North Karnataka: Will it be a separate state?

The demand for separate statehood for North Karnataka is in the news, but it is not a new demand. It has simmered for decades, with the region claiming it has received step-motherly treatment from successive governments. North Karnataka comprises the regions known as Hyderabad-Karnataka and Bombay-Karnataka. It includes districts of Belagavi, Bagalkote, Bidar, Ballari, Kalburgi, Raichur, Gadag, Dharawad, Haveri and Koppal.

The Uttara Karnataka Horata Samiti (UKHS) separatist movement, which includes several farmer groups and student organisations, claims that their demands have been ignored by successive governments that have failed to include any benefits for the region in the state budgets. The allegation is that most chief ministers of Karnataka have come from the southern districts of the state, and their policies have benefited the south more than the north.

In 2012, the Hyderabad-Karnataka region was given special status under section 371(J) of the Constitution by the UPA government. Some 75-85% of the jobs in the region are reserved for local candidates and a separate board, with Rs 2,500 crore, has been provided for the development of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region. But a little over two months after the JD(S)-Congress government under H D Kumaraswamy came to power in 2018, North Karnataka is on the boil again.

Members of various pro-Hyderabad Karnataka Kannada outfits staged a protest
against the bandh call demanding separate statehood for North Karnataka
in front of the Mini Vidhana Soudha in Kalaburagi on Wednesday. DH Photo.

The lack of new schemes for the region in Kumaraswamy’s maiden state budget on July 5 is cited as the trigger for the fresh protests. The economic disparity between North and South Karnataka was first highlighted 15 years ago by a high-powered committee chaired by the late Prof DM Nanjundappa. The committee had recommended that an additional Rs 16,000 crore be invested for North Karnataka’s development over eight years, starting in 2007. The report added that the proportion of asset-poor households is significantly higher in North Karnataka compared to the rest of the state.

Organisations like Uttara Karnataka Horata Samiti and Uttara Karnataka Vikasa Vedike have accused the state government led by Kumaraswamy of ignoring the region’s interests.

North Karnataka is the region of Karnataka bordering Maharashtra and Telangana, which comprises 13 of Karnataka’s 30 districts. North Karnataka is further divided into two regions. Bombay Karnataka comprises of Belagavi, Hubli-Dharwad, Gadag, Bagalkote and Vijayapura. Before Independence, this region came under the Bombay presidency, giving it the name Bombay-Karnataka. Similarly, the region that came under the rule of the Nizam of Hyderabad became Hyderabad-Karnataka after Independence. This region consists of Kalburgi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Ballari districts.

River disputes

Farmers’ unions have repeatedly pointed out that the state government should also focus on the Krishna and Mahadayi water-sharing disputes and not just on the Cauvery row with Tamil Nadu. The Krishna River dispute, between Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana, is currently pending in the Supreme Court. Farmers in this region fear their allocation may fall if Andhra Pradesh gets its way.

The Mahadayi River is an essential source of drinking water in North Karnataka. The government planned to construct a dam in the river to divert its water, so it could provide water to the Dharwad region, too. However, Goa, in 2002, moved the apex court against this, saying it would ecologically damage that state. A tribunal was set-up in 2010, and in 2016, it rejected Karnataka’s move to divert water. Farmers have been protesting since then, with 2016 alone seeing a 300-day protest by them. This water-scarce region of the state has little to offer in terms of natural resources. To add to it, the heat and depleting water resources also lead to limited investment in the region.

All three major political players in the state – Congress, BJP and JD(S) – in various combinations, have not been able to do much with regard to this water-sharing row with Goa. Farmers’ groups have repeatedly accused the government of merely playing politics with this issue, without actually doing anything to solve their problems. Activists say the government has not allocated more funds to help farmers in this region nor waived their loans, which have accumulated as the area witnesses more arid seasons.

However, the answer lies in the long history of economic and cultural negligence on the part of successive governments operating out of South Karnataka. B Sriramulu of the BJP supported the demand for a separate state for North Karnataka, alleging injustice to the region.

Presently, organisations like Uttara Karnataka Horata Samiti and Uttara Karnataka Vikasa Vedike have accused the state government led by Kumaraswamy of ignoring the region’s interests. Some leaders had earlier accused the state government of doing injustice to the region.

However, BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa had flayed those demanding separate statehood, saying that such a demand will not lead to any solution. Party MP Shobha Karandlaje, too, dismissed the demand for separate statehood.

(The writer is Assistant Professor, Department of Studies and Research in Political science, Vijayanagara Sri Krishna­devaraya University, Ballari)