Food for thought: India may have 50 states in 2040
CENTER & ODISHA February 10th. 2012, 7:48pm(Thanks to Sanjib Karmee for the pointer.) The following graphics is from an article in Outlook.
This may happen much sooner than 2040. I think if this is done through a nationwide initiative all over India then it could turn out to be good. Of course, for this to work some additional steps need to be taken. For example, the supreme court strength has to increase so as to deal with inter-state disputes that will be caused by this; A big chunk of money has to be allocated to the new states (the states that will lose their capital area or main city) to build infrastructure; etc.
In the context of Odisha I have had brief discussions with some people on splitting of Odisha suggesting that this will lead to more areas of Odisha having better infrastructure. For example, if there are two states, then there will be two capital areas with associated infrastructure that come with most capitals of the country (an airport, good train connectivity, etc.). One of the reason that is often given to counter this is that if Odisha is divided, each part will have even lesser clout at the center and as it is Odisha has fewer number of MPs than many other states and thus has less clout than those states.
If the divisions happen all across the country, then the above reason may be less applicable.
Also, since the states will no longer be on linguisitic basis the issue of Kosali vs Odia language will not be a factor.
February 11th, 2012 at 3:16 am
There is also the demand in South part Odisha for Kalinga Pradesh taking 10 districts of the area and to carve out a new state for the 1 crore people. Kalinga Pradesh demand presently extends to 6 Lok Sabha and 42 Bidhan sabha constituencies and 10 districts.
(Editor: Last sentence edited. Note that this thread will be actively moderated.)
February 11th, 2012 at 8:34 am
i support the separate state idea
kash aeita satare huanta i will be the happiest person
February 11th, 2012 at 8:42 am
rourkela should be the capital city
February 11th, 2012 at 11:24 am
Considering the next 30 -40 years will see the population of India swelling to 1.7 billion people, I think it would be very very wise indeed to split the existing large states into smaller ones.
But at the same time, economic integration and making states borders practically immaterial to the common man is also important for the holistic growth of the nation.
For me the logic behind the splitting up of existing states is decreasing the administrative burden of the large states and also to allow for state legislatures to represent smaller number of people. This will allow for more effective decentralisation of legislative and executive powers.
February 11th, 2012 at 2:16 pm
and i am sure to demand for an Independent state of srikhetra,puri.
February 11th, 2012 at 2:18 pm
puri shall be religious capital of the country.
February 12th, 2012 at 2:07 am
smaller the state
faster the devlopment rate
i support kosal state or a separate ut for sundargad
it will be better option for both odissa and kosal
February 12th, 2012 at 2:43 pm
Well, I am sure there are pros and cons in the division of a state but here are some points we should think about first.
Strong regional feelings/sentiments only gives birth to political affiliations like MNS which may be good for the state but not for all round development of the country. Country should get the priority, even if comes at the cost of making compromises. Division of a state brings additional burden on the govt exchequer because a lot of new infrastructure and offices have to come up in the new state’s capital whereas the same funds could be used in developing infrastructure in other cities/towns/villages of the combined state. Odisha today is not able to extract benefits out of central govt, so I don’t know how splitting the state will benefit except for the new state’s capital. what Odisha needs is an effective state administration and a powerful lobby at the centre. Indian democracy has slowly moved into coalition politics, so dividing a state which already has a low representation in the parliament is not helping.
February 13th, 2012 at 7:37 am
Franky I think it might not be a bad idea to divide Odisha into two states. I had been against the idea sometime back but I think from a governance and an economic point of view it might do a world of good. Why should we wait for another 28 years. Let us begin the process now itself.
February 14th, 2012 at 10:49 am
good to know that good and eduacated people are supporting the divison
and i hope that rourkela will be d capital city of kosal state
thanks to all ppl who are supporting the divison
February 14th, 2012 at 10:51 am
gdp growth rate of india will be higher after divison,because odisa govt is not doing anything for western odissa….altough this region is paying3/4th revenue but it is the poorest region in the world..i hope ppl will see the ray of devlopment after the separation
February 14th, 2012 at 10:53 am
i am 100% sure that if there will be a poll then 99% people will vote for rourkela as the capital city of proposed kosal state
February 14th, 2012 at 12:59 pm
If and when there is a separate state there is a very little chance that Rourkela will be its capital, both for geographical and cultural reasons. From geographical perspective Rourkela is at one end of that state.
February 14th, 2012 at 1:30 pm
if we calcualte geographically then bhubaneswar,mumbai all are in very corner side
that means redakhol/angul is the best location for state capital of undevided odissa
February 14th, 2012 at 1:31 pm
or for cultural basis we have also an ut option…
February 14th, 2012 at 11:05 pm
As for capital of any proposed Kosal state, I beleive Sambalpur will be the prime candidate for becoming its capital in future and not Rourkela. Though Rourkela will be the most important city of the proposed state.
