Telangana has been drawing immense attention leading to a much heated debate in AP. Many of them if not all have presumptions and prejudice and this has stopped them from looking at it unbiased. To get a lucid picture we need to go through past times and conditions.
Before formation of AP:
Telangana and Hyderabad State: When rest of the country was fighting against British for freedom, there was a peasant rebellion against Nizam rule in Telangana region. Nizam rule exploited people filling the coffers and in turn paying huge amounts to British for military assistance. The brutal feudal landlord system reigned ruthless power over peasants. Telugu was given a second rated treatment and Urdu was the medium in education and governance. There were severe restrictions even to speak Telugu. Education was neglected. The agrarian crisis coupled with identity issues made people revolt against Nizam, which resulted in an armed rebellion against Nizam's Razakars (a force which could be equated to modern day Taliban). After the police action, Hyderabad state was formed.
Andhra region: Coastal Andhra was under Madras Presidency, and when the voice for separate state of Andhra was raised after the sacrifice of Potti Sriramulu, JVP (Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, Pattabhi Seetaramayya) committee agreed upon a state, provided Andhra gave up its claim on Madras city. This led to formation of Andhra state with Kurnool as capital.Coastal Andhra with Krishna Godavari water was affluent compared to Telangana (but latter had more revenues because of high taxes.)
Under these circumstances when a call for Vishalandhra (unification of all Telugu speaking people under one state) was made, there were voices of concern over Telangana. A region which has been neglected and denied of minimum privileges was being merged with a comparatively well off coastal region. Development, culture and dialect everything was again at stake. States reorganization committee (SRC) observed that Vishalandhra could be formed if 2/3 majority of Hyderabad state legislature supported it after 1961 general elections. This testifies that the concerns over merging were actually very much real. Telangana always suffered because its leaders never agreed on a single stand.
Gentlemen's agreement was signed in Delhi by the representatives of both regions, which led to the formation of state of Andhra Pradesh. This agreement had some provisions like
>> Administrative expenditure should be borne separately by the two regions.
>> Exclusive educational facilities should be provided for students of Telangana
>> Cabinet will consist of members in proportion of 60 to 40 for Andhra and Telangana
>> If CM is from Andhra, Deputy CM will be from Telangana and vice versa.
These were formulated to protect the interests of both regions.
But obviously the subsequent governments breached this agreement. They could not stand for at least a few of the promised provisions. This led to violent protests by students, but the protests were brutally suppressed.
The reason why all these historical citations are given is that, one - the issue of Telangana is not a recent one, two - it has many a valid reason, and three I strongly believe that it has not stemmed from separatism as many say.
The recent times:
The issue which was under current for past few decades was again brought to the fore by the formation of TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samithi) a political party with only aim to form a separate state. It was welcomed with huge support because the issues and conditions during Nizams rule are still persistent. Suicides of farmers, handloom workers testify this. One has to look beyond Hyderabad and its hi-tech development to understand this.
The context differs; now we are a democratic country with elected representatives. If justice is still not done, the elected representatives and the people who do not question them are to be blamed first. Godavari and Krishna flow from Telangana towards Andhra. Irrigation is biggest requirement for agriculture, and Telangana farmer is still looking at skies for monsoons, because we failed to divert and utilize the water. Nagarjunasagar dam though built in Nalgonda district of Telangana region mostly serves irrigation requirements for coastal Andhra districts of Prakasam, Guntur. Telangana is abundant in natural resources, but it did not help much towards the upliftment. Other key issues are lack of train routes connecting all major towns, no boost to industry despite of huge deposits of mineral resources, lack of enough political representation (cabinet portfolios) in state and center.
The cultural aspect- There are distinct cultural variations in various parts of Andhra Pradesh like multiple dialects, celebration of festivals etc. The dialect especially is still given a second rated treatment even today. Telugu movies in many ways lampooned Telangana. We are still not learning to co-exist respecting the nuances.
Because of all these and many other reasons TRS was able to clean sweep the elections right after its formation. KCR its founder got a whopping majority of more than 2lakhs during an election.
There is also another side to it. If the power (say CM and key ministries) is vested with people from Andhra and Rayalaseema, all the contracts etc would be granted to the relatives of the people in power who also come from same region. Real estate business in Hyderabad is dominated by settlers from other parts. Such reasons are also contributing factors towards the support for separate state.
Our country is a land of political opportunists. KCR succeeded using the emotional aspects, but failed to realize that it is not possible to use the same trick all the time. People like Vijayashathi yesteryear actress (she can’t even speak the dialect well), who do not even understand the core of the issue also joined the bandwagon. People supported them purely on the merit of Telangana and not because of their personal capabilities.
Telangana lacks netas with regional interests as a priority. PV Narsimha Rao served as Chief Minister of AP and Prime Minister of the country comes from Karimnagar district in Telangana region. Whole country is indebted to him for opening up the country towards liberalization and globalization, no significant developments happened in Karimnagar during his terms. On the contrast, Pulivendula the constituency of YSR is showered with grants for ring roads, industries. The latter is the definitely a case of regional chauvinism but the point here is, it is expected from politicians to focus on their home towns.
For a new state to be formed, it requires a constitutional amendment with simple majority in both the houses at centre. If we take a pragmatic view this might not be possible in near future, with Congress in rule at centre and state.
The issues of survival like agrarian crisis take precedence over statehood. This alone is the reason why congress could win some seats in recent elections in Telangana because; people are hoping that irrigation projects started by YSR might some day finish.
But one has to remember that Telangana intellectuals and public still support the cause and no one can deny the fact that injustice is being done to this region. One is making a mistake if one is under the impression that Telangana is an issue which lost prominence. YSR or Chandrababu or KCR whoever it is, its high time ruling and opposition parties proactively get into the root of causes and try solving the issues. A separate status and grant coupled with proper implementation is the need of the hour. I know it is over optimistic, but Telangana has been waiting for decades, with hope.
The issue of Telangana is more than that of statehood. It is a struggle for justice, development, preservation of language, culture, identity. It is a shame that many disregard it just as a political stunt. It is a serious and sensitive issue with gross injustice being done to a whole region questioning the values on which we built this nation and its constitution and it has to be treated like one such issue.
See it to believe it. Watch this video.
I have tried my best to portray a gray view, critique and comments are welcome.
