Concern: Call for Seemanchal State or Seemanchal Pradesh! Justified?

Constitution of India declares the country to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, assuring its citizens of justice, equality and liberty, and endeavours to promote fraternity among them. The democratic set up of India provides a significant position to the ‘States and Union Territories’, which altogether provide the identity to ‘India’ as a nation. The Constitution of India and its sayings applies for all the countrymen residing in every nook and corner of the country. Hence, no injustice can be done by the ‘State’ and ‘Central’ governments with any citizen residing in any part of the country.

Proposed Map of Seemanchal

However, the harsh truth is that the ‘Central’ Government has failed at a large extent to provide equal attention to the people residing in different states. Based on the development and availability of other basic amenities, it seems India remains only in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajashtan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Goa and Tamil Nadu. The north-eastern states of India have remained neglected by in large since independence the worst cases of self-proclaimed developed India can be seen in the states of Bihar, West Bengal, and Seven sister states, namely Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura and Mizoram.

Let us talk about Bihar especially the north-eastern part, which is called ‘Seemanchal’ (the border region) comprised of Araria, Katihar, Kishanganj, Madhepura , Purnia and Supaul. Here the world famous words like ‘education’, ‘employment’, ‘health and sanitation’, ‘communication’ and so on that altogether decide the development of state or nation have not been witnessed properly by the common people since India’s independence in 1947. If we call Bihar an underdeveloped state, the area of ‘Seemanchal’ comes in the worst parts of the country, where people are leading lives without basic amenities.

For a better understanding below is the comparative chart of different states of India, which mainly focuses on education that decides the development of any ‘State’ and ‘Nation’.

S.No	State	Population (in lakh)	Area (in Sq km)	Districts	Literacy %
1	Arunachal Pradesh	13.82	83700	13	67
2	Goa	14.52	3700	2	88
3	Haryana	200	44000	17	77
4	Himachal Pradesh	68.5	55700	12	84
5	Jammu & Kashmir	125	222000	14	69
6	Manipur	27.2	22000	8	80
7	Meghalaya	29.5	22000	7	76
8	Mizoram	11	21000	3	92
9	Nagaland	19.8	16500	7	81
10	Sikkim	6.8	7000	4	83
11	Tripura	36.7	10000	4	88
12	Delhi	150	1483	7	86
13	Uttarakhand	100.02	53483	13	80
14	Chhattisgarh	208	135194	27	72

 Have a look on the status of Seemanchal or Seemanchal Pradesh

Population -  200 lakh (2 crore),   Area  - 20000 sqkms,        Districts  - 09(existing),     Literacy -  30%

The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Vice Chancellor Prof P K Abdul Azis (belonging to Kerala) was surprised after visiting Kishanganj. In his statement he said, ‘Oh My God! I can’t believe on my eyes, I had seen people without proper clothes, thatched houses, non concrete (kachcha) muddy road, no water supply, not a good hospital’. These concerns had been expressed by AMU VC Prof Azis just in his single day trip to Kishanganj. A person belonging to ‘South India’ can feel the grievances and problematic lives of people of Seemanchal, but the Bihar Government and Centre is totally insensitive about the same. Along with local politicians, the pain of Seemanchal was not understood by the politicians like Syed Shahbuddin, M J Akbar, Tarique Anwar, Syed Shahnawaz and many others represented the districts in Indian Parliament. The condition is more or less same in neighbouring Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal

Now, the million dollar question, Do we really need a ‘Separate’ state with the name of ‘Seemanchal’ or ‘Seemanchal Pradesh’? Logically it is not a good idea to create a separate state or divide the country in the name of a particular region. But the condition in the districts of Seemanchal area is worst, and it badly needs a separate identity to provide the basic amenities and a prosperous life to citizens. Bihar is a big state comprised of 38 districts, all the development projects begins from Patna, and the extent of development becomes almost zero when the fund reaches to ‘Seemanchal’ area.

Talking about the Centre and its negligence, the Congress led UPA Government has one of its two winning MPs (Member of Parliaments) from Kishanganj district of Seemanchal area. Maulana Asrarul Haque is the only Parliamentarian as of now representing Bihar after getting the people’s mandate in May 2009. However, the insensitive UPA Government hasn’t declared or offered any special package for the development of Seemanchal area. Even the party has two Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) out of its four in Bihar from Kishanganj district of Seemanchal region.

There is not a quality government run hospital or a Medical College for the patients and aspiring students of the area respectively. There is no any good Engineering and Technology college or a good ITI or a Polytechnic. There is only one university ‘Bhupendra Narayan Mandal University’ (BNMU), which is located in the small town of Madhepura and it is very tough for concerned people to reach the university. Degree colleges and government high schools and middle schools are in very bad shape. Above all, the government has not set up any big industry in the area, which can generate employment for the common people of different levels and qualification.

On the whole, it is the right to demand for the ‘special package’ or a ‘separate state status’ for Seemanchal area. The people of Seemanchal region feel themselves in ‘Pre Independence’ era and devoid of basic amenities available for the people residing in North Indian and West Indian states. If the Bihar Government and Centre don’t give attention to the concerns and issues faced by the districts of Seemanchal area, the demand for separate ‘Seemanchal Pradesh’ can aggravate the situation in this part of the country, and it might led to unpleasant circumstances in the coming time.