I think Bhubaneswar came up as the capital of Orissa rather than Cuttack, which was the traditional and already an established city at the time of independence, was because the scope for long term expansion in Cuttack would have been very very difficult, with rivers on all sides of the town. So to establish a town which could support the entire govt of the state for a long period it became necessary for a new town to be established.
Which is also the reason why a location close to Cuttack was chosen. If there were no limitations in Cuttack, I am sure there would not be much of Bhubaneswar today.
But, even though I am in support of smaller states, per se, like I mentioned before, I am not in support of any division of existing state of Odisha at this point in time.
I dont think it would be an economically good, for either of the split parts of Odisha, to go separately. 10 years down the line, both parts will be much more ready to get split up into separate parts. Even the population of the state right now does not require any split. We have to remember Odisha is not a very densely populated state. Similarly people of Koshal region must remember, population of their part is very very low. Assuming the districts are divided up as shown in the above map, Kosal state will have only a quarter of present Odisha’s population.
February 15th, 2012 at 2:21 am
When division came into the picture!!!I wonder as if states were never developed having massive area, heavy population.I would not go far to western countries, In India itself some state are ten times developed than Odisha having doubled area and population as well.And you could see your state splits into two parts!!! could have been seen the lands what you said once your own, but no more is yours, all connection regarding History, culture and age old fraternity is gone.Almost all wrote splitting is good.You people must be living outside the state enjoying one good lifestyle of some metropolitan cities, least bothering what is going on in your state.No need to see back to your state, get it in your mind.good for you.If you are belonged to part other than western Odisha something has gone wrong with you, you must be testified upon reverence towards your state before you enter to your state.And all Western odias, it is easy to clamor for some absurd thing than going into the matter extending your hand to help your people.I hope you would get what I mean, no need to be rhetoric anymore to open your eyes.Matter of concern, Invasion from Hindi people is continuous in this part of our land. Disguisedly we are captured in such way I do not listen Odia any more in town, markets. All our Businesses. Trades are being dominated.And Politics is not far away from their clutch.I am from Rourkela.I would not be happy that my place would be Capital but would want to see we got a massive land to claim for our own where finally we could stand raising our head.I am afraid if Odisha gets divided Western Odisha can not maintain its identity due to the extent Hindi has started influencing the region.
February 15th, 2012 at 7:18 am
While I don’t know how practical the idea is; because regions will again emerge inside the newly created states and some part will claim that it is developed lesser than the others and the process will go on till we are back to the pre-independence situation when we had more than 500 princely states. But, if the state of Odisha is divided, it has to be divided into three based on regional identities. Because, if underdevelopment is the criteria then South Odisha is much more underdeveloped than any other part of Odisha. Second, linguistically the accent of the people here is influenced by Telgu and so are food and dress habits. Further, historically South Odisha was with Madras Presidency in the pre-independence period.
February 15th, 2012 at 7:49 am
@Dipti: I think you confusing the division of a state and some cultural factors. Perhaps there is an invasion of Hindi. I do not know, but it would good if you could point to some study/report rather than anecdotal evidence. In any case I think what is evident is that Odiyas do not get into Trades/Businesses. This is definitely a cultural factor. I actually know of somebody who decided to become a government teacher earning Rs 3500 (Come to think of it that is a little over Rs 100 a day) inspite of being perfectly capable of earning much more (at least doing much more with his life) just to have the satisfaction of having a government job. Now I also actually know of a boy who might be about 13-14 who stands near the famous Lingaraj (not sure) Lassi stall somewhere near the Rama Devi College in Bbsr who earns about Rs 800-900 (more on weekends) a day. The comparison isn’t about money. It is about a cultural trait. So yes we have strayed a bit from the division of the state.
February 17th, 2012 at 11:41 am
Rourkela can never be the capital of Kosal, if it becomes a reality. Because Kosal agitation has been initiated and carried out at Balangir-Sambalpur region. So most probably Sambalpur or Balangir would be the capital
September 30th, 2012 at 1:54 pm
Sambalpur should be the capital of kosal.all western odia people speak sambalpuri and follow the sambalpuri culture.besides that sambalpur is the centre of kosal .with burla and hirakud it is the biggest city in kosal region.jai maa samalei.jay sambalpur.jai koshal
January 16th, 2013 at 9:14 am
separate state is a good option
but if we want a strong govt with 50 states and 8 uts then 1st thing we ve to to is that to ban all political parties..only 2 national parties should be there(not cong and bjp)..for ex A and B…in that way we can achv a lot of things..all parties should ve 2 merge between A and B.otherwise with so many small parties central govt is getting weaker day by day..we want 2 see a strong state and central govt
August 8th, 2013 at 4:41 pm
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