What is my Culture

As I sat in the Train I was thinking of old times. When I was born my parents used to tell me those were progressive times. Some people also called us "Model Economy". Then our neighbor the biggest enemy had 2 wars with us. In first we tried to gain territory but lost the war. In second they cut us into 2. Then the war in Afghanistan.

It was the time that I got married. Thankfully it was for the new marriage and love of my wife that I stopped from becoming a Jehadi. Oh Jehadi's soon they were all over. What they wanted I really never understood. Probably always fighting really motivated them or was it injustice? It is a point I can debate and debate from both sides but never agree with one.

As a Seraiki there are many similar unanswered question. Are Seraiki's Punjabi with a different dialect probably with Sindhi Effect, or are we a separate race with separate culture. I really don't know. Many of my people still debate, again I am lost

Oh but the Jehadi's, they came and just kept coming. Bombs were fun for them, but as my teritory never had got the development were always saved from them. They wanted those explosions in developed areas. Finally came the floods. I lost everything. My beautiful wife, 2 sons and a daughter. House of Mud just dissolved, maybe my small farm would be more fertile. But what use was it for me. I was lost. Lost everything, also lost the direction

And then when everybody was asking for separation. It was the buzz word. The Baluch had been always asking, the Sindhi's also did. The Pashtun's were confused. No not for their identity but Afghanistan or not. Even the Mohajir's had their identity. Oh we were still confused. It is then someone got up, said no state now. Separate country. Mr Jinnah was so happy now.

We heard of so many riots, Karachi, Quetta were hotbeds. Oh the people loved their fighting. But hey all leader, that is not the only fight, do sometimes think of fighting poverty of your people. I was Hungry. I wanted food. My land needed some yound hands, oh Kushal & Reaz my sons, I really miss you both. For such a selfish reason. But I am hungry my children.

I had enough of all that. Took this same train, arrived in Lahore. I thought being a metric will find some job, "even the Master's are laborer uncle" said the willy thekedar Naseer. That shrewd clever hawk made my bones crumble and just gave me 2 roti with onion and achaar.

One day while working tired I looked at the sun, and that is what I remember. Got up to find myself in a old shabby Hospital. It was run by a kind Sikh Lady just called Bijee from India who on hearing about the state came here to help. Oh India, they must be behind all this. Oh really, if they had so much control, then why did Mr Jinnah you separate. I have heard now there are no hungry people. They don't have Naseer's they say. We always looked at them envied them, try to beat them. But somehow, I hate them, do not know why, but it is inside me. I am sorry Bijee when I get fine I will leave this place

Thinking all this was interupted, I heard a boom. The Pashtun warlord had reached the outskirts of our dear Lahore. They were again coming on the old route which their ancestors took. At that time you killed qafir's silly. We are Muslims. Boom. Another one exploded near me, to bring me back to reality. Got up, badly looking for one earthly possession I have my shoes. Oh where is it, din know but picked any shoes and ran out. 30 Km away was the dream place. Many people had escaped there. Most of them were thrown back. India.

Just walking on my feet kept going there. Was I the only one. Oh no. I could see no end. On the way were many more Bijee's and Sardar Sahib's from India with their food camps or called Langar's. It was equivalent to mocking us and serving us food. How much could they be like this. Oh Indians you are behind this and now you mock us. I hate these Indians

Oh far I found many tents. And also Tanks, guns, Soldiers. Have the Pashtun's reached here to massacre us. Oh no. They are all wearing dresses. Look disciplined. Now you Indians have stepped on our soil. Oh you must be loving it. Laughing at us. We competed with you. Defeated you at Cricket Hockey. We were better than you but you destroyed us.

The Indians had stopped us. We were taken behind the security lines, to save from the Massacre. Oh in front of me an old man collapsed. Oh he has something. Is it food. I must rush to get it. But these old bones. Before I could reach it was all over. Only what was left was the common man's news paper Jang.

I picked to read it. On the front page what a terrible site. So many dead bodies in thee picture. You cannot count them. It was a Pashtun Army run over by Baluch's. The Pashtun were parked right outside Karachi. It was a revenge by Baluch's over killing all their brothers when the Pashtun's had captured Quetta.

Oh this bloodshed. Mr Jinnah how do you feel. The Indians surely must be happy. Their plans worked.

Staying in the camp was difficult. Sometimes I got the food. Disease was all around. Then one day came Shahbaz Sharif. The aged leader announced they needed soldiers to fight. His brother Nawaz was hanged by Pashtun. The Taliban was back. I voluntered, but the selector chucked, "Baba Apne ghar Sambhalo, apne mundeyan nu phejo" (Old man take care of your house, send ur sons instead). Then asked "kithon de rehan wale hon" (Where do you belong to). Bahawalpur. His face froze. People around me froze

Then said "Saale Seraiki ithe Jasoosi karan aaya hai" (Hey Seraiki have you come to spy on us). Kut saale nu (Thrash him). Then it was all kicks and punches. I relaxed inside me. Kushal, Reaz I am coming. Shabana my dearest I will meet you and so my cute daughter Noor. But then suddenly some shots. Oh these Indians would let me die also. They took me aside and after first aid took me to the Seraiki corner of Camp.

The Seraiki leader Mr Gilani had mobilized forces. He has mascaraed Punjabi's, Pashtun's. Sindhi's were spared and asked to leave. Oh now we were awake from our sleep when the Pashtun's had whole Pakistan with them

Over time in camp I saw people trying to escape to India. Many were shot. India was a No no. Stay here you will get you food. We will soon take you to Seraikistan. Oh what Seraikistan, but there is no Seraikistan, I told the Indian Captain. "Ab tumne bana to liya hai. Nahi bhi banaya to bana loge" (You have already made it. If not you will soon make it).

The Indians had come in Karachi. They had to save their lost brothers the "Mohajirs" They also reached Bahawalpur. The arrogance of Indian Captain was a reflection of that. They provided Punjabi's with arms and Bombarded the Pashtun positions. The Baluch were strong enough to defend themselves. The Indians always supported them. The Pashtun and Baluch were into a unsaid pact. No attacking each other. Soon everybody were back to their old borders.

Meanwhile we all were given cards. For the first time I was not a Pakistani but a Seraiki. Oh is it my identity. Oh you Indians now you mock us by providing such cards. The Punjabi's allowed us to be back in Lahore, saying you are Punjabi's only, their brothers. Seraiki is just another dialect of Punjabi. Oh Am I a Punjabi now.

A year passed in Lahore. It was always tense. Seeing my Seraiki card finding Job was difficult. I got a job of cleaning table in a Indian Hotel Chain. Oh you Indians, destroyed us and now doing business with us. We always heard something is going on. People are talking Pakistan issue would be solved. Leader met, disagreed and came back. Many of so called Seraiki's started to go back. Then one day we heard that an Brave Indian leader has landed in Peshawar. Oh really. A year ago they were fighting. Now they talk. How is it possible.

The Indian was working for what they wanted. Destruction of Pakistan. Another year passed when the same leader announced everybody is meeting in an Indian City of Dalhousie. Oh it was named after the British. Mr Jinnah got Pakistan from them, such a great leader, but these Indians are working for our destruction.

