North India versus South India (Why is South so much better?)

[rickroll]

The thread comparing Indian and Pakistan education systems motivated me to post this comparing North and South India. For many Pakistanis (and maybe even other outside nationalities), the image of India is more influenced by North India since that is the India that is closer to Pakistan in terms of geography, language, and culture.

I have had the fortune of interacting with South Indians and I could observe distinct cultural traits relative to the North Indians. They seemed more proficient in English, more liberal, more emphasis on education, albeit more introverted. I also noticed group of North Indians (Punjabis and Haryanvis mostly) seemed to crack jokes at the expense of South Indians when speaking among themselves. I could be inaccurate of generalizing a bit here, any of the Indian posters please correct me if I'm wrong.

Sadly many Pakistanis do not realize how distinct South India and its people are from North India. I have been making an effort to interact more with South Indians and I generally felt more friendly vibes and more openness from the South Indians towards Pakistanis than any of the cow-worship-belt Indians.

South India being so much better than North India shows in so many economic and human development facts (since opinions can be subjective). I found the discussion in the video below to be insightful and I'm curious to hear others' thoughts.

 

[Champ_Pal]

You need to define exactly what North India is first. Does it include all Hindi speaking belt? Or does it not include Bihar and UP, MP and Chattisgarh?

To me, J&K, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan only constitute true North India. Bihar, UP are part of Eastern India. MP is central India.

The 4 South Indian states along with half of Maharastra emphasize more in education. The people from these 4 states benefited a lot due to IT and Tech industry. They also invested and invited a lot of foreign investment into their states. They reaped the rewards and still reaping it.

The eastern and central part of India are way over populated. Their governments did not do anything to attract foreign investment and did not invest in education either. They are still stuck in 80's. A visit to Bihar and UP will be like traveling back in time. Nothing much can be done there.

 

[Technics 1210]

Simple, the South is where the Brits landed first in 'India'.

 

[JaDed]

I love South India, grew up there but I have to say in overall terms Maharashtra is the best. , basically best of both worlds.

I do understand why North South debate is happening though, Congress has nothing going for it right now.

 

[rickroll]

Simple, the South is where the Brits landed first in 'India'.

Nope, does not seem so simple going by facts though.

After independence the 4 Southern states of India were at the bottom of the rung in terms of economic, education, and human development. They not only caught up but are leading now as a role model for rest of India primarily due to their efforts AFTER the Brits left. The youtube video talks about this in interesting detail.

If we remove these Southern states, and then look at India's GDP and HDI figures I doubt they may look impressive. Perhaps a question for Pakistanis and other South Asians is that should they try to emulate South India and not India?

 

[rickroll]

I love South India, grew up there but I have to say in overall terms Maharashtra is the best. , basically best of both worlds.

I do understand why North South debate is happening though, Congress has nothing going for it right now.

Why is Maharashtra the best overall?

 

[Varun]

Simple, the South is where the Brits landed first in 'India'.

Wrong as usual. The Brits first landed in Surat - not in South India. The first place they conquered was Bengal - not in South India.

 

[Varun]

In answer to the OP:

1. Access to a coastline that led to trade and cultural exchange with East Asia/Middle East.

2. Largely insulated from constant invasions that the North experienced.

3. The politicians I daresay have been better since independence. You can hate on Karunanidhi/Jayalalitha/Chandrababu Naidu etc. all you want but they have given a fair share back to the land and the people. Even before them, their predecessors set up educational institutions and made sure family planning was taught. Whereas in the North bar a few like Bansi Lal, have largely turned out to be chors.

 

[RajBan]

In answer to the OP:

1. Access to a coastline that led to trade and cultural exchange with East Asia/Middle East.

2. Largely insulated from constant invasions that the North experienced.

3. The politicians I daresay have been better since independence. You can hate on Karunanidhi/Jayalalitha/Chandrababu Naidu etc. all you want but they have given a fair share back to the land and the people. Even before them, their predecessors set up educational institutions and made sure family planning was taught. Whereas in the North bar a few like Bansi Lal, have largely turned out to be chors.

That third point is bang on. Corruption among political class is very high in South but they ensured that benefits in terms of economic development, infrastructure, employment, business are passed on to the larger population.

Also South has benefited from the internal brain drain from North and East in last 25 yrs making southern part of the country their home.

 

[Romali_rotti]

Didn't know South was so much better than the North.

From my experience of the South, Kerala where I am from, we are full of Pseudo Seculars and our state hardly has an economy, full of corruption and going nowhere like Pakistan.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

The thread comparing Indian and Pakistan education systems motivated me to post this comparing North and South India. For many Pakistanis (and maybe even other outside nationalities), the image of India is more influenced by North India since that is the India that is closer to Pakistan in terms of geography, language, and culture.

I have had the fortune of interacting with South Indians and I could observe distinct cultural traits relative to the North Indians. They seemed more proficient in English, more liberal, more emphasis on education, albeit more introverted. I also noticed group of North Indians (Punjabis and Haryanvis mostly) seemed to crack jokes at the expense of South Indians when speaking among themselves. I could be inaccurate of generalizing a bit here, any of the Indian posters please correct me if I'm wrong.

Sadly many Pakistanis do not realize how distinct South India and its people are from North India. I have been making an effort to interact more with South Indians and I generally felt more friendly vibes and more openness from the South Indians towards Pakistanis than any of the cow-worship-belt Indians.

South India being so much better than North India shows in so many economic and human development facts (since opinions can be subjective). I found the discussion in the video below to be insightful and I'm curious to hear others' thoughts.

It depends what you mean better. You might like South Indians abroad but if you were actually in India, most Pakistanis would actually prefer places like Delhi because language is not a barrier at all.

Also, South Indians tend to be a bit more inward-looking and laidback and do not always prefer large crowds and raucous celebrations and can be somewhat "boring" for those used to the exuberant Punjabi way of life.

Your point about North Indians making light of South Indians is very valid. But it must be said that it's not just South Indians. They pretty much do that for everyone. I have faced that myself whenever I've been up North and the stereotyping is hilarious to be honest, bordering on caricature and can come across as extremely ignorant. Sometimes, the politeness of us southerners is perceived to be timidity. I'm someone who doesn't take crap from anyone and can banter better than most so atleast I've not seen such issues escalate beyond a point.

The last point again is probably something a lot of Pakistanis don't understand. Many South Indians, myself included, have very strong opinions about religion and state establishment especially that of Pakistan - maybe more nuanced and subtler than you think. South Indians generally can come across as especially nice and polite even to communities/ethnicities they probably don't think much of. I've seen many Malayalis work in the Middle East and have nothing but contempt for Arabs and Pakistanis but you'll never be able to make it out from your personal conversations with them.

We don't express it as much openly because a) We are far away from the politics of India-Pakistan and b) Most are too busy building their careers and personal lives to air opinions publicly and vocally.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Met a few south Indians and they seem very cool in real life. But then posters from there seem a bit weird, and I wonder if it is all a front? Also have to bear in mind BJP has strong ties to South India so all is not as it may seem as far as the liberal tag goes.

