Small States, Big Problems

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/small-states-big-problems/article5774395.ece

The first State Reorganization Committee was constituted in 1953 and the reorganization of states was mainly done on the linguistic basis. The economic base for state reorganization came up in 2000 with the formation of states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand.

So, have these states fared well in growth front?

The answer is affirmative on the basis of the indicators we currently use to gauge growth of an area. Uttarakhand has averaged 9.31% growth annually, Jharkhand 8.45%, and Chhattisgarh 7.35%. These three regions were so called Bimaru zones before their bifurcation. With greater autonomy to the available resources in the region, the government of these states has more funds to invest as was available earlier for these zones.  The actual growth has not been able to percolate to intended beneficiaries because major part of the available funds is being used to appease voters by giving away gifts instead of robust policies. The political instability as in case of Jharkhand has added to the problem.

Also this has led to increase in the opportunities available for personal gain by leaders of these regions. The resources are being mined indiscriminately and the industry zones are being allotted without proper rehabilitation of locals. The states are being administered as crony capitalist companies with the single agenda of monetary profit. Thus despite the growth as visible in numbers, the inclusiveness is missing. This is hurting the people who fought for creation of these states. The discontent with inclusive growth and backwardness has helped Maoist activity to thrive and grow. 12 districts out of 18 in Jharkhand suffer from Maoist movement. Chhattisgarh is also very much affected by Maoist activity.

Notable terms in the article are PESA and Salwa Judum.

(From Frontline) Most of the tribes in India are collectively identified under Article 342 (1&2) of the Constitution as Scheduled Tribes, which provided them overarching immunity to the extent of granting them the right to self-determination as guaranteed under Article 244 (Administration of Scheduled Areas and Tribal Areas) of Part X: The Scheduled and Tribal Areas. The Indian Constitution protects tribal interests through the Fifth and Sixth Schedules.

While the Sixth Schedule, applicable in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, gives tribal people freedom to exercise legislative and executive powers through an autonomous regional council and an autonomous district council, the Fifth Schedule, applicable in all the other identified tribal regions, guarantees tribal autonomy and tribal rights over land through a Tribal Advisory Council in each State.

With centralism in governance coming in for increasing criticism, the P.V. Narasimha Rao government in 1992 passed the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts, which empowered panchayats and municipalities with a vision of local self-governance. The Fifth Schedule areas, because of the constitutional immunity against overarching laws, did not fall in its domain legally. While village-level democracy became a real prospect in other areas, the Fifth Schedule areas remained bereft of that privilege. It was for this reason that PESA was enacted under the Fifth Schedule, which extended panchayat rule to the tribal areas. The fundamental spirit of PESA is that it does not delegate powers but devolves them to the village-level gram sabhas, paving the way for participatory democracy.

(From Wiki) Salwa Judum (meaning "Peace March" or "Purification Hunt" in Gondi language) was a right-wing to far-right civilian militia mobilised and deployed as part of anti-insurgency operations in Chhattisgarh, India, aimed at countering Naxalite violence in the region. The militia consisting of local tribal youth received support and training from the Chhattisgarh state government. In 2011, it was ruled illegal by Supreme Court..

The case discussed in this article is whether the formation of Telangana lead to growth and prosperity in the region. The political situation is critical as explained in article and the growth of the region depends on how the political situation develops. Himachal Pradesh has been a good example of a small state developing with inclusive parameter over time, it would be interesting to see if the states formed in 2000, and recently formed Telangana could emulate this success.

We won't be writing article on

Chauvinism and patriotism not the same

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/chauvinism-and-patriotism-not-the-same/article5777844.ece

and

Arvind Kejriwal’s right fight

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/arvind-kejriwals-right-fight/article5770846.ece

As most of the required facts to understand these articles are known and given in the article