2 weeks of haggling finally produced results. The Jang during these 2 weeks was filled with Speculation. An agreement was Signed. Pakistan was over. Now it was 6 Nations. Kashmir was already taken over by Indians long time back. Punjabistan, Pakhtoonistan, Baluchistan, Jinnahpur, Seraikistan and Sind were formed. Punjabistan got Lahore and Islamabad, Pakhtoonistan got Peshawar & Quetta, Baluchistan lost quetta and got a massive aid to develop Gwadar, Jinnahpur of Mohajir. They vilified our great leader's name and Got the all important City of Karachi. Oh Indians you also took away the vein of Pakistan and gave it to your lost brothers. Sind lost Karachi, imagine the Sindhi's. They thankfully had Hyderabad and a massive aid from India to develop another port. I was to go to Seraikistan with my Bahawalpur as capital.

The Cards had sealed our fate. We could not choose our country. I had to go back. Then Indians came and asked me to report next week at Railway Station. It was my slot to go to my supposed dream home land.

Oh the week. I saw so many people coming. They had lost everything and had to start. People desperate not to leave. They had lived over generation, but no, you are not Punjabi's, you cannot stay in Lahore. I had nothing to loose except my shoes.

As the day came I came out of my Hut. Saw the city for the last time. Met my Paktun friend in the city for the last time, met my Punjabi frnds. I am a Seraiki's I shouted with tear in my eyes. Took the tonga and reached the Station. There the officer gave me the ticket and guided me towards my bogey. Many Indian volunteer's were there helping us in our destruction. Oh Indians you have been successful. You have destroyed us.

I came to my seat with all gloomy faces around. I could not find a smile except for a mad man who was just laughing. I took my seat. A pearl of tear in my eyes, cursing had a whole flashback. Thought to myself who asked for Pakistan, who gave birth to Jehadi, who mis managed the floods, who fought with each other, killed each other. Was it the Indians. They had some role but who were the real culprit. It was the dead Pakistani inside us.

Wiping my tear, I had found my real identity. I was a Seraiki. I had found my culture.

PS:- This story is an imagination of What will be the future of Pakistan. The views about India in the story do not reflect my views but merely trying to portray how a Pakistani would have been thinking. Enjoy the story :)

How to Spread Cricket

We all recently saw news of the bold decision of FIFA to take up the bold decision of giving 2018 World Cup to Russia and 2022 World Cup to Qatar!! IRB, the International Rugby Board is also in such a league. They have been trying very hard to expand Rugby. The 2015 WC was awarded to a Emerging Nation Japan. They are also promoting Rugby 7's and it certain to be included in next Olympics.

All these things also brought a thought in my mind, what can we do to expand Cricket. Surely ICC has been undertaking development program. But my thought something is missing. Then I have come out with few thoughts. On many of them ICC may be working or plans to do that.

The Biggest Step would be to use the powerful and fast form cricket as the vehicle to spread cricket the 20-20. We have a 20-20 World Cup every 2 years. The 2012 is in SL and 14 is in BD. Both these nations are co hosting 2011 50-50 World Cup. Hence instead of these countries hosting it again, the 20-20 cup should have been given to emerging nations. The list of emerging countries are Ireland, Holland, Scotland, UAE, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malaysia, Canada, China (When their team achieve some performance level), USA, Argentina, Hong Kong (Along with China maybe), Singapore, Afghanistan (When the Security Situation is right), Namibia, Oman, Nepal, Bahrain, Botswana.

Similar to FIFA, ICC should have an open bid from the bodies. The thing behind it is to make it Bid. Market it as the World Cup of a very popular game's most popular format or anything. For such bids the boards take the alignment of their government. So that brings in some extra funding.
Have some basic rule's
1. Give the hosting rights 5 years in advance
2. The Host nation or nations will have a guaranteed spot to play
3. Some basic expectation of Cricketing Infrastructure
4. ICC should have a plan to ensure that the host will be expected to earn out of the whole investment made.

Once the host has been decided, (lets assume Malaysia is Chosen as the Host 2016 World Cup). We begin with our Objective 2016 Malaysia. The priorities are
1. Have at least 6 decent cricket stadiums for World Cup
2. Have a good competitive cricket team ready for World Cup
3. Have a good level of local interest in the tournament and game
4. Establish a local cricket league with a robust way to attain talent for future

For Malaysia 2016 we will proceed as follows:-

Firstly ICC, Malaysian Cricket Board, Malaysian Olympic Council and Malaysian Government set up 2016 Fund with contribution from each side and a committee to handle all funds. The committee will have members from each of the 4 organization as per the bid submitted. Also ICC will provide the money to have share of the profits. The contribution from other organization can be for in any form- Loan, Aid, Profit Sharing or Partnership all as per the bid.

Then the next step would be choosing a pool of 30 players who will be offered Central Contract. The value for first year would be based on a rough norm of 15 times per capita income. For next 4 years it will be min as per the same thumb rule. if commercials allow then no upper limits. The contracts will be of 4 Grade A, B, C & D as per player capability.

ICC will also draw up a complete 5 year plan for Malaysia where they will have a busy schedule playing games against Test nations, their A teams, junior teams and in all 3 forms of cricket. 3 Coaches (Main, Bowling & Batting) will also be appointed.

Parallel to this the process of Developing 7 stadiums starts. 2 of these are in the capital Kuala Lumpur. The other 5 stadiums will be based at Johor Bahru,Kota Kinabalu, Shah Alam, Ipoh, Subang Jaya. The stadiums should be ready in 2 years.

Also Parallel to the above 2 steps, we establish 6 Clubs based out of the 6 cities which will have stadiums. These Clubs will be provided with Funds and a geographical catchment area. The purpose is to effectively cover the whole nation. Their funds will be for 4 purposes. First they can offer contract upto 45 players as per the talent they will encounter.They surely will have a team of 16 contracted players who will playing the first season. The Central players will play in the clubs as per their geographical locale. However if any Club does not get any central contract players they will be provided with 2 players from Grade A or B and one from Grade C or D
Besides this the clubs start the process of introducing the game in schools. The target is to cover atleast 80% of the schools in the Catchment. The Club will provide cricket kits. cricket knowledge, establish coaches to train students. The Club will conduct school tournaments every 6 months. The best of the talent will be offered scholarship till bachelor studies. The only condition would be training or playing cricket for certain no of years. The best of the student can be directly offered Club Contract or even Central Contract as per the talent.
The Clubs will conduct tournament for local sides and general trial camps where the purpose will be to tap talent.

Then we will get into an agreement with a local channel. Some of the parts of the agreement would be
1. The Channel will cover all the Club Matches Live
2. The channel will cover all matches of Malaysia live
3. When no live match is going on then at that time the channel will show the selected good matches of the established teams. The purpose will be to show high quality matches
4. It will also have program on how to play cricket and some other interesting aspects of the Game
5. It will have the exclusive rights to cover 2016 WC live in Malaysia
6. If the channel has objection of covering cricket from 2011 then as a part of agreement ICC will cover the costs and guarantee some level of profit in return to have share in the profits of the WC. The purpose of ICC is to recover costs and have profits in local markets too from telecast rights
7. If in the above period any commercial agreements come ICC gets all the money since ICC is already covering a basic expected profit level.
7. For all the other markets except Malaysia the channel will have no rights. The ICC will have the exclusive rights to sell them


The above steps will cover the objectives 1,2 & 4 and 3 partially in Project Malaysia 2016. To cover point 3 some additional steps will be taken
1. Take a known celebrity as the brand ambassador for the Tournament and promotion
2. Have regular add, campaigns to make the point that Malaysia has got the 2016 WC
3. Have big screens installed in all these cities which will have our TV channel regularly to cover cricket.
4. Have political and other important personalities related with cricket. This will bring notice to the game.
5. Bring the school children to watch the club matches.

