The controversy over Telengana and the demands are nothing new. Why did the call for separate states find people’s support? Read this comprehensive report. The Telengana Movement refers to the political movement to create a new state of Telengana, and to separate it from Andhra Pradesh in South India. In 1956, the Central government established a unified Andhra Pradesh, but later discontentment grew and the agitations in 1969 saw a need in Telengana people for a separate state. During the 1990 s the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) promised a separate state for Telengana if they were elected to power. BJP created Jharkhand, Uttarkhand and Chattisgarh, but its intent of creating a separate Telengana was opposed by the TDP, Telugu Desam party. By 2000 new life was brought in to the separate Telengana State Movement. Telengana contributes to 76% of the state’s revenue excluding central government contribution. Telangana region comprises of Hyderabad, Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahaboobnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, RangaReddy and Warangal districts. This region is one of the least developed regions in India. Poverty, illiteracy, child labor, farmer suicides, unemployment, water scarcity and electricity shortage are some of the problems the people of this region face. There are several people who are not financially equipped to send their children to schools or feed their children adequately. The Telengana issue is not a recent one. The immense landscape of Telengana, the Telugu speaking part of the Nizamat of Hyderabad has for a long time been a scene of struggle. After nearly four decades of struggle for a separate state, the Telangana issue has reached a culminating point. Under the leadership of K Chandrasekhar Rao, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS)is trying to convince the Centre to have a separate state called Telengana.This is causing a political crisis in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Between 1946 and 1951 it had witnessed a Communist led peasant uprising against aggressive landlords. After nearly a decade it again saw the reawakening of the demand for Vishalandhra, the unification of all Telugu speaking regions. Having initially refused to the demands of Potti Sreeramulu, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru gave in when the Telugu hero sacrificed his life through a fast unto death for the sake of his demands for linguistic states after Independence. Andhra Pradesh was created in1956, but there were unheeded fears that gripped many people. The economy of Telengana was less developed, but it had a larger revenue base than the rest of the proposed state. The States Reorganization Commission (SRC) had a lot of concerns about this merger. The fear that the dams being built over the Krishna and Godavari rivers impacting the Telengana region’s interests and also the concern that the people of Andhra would have an advantage of securing better jobs than the people of Telengana was a concern that the SRC had. As predicted , Hyderabad as the State capital attracted large numbers of settlers from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of the State migrating from the delta. Land was the most coveted investment for many rich families. It was easily acquired due to the fact that Telangana had developed very little under a feudal dispensation Gradually the region came to be populated by “non-natives”. Resentment spread, particularly among students, who were most concerned about unemployment. The SRC warned the nation of the dangers involved in reorganizing the Indian states solely on linguistic considerations. One of the rational criteria recommended by the Commission to reject the theory of ‘one language one state’ which is neither justified on grounds of linguistic uniformity, because there can be more than one state speaking the same language without offending the linguistic principle, nor common sense directed, since different language groups, including the vast Hindi speaking population of the Indian Union, cannot always be consolidated to form distinct linguistic units”. Additionally, a massive revolt of the people of the region in 1968-69 demanding separation of Telangana from the state of Andhra Pradesh took place. Apparently the Prime Minister of the time, Jawaharlal Nehru, did not favor the idea of merging Telangana with the Andhra state. He ridiculed the demand for Visalandhra as an idea bearing a “tint of expansionist imperialism”. Yet, paradoxically, the state of Andhra Pradesh was formed on 1st November 1956 – ignoring the wishes of people of Telangana, against a categorical recommendation of the SRC and contrary to Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru’s ideas. The merger of Telangana with Andhra was, however, not without conditions.. It was facilitated by a number of sincere promises made and constitutional safeguards afforded to the people of the region as a protective barrier against the possible exploitation in the enlarged state. They were made many times (and were also broken many times). Jawaharlal Nehru himself compared it with a matrimonial alliance having “provision for divorce” if there was no amicability between the partners. As feared, nothing could prevent the successive governments from exploiting this region in every spear – economic, political, administrative, cultural and linguistic. The Gentlemen’s Agreement was obviously of little help. Protests by students in 1968 escalated with demands for the right implementation of the agreement. The Telengana agitation of 1969 attracted unlikely supporters who were members of the Congress Legislation in the region. Led by Marri Channa Reddy, one of the members of the (TPS) Telengana Praja Samithi the agitation reached new heights. The TPS won the 1971 mid-term elections. The victory was a brief one as Channa Reddy