Will the Arrogant South be Humbled by the North?


Bangalore: It is a well-known fact that the South has been developing at a faster pace than the North. The northern states, particularly the populous ‘’Bimaru ‘’states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh haven’t made any significant progress since long. Corruption combined with lack of law and order is perhaps what’s holding them back.

Over the past few years, however, growth has picked up pace in the North. So much so that, in his book, Breakout Nations, Ruchir Sharma, Head of emerging markets at Morgan Stanley Investment, says that the North might just overhaul the South. He supports his argument by noting that “Between 2007 and 2010, the average economic growth rate of the southern states decelerated from 7 percent to 6.5 percent, while that of the northern states accelerated from 4.5 percent to 6.8 percent.”

The south may have achieved rapid economic growth over the past couple of decades. But times are changing. Sharma believes that the arrogant South will soon be humbled by the fast growing North. The reason for this shift is mainly because the Northern states have started electing better. The new leaders have started reforming the way the states are governed. And as a result, considerable developments have been made. To validate this claim, Sharma takes the example of Bihar. After Nitish Kumar assumed office as Chief Minister, he completely changed the way people looked at Bihar. From being a land thugs and goons, it has now become one of the fastest growing states in the country. “Bridges and roads got built; Bihar started to function, then to fly. Now its economy is growing at 11 percent, the second fastest in India, and Nitish is lauded as a model of what a straight leader can accomplish in a crooked state,” says Sharma.