And then we have the 2015 WC. The 2014 Club championship was highly successful. It gave profits for the first time. The ticket sales were very good. The channel also got great adds and ICC had mega profits. These were used to provide money to the clubs. The Channel then immediately switched to profit sharing seeing the response. The Malaysian team also got sponsors lined up and the team had various successes. They just one a ODI series against Bangladesh and then won a triangular versus WI and Ireland. They also managed to win the first 20-20 against Australia. It had the street screen filled with crowds cheering for Malaysia with high TRP's.

Finally then came the big tournament. the World Cup. The excitement was huge. To see top teams, top stars like Dhoni, Lee or Shoaib Akhtar. We had many people from other parts of world coming in. All the matches went houseful. The final had TRP rating not matched by any channel. The tournament was a financial success with ICC, Malay Cricket Association making profits. They easily paid the soft loans of Olympic Council and Government.

Malaysia now has got a good cricketing culture re established after British left. Malay CA sets a goal as 2019 to achieve Test Status.

ICC also take a sigh of relieve because of the high investments made here and also allocating the 2018 in 2013. However by 2015 ICC was in a much comfortable position seeing the results and boldly went ahead for the 3rd time to allocate the tournament of 2020. Hence a complete 20-20 line was drawn for next 5 WC after Malaysia

2007:-SA
2009:-Eng
2010:-WI
2012:-SL
2014:-BD
2016:-Malay
2018:-Ken,Tan & Uganda (Yes all 3 play and tournament is made 18 nation)
2020:-Neth & Den
2022:-China
2024:-UAE & Oman
2026:-Ire & Scot

At 2027 the test nations are 35 namely Aus, NZ, PNG, Ind, Pak, SL, BD, Afg, Nep, UAE, Oman, Malaysia, China,Singapore, HK, Eng, Neth, Ire, Scot, Den, SA, Zim, Ken, Tan, Uganda, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, WI, USA, Can, Argentina, Caribbean (Combined nations of Caribbean besides nation in WI), Pacific (Countries of Oceania), East Indies (Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Comorros, Reunion & other Indian ocean islands)

Amen for Jashan Plan 35 by 25

Future power houses of Cricket

Cricket is said to be the second most popular game after football. How? because it is popular in the subcontinent which represents around 20% of the world population, but if we see no of countries it is really popular in it's just a handful- Around 10. This is really dangerous for cricket. If it's limited to such a small no of nations the chances of the game withering out are quite high. Hence there is a urgent need by the governing bodies to diversify the game into more nations, have more powerhouses and money centers for the game.

But first of all why is cricket limited to so less a nations. Cricket as a game was originated in England and taken by English wherever they went. Hence initially long time back Canada and US also played, but after the civil war the game withered away in US. In Canada as the game was quite dependent on rivalry with US, with fall of US cricket was a fall of Canadian cricket too. Meanwhile the game Spread to Australia, then New-Zealand, West Indies. In 1930's India was added as the Test nation. Around 50's Pakistan was added. Due to apartheid South Africa was soon banned from Cricket. Until this time the ICC was Imperial Cricket Council and not International!!! Practically cricket was not even expected to be played outside commonwealth. Hence for so many years the game was limited to a few nations. When the first world cup happened there were only 6 test nations (Power Houses) and the rest 2 nations qualified. Over time in each decade only 1 team has been added- Sri Lanka in 80's, Zimbabwe in 90's & Bangladesh in 2000's. South Africa was allowed to return in 91 World Cup. At this rate of 1 team being added we are loosing teams also. Zimbabwe greatly lost due to political and economical instability. Bangladesh is very slowly picking up. West Indies level of cricket is going down. If something radical is not done then the game would be limited to a handful of nation like American Football. Hence a great need to New Power Houses

The funda of developing power houses should be simple
1. Either the nation has the capability of build a good cricket team which will be able to sustain itself
2. The country can be a source of additional monetary income and with additional help the country can be built into a performing team
3. The country has great no of expats who vigorously follow the game and would be very keen to be a part of it.
4. Combination of any 2

Under these lets look at the possible teams according to the 5 development zones of ICC

1. EUROPE

A. IRELAND
This is one of the most promising teams who have home grown talent. In fact they have been loosing talent regularly to England. In recent times they have virtually won all the tournaments. besides that they performed very nicely in World Cup defeating test sides of Pakistan and Zimbabwe. They have been putting forward a case for Test Status. With more development on local league structure and infra they surely can put forward a case in 2 3 years for Test Status

B. SCOTLAND
They have been playing cricket along with England for a long time. They played ass a part in England team until breaking off in 1992. They have been able qualify for World Cup in 1999 & 2007 and also for 20-20 WC.They finished 5th in ICC's Trophy just missing the berth in 2011 WC, but gaining a ODI Status till 2011. They have been able to gain some exposure by playing against visiting teams in England at regular interval. A great regional rivalry exists between Ireland, Scotland & Netherlands in European cricket.

C. NETHERLAND
Along with Ireland and Netherlands are one of the 3 heavyweights in Europe as well as in the Tier 2 cricket nations. They have 3 times qualified for World Cup in 96, 03 & 07 and will play again in 11 WC also. The team definitely has shown performance and has been performing decently in the ICC WCL.

D. DENMARK
Denmark showed a great potential specially during 80's. They were the semi finalists in the ICC trophy each time loosing to future test nations Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. They were also one of the top 6 associate's hence invited to ICC's Emerging Nations Tournaments. There performance however has got some challenge by other Europeans heavyweights coming into cricket such as Ire and Scot besides new countries like UAE, Afg just to add to the list. But the game of cricket definitely has a lot of potential and promise and Denmark definitely can progress in field of cricket.

2. ASIA

A UAE
UAE are one of the most successful non test playing teams, who have won most of the ACC trophies. Initially UAE attracted a lot of Class A players from South Asia and formed quite a competitive. Though this was not a fair way to build a team and hence ICC changed rules to have a min number of passport holders and other expats. Allowing non passport holders to play for a country is criticized by many but people should realize that more than 60% of UAE's population is expat.
UAE also has been able to produce state of the art infrastructure. It has hosted all of the Test Playing nations at it's famous venue of Sharjah and the stadiums never went empty. The Infrastructure is definitely better than test nations like Bangladesh. ICC should change certain rules and include 60% Expat population in the cricket team.

B AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan has been in news for their rapid rise in international cricket. They kept winning from bottom of the divisions in WCL to reach the world cup qualifiers just narrowly missing qualification but gaining ODI status. The most amazing thing about the Afghan team is that all the members are natives to the country, local boys and not people of Test Nation's origin. Help from neighbors like Pakistan, India, SL or BD would be great help in building the team. Also cricket can be a source of bringing back a country who have been battered by 3 decades of war and a generation lost to it. Cricket can really work for this nation and a strong test team born out of it.

C NEPAL
Cricket is the fastest growing sport in Nepal. The team has done very good in the ACC tournaments with finishing runner up. Also the youth team has done really well in the youth world cup. They were able to defeat 3 test teams and won the Plate Group. Incredible performance and shows the future. The popularity of Cricket was visible with the attendance for WCL Div 5 held in Nepal. The crowds were there to cheer the home team for every match. A strong influence of Cricket Crazy India has really helped develop the game. Many of the people who worked in India have brought back the game. With help of other South Asian team, this can be like Afghanistan, a team of great promise.

D HONG KONG
Cricket was introduced to Hong Kong by the British. It has one of the oldest clubs in Asia. They have been the finalist of ACC trophy and have had the chance to play 2 Asia Cups. Hong Kong Sixes was also a really successful tournament any Associate has been able to host. Innovation would be the key. The challenge would be to be more reliant on the local population rather than Pakistani or Indian origin people. With introduction of cricket to China and efforts to expand it there can be really helpful to get a more wider base for the game.