 

[JaDed]

Met a few south Indians and they seem very cool in real life. But then posters from there seem a bit weird, and I wonder if it is all a front? Also have to bear in mind BJP has strong ties to South India so all is not as it may seem as far as the liberal tag goes.

BJP has one state in South and that too once every 5 years.. how do they have strong ties to south?

 

[JaDed]

Why is Maharashtra the best overall?

Because it has the daring of North and hardwork/discipline of South.

Marathi Manoos can be irritating but average Marathis absolutely amazing in many fields.

 

[RajBan]

Met a few south Indians and they seem very cool in real life. But then posters from there seem a bit weird, and I wonder if it is all a front? Also have to bear in mind BJP has strong ties to South India so all is not as it may seem as far as the liberal tag goes.

BJP has least presence in South and not so significance in East India. It's really North , Central and West were they have significant footprint.

 

[Bewal Express]

In our local areas Many of the nurses are from the South- they seem calm people and their kids are wonderful to teach.

 

[RajBan]

Because it has the daring of North and hardwork/discipline of South.

Marathi Manoos can be irritating but average Marathis absolutely amazing in many fields.

+1. Have good number of Marathi friends and they are all very smart and hard-working.

 

[Rajdeep]

BJP has least presence in South and not so significance in East India. It's really North , Central and West were they have significant footprint.

But why is BJPs presence considered bad? Looks like you are also falling for the propaganda Raj bhai. Majority of Indians trust in BJP.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

BJP has least presence in South and not so significance in East India. It's really North , Central and West were they have significant footprint.

Apologies, my geography of India is very rudimentary. So where is Maharashtra situated? Also Gujarat and Mumbai? These have strong BJP backing I believe.

 

[RajBan]

But why is BJPs presence considered bad? Looks like you are also falling for the propaganda Raj bhai. Majority of Indians trust in BJP.

I am not saying BJPs presence is bad. All I am saying where they are currently having stronger presence. Just like BJP is wrongly stereotyped for many things, similarly other parties are stereotyped as well by their opponents. What matters end of day is good governance, investement in infra, education and health for all. The government regardless of party affiliation that provides it better will stick around else booted out.

 

[RajBan]

Apologies, my geography of India is very rudimentary. So where is Maharashtra situated? Also Gujarat and Mumbai? These have strong BJP backing I believe.

Gujarat and Maharashtra are part of West India.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Gujarat and Maharashtra are part of West India.

Why are debates always centred around South vs North then? What happened to East and West in this story? This is also something to ponder.

 

[RajBan]

Why are debates always centred around South vs North then? What happened to East and West in this story? This is also something to ponder.

That's a very interesting question and TBH I don't have much background on this .

 

[sweep_shot]

South Indian people seem friendlier.

South India also seems much more beautiful (landscapes and everything) than North India.

 

[WengerOut]

Why are debates always centred around South vs North then? What happened to East and West in this story? This is also something to ponder.

Division is not based on directions. It is broadly based on culture. There is South, North and North-East which unfortunately nobody gives a damn about.

 

[sjahmed23]

The south was cleaned up by christian missionaries because the caste system always put them lower than the north indians

 

[ElRaja]

Why are debates always centred around South vs North then? What happened to East and West in this story? This is also something to ponder.

the gangetic plain has long been considered connected due to the culture and social flows, hence the differences between the different groups of the gangetic plain tend to be less than those who are not of the gangetic plain, i.e. the south india, the north east imo.

 

[ex-q-zit]

Met a few south Indians and they seem very cool in real life. But then posters from there seem a bit weird, and I wonder if it is all a front? Also have to bear in mind BJP has strong ties to South India so all is not as it may seem as far as the liberal tag goes.

BJP has a least ties in South. AP and Telangana are ruled by regional parties. Tamil Nadu by Dravidian parties who are rationalists and dont belive in religion. Kerala either by communists or muslim league/congress alliance. karnataka is the only state BJP has presence. South Indians pride over their distinct culture and language. Communal harmony too is better down south except for Karnataka off late. Education and living standards as well as women safety is better down south. Not sure how you based your conclusion.

But the thing I hate down south is the stong caste divide.

 

[rickroll]

Why are debates always centred around South vs North then? What happened to East and West in this story? This is also something to ponder.

Cultural difference and not geographical difference as someone else also pointed out. Interesting question though and I have thought about it before as well and then someone pointed it out to me.

 

[rickroll]

The south was cleaned up by christian missionaries because the caste system always put them lower than the north indians

Not sure about this and some of the Indian posters please correct me if I'm wrong. Doesn't the south of India also have similar brahmins and other higher castes?

 

[rickroll]

South Indian people seem friendlier.

South India also seems much more beautiful (landscapes and everything) than North India.

This is also what I observed. The South Indian people seem friendlier and more chill. Of course I'm not saying all South Indians are like that or that some of them may not be pretending with a facade - some obviously do among a large set of population.

Relatively speaking compared to the North Indian "Jai Shree Raam" brigade, the South Indians seem to be a much better crew. They have less hostility towards muslims, seem more accepting of Islam specific preference/practice for anyone in the group, more educated, less propensity to show off unnecessarily, more humble. I know we are painting things with a broad brush here so let me put it this way, I feel we can encounter a higher percentage of people with above positive traits among South Indians than among North Indians. I feel bad for the South Indians that they are put down by the uneducated cow brigade for having darker skin. Perhaps Pakistanis' friendship overture towards them can bring a good ally and a good educated society as a role model (sounds wishful yes).

I also feel language is not a barrier interacting with them because chances are that we are in some English speaking western/middle east country for Pakistanis and South Indians to interact so English is very well the norm in such circumstances.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

North is far superior. People are better looking, food is great, great cities. South is good for those foreigners who like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia etc. For Desis North is magnitudes better.

 

[dildilpak]

Have travelled across Indian cities for work, both in North & South & in my interactions I have loved Mumbai the best - its a great amalgamation of both north & South Indians. Very liberal - not very different from New York or London.

From my understanding both north & South Indians have their own quirkiness- the south are very insular about their language more than religion & very traditional in culture (very caste conscious). They dont accept outsiders easily. Also they tend to hero worship their film stars for some reason.

North Indians are comparatively less educated but are heavily into agriculture. Their food & culture is similar to Pakistanis. They are a bit boisterous & hotheaded, but generally warmer than their southern counterparts.

But all this kinda is just broad generalisation - Indians are extremely professional & these days there is great mobility in workplace. I have met South Indians working in our Gurgoan office & North Indians who work in our Bangalore office and they seem to gel in their environment. Perhaps this topic is more hyped in PP than in reality?

 

[rickroll]

North is far superior. People are better looking, food is great, great cities. South is good for those foreigners who like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia etc. For Desis North is magnitudes better.

Better looking, food is better seem to be your subjective opinions. Also - Aren't South Indians also considered Desis?

If I'm looking for personal/professional friendships I don't care if they are good looking. I care more about how open they are towards me and how much hatred if any they have towards me and from that point South Indians in general seem so much better towards Pakistanis than North Indians.

