FOR A UNITED ANDHRA-TELANGANA-SEEMA
- I. Mallikarjuna Sharma
[Many tables given here]
(Courtesy: Lokender Reddy, Govt. agencies, JVR, et al.)
[I also recommend to the readers the precious statistical details (including on financial matters effectively refuting Prof. Jayashankar’s contentions in that regard) given even for the [non-Hyderabad] Nizam Telangana area by Sri Nalamothu Chakravarthy in his My Telugu Roots (Telangana Statehood – A Bhasmasura Wish), Chapter 19, and agree with his conclusion that “across all the economic sectors that we have looked at, the common theme we find is that the Telangana region marginally falls behind the Kosta region. However, that by itself is an incomplete story. We need to look at how these three regions performed relative to each other since the integrated state of Andhra Pradesh was formed. It then becomes amply clear that, in almost all the economic sectors, Nizam Telangana grew at a much faster pace than the Kosta region. Similarly, in almost all the economic sectors, Rayalaseema falls well behind the Nizam Telangana region. The backwardness of Telangana is a legacy of Nizam’s atrocious rule. Instead of highlighting this fact, so-called intellectuals such as Jayashankar and demagogues such as KCR sing the praises of Nizam and take glee in demonizing their own people.”]
Real face of the Separate Telangana Movement:
As such the present Separate Telangana movement, spearheaded by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti under K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), in my opinion, has not any justification and legitimacy but is purely a game of power by hungry politicians exploiting the 'sentiment' of Telangana and inciting anti-Andhra passions for their narrow ends. It is to be remembered that Chandrasekhar Rao was a staunch follower of N.T.R. and a prominent leader of Telugu Desam and seems to have fallen apart from Chandrababu Naidu mainly over denial of speaker's and/or minister's post. He belongs to the Velama Caste and is known to be a quite well-to-do landlord. And then another prominent leader of TRS, who has over the last 2 years or so quarreled with KCR and quit the party, Narendra came from the BJP fold and it is well known that BJP is espousing the theory of smaller states and stronger central government and is allergic to the very idea of federalism. Since the BJP entered into strategic alliance with Chandrababu Naidu, who till recent years was strongly committed to United Andhra Pradesh, it had to stop canvassing even its own resolution for separate Telangana and irked by such stand Narendra, representing urban middle classes and himself belonging to upper middle class Padmashali (BC-B) section, broke away from that party on the question of Telangana alone. But it does not mean Narendra turned a secularist overnight and left his hindutva (in the sense of Hindu fundamentalist) ideology. So a strange alliance is now running the Telangana show and the present electoral equations have shown how fragile this alliance could be. In order that the newly emerged middle class of Telangana together with the old Reddy, Velama and other high caste feudal forces should grab power exclusively for themselves, all this hullabaloo about Telangana is being made and the high ideals and glossy image of a separate Telangana bringing in a people's friendly and all round development in the region are being paraded. Nothing more and nothing less.
Regional Identities and Unity in Diversity:
By saying so I should not be misunderstood to be oblivious of the regional peculiarities and the specific regional characteristics including the natural factors. We should not forget that Telangana is a part of Deccan Plateau and is some 400-600 metres above the sea level in general except in some areas where also it is about 150-200 metres above the sea level. It is rich in minerals and forests. Likewise Rayalaseema has areas (Anantapur and Chittoor districts) which form part of Mysore Plateau and the rainfall in Rayalaseema is the lowest in the State. Coastal Andhra has the highest rainfall; it is not so rich in minerals but recently vast natural gas reserves were found. When it comes to the question of viable development of a region all such natural characteristics also play a significant part. There is more need and possibility in Telangana to develop it industrially and it should be realized that provision of irrigation facilities through canals, etc. is very difficult there because of the comparatively high altitude of the arable land. That has resulted in the people of the area overusing groundwater and now Telangana stands first in the number of tube wells in Andhra Pradesh [with some 20 lakh pump sets out of total 26 lakhs in Telangana - it is reported Telangana region has large number of irrigation tanks (49%) and wells (61%) followed by Coastal (42% and 21%) and Rayalaseema (9% and 18%) (Institute of Engineers, 2003)], which has resulted in a dangerous fall in the ground water table and causing drought conditions in vast areas. Whereas in coastal regions generally, irrigation by gravity becomes easier and in Andhra region, development of agriculture was, and can be, done better than in other regions. In Telangana lift and tank irrigation need prime attention and the development of minor and medium irrigation projects must be the first agenda. The overall development of a region needs be planned taking into account all such natural as also manmade characteristics.
