Should india divided

Again, fear engulfed the youth and they went running to the courts for help. The ruling establishment, which had come to power by propagating divisive politics, continued with this agenda and had little else to offer its electorate in terms of administration, development and fulfilling the basic needs of education, health and security, which happen to be the fundamental duties of the state.

A few days ago, I was watching NDTV News 24x7 where a discussion was taking place on the Indian response to the pandemic in general and the reliability of the data being provided by the state and the Central agencies. On being pointedly asked regarding the veracity of the data, Dr Vincent answered that the actual figures of the infected and dead were at least double the numbers given and went on to say that some put these at five times higher. He was fully supported by Dr Menon and in a more muted manner by the third panellist this data has been further supplemented by articles appearing in the western media.

This set the tone for the rest of the discussion, which focused on the shortage of vaccines, oxygen, etc. The fact that came out was that the entire health system was in a shambles in the face of the onslaught. The administration even went to the extent of threatening people with registration of cases against anyone who was seen to be maligning the image of the government.

However, the numbers began to swell and the health system came under pressure — the response was to fudge the figures. However, the gap between reality and lies was too much and whatever chance of acceptance it had was blown away by the discovery of hundreds of bloated bodies in the Ganga flowing through Bihar and UP. Then hundreds of more bodies buried on the banks of the Ganga were found violated by wild animals. The deafening silence of the leadership even after the discovery of the bodies and their subsequent abuse speaks volumes.

NDTV also showed some village dispensaries in the vicinity of Delhi — no doctors, no staff, no equipment, but these were being used as storage for cow dung cakes, dry fodder, etc. The camera moved from village to village but the visuals were the same.

If this is the story in the vicinity of Delhi, what must it be like in the rural interior belts. For a moment, the thought came to me that maybe these dispensaries were real and the cow dung and the fodder were raw material for producing new miracle cures a la baba Ramdev.

Let us now revert to areas of major worldwide concern. Foreign organisations like the ones in America are reporting that India is falling fast in its ranking of freedom to practice religion, freedom of the press and democratic values. Borders, both physical and virtual, have come up within the nation-state where none existed — Singhu, Tikri, ruling party states versus Opposition-ruled states.

The ruling setup seeks to enforce its will on the entire dominion with an agenda whose misplaced values and ethos of a fundamental theocracy find no traction in the vast majority of this country. We are a federal structure, the very division of states on the basis of language was an attempt to keep this diversity secure and alive.

Any imposition of a uniform way of life kills the very soul of this nation. Elections, the bedrock of our democracy, are being contested like street battles with muscle, money and foul language, with the ruling party at the Centre leading the charge by deploying its vast resources.

These leaders advocating divisive politics have made us look more like the theocratic state in our neighbourhood and with whom we have fought multiple wars. It is also our obligation.

What has long been true is still true: We have a healthy mistrust of government but still count on it to make our lives better. We know that in many spheres. But we cannot allow people to build virtual political walls in the heart of our nation, separating us by our backgrounds, our races or our faith. This is not the India that is known for its tolerance and diversity.

The nation, it seems, has become irrevocably fractured along political and ideological lines and interactions with people has never been more uncomfortable and the admonition to avoid discussing religion or politics in polite company has never been more apropos. The far-right's hateful campaign against a large section of Indian society has put many lives at risk, causing mental trauma, and many times, physical violence.

This is a misnomer, for there are several states of the Union that lie further north of it. And that status will not materially change whoever wins this current Assembly election. For the sick state of UP to become healthy at last, it must first be divided into three or four self-governing parts. For the good of India, for the good of its own residents, Uttar Pradesh needs to be divided into three, perhaps four, separate and distinct states, each with its own assembly and council of ministers.

Tragically, there is little chance of this happening. For Narendra Modi and his party, the capture and retention of power have always mattered much more than good governance. In the general elections of and , the Bharatiya Janata Party won 71 and 62 seats from Uttar Pradesh, respectively, these playing a critical part in helping it gain an overall majority.

The Modi government may hope that its failures in managing the economy and in containing the pandemic will be forgotten by , and that an aggressive Hindutva agenda, based on the construction of the Ram Temple and fears of Muslim demographic expansion, will polarise Hindu opinion in their favour and, once again, secure to the Bharatiya Janata Party a majority of the 80 seats in the Lok Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.

And so an undivided Uttar Pradesh will continue to suffer and stagnate, casting a negative shadow on the rest of the country as well. The future of the state, and of India itself, is currently being held hostage to the political ambitions of one man and his party.

This article was first published in The Telegraph. Share your perspective on this article with a post on ScrollStack, and send it to your followers. This book is a content of facts and figures beyond somebody's convenience. It has a wide and broader approach. It is beyond the drama of national politics and democracy.

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