India's current political milieu clears that BJP's irresponsible and fascist leadership will not subjugate South Indians.

It is a time-proven adage that all politics is local, and no leader moves its foreign policy without considering prime domestic considerations. The fact has been vividly elucidated by Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) demagogues, who are on a mission to make a Hindu nation out of the complex called India. However, things are not as simple as they are made to look from the outside under the facade of ‘Shining India’. Other than the religio-ethnic schism of Muslims, Sikhs, tribal and Dalits, there is an often overlooked division between North and South constraining Hindutva Bharat.
So, the conjurer has to play a different card this time. Nationalism beyond regional boundaries, standing with the mighty West. Is the demand for this card so strong locally or not? This is what needs to be dissected.
Since the rise of the BJP Government in India, issues like Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and Khalistan have almost been relegated to secondary places. Another hot issue can be regarded as the primary one that portrays the nightmarish claims of Machiavellian India and its integrity as a diverse democratic republic. Moreover, it is the issue of the North-South divide in India.

Leaders from South India have raised concerns about such political engineering by the Modi Regime. Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI (M) Rajya Sabha member, Dr. V. Sivadasan said, "The BJP has systematically destabilised the Constitution and is now trying to superimpose a new political order by silencing the voice of dissent. Federalism has no place in the BJP's future agenda—either you vote for Lotus or are doomed to resist them."

BJP is trying hard to hijack the politics of the Southern states, which are far better than Northern States in terms of law and order, per capita income, taxation system, literacy rate, and population control. The effective population control by saner and more educated southern states has become the worst nightmare, haunting them in the upcoming elections. From 1951 to 2022, the population of southern states has decreased from 26 to 20 percent while that of Northern States has increased from 39 to 43 percent. The literacy indicators reflect the educational and intellectual divide between the South and North, as Northern states lag significantly in education and skill development. With an overall literacy rate of 60 percent in the North against 80 percent in the South, there are scarcer engineering and technical institutes in the northern region. Although the engineering institutions in India are more than 1,500, the region-wide distribution of institutions and sanctioned intake of students shows significant regional disparity.

Other than the religio-ethnic schism of Muslims, Sikhs, tribal and Dalits, there is an often overlooked division between North and South constraining Hindutva Bharat.

Many medical colleges are concentrated in the five states of the South. These states account for about 63 percent of the medical institutions of India inside the Southern states. Correspondingly, the permeation of public Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and privately-owned Industrial Training Centres (ITCs), which impart vocational training, appears truncated in North India compared to South.
Similarly, the higher literacy rate and lesser inclination of youth towards extremism in the South than in Northern India can be identified from the fact that among the 100 leading colleges/universities (according to 2020 estimates) across the country, 43 of them including Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, Indian Institute of Science (IISC) Bangalore, Bharat University of Chennai, and the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India, Hyderabad, are in South and only 37 universities are in states of North India despite their mammoth population.

The amalgamation of higher education and low population growth rates justifies the upper position of infrastructural development in the South rather than the overall states of the North. The North-South divide in India, rooted in infrastructural differences, became a topic of debate when former Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, raised the issue of the North's development coming at the expense of the South. Siddaramaiah stated, "Historically, the South has been subsidising the North. Six states south of the Vindhyas contribute more taxes and get less." He further added, "While I recognise the need for correcting regional imbalances, where is the reward for development?" It is evidence that progress in terms of infrastructure does not give a proper due share in the shape of a return from the Union Grant/Treasury. 
South India has witnessed robust economic growth, driven by IT software services, manufacturing, textiles, and tourism sectors. Cities like Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderabad have emerged as major economic hubs. So, one can emphasise that 12 of India's 30 leading and high-revenue generating Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are in South India, while nine being developed at the expense of development of Southern India are in North. Coming to the point of India's IT industry, major IT parks exist in the Southern state of Karnataka, Bengaluru city. Due to this, the city had earned the name of the "Silicon Valley of India".
In the health field, the difference between South and North India is as blatant as between developed regions like Europe and underdeveloped regions like sub-Saharan Africa. There are 1,825 hospitals in the Northern states, while 5,982 hospitals in South India.
According to the PAI-2020 index, Southern states have outshined the northern states in well-governed states status. This expounds the rising extremism and crime rate in northern states due to the widespread political polarisation and hate disseminated against minorities by Hindu extremist elements.
Indian North, primarily Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, is 26 percent of India and the driver of project Rashtriya Swayasevak Sangh (RSS)/BJP/Hindutva ideology. However, its contribution to Indian tax is only 3 percent, whereas 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. The Indian South, which includes Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry's union territory, contribute 25 percent to Indian tax income, and 92 percent of the population lives above the poverty line. The per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of the South is more than four times that of the improvised North. Very importantly, the Indian South is not as bigoted and straight-jacketed as the North is.
Higher literacy and better economic developments speak of the nature and characteristics of people in the Southern states. They are more enlightened, liberal and democratic. This nature and characteristics in the Southern states have rejected the extremist Hindutva ideology of BJP, evident from political parties representing in the state assemblies.