E MALAYSIA
Like Hong Kong cricket was introduced by the British. Malaysia has been host to many Asian level tournaments. Malaysian team has had some good performances. Cricket was also hosted in multi sports event at Malaysia in the CW Games. The biggest challenge would be to expand cricket to people of Malay and Chinese origin which is presently limited to people of Indian Origin. With expansion of cricket and good initiative like IPL and 20 20, cricket can definitely spread in the country

F OMAN
They are recent entrants into the big boys arena. Like UAE they are also quite dependent upon expats. They have performed really good at the ACC trophies with once finishing runners up and qualifying for Asia Cup only to know that cup was scrapped. They have had some decent performances. The large expat population along with local are really getting into the game. With the money around they can definitely make way into the Super boys.

AFRICA

A KENYA
They are the most known and successful of the Associate's. They have been the world cup semi finalist in 2003 world cup. They were on the verge of gaining test status. Lately some issues with contract have been troubling the performance. But overall the team has got great promise and along with likes of Ireland, Afghanistan will be the ones to gain test status. The biggest challenges are the contract and discipline issues of player and also that cricket is limited to big cities and the clubs there. For the team to be even more successful it needs to be spread even beyond the cities.
I hope to see this team as the 11th Test team

B NAMIBIA
Namibia is a team which is formed by the natives. The height of it's performance was when it played the world cup in Africa at South Africa in 2003. The team has though not been able to repeat it performance. They are a part of the top associate with playing for Inter Continental Shield Tournament. South Africa and Zimbabwe have been helping the Namibians by allowing them to play in the domestic tournaments. ICC's continued focus on associate's would definitely help this team to develop

C UGANDA
They are another bright spot in world cricket. They had played in world cup as a part of East African team. They have recently really improved in their performance. They had qualified for ICC Trophy. Now they are a part of Inter Continental Shield. The youth development program has really worked for the nation. They already contain a lot of native players. With the improved performances Uganda surely will become a force to recon with in international cricket.

AMERICAS

A CANADA
They were the first country to play international cricket with a match against USA. At one time cricket was the most popular game. It was propelled by the rivalry against USA. However since being closed outside commonwealth and anti British feeling in USA, cricket declined there. Due to decline in USA the Canada USA matches also lost steam. This also resulted in decline of game in Canada.
However after immigration from Sub Continent and Caribbean the game has started to bounce back. After 1979 Canadian team again took part in 2003 World Cup after a gap of 24 years. Domestic level cricket has started to prosper in the nation. 20 20 also provides a opportunity to expand it further.

B USA
As already said Cricket was once really popular in USA. In fact founding father George Washington is said to be a big fan of cricket. He used cricket to defend the word Governor. There was a great rivalry with Canada and many English and Australian teams had toured the nation. However after formation of Imperial Cricket Council Cricket was limited to Commonwealth. Also in between civil war and World War 2, baseball really picked up and cricket was lost.
As was the case with Canada, cricket was revived with immigrants coming in. 20 20 Cricket has also provided a great boost to cricket, with many efforts at a IPL style league. ICC is also interested in expanding the game due the huge amount of money. Some bad administration definitely caused some hiccups but everything is coming back on track. Around 2011, a 20 20 league of international players is also proposed. Fingers are crossed for all the great efforts and hope cricket makes a comeback in USA

C BERMUDA
Cricket is the most popular game in Bermuda. Even though Bermuda just has a population of fifty thousand still the country has managed to qualify for the world cup. The country has seem some decline due to low population. A good way in my opinion for Bermuda is to either become a part of West Indies or along with countries like Bahamas, Turk and Cacous Islands (Who already have cricket teams as part of ICC) and Cuba, Dominica and other Caribbean nations form a West Indies 2 or Caribbean team.

OCEANIA

A PAPUA NEW GUINEA
They dominate the EAP region. They have a team made of all indigenous people. Cricket is also one of the popular sports though much behind Rugby or Soccer. Recently support for the team has been extended by Australia. The foundation is very good. Help from countries like Australia can really take this team to great heights

B FIJI
Cricket was introduced by the colonial master to the nations. Cricket has got tough competition from Rugby which is most popular. The team has been at a constant level. To develop cricket Fiji can really lead efforts to form a Oceania team or a Pacific Team. Another form of Cricket "Kilikit" is really popular in Polynesia. Polynesia includes of many nations like Samoa, American Samoa, Tuvalu,Cook Islands,French Polynesia. Besides this many other pacific nations have teams. Cricket is a part of South Pacific games. A team based on West Indies model can really develop into a great team. Already there are many regional level co ordination going between the Oceania nations. Australia is a major contributor to this co ordination. Cricket can also be introduced and can come out as a real bond.

Besides this some other nations like Argentina, Jersey, Guernsey, Tanzania, Botswana has shown some potential. When the game spreads many of the larger nation has the foundation and will quickly catch up. Smaller nations like Jersey or Guernsey should look into the West Indies model and come as combined great forces. I hope in next 10 years at least 10 new power houses come into cricket

Time to change world cricket order

The present cricket order is in a serious situation of being Hijacked and making it obsolete. Neither it seems to stand in front of local league's like IPL nor it is helping to spread cricket beyond the test bastion. However ironically Cricket stands at a juncture where it got one of its biggest gifts, an innovation which can be a springboard for a global launch. This is the new format known as twenty 20.

Cricket has got various forms as known to most of you-Tests, ODI & Lately 20-20. Test is kept exclusive for presently 10 nations. ODI and 20-20 is extended to few 5 6 more nations. Some nations like Kenya or Ireland though repeatedly have performed greatly even defeating test teams regularly but the test cricket is still a no no for them. On the other hand some Test nations like Bangladesh, Zimbabwe have performed badly not only loosing regularly to other test nations but also loosing to Non Test nations. So why this partial treatment. Favor to Bangla and discrimination for Ireland just because Bangla is a neighbor of all powerful India.

We need to change the system to being more competitive and interesting and also to reward the good performers from the non test nations while punishing the bad performers in Test world. I feel a system of Three Tier should be applicable for world cricket. The top Tier would have 10 teams, Tier 2 also 10 teams and Tier 3 rest of the teams. The team structure in present form could look somewhat like this

TIER 1: Aus, BD, Eng, Ind, NZ, Pak, SA, SL, WI, Zim
TIER 2: Any 10 out of these teams based on performance - Afg, Neth, Ire, Kenya, Scot, UAE, USA, Canada, Denmark, Namibia, Nepal, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bermuda, Argentina, Oman, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, Fiji
TIER 3: Rest of the nations

2 bottom teams of each tier get relegated and Top 2 get promoted to the next Tier. This would make the top 2 tiers very exciting. We would continue to watch cricket in India normally as part of Tier 1 with playing the similar teams. However if we are not performing and are on the brink of relegation imagine the excitement it would add for us. Teams like BD or ZIM would also take their skills levels seriously knowing the consequences. So if BD and ZIM are relegated in the Test form and while Ireland and Afg get promoted, it would give a great exposure to these 2 teams and improve their level of cricket. While BD & ZIM who would have learned some skills playing the big boys would also bring some skills for Tier 2. If now BD does not even perform now and Canada and Zim top the tier, its survival of the fittest.

In this way the Tier 1 & 2 both remain exciting where Big Boys play competitively not to get relegated while Tier 2 teams stretch to get the reward of being along with the top guys.

