Huge tract of land of Gangetic plains from West Bengal to Bihar/ Jharkhand to UP/ Uttaranchal had been agriculturally as well as industrially advanced since independence, but several decades of poor state governance have led made them backward.
A lot of migration from this naturally endowed states to a poorly endowed but much better governed state like Gujrat is an irony. Poor law & order, excessive caste-ism have led to bad politics, poor governance, lower education/literacy, bad economy and poverty.