Just for the record, I am a kannadiga. South is shielded by the Vindhya Range and the Narmada River. That is the reason why it wasn't invaded many times.
The great empire of Rashtrakootas according to Wikipedia was started by north indians, who came down south and mixed with the localites and nurtured the local culture.
North had Delhi, East had Calcutta and West had Mumbai to fuel the economic growth. It was the south which didn't have anything going for a long time until the digital divide came along. Rajeev was referring to this development in Urban area which may tickle down to sub urban and rural areas.