This Tier system should be applicable separately to all 3 forms of cricket with possibility of separate teams in the 3 Tiers. For e.g. besides big 8 in test at a moment it may be Zim and Ire, for ODI it may be Ken and BD and for 20 20 it may be Afg and USA.

This is the time to act and spread cricket and take it to new heights. I hope ICC takes a note and acts.

Does India need more states

After my long long first blog I always wondered what could be my second blog. Thought of many topics but none seemed to interesting to me. Then came Telengana. It was the talk of everyone. It created a huge storm. I wondered why forming a state created such a roar. Then the most important question came into my mind, does India need new states? What should be an ideal size of Indian States? What are the factors that are crucial in governing a state?
So I decided to write my next blog on the same topic “Does India needs more states”. I began to wonder what the benefits of new states are. Have the new states benefited. And then what are the losses of forming new smaller states. What other effects can it have? To start with I would like to see the factor against forming more states:
1. Natural Resources
When a state is broken firstly the natural resources are divided. Then even if the resources are present in the state it loses the economies of scales for the resource. This is the biggest reason stated against breaking bigger states

2. Linguist Reasons
The Indian states were formed in 1960’s they were formed on linguist lines. After that the new states were also formed on the same line. Breaking these states leaves a feeling in the people of conspiracy against the ethnic group. Such feeling should never creep in society as they are always a stepping stone for disintegration.

3. Disintegration theories
Forming new states is always viewed as the first step towards disintegration and break away of that region. It also gives voices to many other voices for formation of new states and also the formation of new countries out of India. The people who are against formation of new states always using this logic of we are Indians.

4. Dominance by Central Government
If we end up having many small states it becomes very easy for central government to bully these states. Bigger states like Rajasthan, UP, Maharashtra have the power of not being bullied by center and rather can sometimes force the center to take their word seriously. It is hence for this reason that it is many times proposed to have bigger states with small sub states inside them especially by the communists.

5. Increase in Administrative Costs
More the states are formed obviously the administrative costs increase. New capitals are required to be formed which includes huge infrastructure costs. Also whole new state departments are required to be formed which results in huge salary costs. Forming new states leads to an inefficient use of the manpower.

6. Inefficient response to crime & threats
This is according to me the biggest real danger. It is at the borders of states that most dreaded dacoits, criminals and presently the naxalites that thrive. They use the porous borders and the laws in our states prevent the agencies to cross over to other state. So the internal division is a boon. Lack of central authority and handling of such problems makes the tasks even easier.


7. Non Performance by states like Goa & North Eastern States
The performance of Goa & North Eastern States has not been good. Goa has one of the most unstable governments with 13 Chief Ministers in the last 8 years. North East also even despite of having smaller states not progressed and many problems of unemployment exists. Many of these states are in fact asking for separate countries for themselves.

Hence due to various reasons the formation of new states is opposed. However still in this country many demands of forming new smaller states still exists. There are always counter measure to the theories for bigger states. The major factors for formation of smaller states are

1. Better Administration
If we see in India the smaller states have done better economically than the bigger states. States like Haryana, Punjab, and Himachal have done excellently. In fact the poorer states in India are the biggest states of BIMARU region i.e. Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan & UP. Breaking UP, MP & Bihar has in fact worked very well for the new states of Uttaranchal, Jharkhand & Chhattisgarh. Uttaranchal has done fantastically in absolute terms where as Jharkhand & Chhattisgarh have also done much better than Bihar & UP. These examples show a strong co relation for progress linked to smaller states.

2. Team Management Theories
Managing a state is like leading a team. An efficient team is said to of size of 5 to 25 people. In equivalent terms for a state this is equal to leading either MP’s or DM’s in a state. As seen in India most of the states which have progressed over time have MP’s & DM’s in this range. The states which are bigger in terms of MP’s are the ones which are more backward. This is also true for states with team size less than 5.
People many times give me the reason that even though Kerala is smaller but still it is backward than other south Indian states. I tried to look for the definition on what is backward and what is forward and it is best defined by the Human Development Index. It is the most popular way worldwide. Hence I checked the HDI for all the 4 south Indian states and found out that Kerala had the best HDI. Even though the government may not be able to provide many factories or IT job but being smaller than other states it was able to provide education, food to its people. Whereas the bigger states like AP, still have many of its region where people die of Hunger. The point I want to make is that Even though bigger states had more driver cities like Hyderabad, Chennai or Bangalore but still Kerala being smaller provided education and other amenities and it has helped in longer term.
To my surprise the states of Goa and even NE states have much better HDI’s than BIMARU states. The only exception to this point was Maharashtra, but once I took out Mumbai, the state was also not left impressive.

3. Developmental Focal Centres
If we see development in India or for the matter of fact anywhere in the world, it is always led by some urban center which acts as focal points for development in the surroundings. In Indian states most these focal points are mostly the capital of states. The focal point has a limited geographical reach. It is due to this issue that in bigger states the far flung areas are not developed and the development in limited to in and around the capital. For example if we take the example of Maharashtra, the exception point most of the development has taken around Mumbai Pune belt and the eastern parts of the states are one of the poorest regions in the country. Having a higher average does not mean that the state is doing very good.

4. Governmental Stimulus & Employment
As new states are formed there is always an infrastructural development. In a country where the state of infrastructure is very backward this is a right step towards improving it. Also more government spending creates more employment in both direct and indirect ways. This as stated by previous points leads to economical centres being formed which have a magnifying effect on the economy.

5. Limited power with CM’s
The CM’s of Indian states have limited power with they controlling just 30% of the revenues generated by the states. With such limited powers it becomes very difficult to manage the states whose sizes and population is much bigger than that of many countries of the world. It becomes a real impossible task to manage the state and hence leading to unequal & under development. It is hence due to these reasons most of the bigger states have been dragged down economically. Take for example with limited power the CM of UP has to manage a state whose population is more than all but 5 countries of the world.

6. Geographical Limitations
An ignored point but it also has significant effects. A state which may be very huge geographically will end being very difficult to manage. This factor is accounted for while allocating BDO’s in India. For very scattered regions the population under the BDO may be lesser as compared to a BDO of a densely populated region. Similarly states which are very large by area also become difficult to manage. This is clearly reflected in the case of States of MP & Rajasthan who have large areas and are primarily mismanaged to the same reason besides the large population which is much less as compared to UP or Bihar.
After going through both the points I came to a belief that new states definitely need to be formed but one most important question needs to be answered:- How many states and when should we stop? I read through all the states demands that have being going on in the country and trying to talk to people, read about them to get a fell on why these demands, can they be avoided, why are they being demanded and why are they being opposed. Before going into these various movements I believe certain general guidelines need to be followed as thumb rules while forming these states.

The basic guidelines in forming new states can be

1. Team Management
The strongest learning that I got for uniform development is effective team management. I read a lot on this matter and have come out with the mindset that best managed states in India are the one who have MP’s & DM’s between the range of 5 to 25. The list includes Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, HP, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand, Assam (Doing better than other NE states) besides 2 exceptions of Maharashtra (48) and Orissa (21). Hence it leads to a strong feeling of reorganizing the bigger states under these lines. In longer term the smaller states can also be merged under the same guidelines. But this is not an immediate requirement.

