Bundelkhand has been neglected, says ex-DGP who floats pro-Statehood party

“The Bundelkhand region is totally distinct from the other parts of both States, and has faced economic and social backwardness for a long time.”

Describing Bundelkhand region as one of the most backward areas in India, former Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police Sulkhan Singh on Thursday said that the continuous neglect of the region forced him to form the Bundelkhand Loktantrik Party, which centres on the demand of a separate State of Bundelkhand. The political outfit claims that the proposed State of Bundelkhand would combine 15 districts, seven from U.P. and eight from neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.

“The Bundelkhand region is divided between U.P. and M.P. The region is totally distinct from the other parts of both States, and has faced economic and social backwardness for a long time. Various reports and indicators of development highlights the same. Our party’s primary goal is to make way for the State, which would combine seven districts of U.P. - Banda, Chitrakoot, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Jalaun, Jhansi and Lalitpur, and eight districts of M.P. - Damoh, Panna, Chhatarpur, Datia, Sagar, Tikamgarh, Niwari and Ashoknagar,” he told The Hindu.

Mr. Singh, a 1980 batch Indian Police Service officer who hails from Bundelkhand’s Banda district, said the party will fight the 2024 Parliamentary and 2027 assembly elections in U.P. Mr. Singh added that only political pressure could help the region to come out of backwardness and neglect. “We will definitely fight the 2027 U.P. assembly election, and will try to put up candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha election as well,” he said.

Mr. Singh added that the limited political influence of the region has been responsible both for the backwardness of the region, and also for its failure to be heard in the corridors of power at the Centre. “Previously, there were 21 assembly constituencies from Bundelkhand in U.P. assembly. With delimitation that was reduced to 19. Each region has different needs. We need political voices to put forth the demands of the region,” Mr. Singh said. He added that water scarcity is a major concern in Bundelkhand. “We need ponds and other water bodies in every village,” he said.

Mr. Singh, a graduate in civil engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, served in various important positions in U.P., including as the Director General of Police of the State police, Director General of Training Directorate, Additional Director General (Police Headquarters), Inspector General of Lucknow Zone, Deputy Inspector General of Lucknow, Allahabad and Mirzapur ranges, and as Superintendent of Police (SSP/SP) of Rampur, Agra, Allahabad and Saharanpur districts, among others. 

The demand for separate Statehood for Bundelkhand has been proposed by different pressure groups in the region in the past but most mainstream political outfits have remained silent over the demand.