THE DISAGREEMENTS between India’s north and south are sometimes ill-tempered and often tedious(暴躁且乏味). The north is poor, procreates prodigiously(大量生育) and reliably votes for Narendra Modi. The south is prosperous and less fecund(生育率较低) and does not. The two have different historical experiences (Muslim empires made fewer inroads down the peninsula) and different linguistic lineages (their languages come from distinct families) and prefer different carbohydrates. The rice-eating south caricatures(讽刺性地描绘) roti-munching northerners as barbarians imposing an alien culture upon them.
印度南北之间的分歧有时暴躁、常常乏味。北方贫穷，生育旺盛，可靠地投给纳伦德拉·莫迪。南方繁荣，生育率较低，且不投票给莫迪。两者有不同的历史经历（穆斯林帝国在半岛南部的渗透较少）、不同的语言谱系（他们的语言来自不同的语系），并且偏爱不同的碳水化合物。吃米饭的南方人将啃烤饼的北方人讽刺为蛮族，强加异质文化于他们。
This schism(裂痕、分裂) was at the heart of recent shenanigans(诡计、闹剧) in Parliament. Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) introduced a package of reforms that aimed to boost the number of seats in India’s lower house from 543 to 850, to redistribute them between states to reflect demographic changes, and to reserve a third of them for women. Opposition leaders—particularly from the south—called it a power grab(攫取权力) dressed up as(伪装成、打扮成) an effort to empower women. The bills failed.
这一裂痕是最近国会闹剧的核心。莫迪的印度人民党（BJP）提出了一揽子改革，旨在将印度下议院席位数从543个增至850个，在各邦之间重新分配以反映人口变化，并为女性保留三分之一席位。反对派领导人——尤其是来自南方的——称这是披着赋能女性外衣的权力掠夺。法案失败了。
Southern states are not wrong to worry about losing out(吃亏、失利). Under those recent proposals, their heft(影响力、分量) in Parliament would diminish while BJP strongholds in the north would grow more influential. Nor is it wrong to suspect the motives of the BJP, which put forward the measures without consultation. But the north has the facts and democratic fairness on its side.(但北方在事实和民主公平上占理。) MPs in northern Uttar Pradesh on average represent a fifth more voters than those in southern Tamil Nadu. Eventually this imbalance will have to be fixed, probably after a fresh census is held next year. The sensible way to do it would be with cool heads and compromise. The BJP way is to steamroller opponents(碾压反对者). The drama has a long way to run(还有很长的路要走).
南方各州担心吃亏并非没有道理。根据这些最新提案，它们在国会中的影响力会减弱，而BJP在北方的大本营将变得更有影响力。怀疑BJP的动机也没错——该党未经磋商就推出了这些措施。但北方在事实和民主公平上占理。北方邦的议员平均比泰米尔纳德邦的议员多代表五分之一的选民。最终这种不平衡必须得到修正，很可能在明年新的人口普查之后。明智的做法是冷静和妥协。而BJP的做法是碾压反对者。这出闹剧还有很长的路要走。