Harit Pradesh

History

In his 1955 critique of the proposed States Reorganisation Act, Thoughts on Linguistic States, B. R. Ambedkar had advocated the division of Uttar Pradesh into three states - Eastern, Central and Western, with capitals at Meerut, Kanpur and Allahabad respectively - in order to prevent excessively large states from dominating politics at the national level. The act was passed in 1956, however, keeping Uttar Pradesh intact as a single state.

Later, socialists like Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, Jai Prakash Narain, Acharya Kripalani and others favoured re-drawing of the administrative map of India. But, Jawaharlal Nehru, the then prime minister, supported the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) recommendation of re-forming states on linguistic basis.Dr K.M. Panikkar, in his dissenting note to the SRC report, however, opposed linguistic states and favoured formation of a state of west Uttar Pradesh.

Later, in 1972, fourteen MLAs in the Uttar Pradesh state assembly moved an unsuccessful resolution to divide the state into three units (Braj Pradesh, Awadh Pradesh and Purvi Pradesh).

During the 1975-77 Emergency, Sanjay Gandhi almost succeeded in carving out a new state of western Uttar Pradesh with Agra as capital. The new state was to include parts of Haryana too.

BSP led UP government had on November 23, 2011, passed a resolution in the state assembly for creating Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Awadh Pradesh and Pashchim Pradesh out of UP. The resolution was forwarded to the UPA government at the Centre but no action was taken.

After, Congress working committee passed a resolution to recommend formation of a new state of Telangana on 31 July 2013, demand for Harit Pradesh gained momentum. Sh. Jairam Ramesh suggested that UP's reorganisation was necessary as it is difficult to run such a big state effectively."Purely from an administrative point of view, a state of over 200 million people, 75 districts, over 800 blocks...It's just not governable. It is my personal view...Its politics is a separate issue," he said.

Geography

If created, Harit Pradesh will include three geographic regions:

1. Upper Ganga-Yamuna Doab includes Saharanpur and Meerut Divisions.

2. Middle Ganga-Yamuna Doab (its part of Braj region) includes Aligarh and Agra Divisions.

3. Rohilkhand- includes Moradabad and Bareilly Divisions.

It would shares borders with the states of Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, as well as a brief international border with Nepal in Pilibhit district. If created, Harit Pradesh, being the only plains state sharing border with Uttarakhand in the Shivalik foothills would serve as the gateway to Uttarakhand.

Soil conditions

Western Uttar Pradesh's soil and relief has marked differences from that of the eastern part of the state. The soil tends to be lighter-textured loam, with some occurrences of sandy soil. Some loess soil is continuously deposited by winds blowing eastwards from Rajasthan's Thar Desert.

Precipitation

Western Uttar Pradesh receives rain through the Indian Monsoon and the Western Disturbances. The Monsoon carries moisture northwards from the Indian Ocean, occurs in late summer and is important to the Kharif or autumn harvest. Western Disturbances, on the other hand, are an extratropical weather phenomenon that carry moisture eastwards from the Mediterranean Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. They primarily occur during the winter season and are critically important for the main staple of the region, wheat, which is part of the Rabi or spring harvest. The proposed state contains Upper Ganga and Yamuna Doab region which is considered one of the most fertile lands in the country. River Yamuna forms a natural border between Harit Pradesh and Haryana.

Administrative divisions

Western Uttar Pradesh includes 26 districts in six divisions:

1. Saharanpur division:Districts in this division are Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli.
2. Moradabad division:Districts in this division are Moradabad, Bijnor, Rampur, Amroha, Sambhal
3. Bareilly division:Districts in this division are Bareilly, Badaun, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur
4. Meerut division:Districts in this division are Meerut, Bulandshahr, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Baghpat.
5. Aligarh division:Districts in this division are Aligarh, Etah, Hathras, Kasganj
6. Agra division:Districts in this division are Agra, Firozabad, Mainpuri, Mathura,

Education

The proposed Harit Pradesh has a long tradition of education, although historically it was primarily confined to the elite class and religious schools. Sanskrit-based learning formed the major part of education from the Vedic to the Gupta periods. As cultures traveled through the region they brought their bodies of knowledge with them, adding Pali, Persian, and Arabic scholarship to the community. These formed the core of Hindu-Buddhist-Muslim education until the rise of British colonialism.The present schools-to-university system of education owes its inception and development in the state (as in the rest of the country) to foreign Christian missionaries and the British colonial administration.Schools in the state are either managed by the government or by private trusts. Hindi is used as a medium of instruction in most of the schools except those affiliated to the CBSE or the Council for ICSE boards. Under the 10+2+3 plan, after completing secondary school, students typically enroll for 2 years in a junior college, also known as pre-university, or in schools with a higher secondary facility affiliated with the Uttar Pradesh Board of High School and Intermediate Education or a central board. Students choose from one of three streams, namely liberal arts, commerce, or science. Upon completing the required coursework, students may enroll in general or professional degree programs.

