The Hindi-speaking region encompassing Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi is the pulse point of India, where the nation’s rhythms converge – not only because of its geographical position, but also because of the impact it has on India as a whole. Even today, the popular idea of India in terms of religion, language, culture, fashion, food, entertainment, and politics emanates from the Indo-Gangetic plains. This should not be surprising given that the Hindi belt comprises 38.2% of India’s total area and is home to 42.2% of its population.

And yet the Hindi belt is the most impoverished region in the country. It is the most backward region of India, and one of the reasons, besides British colonialism (the UP-Bihar-Bengal belt was the first regions to be colonised), is the fact that politicians have kept the Hindi belt anchored to restrictive social ideas. The imagined past has been given primacy over the experienced present or the anticipated future. Caste- and religion-based politics have reduced the idea of democracy to community loyalty rather than the delivery of welfare.

It is said that whoever has political dominance over the Hindi heartland dominates Indian politics. This political importance stems in part from...

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