‘North Vs South debate only serves local politics’

Instead of debating which part of the country is growing more, we should see them as centres of excellence, says Shaurya Doval, founder of India Foundation

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WITH the Oppositionruled South increasingly raising the accusation of federal discrimination against W the South, Santwana Bhattacharya and Dipak Mondal caught up with Shaurya Doval, a member of the BJP and founder of the India Foundation, to know how the party is dealing with what's assuming the contours of a North vs South debate. Excerpts:

India's economic landscape has over the decades seen a broad North-South ‘growth divide’. That has set the context for a national debate, with persistent questioning of the patterns of central fund disbursal. How does the Modi government view this picture of asymmetry — of both growth and the distribution of growth hormones, as it were?

There is an asymmetry of growth between the North and the South. Broadly, the South is growing at about 8% and the North is growing at maybe 4% or 5%, and therefore, the national average is about six. Now, this happens in every part of the world, in every nation, there are certain pockets that grow faster. There are many factors — whether it’s the coastal line, fertile plains, or the rate of literacy, etc. And there are other factors that contribute to that. So, there is nothing unique about it, it happens in every part of the world.

So, as a country, instead of debating which par t of the country is g rowing more,we should see them as centres of excellence and that they become more competitive globally. Many of the northern states are landlocked states, they don’t have the access to ports and the export markets. The northern states bore the brunt of colonisation more than the Southern states.

So the short answer to your question is, yes, it is a matter of concern. But the way the issue is being debated, it only serves the domestic politics of the region.