 

[rickroll]

Have travelled across Indian cities for work, both in North & South & in my interactions I have loved Mumbai the best - its a great amalgamation of both north & South Indians. Very liberal - not very different from New York or London.

From my understanding both north & South Indians have their own quirkiness- the south are very insular about their language more than religion & very traditional in culture (very caste conscious). They dont accept outsiders easily. Also they tend to hero worship their film stars for some reason.

North Indians are comparatively less educated but are heavily into agriculture. Their food & culture is similar to Pakistanis. They are a bit boisterous & hotheaded, but generally warmer than their southern counterparts.

But all this kinda is just broad generalisation - Indians are extremely professional & these days there is great mobility in workplace. I have met South Indians working in our Gurgoan office & North Indians who work in our Bangalore office and they seem to gel in their environment. Perhaps this topic is more hyped in PP than in reality?

Good points here. I heard about how touchy they are with their languages since it is distinct from Urdu/Hindi. I did not know about their hero worship culture. Is that too different from Bollywood's hero worship or Shahrukh/Salman/Amir?

 

[rickroll]

Yet another interesting fact I found through these videos and from South Indians at my work place is the unreasonable high budget North gets.

Apparently India's budget allocation by state is by population. So South India with better birth control since 1950 gets less and less money from center. North India with lower education and higher birth rates sucks up more and more money. On top of this their political representation will also be through population so North will have more political say than South since they breed more. South generates more money from its better economy, has better education, lower crime rates, and has higher HDI (human development index). BUT it seems to be penalized for all of its progress through less money and less political representation.

To the Indians here - Is my above synopsis of the scenario in India accurate?

To the South Indians here - What is continuing to prompt you to stay with India instead of seceding? They (North Indian majority) seem to be taking your money, growing population more and more at your expense, taking away some of your political representations, impose their language on you, and make fun of you for your darker skin/looks/culture. Why stay with such an oppressive majority instead of wanting to secede and having a better country for yourselves?

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Have travelled across Indian cities for work, both in North & South & in my interactions I have loved Mumbai the best - its a great amalgamation of both north & South Indians. Very liberal - not very different from New York or London.

From my understanding both north & South Indians have their own quirkiness- the south are very insular about their language more than religion & very traditional in culture (very caste conscious). They dont accept outsiders easily. Also they tend to hero worship their film stars for some reason.

North Indians are comparatively less educated but are heavily into agriculture. Their food & culture is similar to Pakistanis. They are a bit boisterous & hotheaded, but generally warmer than their southern counterparts.

But all this kinda is just broad generalisation - Indians are extremely professional & these days there is great mobility in workplace. I have met South Indians working in our Gurgoan office & North Indians who work in our Bangalore office and they seem to gel in their environment. Perhaps this topic is more hyped in PP than in reality?

It's not hyped at all, why would PP care about it? Indian posters generally bring up these differences, most of us are blissfully ignorant. You seem pretty clued up though.

 

[rickroll]

It's not hyped at all, why would PP care about it? Indian posters generally bring up these differences, most of us are blissfully ignorant. You seem pretty clued up though.

I would contest if "blissful" ignorance is a good thing here for multiple reasons.

1. It enables the same country level generalizations that Indians have upon Pakistan
2. Knowing more about an "adversary" is always a good thing (I would recommend reading Sun Tzu in general)
3. It always helps to realize that there could be regions/segments that are friendlier and even allies for Pakistan
4. This is a region within South Asia that has managed to show much better economic growth and HDI than other regions while also showing o religious one of the highest levels of religious tolerance in South Asia (which is not too high at global level to be fair). Getting to know the few things they did get right is helpful
5. Their numbers are smaller and their voices muted by the more numerous, more boisterous, more intolerant, less educated north Indians. Without appreciating the distinct nuances, whatever good actions put forth by them is drowned out by the majority cow brigade. This leads us to think cow brigade = India and I'm learning of late that this is not true.
6. I have personally encountered numerous South Indians of late and it blew my mind how much more chill, open, intellectual, and more educated they are. I also observed them going out of their way to help other South Asians regardless of any religious differences. Granted this last piece is my subjective observation.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

South India is pretty alien to most Pakistanis.

I have learned more about it from PP and making many friends from Kerala over the years.

I would love to visit one day.

 

[dildilpak]

It's not hyped at all, why would PP care about it? Indian posters generally bring up these differences, most of us are blissfully ignorant. You seem pretty clued up though.

As i said, I lead a team which has members all over India- so have had to travel a few times there. Plus had a South Indian roomie during grad school (Indian Hyderabadi), so have heard a fair bit of stories from him too over the years.

 

[rickroll]

Yet another interesting fact I found through these videos and from South Indians at my work place is the unreasonable high budget North gets.

Apparently India's budget allocation by state is by population. So South India with better birth control since 1950 gets less and less money from center. North India with lower education and higher birth rates sucks up more and more money. On top of this their political representation will also be through population so North will have more political say than South since they breed more. South generates more money from its better economy, has better education, lower crime rates, and has higher HDI (human development index). BUT it seems to be penalized for all of its progress through less money and less political representation.

To the Indians here - Is my above synopsis of the scenario in India accurate?

To the South Indians here - What is continuing to prompt you to stay with India instead of seceding? They (North Indian majority) seem to be taking your money, growing population more and more at your expense, taking away some of your political representations, impose their language on you, and make fun of you for your darker skin/looks/culture. Why stay with such an oppressive majority instead of wanting to secede and having a better country for yourselves?

Not trying to ruffle feathers among Indian posters here but I'm really curious about this and I would like to hear opinions of South Indians.

If you are a South Indian - Why stay with such an oppressive majority instead of wanting to secede and having a better country for yourselves?

 

[pillionrider]

Not trying to ruffle feathers among Indian posters here but I'm really curious about this and I would like to hear opinions of South Indians.

If you are a South Indian - Why stay with such an oppressive majority instead of wanting to secede and having a better country for yourselves?

Kashmir isn't going anywhere buddy

 

[RajBan]

Not trying to ruffle feathers among Indian posters here but I'm really curious about this and I would like to hear opinions of South Indians.

If you are a South Indian - Why stay with such an oppressive majority instead of wanting to secede and having a better country for yourselves?

I think you don't have any malice in your question , just framed it based on your genuine interest but also based on a very linear take of a complex matter that misplaces a scenario into something completely different.

Think you and many Pakistanis make a common mistake - which is to judge everything in India through the same lens how everything is conducted in Pakistan. This subject of oppression that you raised between North - South are out of context and confusing for most Indian posters to respond to as this presents an abstract problem that does not exist . Not just that , this also gives an insight into the psyche of common Pakistani citizen , who in order to comprehend India, tries to generate equivalence in their mind when they look at the socio economic , political as well governance oriented problems at home.

