- Harit Pradesh
There is an ongoing demand for the creation of Harit Pradesh (
Hindi : हरित प्रदेश,Urdu : ہرِت پردیش) which would comprise the western parts ofUttar Pradesh state. The most prominent advocate for the creation of the new state is Ajit Singh, leader of theRashtriya Lok Dal party and is supported by variousMuslim groups, as Muslims would form a significantly higher proportion of the population than in Uttar Pradesh. Some political parties have opposed this idea as it will amount to, if actualized, to a secondPakistan in theHindi heart land.The proposed state would include 22 districts in five divisions:
Meerut ,Agra ,Saharanpur ,Bareilly , andMoradabad and would have a higherMuslim population, roughly 30%, than the approximately 17% of Uttar Pradesh as a wholeKhan, M.E., Patel, Bella, C., "Reproductive Behaviour of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh", "The Journal of Family Welfare", March 1997. 43(1) p. 13-29. Available online at [http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/grhf-asia/suchana/0804/rh319.html] ] .There appears to be no popular support for the creation of Harit Pradesh, as indicated by a Star News opinion poll. The campaign's only public protagonist seems to be Ajit Singh, for whom, many claim, it is a personal ambition.
See also
*
Uttar Pradesh
*Uttarakhand
*Purvanchal References
External links
* [http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2001/08/19/stories/0219000h.htm Hindu on Net]
* [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020130/nation.htm#5 Tribune India]
* [http://www.saag.org/papers2/paper142.html South Asia Analysis Group]
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