- According to a study, in 2005-10 national GDP grew at 8.7%. The combined growth rate of the four southern states was 7.85%.
- In the last three years, even Bihar and Uttarakhand grew at 16% and 14% respectively
- Karnataka dragged down by corrupt, irresponsible politicians
- Electoral corruption, freebies by successive regimes, power crisis have left Tamil Nadu in a crisis
- Telangana stir troubles AP
- Alcoholism rampant in Kerala
***
There has been many a stereotype in the media on what distinguishes the southern states from the rest of India. For decades after Independence, they were loosely defined on racial, ethnic and linguistic lines. Only recently have the dissimilarities between the regions been accentuated through the idiom of development. The south has been seen as progressive, modern, with high literacy rates and positive social indices; in fact, as an understated success. The emergence of Bangalore and Hyderabad as IT and new enterprise hubs has also contributed to the way the southern states are perceived now.
Despite all this, in the last couple of years, the image of the four southern states seems to have taken a serious beating—especially in this season of national ignominy and scams, when every major revelation seems to have some southern connection. It may be an exaggeration to say the four big states are on the decline, but certainly, after years of upward surge, the graph seems to have hit a plateau.
Sample this data from the CII-commissioned McKinsey report of March 2011. In 2005-10, when the national GDP grew at 8.7 per cent, the combined growth rate of the four southern states was 7.85 per cent. Karnataka led with 8.7 per cent. Kerala was 8.1 per cent, and Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were 7.4 per cent each. North Indian states like Bihar and Uttarakhand, long dubbed 'bimaru', had overtaken the southern states. In the last three years the two states grew at 16 per cent and 14 per cent respectively. Other states ahead of the south are Gujarat (11.3 per cent) and Haryana (11 per cent).
Not only has there been some levelling in terms of economy, but also in terms of political culture in the southern states. The recent revolt of B.S. Yediyurappa and his nonchalant attitude to corruption, casteism and nepotism stand out. This is being compared in the local press to the 'UP-Bihar phenomenon', itself a stereotype. Earlier too, chief ministers S. Nijalingappa, Devaraj Urs and Veerendra Patil had challenged their party high command, but it was on a matter of principle. This time around, Yediyurappa was perceived as "blackmailing" the BJP high command to retain power, flaunting his "ill-earned money" and dominant Lingayat community affiliation.
The circus, which went on for a week, saw Yediyurappa backing D.V. Sadananda Gowda, a Vokkaliga, to succeed him and ensuring his victory against Jagdish Shettar, who was the BJP's official nominee. Shettar, a fellow Lingayat, is also said to have had L.K. Advani's backing. This implies that his defeat has acquired larger connotations within the party. bsy not only defied the party's deadline to resign on July 28, but even on the day he resigned (July 31), at the very last minute, he insisted his resignation would only follow the declaration of his nominee as the next chief minister. However, when that didn't happen, he successfully set up a contest and defeated Shettar by seven votes on August 3. As expected, the 55 legislators who stood by Shettar are threatening not to cooperate with the new chief minister.
Yediyurappa may have won a tactical victory for himself, but the party has lost. It would indeed be a tough task for the new chief minister to escape the shadow and debt of Yediyurappa. With many corruption cases coming up against Yediyurappa, the new chief minister will have a tough balancing act to do. Gowda is an MP from Udupi-Chikmagalur and is dependent on Yediyurappa for his election to the assembly within six months. But, Yediyurappa's statement that he will return to the gaddi in six months has only created more uncertainty.
If one has watched Yediyurappa closely from 2008, all this would not come as a surprise. He began his tenure by poaching Opposition MLAs and then spending monumental sums at the bypolls to get them elected. In fact, the 2008 victory of the BJP in Karnataka was itself attributed to a lavish spending of illegal mining money from Bellary.
Yediyurappa, besides indulging in corruption, also brazenly mainstreamed superstition, as well as pontiffs and caste seminaries. For a state that had always maintained a socialist leaning, this came as a huge shock. Even in his budget for 2010-11, he continued with his practice of extending state patronage to various caste and quasi-religious organisations.