To respond in very simple terms - The oppression and social divide that exists in India is not between region, religion, language or culture that is typical in Pakistani narrative but rather between the social classes which is also true in your country by the way. The rich across regions and religions continue to make merry at the cost of the unprivileged because of the flaws in the system. However there are institutions in place who continuously thrive to minimize the divide even though we still have a long way to go. And remember this is still a broad generalization as the economic class is India is not 2-3 layers like other countries but much more with their social spaces intertwined .

 

[Varun]

But why is BJPs presence considered bad? Looks like you are also falling for the propaganda Raj bhai. Majority of Indians trust in BJP.

Less than 40%.

 

[rickroll]

Kashmir isn't going anywhere buddy

Is this topic about Kashmir? You expect me to rant back at you about the multitude of problems endemic in India and digress from this topic that you do not seem to be comfortable with? Not gonna happen. Stick to the topic please.

 

[rickroll]

I think you don't have any malice in your question , just framed it based on your genuine interest but also based on a very linear take of a complex matter that misplaces a scenario into something completely different.

Think you and many Pakistanis make a common mistake - which is to judge everything in India through the same lens how everything is conducted in Pakistan. This subject of oppression that you raised between North - South are out of context and confusing for most Indian posters to respond to as this presents an abstract problem that does not exist . Not just that , this also gives an insight into the psyche of common Pakistani citizen , who in order to comprehend India, tries to generate equivalence in their mind when they look at the socio economic , political as well governance oriented problems at home.

To respond in very simple terms - The oppression and social divide that exists in India is not between region, religion, language or culture that is typical in Pakistani narrative but rather between the social classes which is also true in your country by the way. The rich across regions and religions continue to make merry at the cost of the unprivileged because of the flaws in the system. However there are institutions in place who continuously thrive to minimize the divide even though we still have a long way to go. And remember this is still a broad generalization as the economic class is India is not 2-3 layers like other countries but much more with their social spaces intertwined .

Thank you for a thoughtful answer. I gather that the essence of what you say is class divides are more prevalent and are more powerful than regional divides in India.

Do South Indians also have this viewpoint that you share? Are they generally ok with North Indians reducing them to caricatures, making fun of them for dark skin, taking away their political powers by out breeding them, and diverting their economic outputs? This is not a simplified view extrapolating Pakistan's problems or generalizing anything.

Basis for South India outperforming North India -- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-62951951

Some debates/discussions that I saw to better understand the issue besides the one I had linked in the original post. Please understand that not every non-Indian here questioning things about India is basing things on broad generalizations alone or claim "ignorance is bliss" to continue making spouting ignorant biased opinions here. There are some of us who are fact/data driven, take the time to interact with people and want to have a more substantial discussion. Your response seems credible so I'm taking the time to explain where I'm coming from.

Video below explaining South India contributing higher percentage than what they get back

Typical response I get from North Indians when asked about this - "This is all just one country and it is not a big issue." Easy to say when your part of the country is the one getting more funds, right? To an outside simpleton like me it seems like North India with their majority is replacing the British colonialism with their own brand of Hindi colonialism upon the South Indians and the North East Indians.

 

[rickroll]

I generally find some of Sana Amjad's youtube videos cringey or clickbait-ish but this one seemed enjoyable and is contextual with this thread

 

[RajBan]

Thank you for a thoughtful answer. I gather that the essence of what you say is class divides are more prevalent and are more powerful than regional divides in India.

Do South Indians also have this viewpoint that you share? Are they generally ok with North Indians reducing them to caricatures, making fun of them for dark skin, taking away their political powers by out breeding them, and diverting their economic outputs? This is not a simplified view extrapolating Pakistan's problems or generalizing anything.

Basis for South India outperforming North India -- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-62951951

Some debates/discussions that I saw to better understand the issue besides the one I had linked in the original post. Please understand that not every non-Indian here questioning things about India is basing things on broad generalizations alone or claim "ignorance is bliss" to continue making spouting ignorant biased opinions here. There are some of us who are fact/data driven, take the time to interact with people and want to have a more substantial discussion. Your response seems credible so I'm taking the time to explain where I'm coming from.

Video below explaining South India contributing higher percentage than what they get back

Typical response I get from North Indians when asked about this - "This is all just one country and it is not a big issue." Easy to say when your part of the country is the one getting more funds, right? To an outside simpleton like me it seems like North India with their majority is replacing the British colonialism with their own brand of Hindi colonialism upon the South Indians and the North East Indians.

TBH I have not seen a serious move to reduce political powers of South India other than some posturing that can be interpreted subjectively by political masters and media houses for garnering attention. There is a theory that this may be attempted once the census of 2031 is done but I don't see it happening at this point. South continues to remain extremely relevant in terms of economy and more and more people from other parts of the country are settling down in southern states in last decade or two. That economic power also gives South enough leverage against any political move should that ever be attempted. I really doubt northern states such as UP or Bihar will try to alienate southern states given how badly they depend on that internal remittance to run their shop. Also it is a matter of time that North eventually follows the same path of development with big ticket investements already marked in different sectors.

As far as the caricatures are concerned it is not one way but happen all ways in all states even within South, you may be able to appreciate the northern ones more because of the outspoken nature and familiarity with the language. That's very typical in a diverse country like India where there is so much sub ethnic diversity. Also I never understood this dark skin stuff as population in Southern states are not homogeneous but very diverse ranging from colour to culture.

 

[WengerOut]

This North - South comparison is like comparison of mothers. Everyone thinks theirs is the best. Futile exercise.

 

[rickroll]

Interestingly the only few Indian responses I get here seem to be from North Indians (correct me if I'm wrong). I'm hoping to get responses from South Indian origin people for this fundamental question - Why stay with such an oppressive majority instead of wanting to secede and having a better country for yourselves?

 

[gsivak]

Interestingly the only few Indian responses I get here seem to be from North Indians (correct me if I'm wrong). I'm hoping to get responses from South Indian origin people for this fundamental question - Why stay with such an oppressive majority instead of wanting to secede and having a better country for yourselves?

As a South Indian I would say that North Indians are not an " oppressive majority" but rather a more " louder and brasher" majority. We seem more things in common with our brothers and sisters across India than things that are different. Colorism, casteism and religious bias are problems faced by people across India so there is no point having a holier than thou perspective.

 

[WengerOut]

Interestingly the only few Indian responses I get here seem to be from North Indians (correct me if I'm wrong). I'm hoping to get responses from South Indian origin people for this fundamental question - Why stay with such an oppressive majority instead of wanting to secede and having a better country for yourselves?

Are you implying that this is a genuine option that the southies are not trying for or is it a hypothetical question?

 

[rickroll]

Are you implying that this is a genuine option that the southies are not trying for or is it a hypothetical question?

I feel this is a genuine option for South Indians and I'm curious what is preventing them from at least wanting it let alone demanding for it.

 

[dildilpak]

Good points here. I heard about how touchy they are with their languages since it is distinct from Urdu/Hindi. I did not know about their hero worship culture. Is that too different from Bollywood's hero worship or Shahrukh/Salman/Amir?

What I understand from my buddy, they literally worship their film stars in the south. They have politicians there who are popular film actors or something & they construct even temples for their actors or something!! And people committing suicide if a popular actor dies. Their actor worship is way crazier than their northern counterparts.