2. National Agencies & Databases
There is an urgent requirement to create national agencies to tackle crimes and terror threats like Islamic jihad or Naxalism. In fact new states or not these central agencies are required. Instead of forming more new agencies rather many of these agencies should be combined to reduce the confusion. These national agencies will not be limited by the internal borders and handle these threats in an efficient way. If it is not formed then more the states more troubles we will have. Also a central database should be maintained to have fewer hassles for the citizens. With advent of computers this has become a very easy task. Also with centralizing and computerization we can greatly keep a tab on corruption. Computerization will bring in transparency. Centralization will reduce the corruption at the nerve’s of it i.e. the borders between states. In fact this may be the reason that the government are avoiding these issues.

3. Developmental Focal Centres
As already mentioned the development is mostly around urban centres and hence the far flung areas are left out. Having too many focal centres i.e. bigger cities is also an issue. UP have too many big cities and the political parties during their rule favour certain cities ignoring others. When other parties come they focus on other centres. The result of this, less development in all the regions.
Hence the states should be formed keeping in mind not more than 2-3 focal centres per state. Also these focal centres should be based on the specialities of the region. Having no natural resources does not mean always a disadvantage. Haryana, Gujarat, Punjab all lack in natural resources. Instead they have made agriculture as the primary economy. Along with that they have formed the secondary economies in form of manufacturing industries have been formed. The tertiary economy i.e. the service industries is slowly coming. In Haryana it is one of the best in India.

4. GST
GST is also a demand of the time. A central taxation should be present and there should be no taxes between internal borders. This would ensure that any resources in not regional but national. Under the present taxation regime having more states may mean losing the global edge!!!! Hence it’s not only an internal issue but our global standing depends on it.

5. Linguistically Homogeneous
This fact should not be ignored. Even though most of the states in India follow this rule but still the further new states should not ignore this important consideration. A heterogeneous state would mean that frictions between two groups. However the homogenous should imply to the natives and not the migrants otherwise the new states can never be formed.

6. Uniform Settlement Laws and Civil Codes
An important issue of concern when a new state is formed is whether the people who have made that state their home will enjoy the same rights as natives of that land. Will they be allowed to keep their property, jobs and so on. India is sovereign country and we should be allowed to settle in any part of country that we desire. Hence there should be uniform set of Settlement and Civil Laws.

7. Geographical Considerations
Forming new states should not be very extensive in area or very coarse. Rather it should be balanced. Fortunately most of the demands in India fall under such criteria except for a few cases in North East like Gorkhaland or Bodoland.

There are various movements for separate states going on. In my viewpoint at least 9 new states and may be on present conditions one UT (Gorkhaland, although I am opposed to it due to various reasons stated below) should be formed. First the proposed map as per me for India is given below. I would like to talk about all these 10 new units one by one.

1. Telengana
It’s the hottest demand in the nation. It comprises of around 41% of the state population and 10 out of 23 Districts of AP. Also it will have 17 Lok Sabha seats out of 42 for combined AP. There is a very popular demand for creating a separate state.
• 9 out 10 Districts are backward as per Central Government.
• There have been various documents showing the discriminatory spending by successive AP governments in the coastal areas and neglecting Telengana.
• Historically Telengana was a part of the kingdom of Nizam. AP was under British India. Hence for over 200 years the official language in Telengana was Urdu, while for AP was English. This was prevalent even after Independence until the merger. After the merger the British Code was continued and Urdu was given no bearing. This fact had put brakes for the people of Telengana and given advantage to people of Andhra.
• At time of Merger Telengana was the more developed part and over time it has swapped.
• Allegations that many irrigation schemes for Telengana (Project Tungabhadra, Rajolibanda diversion) were stopped over the years and development of new projects (Nagarjuna, Srisailam) primarily aimed towards benefit of Andhra.
• These feeling are supported by various other facts like despite being over 40% of population this region never gave a CM.
• Besides all these reasons AP has not been a performing state in India

As already mention the state of AP like all the bigger states has been a non performer. Except for region of Hyderabad and one or two more urban centres, rest of AP is suffering due to size.. Hence it is high time to divide this state into two. People say that Telugu people will be divided. Instead now there will be 2 Telugu states. They will have 2 instead of 1 representative at national level to put in their voice.

The new state can have various opportunities to develop. The most important comes from developing Hydro Electric Power. Not only can it suffice the state rather it can export to the neighbouring states. Though agriculture is never known to be strength of the region, but it lacks due to shortage of water. Alongside the Hydro-Electric Projects they can be coupled with irrigation projects. The irrigation projects may be a little more capital intensive but with good irrigation, Agriculture can be greatly improved. Also the sustainable tank irrigation in the Area which has been ignored can also be brought back into focus. This would also ensure the development of one of the poorest areas of India. With a separate state, these projects can be taken as an immediate focus. People give the reason that this can happen in the present state of AP and for these reasons a separate state should not be formed. I would say if it was to happen it would have at least started in the last 60 years. The region of Telengana is also rich in natural resources. All these development can be coupled with the present resources from Hyderabad and the Services Sector in the city. This can easily make the state self reliant.

However we see that people of AP are equally opposed to the same. I tried to understand the reason for it. From all what I could manage to read, talk to people, I have come to the conclusion that there are 2 major reasons that the state is opposed by people of Andhra. Both of them are associated with the Capital of proposed state, Hyderabad. First reason is that Hyderabad will be lost to Telengana. Due to this reason people worry about the investments they have made in the city. Politicians of Andhra also have this as a major worry as Hyderabad had become a Real Estate heaven. They stand to lose out as they will not be in power in that state. Secondly people of Rest of AP are worried about the status of Jobs and the restrictions on outsider that may be put.

As seen, the reason for worry of common man is nothing to be concerned about. Nothing of that nature happened when new states of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttaranchal were formed. Their capital, of all the 3 states has many people of the erstwhile state. They are a part of the system and in fact are enjoying the rapid development of the states. In fact due to the selfish motive of politicians and their interests in Hyderabad, complete misinformation is being spread. Some proposals like Chandigarh model for Hyderabad have also being proposed. These are not feasible as Hyderabad is deep inside Telengana. And we should create more focal centres inside AP to spread development at more places. Hence it is a perfect case for new state to be formed.

2. Vidarbha
After Telengana this is one of the most prominent demands for a separate state. It would comprise of around a 5th of the population of Maharashtra, 11 out of 35 Districts and 10 out of 48 Lok Sabha Seats. Despite being rich in resources this is one of the backward regions of India even though it is part of one of the richest state of India. This is due to the fact that the focus of development of Maharashtra has been the Mumbai Pune belt. Cities like Nasik, Kohlapur etc have also progressed due the fact they lied in the catchment area of this focal centre.

The capital of this state would be the city of Nagpur. Nagpur was once the capital of Erstwhile British Nagpur Province and then of another British Province of “Central Province & Berar” the prelude of the state now known as MP. Then against the recommendation of SRC the region of Vidarbha was not made a separate state rather made up as the part of new state of Maharashtra. Over the years the development levels in the region have lacked behind rest of Maharashtra, despite this region being rich in minerals, being power surplus which allegedly is transported to Maharashtra. Also there has been little development in the primary source i.e. Agriculture. The various Hydro-Electric projects have developed but are not coupled with irrigation schemes. This has led to a feeling that they have been developed primarily for Mumbai Pune belt. Also over the time there have been huge increases in irrigated areas of Maharashtra while position or Vidarbha did not change. Also over time this region has been under debts while Govt of Maharashtra is using the resources of the state to bring other regions out of debt. This has also been a major source of discontent for the people.

