Three chief ministers from three different regions are seeking economic development of their states. However they also raise the question whether India is a nation of two different people with vast difference in their culture, their attitude to work and their responses to politics or they are one people only. The analysis of the estimates of the growth of gross domestic product of India does suggest that they are different species in seven states of south India and west India. Except Telangana all are sea coast states.

The India GDP is estimated to cross mark of 1.72 crore lakh rupees in the year. Of this, seven states, five of south India, Gujarat and Maharashtra on the West coast would continue little more than 86 lakh crore rupees while remaining 22 states and union territories will contribute little less than half to the tune of Rs.85.74 lakh crore. Maharashtra at top with Rs. 25.35 lakh crore, followed by Tamilnadu with Rs 13.39 lakh crore, Karnataka wit Rs. 12.0 lakh crore, Gujarat Rs. 12.75 lakh crore, Telangana with Rs.7.50 lakh crore, Kerala with Rs.7.48 lakh crore and Andhra with Rs. 6.99 lakh crore.

Three of seven states are under the regime of regional parties, one each under the rule by the BJP, the Congress and the left parties. Only Maharashtra is under the coalition led by the BJP. Thus party affiliation are also not uniform to set in motion the over active indulgence of people in economic activities. Two other states of India, Bengal and Odisha also have a vast sea coast and yet they are lagging far behind in the economic growth. Rest of the areas are land locked.

Their political responses also differ was proved by the great political enigma of modern India, the outcome of the 1977 elections when the Congress party was defeated for the first time since independence in the national poll. In the dazzle of the debacle, most political pundits over looked at the strange aspect of the election results. Of 541 elected seats of the Lok Sabha, 204 were in then four southern states of Tamilnadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as well as Maharashtra and Gujarat. The Congress got 152 of these seats to constitute three fourth seats’ victory. In remaining India, the congress got only one of 337 seats. Most observers felt that the impact of misrule during the emergency period. Some concluded that disappointed masses at no-delivery of the election promises by Indira Gandhi that she made in the 1971 elections was the cause.

The poor of India had equally suffered on both the counts and yet their political minds were shaped differently. The poor and the middle classes had voted for Indira Gandhi even in 1980 elections to enable her for her dramatic return to power. Yet three years later, voters of Andhra and Karnataka rejected her party for obscure political force that Telugu Desham party in Andhra and the Janata party in Karnataka that was rejected only three years ago.

The only difference was in use of additional power that the administration had received under the emergency powers. In six states, it was used to properly implement development projects and ease the impact of the governance. In remaining India, additional power was used only for display of the power of officials. It was used to cause injustice rather than to resolve it. Why was such a vast cultural difference in the officialdom though both had similar training in serving people? Can it be that they served different cultures and that made the difference?

Even now, the cultural difference is reflected in the strategies adopted. The UP chief minister gave full freedom to officials and they came back with claims of grand success of 905 encounters that led to liquidation of 55 dreaded criminals with each having a prized reward for their heads. But criminal records are based on suspicions only. Such large numbers did not crop up since the BJP won the majority. Can any political authority afford to give such a carte blanche to its police force and particularly with provision of avenues for quick disposal of complaints of families who lost their members? Is the police a reliable judge of discerning real criminals from those with a police grudge against them? Yogi cannot be confronted with same logic that Ceaser’s wife was confronted with.

Mamta Bannerji defeated the left rule on basis of opposing the efforts of the last chief minister of he left rule to industrialize Bengal. Now she is in reverse mode and is striving to entice industries to come to her state. Can she convince them that she would not be again temperamental and throw them out lock stock and barrel from her state?

The Telangana chief minister has no innovative ideas to improve up on what Chandra Babu Naidu left behind for him to reap. Chandra Babu Naidu as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh created conditions to make Hyderabad a hub of five international giants. He wants to increase limits of reservations over and above the limit set by the Supreme Court. He cannot have innovative ideas to empower his people because his politics is traditional game of throwing crumbs to win votes. He ought to know that his people are of different culture. They do not drink same water as north Indians do. They live differently and react differently. India is not land of one culture, one religion and one kind of response. It is many splendoured land.