Telangana – Unity in Diversity!

Telangana – Unity in Diversity!

The Telangana region has a rich historical legacy as great warrior dynasties like the Satvahanas and Kakatiya’s have inhabited this land. The Telangana region, which was one of the core regions of the Qutub Shahi and then the Asafjahi dynasties, always had a distinct identity from the Rayalseema and Andhra coastal areas. British never ruled Telangana directly as the Asafjahi Hyderabad state was in subsidiary alliance with them.

Lest we forget the oft-repeated cliché of ‘Unity in Diversity’, India is in serious danger of being Balkanized as predicted by many Anti India voices. Telangana issue has been festering far too long and the government’s predicament is of its own making. Far too often, the T card was played during elections and was consigned to the dustbin faster than you could say Telangana! As we all know, Andhra Pradesh was created on the basis of linguistic ethnicity (Telugu language was the common thread) after the first State Reorganization Commission headed by Fazl Ali (SRC) set up in 1953 recommended formation of new states on linguistic grounds. The SRC opposed the merger of Telangana with the Andhra regions.

Quoted from the SRC report “The concerns of Telanganas were manifold . The region had a less developed economy than Andhra, but with a larger revenue base (mostly because it taxed rather than prohibited alcoholic beverages), which Telanganas feared might be diverted for use in Andhra. They also feared that planned dam projects on the Krishna and Godavari rivers would not benefit Telangana proportionately even though Telanganas controlled the headwaters of the rivers. Telanganas feared too that the people of Andhra would have the advantage in jobs, particularly in government and education. Para 386 of States Reorganization Commission Report (SRC) said "After taking all these factors into consideration we have come to the conclusions that it will be in the interests of Andhra as well as Telangana area is to constitute into a separate State, which may be known as the Hyderabad State with provision for its unification with Andhra after the general elections likely to be held in or about 1961 if by a two thirds majority the legislature of the residency Hyderabad State expresses itself in favor of such unification."

This was precisely the reason that the Telangana region opposed their inclusion in united Andhra because the only common thread was the Telugu language. Telangana was never given its due as promised in the Gentleman agreement signed in 1956 between the Andhra and Telangana representatives where it was promised power-sharing, preference in government jobs, equal sharing in the resources etc. The T activists’ threatened Direct action if their demand for Telangana were not met leading to widespread violence in 1969. However, as it happens in politics of power, the vested interests are co-opted in the structure of power and the same happened in the case of Telangana movement, which started back in 1959. All the protagonists of the movement were co-opted like M Chenna Reddy who was made the CM of Andhra and he was quick to betray the T cause though he rode to power playing the same card. The intervening period witnessed a war of attrition with various political parties promising Telangana and BJP in the 90’s promised the same if they came to power. Hopes soared in 2000, when BJP fulfilled its promise by creating Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, and Chattisgarh but could not deliver Telangana because of the reluctance of the coalition partner TDP. It was a case of so near yet so far for Telangana! The BJP was ousted in 2004 and is in exile ever since and rightly so! Congress refused to fulfill the Telangana promise.

All seemed lost for Telangana as every political party supported it when needed during elections and opposed it the moment elections were over. It was a case of talking and doing nothing to initiate the process of creating Telangana state. TRS, which claims to be the sole voice of the Telangana people, lost the elections in May 2009 as people voted overwhelmingly in favour of YSR led congress.

Why did the UPA government capitulate to the fast unto death tactics of K Chandrasekhar Rao? It is not so naïve to bow down to such tactics. How did this turnaround happen? The answer seems to lie in the premature death of YSR in a chopper crash in Sep 2009 as it opened the door ajar for Telangana as he was staunchly opposed to its formation. May the State of Telangana come into existence as promised to them for the last 40 years. It is high time this issue is resolved by the government of the day as fulfilling subdued regional aspirations is oxygen to the democratic roots of our country. Let us not bicker internally as far graver challenges pose a threat to the unity and integrity of our nation!

Jai Hind.