In this context, I am opposed to some aspects of the six-point formula mainly due to my recognition of the reality of regional identities and peculiarities. Though it is true that backward areas are there in every region, it is also true that every region separately for itself has developed an identity of its own - that is the people of the backward as well as the forward areas in the same region have developed a common identity apart from the people of other regions - backward or forward. It would not be wise to forget about such identities and peculiarities. As such I am of the view that scrapping of the regional committes by means of six-point formula was quite bad. What they could have done was to keep up or establish regional committees and then direct them to mainly cater for the backward areas and sections of the respective regions. Likewise the furore against mulki rules was also uncalled for - when our Constitution in certain situations makes it possible and feasible to make certain special provisions on the basis of requirement of residence {as per Article 16 (3)} within a State, then there is no reason why that provision could not be broadly interpreted or amended as to include requirement of residence within a certain region of the State also to meet the ends of justice and equity. To allay or moderate the discontent and opposition of the people of the Andhra region, the period of residence could have been reduced - say to 10 years from the original requirement of 15 years or so and that would not have very much hurt the sentiments of the Telangana people. After all the present local area candidacy system protected by Article 371 D, specially inserted by a constitutional amendment, is nothing but a sort of mulki rule for all the regions of the state. And then I also suggest the re-adoption of the system of designating a Deputy Chief Minister - I prefer two such deputy chief ministers for the two regions to which the chief minister does not belong to - and also desire that such deputy chief ministers should invariably chair their respective regional committees or councils which I am proposing to be set up.
For Regional Autonomy within Andhra-Telangana-Seema:
Likewise I am also not happy with the present name of the State as Andhra Pradesh and would very much like to see it changed. It may be recollected that the first name suggested for the new united state was Andhra-Telangana but after some discussion in the Assembly at that time, it was abandoned for the generally accepted name of Andhra Pradesh. But times have changed since then, much agitation and damage to the feelings of harmony and unity has occurred and it is high time to recognize the regional identities and peculiarities by suitably renaming the State.
I suggest that our State be called Andhra-Telangana-Seema incorporating the names of all the three major regions of the State. One might question with Shakespeare as to "What’s in a name?" but it is also true that one recognizes the worth and impact of a name and nobody names a child or a person without thinking many times over it. The name also could summarize or lend an appropriate identity to the unit so named.
Regional Councils should be established for every region and they be empowered to present regional budgets which would be the basis on which State Budget has to be finally formulated, of course with the necessary alterations and corrections. These regional councils should have the necessary authority to back up their suggestions and directions, and the State Government ought to be loathe to intervene against their decisions and action in the interest of the rightful claims and interests of the people of the region, except in case of acute emergency or patent injustice occurring. The regional councils can take the place of the present Legislative Council which can be abolished and the members of regional councils will be elected in a like manner as the MLCs are, and any specific bar set up by a regional council to initiate or carry on any measure which it considers detrimental to the interests of the particular region on specifically enumerated topics should not be normally transgressed by the State Legislature except by a two-thirds majority and that too in the first instance remanding back the matter to the said regional council for reconsideration and the final decision can only be taken on the second sending of regional council’s resolution on that matter, amended or not as the case may be, and again requiring two-thirds majority in case the Assembly persists in rejecting the resolution. Many other matters of detail can be worked out and it should be remembered that American Senate is considered more powerful or not less powerful than the American Congress. Likewise these upper houses in the form of regional councils will have wider powers though not exactly in the same measure as the American Senate and there is nothing wrong in a house elected indirectly and from various professional and social groups wielding such powers as we have seen the example of Soviets in the erstwhile Soviet Union. If the present organizations fighting for the rights and interests of Telangana or Andhra or Rayalaseema concentrate on their efforts as lobbying or pressurizing groups within the broad unity framework than in futile/ undesirable endeavours for balkanization of the State, it would do immense good to the interests of all the people of the State. We should not forget that language is a powerful binding factor and is capable of lending the necessary psychological harmony and sentiment for emergence of a particular linguistic community as a viable nation. I am of the view that the major linguistic groups in India can be taken as so many viable nationalities and the unity of India can only progress and prosper as that of a federal setup in a multi-national country.
