At the time of Independence, UP (United Provinces until 1950, when it was renamed as Uttar Pradesh) was described as one of the best governed states, with tall leaders and some of the finest IAS officers. Today, it is the most important state in national politics, but remains poor and backward. Regional inequalities between the states in southern and western India and those in the Hindi heartland have shown increasing ‘divergence’ rather than ‘convergence’ in recent years. The reasons lie not just in the feudal, caste-based society that reinforces economic backwardness, but also in the state’s competitive and divisive politics of governance.