Research Institutions

Special Economic Zones

1. Noida
2. Greater Noida
3. Saharanpur
4. Moradabad
5. Bulandshahr
6. Bareilly

Transport Networks

Major State and National highways passing through the proposed Harit Pradesh are: SH-57 (Saharanpur-Dehradun-Yamunotri-Badrinath), NH-58 (Meerut-Muzaffarnagar-Haridwar-Badrinath), NH-24 (Moradabad-Bareilly-Lucknow), NH-2 (Mathura-Agra-Allahabad-Varanasi) and NH-91 (Bulandshahr-Aligarh-Kanpur) connects Delhi with major cities of the region. Other major highways running through the region include NH 87, NH 73, NH 74, NH 3, NH 11, NH 93, Noida Greater Noida Expressway, Yamuna Expressway

Upper Ganga Canal Expressway

It is a 08-lane access controlled expressway proposed on the right bank of upper Ganga canal from Sanauta bridge (Distt. Bulandshahr) to near Purkazi (Distt.. Muzzafarnagar) before Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand border.

Economy

The Western Uttar Pradesh (Harit Pradesh) is agriculturally prosperous. It is relatively industrialised and has seen greater degree of urbanisation as compared to other regions of Uttar Pradesh. Highly fertile land of upper Ganga-Yamuna Doab and its proximity to the National Capital Region play significant role in the economic development of Harit Pradesh.

Demographics

The population of Western Uttar Pradesh is composed of a varied set of communities and tribes, including, Saini, Mali, Ahiryadavs, Brahmins / Tyagis, Dalits, Gurjars, Jats, Jatavs, Kurmis, Rajputs, Rohilla Pashtuns, Chamars and Balmikis. According to Amar Ujala, Tyagi/Brahmans make up around 10% of the population of western Uttar Pradesh followed by Jat 6%, Yadav 5% ,Rajput 5% & Gujar 4%. These various castes are concentrated in this region and "comprise nearly 40 per cent of the population in Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, and Bijnor districts" of Western Uttar Pradesh.

As per the Census 2011 data, total population of the proposed state is 6.3 Crores.

Largest Cities by Population:

The region's Rohillas are descended from immigrant groups from centuries ago, and a large subregion of Western Uttar Pradesh, Rohilkhand, takes its name from that Pashtun tribe.

Sikhs from West Punjab, which came from Pakistan after partition, also migrated to the area in large numbers.

Role of specific rural communities

In recent decades, Uttar Pradesh has seen the economic and political rise of the Yadav community, which has a large population and spread in Uttar Pradesh. Jats, who are a dominant agricultural community spread across Pakistan, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, have found themselves in a "politically disadvantageous position" in Western Uttar Pradesh due to this increasing influence of the Yadavs. A separate Harit Pradesh would likely become a prosperous smaller state similar to Haryana and Punjab.

The most prominent current-day advocate for the creation of the new state is Ajit Singh, the leader of the Rashtriya Lok Dal party and a Jat besides many Gurjar leaders. Pushpendra Singh, former General Secretary of Youth wing of Rashtriya Lok Dal, has also recently launched a political party by the name Harit Pradesh Party for the agenda of creating a separate State of Western UP. Other Jat leaders, such as Om Prakash Chautala of neighboring Haryana state and the leader of the Indian National Lok Dal have also made efforts to involve themselves in the politics of creating a separate state. Since the Muslim population in Western Uttar Pradesh (25%-34%, according to various sources) is higher than in Uttar Pradesh as a whole (17%), the Harit Pradesh proposal has found support from Muslim-affiliated organizations. Of the other main political forces in Uttar Pradesh, the Bahujan Samaj Party has supported the demand in principle, the Samajwadi Party has opposed it, and the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have adopted a non-committal stance. From the Bahujan Samaj Party, Mayawati and DP Yadav have been vocal about their support.

Rashtriya Lok Dal alleges that "Western UP contributes to a large chunk - nearly 72% - of the state's total income. In turn, what western UP gets is not enough. Just 18% of the state's budget is spent on developing west UP. This anomaly, understandably, makes the people of this area dissatisfied". There are allegations that in most years, funds allocated to west UP were never spent. According to Professor Jates only 20% of the total Government employees, less than 10% of employees in the secretariat, and less than 5% of department heads in the utter pradesh government are from west UP.

The creation of three new states in 2000 (Jharkhand from the division of Bihar, Uttarakhand from the division of Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh from the division of Madhya Pradesh) gave new impetus to the demand for Harit Pradesh.

After coming to power in 2007, in the Bahujan Samaj Party government, Chief Minister Mayawati wrote letters to the prime minister regarding the partitioning of Uttar Pradesh into four different states, in 2007, March 2008, and December 2009. Finally on 15 November 2011, Mayawati's cabinet approved partitioning Uttar Pradesh into four different states (Harit Pradesh, Awadh Pradesh, Bundelkhand and Purvanchal) for better administration and governance.

Leaders and Politicians

Actors and Singers

(Saharanpur) - Actor

Sportspersons