The literacy indicators reflect the educational and intellectual divide between the South and North, as Northern states lag significantly in education and skill development. With an overall literacy rate of 60 percent in the North against 80 percent in the South, there are scarcer engineering and technical institutes in the northern region.

BJP-RSS is ruthlessly following their fascist Hindutva ideology aimed at making India ‘Akhand Bharat' (undivided India). For this ideology to succeed, the compulsion is the elimination of all dissension, and in that context, Southern states are the biggest challenge for the fascist Modi regime.
Modi's BJP is faced with the embarrassment of losing state elections in the Southern states and decreasing in popularity as per Karnataka's 2023 polls. However, Modi's agenda of gaining uncontested popularity to win the elections of 2024 and beyond has started taking its toll. They have come up with a cunning plan.
The India to “Bharat” tantrum and “One Nation, One Election” mantra is being propagated to achieve fascist ideology objectives. For political objectives, Modi intends to alter the number of assembly seats in the North and South in favor of the BJP, which he is already working on. The 'Delimitation Act' is a major step in this direction (a catastrophe for Southern states).
Indian Constitution was amended in 1976 to freeze Lok Sabha's expansion until 2001. In 2001, the 84th amendment to the Constitution extended the freeze on delimitation till 2026. Now, in a bid to manipulate the number of seats, the Women Seats Reservation Bill has been passed in the Indian Parliament, the implementation of which is linked to two conditions: Delimitation and Census. This delimitation is, in reality, a vile endeavour to rob them of their legitimate political right.
If delimitation is implemented, the quota of the Hindi belt will increase from 42 to 48 percent, and that of Southern states will decrease from 24 to 20 percent. Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka are expected to increase from 28 to 36, in Telangana from 17 to 20, in Andhra Pradesh from 25 to 28, and in Tamil Nadu from 39 to 41, whereas in the case of Kerala, the number of its Lok Sabha seats will drop from 20 to 19. In contrast, the number of seats in Uttar Pradesh will go up from 80 to 128, in Madhya Pradesh from 48 to 68 and in Rajasthan from 25 to 44.
As a result, BJP would probably be the biggest beneficiary of Parliament's expansion. Electorally, the BJP won most of its seats from the ten Hindu heartland states. In the last general elections of 2019, it won 80 percent of its 225 seats, i.e., 178 seats from northern states. The increase in several seats in the BJP-dominated areas will further cement their grip in upcoming elections. A vivid illustration of this future distribution is the new Parliament building, which has provisions for 888 members in Lok Sabha as compared to the current 543 and 384 members in the Rajya Sabha, as compared with 250 now makes the picture clear as to what BJP is aiming at. After losing in the recent Assembly elections in Karnataka, the BJP has no state government in South India. Different parties lead the governments of the five states of the South: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Kerala, Yuvajana Sramika Rythu (YSR) Congress Party in Andhra Pradesh, Bharat Rashtra Samithi in Telangana, and Congress in Karnataka.
Leaders from South India have raised concerns about such political engineering by the Modi Regime. Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI (M) Rajya Sabha member, Dr. V. Sivadasan said, "The BJP has systematically destabilised the Constitution and is now trying to superimpose a new political order by silencing the voice of dissent. Federalism has no place in the BJP's future agenda—either you vote for Lotus or are doomed to resist them."
Ashok Swain, a leading Indian political scientist and expert on minority issues in India, states that the BJP had planned the building of a new Parliament to determine his long-term goals with ulterior motives.
Leading Indian “Composite Nationalist” and leader of the “All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM)”, Asaduddin Owaisi, whose party is also a major player from Telangana state, criticised the manoeuvring of constituencies with the point, "Cannot penalise states which are controlling population”.
Shashi Tharoor, Congress’ Member of Lok Sabha and one of the most vocal politicians of Kerala, pointed out the North-South divide in these words, "The only remedy is to acknowledge that we need a more decentralised democracy, one in which the central share of tax resources is not so crucial, and the political authority of New Delhi not so overwhelming. That could make the concerns raised by the new census figures less relevant. However, as long as our system is what it is, we must run it sensitively. That is something that the Modi government has failed to do. Such concerns should ignite deep disquiet among all well-wishers of Indian democracy and all inclusive-minded Indian nationalists."

