Ever since colonial times, peninsular India has led the
nation in terms of economic, social and human development indicators. The
British and other colonial powers entered India by the sea route and their new-fangled
European ideas shaped by the Industrial Revolution first struck root in the
peninsular part of the country from where they worked their way up till they
established their capital in Delhi, the seat of power for many northern empires
since at least the medieval times.
Both the Northern and Southern (corresponding with
peninsular India) parts of India had their fair share of empires and kingdoms
down the ages, each of them contributing in their unique ways to the social,
political and cultural landscapes of the vast Indian sub-continent. The coming
of the Europeans upended centuries and even millennia-old ways of living that
had developed and evolved locally in all parts of the country. The various
regions of India interacted with and were influenced by one another and there
was a lot of travel, trade and cultural exchange on the subcontinent that led
to its forging a unique identity that nations and peoples around the world
recognized as the Indian nation with its many Indian people.
The East India Company first marked their presence in
Bombay, Madras and Calcutta, cities that they founded where they set up
factories and trading posts that let them export cotton textiles from India to
a ravenous West which had an insatiable demand for these products. It is no
coincidence that these three cities continue to be amongst the largest metropolises
of the nation with only their names having been Indianised as a nod to a pre-colonial
past and heritage. From their bases in peninsular India, the British took it
upon themselves to conquer the rest of India which was marginally helmed by a
very decrepit and weakened Mughal empire constantly being challenged by
emerging Maratha power and hundreds of kingdoms of myriad sizes spread across large
parts of the country.
As a consequence of the rapacious and grossly exploitative
policies of the British, first under the East India Company and later under the
British Crown, the people of India saw not only their land turn from the
richest nation in the world to among the poorest, but also their culture,
language and way of life being undermined, leading them to fight for their
freedom from the colonialists.
In the era leading up to independence, European merchants
and traders found the peninsular region to be more attractive than the northern
land-locked parts of India, on account of its accessibility and richness of
resources. It was also politically more amenable to engage with overseas powers
and entities due to its maritime tradition. That being the case, the northern
parts of the country too were centres of considerable economic and trade activity,
given that the declining Mughal and other North Indian kingdoms still had a
legacy of economic activity that went back centuries.
Since independence, peninsular India has consolidated its
natural advantages to become the engine of the nation’s economic growth. It
boasts higher levels of education and income than the north of the country. A
burgeoning middle class endow it with the right kind of human resources that
make the region globally competitive.
The northern part of the country on the other hand has fared
relatively poorly, as evidenced by the fact that it has some of the largest
concentrations of mass poverty anywhere, often compared to sub-Saharan Africa.
Though there are regional disparities in other nations of the world, the divide
in India in terms of lop-sided economic development is quite stark.
Things, however, look to be changing with North India
finally shaking off its languor and putting its foot on the gas pedal.
According to Financial Times columnist, author and investor, Ruchir Sharma the
average economic growth rate of southern Indian states in the 2007 to 2010
period went down from 7% to 6.5%, even while that of the northern parts went up
substantially from 4.5 to 6%.[1]
Further evidence of land-locked India's improving economic performance is found
in the national state-wise per capita income figures which show Delhi at the
number one spot, Chandigarh at number three, Haryana at number six and
Uttarakhand at number eight. This compares quite favourably with the figures
notched up by peninsular states with Kerala at number seven, Maharashtra at
number nine, Karnataka at number ten, Tamil Nadu at number eleven, Telangana at
number 12 and Andhra Pradesh at number eighteen.[2]
In terms of the Net Domestic Product of Indian states, the
land-locked regions of the country are represented by UP at number three, and
Rajasthan at number seven, while states from peninsular India dominate the
rankings with Maharashtra at number one, Tamil Nadu at number two, Karnataka at
number four, Gujarat at number five, West Bengal at number six and Kerala,
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana at eight, nine and ten respectively.[3]
While the land-locked parts of the country have begun to get
their act together to enhance their short, medium and long-term economic growth
prospects, vis-à-vis their peninsular counterparts, it is obvious that there is
still a fair distance to be covered. This is evident from the fact that the
worst ten infant mortality rates pertain to land-locked states.[4]
The old clichés of the urbane, wealthy and well-educated southern
part of the country versus the poorer, more populous and essentially rural parts
of the northern land-locked region may be nothing more than crude generalisations,
what with the emergence of technology hubs like Noida, Chandigarh, and Gurgaon
in the North, but the fact remains that the latter have their tasks cut out,
with regard to growing their regional economies and providing employment to
their youth.
The difference in economic growth and development across
different regions of the country is the result of a complex set of factors, not
the least of which is the colonial legacy left behind by the British. India was a flourishing economic entity
before the colonialists subverted it.
Things, however, seem to have come a full circle with the Indian economy
having grown larger than that of its erstwhile colonial masters and inching
close towards the third spot. The lop-sided economic growth within the country
is something that can be addressed as time goes by and India grows richer and
richer.
[1] https://www.firstpost.com/business/economy/can-north-india-overtake-arrogant-south-in-growth-292855.html
[2] https://theprint.in/economy/is-south-india-really-richer-than-the-north-three-charts-that-show-the-truth/103253/
[3][3]
https://theprint.in/economy/is-south-india-really-richer-than-the-north-three-charts-that-show-the-truth/103253/
[4] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-62951951
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