Why United States of South India (USSI) is a failed ideology

In the last few months, many of my friends shared with me, an online article (and various narrations of it) which demands the creation of a separate country called United States of South India (USSI). The article has gained widespread popularity, thanks to its partial data driven facts and baseless perceptions which will convince any south Indian with limited or no knowledge about the macro-economics of a country or even the political agenda behind it, that this is a great idea. Further, I saw that there are twitter handles and Facebook pages with a large subscriber base supporting this sham. If you look closely, it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that this is a funded faction. But what really surprised me is the fact that people are falling for such fake ideologies so easily. I was alarmed when the article made it to my family WhatsApp group and to my surprise, my uncles who served in PSUs for 3 to 4 decades fell for this. Few even went a step ahead and started sharing their own perceptions and imaginations of a separate powerful (?) and peaceful South Indian country. I couldn’t believe that educated masses bought this idea at its face value. It didn’t surprise me that liberals are capitalizing on such things. These assumptions and imaginations, can have devastating consequences on the national Unity and has the potential to even destabilize our economy.

Here is my attempt to debunk this dangerous myth that “United States of South India” is a great idea. It is just a fabricated veracity by a certain political wing for personal gains and more importantly, in real, it will be a recipe for the greatest political disaster of the 21^st century. 

The “We-pay-more-tax” belief

The article spoke at length on how Karnataka, Maharashtra and TN pay more taxes to the center and how we are not getting the same back. This is purely misleading people. Firstly, people should understand how the federal structure works. In real, there is no single country on this planet where the fiscal burden is evenly distributed. And this theory is totally flawed because it is dependent on so many factors like geography, terrain, industries, human resources etc. The fiscal burden can never be equally spread across the states. And, not just states, it varies widely and largely from city to city. For example, in Karnataka, Bangalore largely or even in its entirety solely pay taxes to the center, thanks to its IT and manufacturing boom. But, Maharashtra, has Mumbai paying a lion’s share of direct taxes, and there are Pune and other cities too. So, the “We pay more tax and hence we have to get back more from center” rhetoric is unimaginably stupid. 

On the other side, it is more to do with rich-poor gap than states giving taxes and getting benefits in return. Post liberalization era has only widened this rich-poor gap. The government from 2004-2014 had a great chance to bridge this gap by being more cautious of its economic policies. But it neglected this completely and is now busy coaching its xenophobic dimwits to mislead the aam aadmi of this nation to believe that we pay more taxes but do not get anything back. In fact, the current government has done remarkable progress in bridging the rich-poor gap by developing the very neglected regions of the country so that they depend less on us and eventually sustain on their own. Instead of whining, please feel happy that you’re helping your brethren on the other side so that they eventually stop asking us for help. I understand the frustration that there is no immediate returns! But it does not mean that we divide the country into two! Feel proud that we are paying more only to make our country prosper. We are only more powerful as United India. Do not succumb for mislead propaganda like north and south divide.  

Superior Federals

A good friend from a certain communist state always made fun of the political and socio-economic problems on the other side of the country stating that we are superior federals and we use the federal powers to the best of “our abilities”. His focus was always on “our abilities”. By that, he meant South Indians, which he was always proud of. When he was once drunk, he said that there are only five states in India, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and North India. My every attempt to make him understand that executive or the financial powers of the states vary with each other and so the fundamental rights of its citizens was in vain. When he told me that during the recent floods in his state, his parents were rescued by army jawans, I asked him “You superior federals do not even have an army of your own that a Jawan from the other side had to come to your rescue”? Finally he got the point. 

I stated this story because there are millions out there with the “we are superior federals” mindset who consider themselves more powerful and self-sufficient in every possible way! Imagine the situation where an Army Jawan says he’ll rescue only people from his state or a surgeon who says he’ll operate only patients from his region. Forget the citizens with this mind-set, our very own chief minister asked in a public addressing “Why should I develop this region. You guys did not vote for my party”. This is the situation in south.

Imagine the situation of South India, if Vajapayee decided to build highways only between Delhi-Bombay-Kolkata and called it Golden Triangle instead of Golden Quadrilateral just because south did not vote for his party. Pay close attention and you’ll realize that this “Superior Federals” theory is something that Liberals are trying to infest with different narratives in innocent minds. Do not fall for it. Love for your state/region/province is very good. But it never should be above your love for the nation. 

A new country is no joke

Have you ever wondered how much did it cost the exchequer when Andhra Pradesh was divided? Just a new secretariat building in Telangana for the government offices to function cost 1200 crores INR. The new capital of Andhra Pradesh is planning to incur a Capex of 51,000 crore INR of which 14,000 crores will be spent on just construction of roads. Extending the existing railway lines of Amaravati by a little more than 100 km is estimated at 10,000 crores. I want you to understand, my dear friend, that the major chunk of this is all your money. If this is the scene of a new state, imagine the cost of building a new country. Carving out a new country is not just about building infrastructure. A new form of government, new executive and judiciary, new laws, intelligence and trade establishments intellect bureaucrats to run governing bodies; all these do not happen on their own. By the time your dream country USSI (United States of South India) come to a stable position that you are expecting, you would probably cease to dream. So, stop daydreaming about USSI. 

Being a true Indian national, your political inclinations and love for your province should only help it develop and prosper. Such disguised assiduous ideologies are not only treacherous in nature, they are gibberish and lead you to believe in claptrap doctrines. Put your analytical thinking hats on and nip the partisanship in its bud! Diversity is our biggest strength. Don’t let it turn into a weakness, because there is always someone who is waiting to capitalize on it.