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Surging South

B. S. Raghavan

THAT WAS the title of a recent cover story in India Today. It was full of hype, about the massive investments flowing into Southern States, and the rapid strides they are making in industrialisation, development of physical and social infrastructu re, and what has somewhat awkwardly come to be known as ICE (infotech, communications and entertainment).

There have been similar stories in other publications too, going ga-ga over the South, especially over its being way ahead of all the rest of the regions in wired governance, in tune with the formula of SMART (sensitive, moral, accountable, responsive an d transparent), made famous by the stellar cruiser of the information super-highway, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu.

The write-ups invariably, harp on the supposed traits and temperament of Southern folks contributing to the surge forward: Hard work, discipline, superior educational attainments, teamwork, dependability, high professional standards, sense of responsibil ity and commitment. (It is quite another matter that these are not so very visible to the natives themselves!)

All this, instead of making me feel elated, has thrown me into a tizzy. Till about 30 years ago, the denizens of Southern States to a certain degree, lived up to the romantic picture that is painted of them. They were, for the most part, unspoilt, inoffe nsive by nature and conservative in habits. They tried to observe decency and decorum in public life and private conduct, deriving from their sense of propriety and ethical norms.

The ability of the South to hold its own, as a value-based oasis, was to a considerable extent, the byproduct of its being left alone by the more aggressive and turbulent North (by which I mean East and West also). At a pinch, there would be not more tha n 12 persons belonging to Northern States in each of the limited number of trains from Delhi, and other places of the North, bound for Chennai, Bangalore or Thiruvananthapuram. They were either tourists or executives in the government or private sector, going for a short official inspection, determined to beat a hasty retreat before their stomachs were corroded by tamarind, chillies, rasam and saambaaram (as they pronounced it).

In recent years, the general impression of docility and simplicity of the people, the comparatively more peaceful and orderly ambience and less expensive living, combined with the realisation of the vast untapped potential, have led to the Southern Stat es being swamped by outsiders. They have gone about with their typical single-minded zeal, opening business establishments, buying up real estate, taking up permanent residence and exploiting available economic opportunities.

What has been their influence on the erstwhile lotus-eaters of the Shangri-las of the South? Have they, on the whole, enriched the quality of life and raised the level of human intercourse, or done the opposite? Leave aside, prices and rents which have s hot up sky-high; forget the evils of pugree, indiscipline and sharp practices that have appeared in their wake; the more troubling question is, whether there has also been a coarsening of the social fabric, resulting in extravagant, unsustainable lifesty les and largescale intolerable corruption.