 

[Stewie]

Gotta love my South Indian friends. Very nice and friendly people. Rajnikant is a God for them and they will not have any nonsense against him. They love their films and will tell you the south indian cinema is hundred times better than Bollywood which copies everything off of their films. They are also very simple and frugal people.

There is, however, one very common misconception about them: which is that they have excellent command over English. They are probably better at it than their countrymen from the rest of India, but through my vast experience with them here in the USA, I can safely state the version of English they speak or write can quite possibly qualify as a separate distant dialect of English, because so many common vernacular is very very specific to their country and puzzles a native English speaker.

I could never understand why they always used "since" when describing time in general and when its not a particular period or spot in time. For instance, "I have known Rajnikant since 5 years, and today morning I wantedly went to the cinema to watch his film"

A native English speaker would say "I have known Rajnikant for 5 years and this morning, I intentionally went to the cinema to watch his film."

They also have trouble pronouncing some commonly used words such as "pathetic" which ends up sounding like "path-attic".

I dont mean to demean them because Pakistanis on average are much much worse at English, but generally speaking the educated Pakistanis seem to have a much better grasp of English than South Indians.

 

[rickroll]

Gotta love my South Indian friends. Very nice and friendly people. Rajnikant is a God for them and they will not have any nonsense against him. They love their films and will tell you the south indian cinema is hundred times better than Bollywood which copies everything off of their films. They are also very simple and frugal people.

There is, however, one very common misconception about them: which is that they have excellent command over English. They are probably better at it than their countrymen from the rest of India, but through my vast experience with them here in the USA, I can safely state the version of English they speak or write can quite possibly qualify as a separate distant dialect of English, because so many common vernacular is very very specific to their country and puzzles a native English speaker.

I could never understand why they always used "since" when describing time in general and when its not a particular period or spot in time. For instance, "I have known Rajnikant since 5 years, and today morning I wantedly went to the cinema to watch his film"

A native English speaker would say "I have known Rajnikant for 5 years and this morning, I intentionally went to the cinema to watch his film."

They also have trouble pronouncing some commonly used words such as "pathetic" which ends up sounding like "path-attic".

I dont mean to demean them because Pakistanis on average are much much worse at English, but generally speaking the educated Pakistanis seem to have a much better grasp of English than South Indians.

I think these are South Asia specific quirks in general because I have also observed the phrase "I have known XYZ since 5 years" from North Indians and Pakistanis not just South Indians. North Indians and Pakistanis have their own specific accents/misnomers/mispronunciations/grammar quirks. When it comes to pronunciations the thing that grinds my gears wrt to North Indians and Pakistanis (more Sindhis for some reason) is how they say the words "uncle", "people" etc. Somehow uncle becomes "Uncal" and people becomes "peopal" ... really grinds my gears.

All of these grammar/pronunciation quirks exist more among fresh off the boat immigrants and probably more among those from smaller cities. I interact with South Indians from Chennai and Bangalore and barring accents their spoken and written English seems perfect.

I agree about South Indians being simple, friendly, frugal people especially noticeably much friendlier towards Pakistanis.

 

[Stewie]

I think these are South Asia specific quirks in general because I have also observed the phrase "I have known XYZ since 5 years" from North Indians and Pakistanis not just South Indians. North Indians and Pakistanis have their own specific accents/misnomers/mispronunciations/grammar quirks. When it comes to pronunciations the thing that grinds my gears wrt to North Indians and Pakistanis (more Sindhis for some reason) is how they say the words "uncle", "people" etc. Somehow uncle becomes "Uncal" and people becomes "peopal" ... really grinds my gears.

All of these grammar/pronunciation quirks exist more among fresh off the boat immigrants and probably more among those from smaller cities. I interact with South Indians from Chennai and Bangalore and barring accents their spoken and written English seems perfect.

I agree about South Indians being simple, friendly, frugal people especially noticeably much friendlier towards Pakistanis.

Agreed, we all have quirks so it’s a misconception South Indians have immaculate English because they don’t. They are much much much better and cordial with Pakistanis than say Indian Punjabis, people from UP, and the ones who are always on a warpath with us …. Gujaratis.

 

[Stewie]

I think these are South Asia specific quirks in general because I have also observed the phrase "I have known XYZ since 5 years" from North Indians and Pakistanis not just South Indians. North Indians and Pakistanis have their own specific accents/misnomers/mispronunciations/grammar quirks. When it comes to pronunciations the thing that grinds my gears wrt to North Indians and Pakistanis (more Sindhis for some reason) is how they say the words "uncle", "people" etc. Somehow uncle becomes "Uncal" and people becomes "peopal" ... really grinds my gears.

All of these grammar/pronunciation quirks exist more among fresh off the boat immigrants and probably more among those from smaller cities. I interact with South Indians from Chennai and Bangalore and barring accents their spoken and written English seems perfect.

I agree about South Indians being simple, friendly, frugal people especially noticeably much friendlier towards Pakistanis.

Agreed, we all have quirks so it’s a misconception South Indians have immaculate English because they don’t. They are much much much better and cordial with Pakistanis than say Indian Punjabis, people from UP, and the ones who are always on a warpath with us …. Gujaratis.

 

[rickroll]

Agreed, we all have quirks so it’s a misconception South Indians have immaculate English because they don’t. They are much much much better and cordial with Pakistanis than say Indian Punjabis, people from UP, and the ones who are always on a warpath with us …. Gujaratis.

So true! I feel South Indians are the ones wielding a good amount of economic and intellectual power behind the screens for India. These people also do not harbor much hatred towards Pakistan and are more amicable towards Pakistanis. But instead of attempting to embrace South Indians it is unfortunate that many of the Pakistanis make the same mistake as the North Indians - being dismissive of the South Indians or worse mock them just like the North Indians do. Almost all of the South Indians I interacted were eager to help and were super friendly towards Pakistanis.

 

[Champ_Pal]

The south was cleaned up by christian missionaries because the caste system always put them lower than the north indians

Where did you get this?

Caste system has nothing to do with north-south divide. 99% of castes you find in south India are unknown in north and vice versa. A low caste South Indian can get better respect in north as they don’t know about them. Same with low caste North Indians.

All South Indians are treated the same in north irrespective of caste.

 

[rickroll]

Where did you get this?

Caste system has nothing to do with north-south divide. 99% of castes you find in south India are unknown in north and vice versa. A low caste South Indian can get better respect in north as they don’t know about them. Same with low caste North Indians.

All South Indians are treated the same in north irrespective of caste.

Agree. This does not seem consistent with what I heard from South Indians at work. If anything North East is the area that seems to have a Christian majority.

Here is a link from 2021 PEW research showing religious split in India by state -- https://www.pewresearch.org/religio...-demography-of-indian-states-and-territories/ -- got this just now after a simple google search.

I wish people would google first instead of posting blanket assumptions driven by biases.

 

[SportsWarrior]

Nope, does not seem so simple going by facts though.

