The great Indian north-south divide

The Lt Governor of Delhi,Tejinder Khanna on Thursday while launching the special mobile patrol of Delhi police alleged "it is fashion of the North-west Indians to violate laws. They feel pride in breaking rules, while in South India,people respect laws". Khanna, a few months back had recommended identity cards and special driving licences for North Indians in New Delhi.

The chief minister, Ms Sheela Dixit had earlier regretted North Indians; particularly those coming from Bihar and UP were burden on the state capital. In Maharashtra, Raj Thackarey is speaking against the North Indians and his supporters are attacking the taxi drivers of Bihar-UP origins operating their services in Mumbai, the house of Amitabh bachchan is attacked, the office of Bhojpuri film hero, Manoj Tiwari is ransacked and the hall screening a Bhojpuri film is vandalized.

Not only the political leaders, but those occupying the constitutional posts like Lt Governor and chief minister are speaking against Bihar and UP and their people staying in the national capital and commercial capital of India. Four decades back, there was an agitation against Hindi in South India and against English in North India.

A few months back, labourers from Bihar and Jharkhand were massacred in Assam. Their crime, they came from North Indian states .A decade back, the Pandits from the Valley were ousted from their homeland, Kashmir when militancy gained momentum.

In Gujarat, there was an attempt to divide the society on communal lines after Godhra. In Ahmedabad, Mulsims staying in the main housing colonies like Sarkhej, Pragatinagar,Vijay Nagar, Navrangpura left the cosmopolitan "societies"(as the residential colonies are called there) and migrated in the cluster of colonies developed for the Minorities only on the outskirts.

Is India heading towards Balkanisation, whether the Indian Republic is cracking up like different unions in the United Socialist Soviet Republic? A dangerous trend which can divide the nation. Because, those speaking in terms of South-North divide are not tribals, but elites of the society, civil services and politics.