A separate state would give a stimulus to Nagpur as a centre for Development which would spread to the adjoining areas. The state is already rich in Minerals, is Power Surplus region and with development of irrigation system the present Agricultural system can be further developed. Agriculture has been the bigger point of neglect and this region also belongs to the Suicide belt of India along with Telengana. Hence a separate state with Stimulus towards irrigations, minerals, power can make this region into a new green revolution state, a new power house for development showing lots of promise.

3. Harit Pradesh
Harit Pradesh is a state that is desired to be created out of the State of UP. The name Harit is associated with the Greenery and Agriculture prevalent in the region. The other name for this region is Braj Pradesh or Kisan Pradesh. It comprises of 26 out of the 70 Districts of UP with major Cities like Meerut, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Ghaziabad, Noida, Agra, Mathura, Aligarh, Etawah lying in the region. The most obvious candidate for capital can be the city of Meerut. Agra, Noida Ghaziabad can also be one of the candidates. It would comprise of roughly 36% of state population, contributing 29 out of the 80 Seats of Lok Sabha.
As known to all UP is one of the BIMARU states or backward states of India. Despite having largest no of seats in Lok Sabha and contributing the maximum no of prime ministers, being one of the most backward states is a striking point. The people of Harit Pradesh demand for a separate state based on the reason that there exist lots of cultural differences from people of central & eastern UP. The people of this state are Jats or Gujjars where most of the state has been dominated by the Yadav community. Also despite contributing heavily to the development through Agriculture & some industries still the region has not seen results compared to neighbouring states like Haryana where culturally similar people live. Also they believe the sheer size of UP makes it unmanageable hence it’s high time for it to be divided. Supporting to that, I saw a quote by famous BBC reporter Sir Mark Tully- “I travelled from Haryana to UP, and immediately without any signs or signals, based on quality of roads & farms I could make out that we were in UP. To my surprise I was coming from a Jat land and going into another. From here I understood how differences even within Internal Borders can be there just due to the fact how they are managed”. This quote even further strengthens my resolve and supports the whole blog I am writing.
Harit Pradesh would have rich agricultural lands, specially a very fertile region of Terai. Besides that the state has got Industry based out in belts of Meerut, Ghaziabad, Agra & Aligarh. Also Noida is one of the favourite service industry base of India. There is no doubt that the state would do good and with the better focus places like Meerut-Ghaziabad- Noida would be centres of development extending the catchment area much beyond the present under developed area for the same. The area needs to develop an irrigation system like present in Haryana & Punjab, which UP could not provide even after 60 years of Independence. The state would have great tourist potential with cities like Agra, Mathura all falling within the state. Need not be said that the state can be easily self reliable.

4. Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand is a state that is being demanded out of Areas of State of UP & MP. The state gets its name from the native’s knows as Bundela’s. The proposed state comprises of 7 out of 80 Districts of UP & 6 out of 45 districts of MP. The major city & capital of the state would be Jhansi. The state would have a population of more than 1.5 Crore constituting about 5% of UP & 12% of MP’s population. The state would have 7 Lok Sabha seats 4 (out of 80) coming from UP & 3 (out of 29) coming from MP.

There are various reasons for demand of this state
• The states of UP & MP are both part of the BIMARU states of India, being most backward area. The area of Bundelkhand is a backward border area of these backward states. The demanders of the state allege that due to sheer sizes both UP & MP have become unmanageable.
• The area especially Jhansi was a progressive one. Rani of Jhansi was a major resistance power during revolt of 1857. However after 1857 over the years the area became backward. The reason stated is being the border area of United Provinces & Central Province during British period then as border of UP & MP.
• The area is rich in minerals and rare material. In fact the only Diamond Mines the famous Panna Mines are a part of this region. Despite all these facts the people never seen any benefits in form of Development or Jobs
• The area is full of various rivers which flow through the area like Sind, but agriculture is still based on ancient methods. There has been no development of irrigation system primarily because it required a joint plan between MP & UP which has never happened.
• The people are culturally similar on both sides of border speaking a similar dialect.
• The formation of state would have the state enjoy the benefit of having a favourable drainage system of rivers. The area where most projects can be made lie in MP is not of primary interest to MP as it would only serve the MP Bundelkhand along with UP Bundelkhand. The investment would not serve other areas of MP hence the project would take hundred years to break even for present state of MP.
• The state borders in the area also criss-crosses between the two states. This is a major hindrance in various projects for e.g. the roads keeps changing the states. Due to this fact both the government keep ignoring them as a result the local people suffer.
• Also due to above point there are several border crossing etc which are hot bed area for corruption, crimes etc.

Hence all these point lead to the demand. Although the demand for state has been raised over the years many times at many levels but it has not yet got the popular levels primarily due to backwardness of the region and people been ignorant.

5. Baghelkhand
The state of Baghelkhand would be primarily formed out of the state of MP along with a district of UP. Like Bundelkhand the state also got its name from the natives who are known as Baghel’s. Around the start of 1800’s the Baghel’s formed a kingdom in the region. They were a princely state associated with the crown, and after the Independence joined the state of Vindhya Pradesh. From the relative times of peace the state has descended towards backwardness. The state consists of 5 (out of 45) districts of MP and 1(out of 70) districts of UP. Baghelkhand would have 5 Lok Sabha Seats 4 from MP (out of 29) and a single seat from UP (out of 80). The capital of the state would be Rewa.

The reasons for formation of Baghelkhand are quite similar to that of Bundelkhand. The state is rich in resources, hydro potential but has not being doing well. With the recent demand for Telengana raised the issue of Baghelkhand has also arisen alongside that of Harit Pradesh, Bundelkhand & Purvanchal. Also the area of Baghelkhand has a distinct separate dialect from the rest of the region.

There are no major cities on the state. Hence the development of the state capital would provide a big stimulus whose benefit the state can have. Under the present system the major cities of MP and UP are quite far off. No government would come with a proposal to develop a focal center in the area when there are many other issues that need to be addressed. Tourism in the Area can also be a good potential that needs to be developed.

6. Purvanchal
Purvanchal comprises of the eastern part of UP. It would comprise of 16 of the 70 Districts of UP. It would contain roughly ¼ of the population of UP containing 20 Lok Sabha Seats. The Capital of the state would be Varanasi.

There has been frequent demand for separation from UP due to various similar reasons like that of Harit Pradesh and so on. Mayawati was the latest one to raise the demand. The people of Purvanchal speak the Bhojpuri Language which is different from the language spoken by people of rest of UP. The state is known to have very fertile lands much better than rest of UP but still most of the people live below the poverty line. Irrigation system is lacking in the area despite lying in the Gangetic plain with many river flowing through it. It is one of the most densely populated areas in India. The development in various urban centres including Varanasi has been dismal. There has been virtually no Industry in the region even the Agro Industries despite the region being a major Agricultural area.

Due to the formation of the state first of would bring development to some urban centres especially Varanasi, which despite being such an ancient city is lacking behind other cities in the region. Secondly irrigation development, which would be very capital intensive for the area would really help bring a green revolution in the state. Alongside irrigation the government would have to work on mechanization of Agriculture which still is being done by primitive methods. Thirdly Agro based Industries also has a great scope in the region specially the sugar mills. Presently most of the sugarcane is bought by middlemen and taken to central UP and sold in the mills there. Development of sugar mills in the area would mean employment and revenue’s to the government. Fourthly Tourism especially religious tourism will also be another revenue generator. The ancient city of Varanasi is a very important Hindi Religious Centre. Finally there is a perception that UP due to its size has not been governed well. With decentralization of power due to a separate state it would become more manageable with better focussed developmental policies.