After independence the 4 Southern states of India were at the bottom of the rung in terms of economic, education, and human development. They not only caught up but are leading now as a role model for rest of India primarily due to their efforts AFTER the Brits left. The youtube video talks about this in interesting detail.

If we remove these Southern states, and then look at India's GDP and HDI figures I doubt they may look impressive. Perhaps a question for Pakistanis and other South Asians is that should they try to emulate South India and not India?

This sis wrong. Kerala had the highest literacy rate in india after Independence

 

[rickroll]

This sis wrong. Kerala had the highest literacy rate in india after Independence

You are correct and I stand corrected about education. The South Indian states had a higher literacy states than the North Indian states at the time of independence. But my point about their economy being in the bottom rung does seem to be true though going by the reference in the video in my first post of this thread.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Gotta love my South Indian friends. Very nice and friendly people. Rajnikant is a God for them and they will not have any nonsense against him. They love their films and will tell you the south indian cinema is hundred times better than Bollywood which copies everything off of their films. They are also very simple and frugal people.

I agree with you, South Indians are indeed a fine people. But I will stick up for my north Indian bros, because I grew up with them and went to school with them, and they took no faeces. It was us who fought toe to toe, and the Apu's swallowed grass fed to them by the weakest English kids.

 

[rickroll]

Agreed, we all have quirks so it’s a misconception South Indians have immaculate English because they don’t. They are much much much better and cordial with Pakistanis than say Indian Punjabis, people from UP, and the ones who are always on a warpath with us …. Gujaratis.

I agree with you, South Indians are indeed a fine people. But I will stick up for my north Indian bros, because I grew up with them and went to school with them, and they took no faeces. It was us who fought toe to toe, and the Apu's swallowed grass fed to them by the weakest English kids.

This could be a post in half-jest, but I will hands down choose an open minded intellectual person as a friend who is not professing hatred towards me than choosing a friend based on what was "cool" back in high school. If that good hearted person is "weaker" then I have no problems defending them as opposed to choosing to hangout with a bunch of D-bags because they are "stronger" and cooler.

 

[rickroll]

One of my South Indian acquaintances (probably a friend soon) shared this post below that was originally posted in Quora saying it is very insightful. This is not sharing an external forum like reddit or Quora but just ONE insightful post that seems to have great points about why North Indians are so much more aggressive towards Pakistan while South Indians seem more amenable to pluralism. It is a bit long but seems VERY entertaining/insightful. I would love to hear thoughts from other forum participants here ...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don’t want to group all of them as North Indians. I have friends from Punjab, Haryana, UP, Bihar, and West Bengal.

The closest I can relate to are Bengalis > Punjabis > Haryana > UP and Bihar.

Bengalis and Punjabis share a lot of experience with us. We three are the worst affected when India was formed. Punjabis got divided as Pakistanis and Indians, Bengalis as Bangladeshis and Indians and We Tamils became Indians and Srilanka (Eelam).

At least both of them are the majority in those countries, but we got ethnically cleansed in Srilanka. We all are quite displeased with the Hindi Hegemony and since you stay closer, you just let them in.

Punjabis killed Indira, Tamils killed Rajiv, Cruel Joke, I am sorry. We three are pretty rooted in our cultures. Quite proud. And like Punjabis, a lot of Tamils live in Canada and the UK.

Haryana: This friend always spoke in Hindi, I asked where he was from, he said Haryana and said he is Haryanvi, not a Hindi Speaker. But he realizes that he has drifted away from his original culture, he is quite agreeable about the Hindi hegemony.

Now Coming to UP and Bihar, these friends were the worst brats, no less than a Hindi chauvinist. I came to know that their languages are Maithili and Awadhi and Not Hindi and they couldn’ t read, write or speak it. They can mimic the language in Hindi, that’s all. They want all of us to learn Hindi because they did. They lost their language to become an Indian. So, they don't really understand the linguistic identity. It is so stupid and alien to them. No linguistic glory will help them understand the need for retaining one’s identity. Their only identity is Indian, they are pretty proud of it and that’s why they think all Indians should speak Hindi, no matter what.

I don’t blame them, The northern part of India was a political turmoil since centuries, people kept moving, so new languages were formed, erased and they might have a complex identity, being an XXX language speaker can be looked down by a YYY Speaker and vice versa. So the best option they had was to take the new Indian Identity and learn Hindi, they gave up their roots for the new Indian nation. They really aren’t quite aware of the social construction of India, they are not used to long steady civilizations like the south. It just baffles them. They don’t understand the need for preserving cultures and languages, because, people like them will always adapt and switch to the cultures they were controlled by, blame political unrest, they have evolved that way. Even though Punjab has been through the same, Punjabis really don’t have self-hate as these people do, they are the majority of small minorities. If India comes under Pakistan’s rule tomorrow, they will learn Urdu and will jump to their New Identities, that’s their survival Mechanism, Also, replace Hindi by Kannada or Tamil, they will learn it too.

So, they expect Tamils, Kannadigas, Telugus Malayalis to do the same, become Indians, take this new identity as they did and see us as a threat if we don’t, survival Mechanism again.

We south Indians have learned to evolve without having to adapt. But, they survived only by adaptations. This brings the largest misunderstanding between both of us. For South Indians, Our kingdoms were pretty much decent and Cholas, Vijayanagara, and Hoysalyas patronized all south Indian languages. So, we have been in pluralistic societies before, we believe in it. We don’t see Pluralism as a threat.

But for them, it is. Their rulers weren’t as civilized as us. Gory killings happened, several groups fought with each other, pluralism is a threat for them, so they just want to paint the country in the same color. It is not their fault. They want a national language. The government wants to appease them for Vote bank politics, If they do well in BIMARU, they are pretty much on the center.

India is a country formed by merging many countries. North and South are literally two different civilizations evolved differently.

Both of us are not fit to live together, the BIMARUs are all pretty insecure ( Again, their history), they are not mature enough to live in diverse societies, if they were given a chance to live in such a society, they will definitely try to impose theirs over the minorities.

A good portion of Southern Civilization has bypassed the Nationalistic Phase and Joined the Global Phase, comparable to Europe and the US in terms of development and at the same time, they were able to even retain their Pre Vedic traditions. It is because we knew the formula from the very beginning, mother tongue to learn English, English to talk to the world, that’s how we became developed. We are the leaders of the Service sector, 60% of Indian GDP comes from Service = English. No German, Norwegian, Chinese feel shameful to learn and Speak English. if we all humans are going to use one language soon, it is English, your native language is your cultural heritage and learn English, pass our native tongue to younger generations, Easy as that, That’s what we do here.

But the north is still struggling with an Identity crisis, wanting a collective identity, blaming every neighbor possible, Pakistan, China, Afghanistan, England, Bangladesh all to blame. Don’t daydream of Hindu Hindi Rashtra, you are putting yourself in the soup. It is not going to help anyone, rather you will make a replica of Bangladesh.