Rajeev Chandrashekar, an entrepreneur and Rajya Sabha MP, says: "Some of the best administrators have emerged from the south and the earliest examples of political leadership excelling in governance and reforms were also from the south. E.M.S. Namboodiripad, Devaraj Urs, S. Nijalingappa, Veerendra Patil and other leaders were and are shining examples of public service and politics mingling seamlessly. Somehow and somewhere in the mists of recent history, politics and governance in these four states has morphed into a form far removed from what our founding fathers envisioned and what conventional wisdom wouldn't associate with the south."
The Telangana agitation
The story in Tamil Nadu, where the DMK has been the very epicentre of controversy, is not different. When the AIADMK won by a landslide in May, former IAS officer M.G. Devasahayam said: "Tamils have redeemed their honour and contradicted the feeling that they were a purchasable commodity." The state's reputation for cash-for-votes had the Election Commission keeping close watch and seizing almost `50 crore in cash during the May assembly elections. Interestingly, Transparency International has ranked Tamil Nadu the second most corrupt state in India.
Development has always been high on the agenda in Tamil Nadu. But the flip side is that "development has given more scope for corruption," says political analyst Gnani. Also, the state faces a major power crisis. It produces 7,000 MW but needs 12,000 MW. Freebies have bankrupted the state. The Supreme Court is hearing a plea questioning the distribution of free colour TVs by the DMK regime. J. Jayalalitha, the present chief minister, has promised free mixies, grinders and laptops.
Social anthropologist A.R. Vasavi says, "Instead of consolidating the gains of social mobilisation and development of the previous decades, the south is now manifesting a complex constellation of trends. These include populist politics, in which mass welfare is not instituted through formal mechanisms but sought to be distributed as personal or party largesse. Market fundamentalism has meant a close alliance of industry and state. The new, unimagined and largely unaccounted capital outflow has become the bases for electoral gains."
If corruption has plagued Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, political instability in the last couple of years has paralysed Andhra Pradesh. Plus, Karnataka's mining-related corruption has seen reverberations in Andhra too. Academic and writer Dr Venu Madhav Govindu says, "While Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh share a contiguous region marked by linguistic and cultural affinity, today the politics of the two states is unfortunately conjoined by the geological continuity of mineral wealth running under and across the state border."
Bad days M.K. Stalin, former TN deputy CM, being detained in Tiruvavur district
However, it is the ongoing agitation for a separate state of Telangana that has grabbed the headlines. In the latest round of protests, around 100 MLAs and 15 MPs have put in their papers. The government is virtually in a limbo. Thirteen ministers from Telangana who have resigned do not enter the secretariat. The Centre's promise in December 2009 to carve a separate state has permanently altered the socio-political dynamics of Andhra Pradesh. The commercially well-to-do state capital of Hyderabad has become a bone of contention. There is a flight of capital to other states. Political scientist Jyotirmaya Sharma says, "In the formation of a state, nobody should be afraid of living anywhere. Politicians should not make citizens feel insecure. I'm neither Andhra, nor Rayalaseema nor Telangana. I'm a Hyderabadi."
A common thread that binds the southern states is large-scale corruption. This is partly because of the changed political economy. Andhra Pradesh is witnessing the CBI probe the disproportionate assets of Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, the Kadapa MP and son of late chief minister Y.S Rajasekhara Reddy. Dr Govindu says, "While we rightly berate politicians for their mendacity, we must recognise that it is the nature of the newly formed urban economy of south India that makes it possible for them to indulge in corruption."
Does this mean the south is a victim of its own development?