Besides political engineering, Modi's fascist regime has blatantly embarked upon a state terrorism strategy. In this regard, the killing of Hardeep Nijjar in Canada is a message for all those who dare oppose BJP-RSS Hindutva ideology that the use of hard power will silence dissident voices.

Delimitation is considered a "Damocles Sword" hanging over Southern states of India, as reiterated by Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin, current Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He had openly criticised it with the point of being a "political conspiracy".
'One Nation, One Election' is another proposal under consideration by the Government of India to synchronise elections for the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament) along with state assemblies in all Indian states or territories. It proposes to hold these elections simultaneously on a single day or within a specific time frame declared as a step to "curb the additional costs" from the public treasury.

Indian North, primarily Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, is 26 percent of India and the driver of project Rashtriya Swayasevak Sangh (RSS)/BJP /Hindutva ideology. However, its contribution to Indian tax is only 3 percent, whereas 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.

Regional political parties and local political groups collectively argue that having the two elections altogether would hamper their prospects because they cannot compete with national parties in monetary funding and election strategies. More than USD 8.7 billion was disbursed in India's 2019 Lok Sabha elections, making it the world's most expensive, confirmed by the report of the "Centre for Media Studies". Moreover, Modi's BJP spent roughly half of that. Some politicians also stated that this was a step towards dismantling the state system in India.
Former Law Minister Kapil Sibal said that "One Nation One Election will be the downfall of the Modi government", and besides North Eastern states, Khalistan and IIOJK will be another fault line to be exploited.

The North-South animosity is likely to aggravate before upcoming elections as extremist BJP leaders will play every trick they have to consolidate their power.

Besides political engineering, Modi's fascist regime has blatantly embarked upon a state terrorism strategy. In this regard, the killing of Hardeep Nijjar in Canada is a message for all those who dare oppose BJP-RSS Hindutva ideology that the use of hard power will silence dissident voices.
Scholars like Nobel Prize-winning economist, Amartya Sen from Kerala, have already attributed advances in health and education to a combination of political mobilisation and the state's syncretic culture. Others, such as Prerna Singh, a political scientist, have cited sub-nationalism, the strong regional identity of the state, as another possible reason in response to the North's exploitation of the South's development and other progressing indicators. Eventually, this indicates that South India's population will resist and rise against the extremist ideology of fascism and Hindutva perpetuated by the BJP-RSS under Modi, a demagogue. Their resistance to Modi-BJP-RSS's north-dominated and militaristic centrifugal forces will pave the way for a potential battle between the two extremes (North and South India), representing a clash between "Pen and Scimitar".
The present political milieu in India makes it quite evident that South Indians have no plans to be subjugated by the irresponsible and fascist leadership of the BJP. The North-South animosity is likely to aggravate before upcoming elections as extremist BJP leaders will play every trick they have to consolidate their power. Linked to this is "war rhetoric against Pakistan". To gain popularity in upcoming elections, staging a false-flag operation against Pakistan is not a distant reality as maligning Pakistan's name for their clandestine moves has proved successful earlier as well for political polarization and radicalization of North in particular and complete India in general. They have already tried this formula, albeit without any success, in Uri and Anantnag by staging a so-called "terrorist attack". However, one thing is evident: these are the last gasps of a drowning, famished BJP, which, in a desperate last-ditch effort, will inadvertently become a driver of India's implosion, the omnipresent being the divide between North and South India.