Learn English and your mother tongue, quick. None is going to look down on you for speaking English. Stop having unnecessary thoughts. Don’t trust uneducated politicians and their lies, they have been our and your money, they will tell that they are going to make India a superpower and the whole world will speak in Hindi, but they will not tell you that, they are literally being fed by the service sector of the country whose oxygen is English. If you read this, you pretty much know English, please do pass this to the innocent people of North. These politicians all want to keep you as illiterates by telling Hindi is RashtraBasha, Blah! Blah! but they will hide the fact English is what feeding India, ISRO is using English, so is DRDO and what not.

Next time, vote candidates who can identify all the states in the Indian map, who understands the theory of Evolution and can speak some decent English.

Unfortunately, we have to count on you for that.

Source: https://qr.ae/prrHgN
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Not trying to ruffle feathers among Indian posters here but I'm really curious about this and I would like to hear opinions of South Indians.

If you are a South Indian - Why stay with such an oppressive majority instead of wanting to secede and having a better country for yourselves?

Development in a country like India happened in very specific places generally. There was the Freight Equalisation policy which the Centre pursued which disadvantaged states like Bihar who were resource rich

Basically the Centre decided it was going to subsidise freight no matter where these resources were. So, many industries were set up along the coasts in western and southern India.

This is not an argument about South vs North. Southern and Western India have been much productive than other regions in India because of advantages like I mentioned above.

Also, many public sector industries were set up in these regions as they were more politically stable than others.

And later the private sector, services industries followed as well.

There is an issue in terms of tax revenue coming primarily from the southern states, Maharashtra and maybe Gujarat (basically South and West) and being poured into UP, Bihar and the NCR region .

But that's not the whole of North India. It's basically for 2 states . If things keep progressing at this rate, there will be a call from the productive states to stop incentivising the lack of social development in UP and Bihar.

South Indians choose to stay with India because no matter what said and done, there are cultural and religious ties that go back a long way.

You were surprised at [MENTION=139758]pillionrider[/MENTION] responding about Kashmir. Well, he's South Indian too. And as I told you in another thread, South Indians are perfectly happy with India's foreign policy , want Kashmir to be an integral part of India because it was the source of a powerful brand of Shaivism etc.

The actual views of south indians living in south india are probably not what the average Pakistani would expect.

South Indians may be friendly to everyone, especially when abroad, but they are generally good to just about everybody and just trying to get on with it.

Their real views of Pakistan's politics, people, culture , religion are not things they are not as vocal about.

 

[ex-q-zit]

Yet another interesting fact I found through these videos and from South Indians at my work place is the unreasonable high budget North gets.

Apparently India's budget allocation by state is by population. So South India with better birth control since 1950 gets less and less money from center. North India with lower education and higher birth rates sucks up more and more money. On top of this their political representation will also be through population so North will have more political say than South since they breed more. South generates more money from its better economy, has better education, lower crime rates, and has higher HDI (human development index). BUT it seems to be penalized for all of its progress through less money and less political representation.

To the Indians here - Is my above synopsis of the scenario in India accurate?

To the South Indians here - What is continuing to prompt you to stay with India instead of seceding? They (North Indian majority) seem to be taking your money, growing population more and more at your expense, taking away some of your political representations, impose their language on you, and make fun of you for your darker skin/looks/culture. Why stay with such an oppressive majority instead of wanting to secede and having a better country for yourselves?

As a South Indian I dont feel oppressed at all by the larger hindi speaking population. We are happy where we are. Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad has good infrastructure thanks to the IT sector. If I am right south fairs better in most of the key indicators if not all than rest of the other parts of India.

I wouldn't support seccession from India because South India is not homogenous. The 5 states have 4 languages. If we become a country than these divisions will become even more prominent. A state like kerala which is teh smallest will always feel like the youngest brother. We are happy being how we are as long as hindi is not imposed on us and our language and culture is given equal respect.

Things are changing now. With south films doing well people no longer still call us madrasis and most of them know the states and languages spoken in those states. For long bollywood made south indian roles in their movies as caricatures who are dhoti clad, speaking hindi in a funny manner.

 

[Varun]

As a South Indian I dont feel oppressed at all by the larger hindi speaking population. We are happy where we are. Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad has good infrastructure thanks to the IT sector. If I am right south fairs better in most of the key indicators if not all than rest of the other parts of India.

I wouldn't support seccession from India because South India is not homogenous. The 5 states have 4 languages. If we become a country than these divisions will become even more prominent. A state like kerala which is teh smallest will always feel like the youngest brother. We are happy being how we are as long as hindi is not imposed on us and our language and culture is given equal respect.

Mark this post - a secession will happen by 2050. My reason for it? The BJP at the centre have been delaying the 2021 Census in the guise of Covid. If they can stretch the delay to 2026 somehow, they can invoke an old Supreme Court judgement that will allow them to unilaterally reallocate Lok Sabha seats to various states based on their population size. Guess who will lose? That will be the beginning of the rift between South and North.

Things are changing now. With south films doing well people no longer still call us madrasis and most of them know the states and languages spoken in those states. For long bollywood made south indian roles in their movies as caricatures who are dhoti clad, speaking hindi in a funny manner.

The Madrasis effect now happens in reverse. Nobody in Madras (Chennai) cares about where a Hindi speaking individual is from - he doesn't discern between Punjab/Orissa/Gujarat/Jharkhand/Assam etc. If you're anywhere from north of Hyderabad, you are a Hindi speaking North Indian bhaiya. It's probably the same in other South Indian areas.

 

[rickroll]

Development in a country like India happened in very specific places generally. There was the Freight Equalisation policy which the Centre pursued which disadvantaged states like Bihar who were resource rich

Basically the Centre decided it was going to subsidise freight no matter where these resources were. So, many industries were set up along the coasts in western and southern India.

This is not an argument about South vs North. Southern and Western India have been much productive than other regions in India because of advantages like I mentioned above.

Also, many public sector industries were set up in these regions as they were more politically stable than others.

And later the private sector, services industries followed as well.

There is an issue in terms of tax revenue coming primarily from the southern states, Maharashtra and maybe Gujarat (basically South and West) and being poured into UP, Bihar and the NCR region .

But that's not the whole of North India. It's basically for 2 states . If things keep progressing at this rate, there will be a call from the productive states to stop incentivising the lack of social development in UP and Bihar.

South Indians choose to stay with India because no matter what said and done, there are cultural and religious ties that go back a long way.

You were surprised at [MENTION=139758]pillionrider[/MENTION] responding about Kashmir. Well, he's South Indian too. And as I told you in another thread, South Indians are perfectly happy with India's foreign policy , want Kashmir to be an integral part of India because it was the source of a powerful brand of Shaivism etc.

The actual views of south indians living in south india are probably not what the average Pakistani would expect.

South Indians may be friendly to everyone, especially when abroad, but they are generally good to just about everybody and just trying to get on with it.

Their real views of Pakistan's politics, people, culture , religion are not things they are not as vocal about.

As a South Indian I dont feel oppressed at all by the larger hindi speaking population. We are happy where we are. Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad has good infrastructure thanks to the IT sector. If I am right south fairs better in most of the key indicators if not all than rest of the other parts of India.

