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1612 hours (Shri Devendra Prasad Yadav in the Chair ) There is another area, that is the question of autonomy. I am not discussing that now because autonomy may have many meanings; we do not know what is actually meant by autonomy and what is the content of autonomy. A few years ago, we were witnessed to a big agitation and a movement in Kashmir under the slogan of aazadi. People said that they wanted aazadi. What is aazadi, we do not know.

Now, we have the Sarkaria Commission Report which recommended devolution of powers – devolution, particularly of financial powers and financial resources, for most of the States or for all of the States. The history of Jammu & Kashmir – I am not going into that now because there is no time – is very different to the history of most of the other States. We know that. The background is different. That is why, article 370 of the Constitution came into being. India is the homeland of different religions, different cultures, different languages and different problems; it is the homeland of many imbalances and uneven development.

This is what makes all States clamour for more and more devolution of resources and powers. Personally I am happy that this is happening. I have some acquaintance, though not much, with Madhya Pradesh. I am very happy that they are going to get this separate State. It is not a very poor State by the way. Some of the biggest and viable public sector undertakings are situated in Madhya Pradesh. Iron ore mines are there in the district of Bastar. It is a tribal district and probably, I think they have the best quality of iron ore available in the country. Bharat Heavy Electricals is situated there which is a real asset to our country and to our economy. Bharat Aluminium Company is also there. All these things have to be looked after properly and they will certainly add to the viability and to the position or economy of the new State.