A nationality should have for its territory all the (contiguous) areas inhabited by the particular linguistic community making it, and it should also be endowed with all the resources in such territorial entity for its real efflorescence. Nobody doubts that if Andhra Pradesh could or would at any time be an independent sovereign state, the different regions in it could or would be autonomous provinces in it. In the same vein, if Andhra Pradesh is not or cannot be an independent sovereign state, it can and should be an autonomous unit in India - which is a broader unity - but within the State, the necessary regional autonomy should also exist so that the people of the different regions should not and would not feel cheated and oppressed. By splitting up the bigger state in the name of regional autonomy, the real basis of federal equation with the centre will be lost and the smaller states generally tend to become mere stooges of the centre - generally an autocratic centre. Already much damage is done to our federal setup by the present constitution in which residuary powers are given to the centre as against the original federal scheme where residuary powers were to vest with the provinces. India is said to be a Union of States and by that one can only mean a voluntary union of willing and sufficiently autonomous states. But if the very States be split up as per the likes and dislikes of the Union in the name of catering to the aspirations of regional autonomy and popular pressure, then the very basis of the country being a voluntary union of autonomous or nearly autonomous units disappears. That could lead to disastrous consequences in the long term when the very basis of the unity and integrity of the country could be questioned on similar grounds and the balkanization of the country aided and abetted by scheming imperialist and other foreign powers could begin and take place. So I earnestly appeal to the people of the different regions of AP to stand united but at the same time recognize the identities and aspirations of different regions and with a large heart and intelligent mind work for the development of the entire state as a unity in diversity.
Much is said declaiming the migrations of Andhra farming communities/persons and Andhra employees to Telangana. Here it seems to me that such groups and persons of Telangana concentrating on such harangue are suffering from a sort of inferiority complex and desire to withdraw into a cocoon. That is quite bad, and is dangerous too, and such a psychological makeup only stifles free thinking, democratic spirit and practical progress. One should remember that migrations in history have acted as catalysts for socio-economic development and cultural and ideological progress and it is only due to migrations, travel, trade and communications that free interaction with other nations, communities, peoples etc. becomes possible, and that always creates opportunities for efflorescence of knowledge and culture. Look at America, which is a continent of migrants who got assimilated into a nation. Though the original inhabitants - Red Indians - were almost decimated and on their ruin that nation was built, but that was 3-4 centuries ago. But other migrations of various national, religious and freethinking groups continued and these variegated entities got assimilated into one great American Nation. In the present days, certainly there is not that much danger of decimation or extinction by intra-national migrations; in any case, there is no such danger in Telangana and Telanganites can immensely benefit by properly channeling and utilizing such migrations. Already the Telangana agricultural community has benefited very much by the infusion of the new techniques, work culture and innovative agricultural practices brought in by the migrant Andhra farmers. Moreover, in Telangana there are already sufficient numbers of North Indian migrants, who, curiously, are accepted without murmur or protest. And it is only sheer ignorance and misunderstandings fanned by certain self-centred leaders and vested interests that has created much antagonism against the urban/rural Andhra migrant. Once the people at large are educated about the real facts and implications of this phenomenon, the misplaced antagonisms would disappear and hearty unity would certainly emerge. Moreover, it is high time that the Telanganite himself become an extrovert; try to go about the country, settle and work in new places and conquer those communities with his societal and work spirit. Already so many thousands of Telanganites have gone abroad and are working in various countries to the general benefit of the community. Also several thousands of rural and semi-urban labourers and handicraftsmen have migrated to places like Sholapur, Nagpur, Bombay, etc. and are working there in useful avocations, having got amicably mixed up with the people therein. Nothing is stopping them from going to Andhra region either and intermixing with the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema people. The psychological barrier has to be broken up by putting an end to senseless animosities. The spirit of equality of human beings and dignity of labour should prevail over any and all narrow feudal and parochial considerations.
