitutional Fault Line – These two dividing lines, the North-South division and the centralisation of power in the union government have become entangled, aggravating the situation. The main areas of controversy are as follows :

(a)The Rule of the President – President’s rule has been used indiscriminately against South Indian states. In Kerala, for example, the first communist administration was deposed in 1959 under President’s authority.

(b)Schedule 7 – The distribution of financial resources of the country mainly lies with the centre, and this has not gone too well with the Southern region. During the anti-Hindi movement in Tamil Nadu in the 1960s, there was a lot of violence and agitation over the dominant language.

(c) Article 351 – The article states the duty of the Union Government to encourage the spread and use of the Hindi language. This article has caused a division between the North and the South, with ramifications that may still be felt across India.

3. The Political rift – In comparison to political leaders from the North, political leaders from the South do not receive appropriate representation in the political setting of the centre. This creates a contradiction since the economic centre of gravity moves South while the political centre of gravity moves North.  

There are also the social, economic, and cultural aspects that contribute to the polarisation of North-South India. 

The Delimitation Commission 

In August 2019, India had established a Delimitation Commission shortly after Article 370 was abolished, and Jammu and Kashmir’s prominent status was revoked. In India, the Delimitation Commission is a powerful body whose decisions are legally binding and cannot be overturned in court. These orders will take effect on a date to be determined by the President of India. The copies of its orders are put before the House of The People and the State Legislature, but they are not allowed to make any changes to them. 

What is the Dravida Nadu Concept? 

The working President of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, M.K. Stalin, hopes that the Southern states will come together to demand autonomy for a distinct Dravida Nadu. The history of the N-S divide – The Dravida Nadu concept has recently gained popularity due to the increase of polarisation between North and South India.

Let us look further into the history of the N-S divide – The Dravida Nadu concept. At a rally held in Salem in October 1938, E.V.R., then head of the Self-Respect Movement, made the first public request for a Tamil province as an alternative to the alleged oppression of Tamils by Northern Indians and Brahmins. Two major considerations are reported to have prompted E.V.R. to consider the possibility of a separate Dravidanad. The first is the anti-Hindi agitation, and the second is the Muslim League’s demand for Pakistan. The anti-Hindi turmoil made Tamils more aware of their language and cultural history, and the idea of a distinct state to protect them picked up steam. The Muslim League’s Lahore session, and the demand for Pakistan, bolstered the budding regional Dravidian nationalism. 

Conclusion 

Beyond the more well-known India divide, the North vs South India – the geographical division could be significant. The interstate disparity has increased since the 1990 reforms, mostly along the North-South divide’s axis. States like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh took advantage of reform opportunities to flourish, whereas states like Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh lagged.