I wouldn't support seccession from India because South India is not homogenous. The 5 states have 4 languages. If we become a country than these divisions will become even more prominent. A state like kerala which is teh smallest will always feel like the youngest brother. We are happy being how we are as long as hindi is not imposed on us and our language and culture is given equal respect.

Things are changing now. With south films doing well people no longer still call us madrasis and most of them know the states and languages spoken in those states. For long bollywood made south indian roles in their movies as caricatures who are dhoti clad, speaking hindi in a funny manner.

Glad to see detailed responses. Some interesting points here.

 

[rickroll]

Mark this post - a secession will happen by 2050. My reason for it? The BJP at the centre have been delaying the 2021 Census in the guise of Covid. If they can stretch the delay to 2026 somehow, they can invoke an old Supreme Court judgement that will allow them to unilaterally reallocate Lok Sabha seats to various states based on their population size. Guess who will lose? That will be the beginning of the rift between South and North.



The Madrasis effect now happens in reverse. Nobody in Madras (Chennai) cares about where a Hindi speaking individual is from - he doesn't discern between Punjab/Orissa/Gujarat/Jharkhand/Assam etc. If you're anywhere from north of Hyderabad, you are a Hindi speaking North Indian bhaiya. It's probably the same in other South Indian areas.

Thats a pretty sneaky and unethical move against a large section of your own country. I guess it is not surprising that it is being done by the BJP. Are people in the South aware of this impending 2026 political doom? Are there voices against this?

 

[Varun]

Thats a pretty sneaky and unethical move against a large section of your own country. I guess it is not surprising that it is being done by the BJP. Are people in the South aware of this impending 2026 political doom? Are there voices against this?

I'm just starting to see articles around this recently, but it's hardly being reported widely.

How census-based delimitation for Lok Sabha seats could shake up politics & disadvantage south


According to a paper published ahead of the last general election in 2019, if India’s Lok Sabha seats are redistributed across states after the delimitation exercise scheduled to be conducted after 2026, then states in North India may gain more than 32 seats, at the expense of southern states, which may end up with approximately 24 fewer seats.

Echoing the estimates of the paper, Somu argued last week that delimitation of Lok Sabha seats on the basis of population is unfair to the southern states, which have implemented family planning programmes better than the states in the north.

“Tamil Nadu is the only state which sincerely and successfully implemented the family planning programme proposed by the Union government,” Somu said. “South Indian states, particularly Tamil Nadu, have controlled their population growth to 6 per cent. In North Indian states, family planning was not implemented with sincerity and due respect. As a result, there is an increase in the population of states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.”

She added: “It is absolutely ridiculous and very unfair that states which successfully implemented family planning are penalised, and states that are reckless are being incentivised.”

https://theprint.in/india/governanc...shake-up-politics-disadvantage-south/1287536/

 

[Cover Drive Six]

Development in a country like India happened in very specific places generally. There was the Freight Equalisation policy which the Centre pursued which disadvantaged states like Bihar who were resource rich

Basically the Centre decided it was going to subsidise freight no matter where these resources were. So, many industries were set up along the coasts in western and southern India.

This is not an argument about South vs North. Southern and Western India have been much productive than other regions in India because of advantages like I mentioned above.

Also, many public sector industries were set up in these regions as they were more politically stable than others.

And later the private sector, services industries followed as well.

There is an issue in terms of tax revenue coming primarily from the southern states, Maharashtra and maybe Gujarat (basically South and West) and being poured into UP, Bihar and the NCR region .

But that's not the whole of North India. It's basically for 2 states . If things keep progressing at this rate, there will be a call from the productive states to stop incentivising the lack of social development in UP and Bihar.

South Indians choose to stay with India because no matter what said and done, there are cultural and religious ties that go back a long way.

You were surprised at [MENTION=139758]pillionrider[/MENTION] responding about Kashmir. Well, he's South Indian too. And as I told you in another thread, South Indians are perfectly happy with India's foreign policy , want Kashmir to be an integral part of India because it was the source of a powerful brand of Shaivism etc.

The actual views of south indians living in south india are probably not what the average Pakistani would expect.

South Indians may be friendly to everyone, especially when abroad, but they are generally good to just about everybody and just trying to get on with it.

Their real views of Pakistan's politics, people, culture , religion are not things they are not as vocal about.

Good Post.

 

[ex-q-zit]

This is how we celebrate movies in South. People have a blast throwing shredded paper especialy durings peppy songs, hero introduction and fights.

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 55.000%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/47n3pn" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/et8b9w" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>

 

[rickroll]

This is how we celebrate movies in South. People have a blast throwing shredded paper especialy durings peppy songs, hero introduction and fights.

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 55.000%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/47n3pn" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>

<div style="width: 100%; height: 0px; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.250%;"><iframe src="https://streamable.com/e/et8b9w" frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" allowfullscreen style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;"></iframe></div>

These seem pretty intense. What language is this?

As much as it seems fun, isn't this considered too disruptive for the people sitting nearby to watch the movie? I'm not sure if people can hear dialogs with this much yelling nearby, right?

 

[ex-q-zit]

These seem pretty intense. What language is this?

As much as it seems fun, isn't this considered too disruptive for the people sitting nearby to watch the movie? I'm not sure if people can hear dialogs with this much yelling nearby, right?

The language is telugu. Off the southern states the telugu states are the most passionate about cinema.

Usually for mass potboilers the 1st week is mainly attended by fans while the family audience start coming later. So during the 1st week where the audience usually con sists of youngsters they have a blast like this.

 

[GreenBee]

As a North Indian myself, I would like to further divide North as Northern plains and mountain states. The plains of Punjab, Haryana, UP, etc are ugly and uncivilized North I prefer not to visit. Actually settled in Goa for now to avoid the region and people who to me are unattractive inside out.

South India to me has been a second home for years, and I very much prefer it here after my home state. And people calling South Indians ugly are just rude and racists.

 

[Varun]

As a North Indian myself, I would like to further divide North as Northern plains and mountain states. The plains of Punjab, Haryana, UP, etc are ugly and uncivilized North I prefer not to visit. Actually settled in Goa for now to avoid the region and people who to me are unattractive inside out.

South India to me has been a second home for years, and I very much prefer it here after my home state. And people calling South Indians ugly are just rude and racists.

Absolutely - we shouldn't club the likes of Himachal/Uttarakhand and even the North East with the rest of the muck.

 

[IndoorCricket]

I think south prioritise education compared to North. This is my general observation.

 

[IndoorCricket]

As a North Indian myself, I would like to further divide North as Northern plains and mountain states. The plains of Punjab, Haryana, UP, etc are ugly and uncivilized North I prefer not to visit. Actually settled in Goa for now to avoid the region and people who to me are unattractive inside out.

South India to me has been a second home for years, and I very much prefer it here after my home state. And people calling South Indians ugly are just rude and racists.

I went to HP(Kasol) once with my friends and the hotel management said Delhi and haryana PPL are the most entitled brats they have ever seen. They told us stories of how they casually use abusive language with little to no concern about their surroundings.