Similarly, separate Vindhya Pradesh is being demanded by a set of politicians led by former Assembly Speaker Sriniwas Tiwari. Mr. Tiwari is in political wilderness having lost the last two assembly elections.

Madhya Pradesh came into being in 1956 as per the recommendations of the “State Re-organisation Commission”. The new state of Madhya Pradesh comprised the Hindi-speaking parts of the Central Provinces and Berar and former Princely states of Indore, Gwalior, Bhopal and Vindhya Pradesh. Till many decades after the formation of MP, it used to be said that though Madhya Pradesh had become one geographically it lacked emotional integration. This complaint was continuing when, in 2001, Madhya Pradesh was divided and a separate state of Chhattisgarh was carved out of it. Incidentally, among the states that came into existence on the recommendations of the SRC, Madhya Pradesh was the first to be divided.

Chhattisgarh was created even though there was no movement or agitation worth its name for it. Chhattisgarh was formed to satisfy the political ambitions of a few leaders and to serve the partisan interests of political parties. Its creation had hardly anything to do with the interests of the people.

Now, there is a demand for the creation of Bundelkhand and Vindhya Pradesh. Both these areas are still dominated by feudal lords. There is hardly any industrialisation and majority of the people live in abject poverty. Both the regions fare badly in terms of literacy and other markers of social development. If carved out as separate states, they will hardly be economically viable.

Announcing her decision to launch an agitation for separate Bundelkhand, comprising six districts from Madhya Pradesh and seven from Uttar Pradesh, a spokesperson of Uma Bharati's party “Bharatiya Janashakti” said that the people of Bundelkhand could not prosper because of feudalism, which has deep roots in the area where the Bundelkhandi dialect is spoken. He said that the condition of the people in the area was worse than those in naxal-affected regions.

The six districts of Madhya Pradesh, which will be part of the proposed Bundelkhand state are, Sagar, Chhattarpur, Panna, Damoh, Datia and Tikamgarh. The seven UP districts are Jhansi, Lalitpur, Hamirpur, Banda, Jalaun, Chitrakoot and Mahoba.

The cause of a separate Budelkhand state is also being backed by well-known Hindi film actor Raja Bundela. He has floated around 12 outfits to take up the cause of a aseparate Bundelkhand. Bundela, who claims to be the national President of “Bundelkhand Mukti Morcha”, has also announced an elaborate agitational programme to press for the demand. In the first stage, a “March for Bundelkhand” has begun from Chitrakoot on December 16 and will terminate at Khajuraho. The slogans of the march are “Jago Bundela, utho Bundela” (Awake Bundela, arise Bundela). Some people associated with the movement for a separate Bundelkhand have warned that if their demand was not met by peaceful agitation, they would not hesitate to take up arms.

There are, however, equally strong voices of opposition to the demand. Mr. Jayant Malaiya, a senior minister who comes from Damoh—one of the districts in Bundelkhand region---has voiced his strong reservations about the demand. “The people of Bundelkhand do not want a separate state and if the Union government tries to pressurise the state on this score, all the ministers and MLAs from the region will quit their positions,” Mr. Malaiya said. He says that the socio-economic conditions in the parts of Bundelkhand region in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were so different that it would be inadvisable to forge them into a single state.

Mr. Gopal Bhargava, another minister from Bundelkhand, said that the backwardness of the region would not disappear merely by making it a separate state. “We want development not a new state,” said BJP MLA Mr. Shailendra Jain. According to him, there was neither a demand for separate Bundelkhand and nor was popular opinion in favour of it. (IPA)