7. Mahakoshal
Mahakoshal has been a state that has been demanded in Southern MP. The state would be bound by Bundelkhand region in North, Baghelkhand in North East, Chhattisgarh to the East, Vidarbha Region to the south and MP to the west. It constitutes of 10 out 45 districts of MP with Jabalpur as the capital of the state. Constituting about a 1/5th of the population of MP, it will have 6 MP’s of Lok Sabha.

Despite this region being very rich in minerals, having fertile lands, forests with lots of rivers, still agriculture remains backward and very few Industries are present in the region. Again the reasons stated for a separate state are similar to all the other movements in MP.

With the formation of separate state, the biggest potential for this area is Tourism. It has got many historic temples, forest, rivers and other beautiful natural places. The hill station of MP Pacnhgani lies in this region, which is the only developed tourist place despite the huge potential. Secondly Agriculture is also another potential to be developed. The challenge would be to use the huge potential rivers for irrigation and increase the net area. Thirdly a huge Hydro Electric Potential also exists. Drive like privatization can really be helpful to tap this potential on the lines of state like HP. Fourthly there exist some industries in the region of Jabalpur. Focus can be brought in and this Industrial net can be expanded due to natural resources being present in the area. Finally the natural resources in the area need to explored to its potential and developed for the development of the state.

8. Maru Pradesh
The term Maru Pradesh means Desert state. Maru Pradesh is constituted of the western border districts of Rajasthan with Bikaner as the capital. It would constitute of 9 out of 32 districts of Rajasthan, with about 30% of state population and 7 out of 25 Lok Sabha Seats.

Rajasthan is also a part of the BIMARU states, with Maru Pradesh being a backward area. Rajasthan likes in BIMARU not because of a bigger population or team management theory with larger no of MP’s but rather due to the sheer geographical spread of the state. It is the biggest state in India by area. It is one the least densely populated states of India with huge distances. Hence due to this case all the developmental centres with lie towards the North Eastern side of the state towards Jaipur, Ajmer etc or towards the Southern Side near cities like Udaipur. The area of Maru Pradesh is completely out of scope of these developing zones due to great distances resulting in underdeveloped agriculture, no Industries and lesser tourism than the eastern Rajasthan.

Although after the formation as a separate state, the region would have to face many challenges. The biggest challenge would be water. Although the Indira Gandhi Canal from river Satluj irrigates a large area in the region of Ganganagar and Bikaner, the rest of the state would heavily depend on other regions. Secondly being in the border parts Industrial development would still remain a challenge. Despites these difficulties the benefits would surely be more. Firstly the state will have the benefit of having a chance to establish some focal points. Secondly Tourism also would remain a major attraction with many popular tourist destinations like Jaiselmer, Bikaner, Barmer, Churu, Sikar lying in the region. These regions can be further developed especially by making some basic facilities like Airport available in the region. This would bring in Hard Cash in form of tourist money and also a Infrastructural Development in the region. Thirdly the districts of Bikaner, Ganganagar, Hanumangarh have got a irrigation system. Also with the advent of Genetic Engineering many drought resistant crops are available. As separate state would give the focus to the government to promote these varieties and hence develop agriculture for crops like bajra, Jowar and so on. Fourthly the region is very rich in various minerals like Bauxite, Mica, and Silicon. These mining industries can be developed due to the focussed approach. Fifthly the region can develop alternate sources like Solar and Wind Energy. Many projects have started for the same and this area shows lot of potential as region is full of both form of energies. Finally the region has recently strike black gold i.e. petroleum in the region. This is a real promise to the area. Hence it can be seen that the region can be a sustainable state. It is a requirement to give development to people affected by geography.

9. Koshal
Koshal is the mineral rich eastern part of Orissa. It would constitute 1/3rd of the 30 districts of Orissa roughly containing 1/4th of the population. It would constitute 5 out of 21 Lok Sabha seats of Orissa. The capital of the state would be Sambalpur

The state of Orissa despite being in the management zone still is one of the poorest states in India. The development of the state has been very staggered. The coastal regions have seen a fair amount of development, but the western mountainous region of Koshal has really lacked behind. The people of Koshal have a high percentage of tribal’s in it. Besides this the area is on a higher level, a hinterland full of forests & for people sitting in the capital in coastal region, is a distant land. Hence all the development has been focussed towards the coastal area. It is due to this fact that there is no major urban center in the state of Koshal. Hence like the case of Rajasthan, size has played a part in Orissa being backward. Besides this people of Koshal speak a different language than that of the coastal area. All these factors have contributed for a demand of a separate state.

The separate state of Koshal would be very rich in natural resources. If properly utilized, it will lead to industrialization. Secondly the area has a huge hydroelectric potential. Thirdly the area has got a fertile land and development of irrigation system would bring greater benefit. In this regards even after separation the state of Koshal & Orissa can go for joint projects. Under the present condition such project focus towards the coastal region. As 2 separate entities, the interests of Koshal will not be compromised and both states still can enjoy great benefits. Fourthly the area can have tourist potential with many Forest & National parks present in the state. Finally the development of a new urban center as capital would give the much required stimulus.

10. Gorkhaland
After Telengana this has also been a very violent demand for a separate state. Gorkhaland would be a small state or Union Territory that would be formed out of the state of West Bengal in the Northern most part. It would constitute of Darjeeling district with some parts of Jalpaiguri. It would just make up less than 3.5 % of state population with 2 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats. The major factor for a demand of a separate state is the different ethnicity of people of Gorkhaland who are Gorkha’s in a Bengali State. Besides this Gorkhaland is a Hilly Area primarily in the state which is present in Deltaic plains. These two factors really differentiate the people who feel the rulers of the state are not able to relate with them.

However as my personal opinion this region would be too small to be formed as a state. It should rather be constituted as a Union Territory. Also this region could border as many as four countries lying in the famous chicken neck area of India. Hence it is absolutely essential for this area to be under the firm grip of Delhi to fend of security threats and also the smuggling present in the area. There is also a danger of people of Gorkhaland demanding to get themselves merged with Nepal which is also ethnically of the same race. A state mechanism would not be strong enough to meet such critical challenge, and central control becomes essential.

As a state this region would be too small and would go on the same lines of under development as north eastern states. This could lead to discontent and a risk of insurgency, which could demand a merger with Nepal. As a UT besides the above region, the region will have access to Central Funds, besides developing the tourist potential and incomes from the tea plantations. To have local say we can design this UT on lines of Delhi or Pondicherry with a elected cabinet & a CM (Rather it should be Dy CM). Thus in the long term this region would benefit by not being a part of WB, but also not as a separate state but as a UT.


By forming all these state can definitely lead to better development. There should be one more critical factor. The states should be formed on recommendation by expert committee and not based on recommendation of politicians. If as a first step these states do well, there is a second list which should then be formed as a second step so that we see more progress in the country. The second list would constitute of
1. Mithila (From Bihar)
2. Bodoland ( As a UT from Assam)
3. Gondwana ( From parts of Mahakoshal, Vidarbha, Telengana, Chhattisgarh & Orissa)
4. Northern Karnatka
5. Marathwada (From Maharashtra)
6. Greater Cooch Behar (From West Bengal)
7. Coorg (As a UT from Karnataka)
8. Tulu Nadu (As a UT from Kerala & Karnataka)
9. Southern Tamil Nadu
10. Leh (As a UT from J&K)

These states & UT’s are also recommended due to the fact that either the states are too big or the regions are ethnically different and feel alienated. I hope that the revolution for change which has started brings about some changes and a new SRC is formed and forms the very much required states for the benefit of the people and more focus of government towards development.