Moreover, in case of Telangana it would be incorrect to say that the overwhelming opinion of the people of the region is in favour of a separate state notwithstanding the media hype generated by separatist outfits and the recent cataclysmic developments. Actually Khammam, Nalgonda, Mahaboobnagar and Adilabad districts, and the GHMC area, have little to gain by separation and considerable popular opinion in some of these areas is against separation and for retention of the present unity. Curiously, there was a body of separatists in Khammam too who complained about the injustices to their district in contrast to ‘favours enjoyed by’ other Telangana Districts and they were demanding 'a separate Khammam State'! In other districts of Telangana too the separatist sentiments are not that uniform. It is only in Karimnagar District that such sentiments are the strongest with Medak, Warangal and Nizamabad Districts also having strong separatist sections. As such the retention of present unity with the necessary immediate corrective measures is the need of the day. I stand for a united Andhra-Telangana-Seema protecting, and also benefiting by, its various regional identities and aspirations, and marching forward towards a humane, democratic socialist setup within the broader unity of the multi-national, federal, socialist republic of India.
Further on 'The Telangana Question'
The (contributed) editorial on The Telangana Question (Frontier, March 2-8, 2008) is but an exercise in ignorance and wishful thinking. I am yet to see a linguist or philologist who said Telugu is a set of languages or equated a dialect of a language with being a different language. By this editor's token, a hotch-potch of 'Dakhini' (colloquial Urdu of Hyderabad) which is spoken or understood by not more than 15-20% of the people of Andhra Pradesh is a real 'link language' and 'a standard language' but not so the mother-tongue of 85% people with centuries of literary, cultural heritage! He conveniently 'forgets' that this language was forcibly imposed on the people of Telangana, they were not permitted to study in their mother-tongue, barred to run private Telugu primary schools even, and it was against this cultural oppression coupled with cruel feudal and communal atrocities that a great people's movement began at first for cultural renaissance and later became transformed into a powerful peasant upsurge with radical anti-monarchical, anti-feudal programmes. And he conveniently 'forgets' that that great association was named, and took pride in it, as Andhra Mahasabha. 'HEH the Nizam' was so shaken by the movement and its name, apprehending its underlying purpose of achieving unity of Telugu people in the then Hyderabad State and Madras province to be the cause of his sure downfall, repeatedly requested its leaders to just drop the prefix 'Andhra' and keep Telugu or any like word in its place but the great leaders of the Telangana people's movement glorying in their unflinching exhibition of self-respect spurned all such overtures. The 'editor' conveniently overlooks the not-so-remote history of the 1946-56 period when a powerful popular movement of Vishalandhra swept entire Telangana, but for a few urban and rural centres under the stranglehold of rabidly feudal reactionary landlord forces led by Konda Venkata Ranga Reddy and Marri Channa Reddy. And it is this set of leaders again that misled the popular movement of 1968-69 which started for 'Protection of Rights of Telangana' at first and later became a 'Separate Telangana' movement but was again betrayed by the same set who all chose to join and work in Congress (in spite of winning 10 out of 14 parliamentary seats – the present TRS is no match at all to that strength and popularity) and gave up the demand and slogan for a separate state. Now after 35 years of working the 6-point formula and especially about the 10 years period of NTR and Telugu Desam rule when almost everybody even forgot the slogan of Separate Telangana (including the present boastfully selfish K.C.R.), the specter is again invoked. The unity of Telugu people is being deliberately undermined and parochial sentiments are being purposely raked up. The bogey of backwardness of Telangana is being projected although over the decades Telangana has progressed fast in many spheres and in some fields it even excels Andhra and Rayalaseema regions – this observation, of course, subject to the overall underdevelopment framework in our country. Nothing but sheer opportunism, power-craziness, feudalist cultural and local petty bourgeois egoistic 'sentiments' are the life and soul of the present Separate Telangana movement and as I said earlier there is absolutely no need for Telugu people to divide into more number of states, catering to such stinking sentiments.