By Sugata Srinivasaraju in Bangalore, Madhavi Tata in Hyderabad, Pushpa Iyengar in Chennai
| ALSO IN THIS STORY |
POLITICS: THE SOUTH Kerala is roiled by alcoholism, divorce, debt and suicide despite its high human development indices |
 ESSAY The flight of Big Little Governance Ideas northwards has ceased |
AUTHORS: SUGATA SRINIVASARAJU | PUSHPA IYENGAR | MADHAVI TATA
PEOPLE: B.S. YEDDYURAPPA
TAGS: POLITICS | BJP | DMK | AIADMK | CORRUPTION | ALCOHOL & DRINKING
SECTION: NATIONAL
PLACES: KARNATAKA | TELANGANA | TAMIL NADU | ANDHRA PRADESH | KERALA | SOUTH INDIA
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AUG 06, 2011 07:35 PM 6 | An attempt has been made in this article to highlight the some interesting features of the politics and economies of the four major southern states of AP,Karnataka,TN and Kerala during the Five Year period, 2005-2010. During this period, while the Growth Rate of National GDP was 8.7% the combined growth rate of these four Southern states was lower at 7.85% . The growth rates registered by some select states were the following : Gujarat : 11.3%; Haryana :11.0%; Karnataka : 8.7%; Kerala :8.1%; AP and TN : 7.4% . Bihar and Uttarakhand registered growth rates of 16% and 14% during a shorter,three-year period ending with 2010. So the main hypothesis drawn up is perhaps, that the four southern states are either on the decline or their economies are levelling off. On the basis of the data given, the hypothesis appears to be logically consistent. My hesitation,however, to endorse this hypothesis is based on the following reasons : (i) GDP growth rates per se may not be the sufficient indicators of the "Directions" in which the State economies have been moving in recent past. I suggest that if the other relevant factors are taken into account, the Southern states are still in the right course and stand way ahead of some of the Northern/ BIMARU states . (ii) As for the combined growth rate of Southern States being much lower than some of the Northern states, this is not surprising .After all the economy of a historically misgoverned state like Bihar had to start from the scratch. Hence, under the stewardship of a dynamic CM, the state had registered a high growth rate. Nothing surprising in Bihar's high GDP growth rate of 16% during the last three years. (iii) In terms of Levels of Literacy,Growth of higher/ technical education, other Infrastructural developments, Demographic specificities, Growth of entrepreneurial classes skill endowments of the workers etc the Sothern states are now way ahead of many states in India. Hence, 'Other Things Being Equal '--if the political crises now beseiging some Southern States are resolved-- the South can still surge forward as it did before. I endorse the view that " Development has always been high on the agenda of Tamil Nadu. But the flip side is that developemnt has given more scope for corruption". On the eve of Independence, the Tamil region of Madras state was way ahead of the other southern states. Less corrupt and more efficient bureacracy was an added boon to Madras state. This trend continued even in the post -Independence period. The article suggests : " A common thread that binds the southern states is large scale corruption ". Perhaps Kerala is different from the other three Southern states in some respects. It stands apart from AP,TN and Karnataka in terms of having LOWER levels of corruption and HIGHER SCORE on Development Indicators in access to food,education and health. After all, Kerala is unique in many respects--society,polity,culture and economy. Is there an organic link between levels of corruption and growth rates of the economies ? Apparently so. For compare the rapid growth that some Sothern states registered during the last 20 years of Liberalised economy and the enormity of corruption scandals that involve politicians and bureacrats in TN, Karnataka and AP. The article rightly concludes with the view : ".....(I)t is the nature of the newly formed urban economy of South India that makes it possible for them (politicians) to indulge in corruption". The real estate boom in the Sothern Metro and smaller cities has given enormous scope for the politicians--big and small, bureacrats, land brokers/usurpers and other anti-social elements to raise their hoods . For instance, the corporate honchos with the cunnivance of these creatures usurped agricultural lands and brought havoc in the lives of the poor peasants in Metro/City suburbs and Coastal region of Andhra Pradesh .
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AUG 06, 2011 07:01 PM 5 | Is this an article? Appears to be a work of novice or apprentice at a journalism shop. Phew.....journalism is not a respectable career (in India) at this moment. |
AUG 06, 2011 06:11 PM 4 | "The reason of maximum sinners in South is the concentration of Temples and Deities in that part of the country due to which they get Amnesty much easier than others in other parts of the country." |
AUG 06, 2011 03:49 PM 3 |
Yeddyurappa's man won a majority in the BJP legislature party. This has been called :
Will someone please explain how the system would have run more smoothly if Mr Shettar had been installed with a majority of legislators ranged against him. |
AUG 06, 2011 02:48 PM 2 | |
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