I also wonder why even some so-called revolutionary and progressive sections are steeped in such sentimentalism and inferiority complex and backwardness-bogey-raising when in fact they should have been in the forefront of movements for the unity and integrity of Telugu people and should (and could) have inspired Telanganites to lead the entire Telugu people by their militant fighting spirit with the example of the glorious past struggles waged against feudalism and for forging a wider unity of Telugu people. Renaming the state as Andhra-Telangana-Seema and creating necessary safeguards for regional autonomy would by large solve the present crisis, if dispassionate and realistic thinking and progressive, tolerant attitudes from the peoples of different regions are encouraged.
History teaches us that the Kakatiyas with their capital at Warangal (in Telangana) had held sway over much of the Telugu regions of the present Andhra and Karnataka states and it is after the downfall of and from the remnant fighters and feudal lords of that kingdom that the great Vijayanagara Empire had taken birth. The later Golconda Sultans were tolerant and liberal and, unlike the later Nizam dynasty, encouraged and promoted Telugu language. Even the Nizam dynasty had held sway over this entire Telugu region for a considerable period until the Northern Circars (coastal Andhra region) were transferred to their protectors, the British, in the eighteenth century. Likewise the Rayalaseema region seized from the Mysore rulers was transferred to the British (as data mandalam). And it is an incontrovertible fact of history that but for the British support the Nizam would have been overthrown long back by the Maratha invaders who extorted chauth and sardeshmukhi with impunity from many of his lands. Also this Nizam, a thoroughly miserly, communal and oppressive feudal dictator, was still afraid of the Marathas despite the British support and so in the Hyderabad city it was the Marathas, next to Muslims, who exerted cultural and linguistic hegemony and looked down on the Telugu people with domineering attitude and conduct. Not many know that it was this Marathi overbearing conduct and insult to a Telugu speaker in a public meeting that had generated the sprouts of the great cultural renaissance movement that has been spoken about. Truly people who forget their history are condemned to relive it, and if Telanganites do not realize that they are part and parcel of the Telugu people, they are no longer backward but sufficiently developed and capable with militant leadership qualities, and look forward and march forward to lead the entire united state to prosperity and progress, then even if a separate state were to be carved out they will surely condemn themselves to another, worse sort of cultural misery and socio-economic subjugation. [This rejoinder was, with slight editing, published in Frontier, 13-19 April 2008, under the title, ‘The Telengana Question’.]
Epilogue:
Much water has flown down since these articles were first written and though updated and modified now, yet it is difficult to catch up with the fast changing scenario in this regard. The 9 December 2009 statement of the Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, a virtual surrender to the threatening tactics of KCR, has brought a sea-change in the situation in Telangana. However, that was based on the false assurances given by different political parties, chiefly the Telugu Desam party, in the preceding All-Party meeting at Hyderabad that they would support any resolution for formation of separate Telangana. However, the deeply hurt and enraged popular sentiments in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions in the wake of that statement and the huge spontaneous people’s upsurge there in favour of the united State seem to have again tilted the balance with all parties deeply divided over the issue on Telangana, non-Telangana regional basis and this resulted in another 23 December statement by the Home Minister acknowledging some errors in making the 9/12 statement and calling for widespread consultations on the matter. Now another 5 January 2010 consultative meeting at Delhi has also taken place – this preceded by a mammoth popular outburst in Telangana in favour of separate Telangana, which also seems to have been aided by violent tactics and inflammatory slogans such as ‘We’ll hack those who say No to Telangana!’, ‘We’ll cut their tongues!’, ‘Anybody opposing Telangana is sure to lose his life!’, etc. [I wonder why no progressive person worth the name in Telangana has protested against such criminally rabid slogans!] and some undesirable violent actions too. The situation has turned quite volatile and seems to be going out of hands of any reasonable peace-time administration. This is the usual course of any parochial movement which easily takes to violence and deadly attacks against the opponents and tries to stifle democratic discussion and freedom of speech and expression in the name of popular support. (Concluded)
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