made sure the TPS merged with Congress. P.V.Narasimha Rao replaced K.Brahmananda Reddy as Chief Minister. Following this development two packages were announced by the Prime minister Indira Gandhi, which were known as the Eight Point Formula and Five Point Formula. When the effectiveness of these packages were being designed the Supreme Court of India gave a historic judgment validating, the Mulki Rules. This judgment upheld the rule of reserving employment and educational opportunities available in Telangana exclusively for the residents of this region. But the political elite of Andhra region did not find favor with these corrective measures. The result was another agitation for a separate Andhra state. It is referred to as Jai Andhra Movement. Venkaiah Naidu and Chandrababu Naidu were at the forefront of this movement, as it is recalled. The Indian government yielded to the pressure of political might and financial power of the majority in the region and, by an act of parliament, nullified almost all the safeguards given to the people of Telangana including the annulment of judgment of the highest judicial authority of the country on Mulki Rules. An alternative called Six Point Formula, a diluted form of safeguards, was imposed on the people. Even this formula has been, and continues to be, violated with impunity, robbing the people of Telangana of whatever little was left in the name of safeguards. All these exercises ultimately turned out to be futile as they were, at best, attempts to treat the symptoms rather than the illness. Consequently, the exploitation of the region and its people continued (and still continues) unabated under the patronage of political leadership irrespective of the region it hailed from and irrespective of the party it belonged to. In this process the so called concept of Telugu Brotherhood has become an empty rhetoric placing the people of Telangana in an extremely difficult position. Deprived of their legitimate share in the fruits of development, limited in the political process and administrative setup, looked down on the cultural and linguistic fronts they are virtually reduced to the status of second-rate citizens in their own homeland. Thus, the demand for a separate state continues to prevail. The following paragraphs present a comparative account of development in this region achieved in some of the vital sectors. The sources of such information are the reports published by the state government and other official agencies. It is to be noted in this context that when the state of Andhra Pradesh was formed there were only two recognized regions – Andhra and Telangana – since Rayalaseema was considered a part of Andhra. After the Andhra Agitation of 1972 and the resultant imposition of Six Point Formula, the state was divided into seven zones, within the framework of three regions, namely, Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, and Telangana, treating the capital city as a separate entity. The rationale underlying this decision was to make the capital city equally accessible to the people living in all parts of the state. and less accessible to the people of Telangana Region. The main factors that generally form a basis for evolving strategies of development of a region are its geographical area and population, besides resource endowment and levels of development already achieved. Geographically, Telangana is the largest region of the state covering 41.47% of its total area, while Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema encompass 33.75% and 24.51%, respectively. It is inhabited by 40.54% of the state’s population, coastal Andhra accounting for 41.69% and Rayalaseema for 17.77%. The contribution of Telangana to the state’s revenues has all along been more than 50%. The region is literally encircled by two major rivers of south India, Krishna and Godavari, and their respective tributaries. It is one of the largest coal producing areas of the region. The Development of this region: A comparative picture of development that has taken place in different sectors over the last 47 years, highlight the imbalances that are persisting in the development levels between different regions of the state. Irrigation continues to be continues to be, the raw deal meted out to the region regarding the allocation and utilization of river waters. It is, however, not an unexpected development. It has happened as was feared at the time of merging Telangana with Andhra. The States Reorganization Commission also noted this fact by observing: “When plans for future development are taken into account, Telangana fears that the claims of this area may not receive adequate consideration in Vishalandhra. The Nandikonda and Kushtapuram (Godavari) projects are, for example, among the most important which Telangana or country as a whole has undertaken. Irrigation in the coastal deltas of these two great rivers is, however, also being planned. Telangana, does not wish to forego its present independent rights in relation to the utilization of the waters of the Krishna and the Godavari”. (SRC Report: Para 377) Telangana is encircled by two major rivers of south India i.e., Krishna and Godavari. Within the state of Andhra Pradesh, 68.5% of catchments area of river Krishna and 69% of catchments area of river Godavari are in the Telangana region. If the water sources of almost every acre of cultivable land available in Telangana could be provided with assured irrigation facilities and every village could be provided with assured drinking water facilities, it would be beneficial to the Telengana people. Unfortunately that right has been denied to them too, according to reports. The water allocation for the projects in Telengana has been only 32%. As a result, the land which was to be irrigated by this facility has become more or less a desert. All this is happening with the connivance of people in authority. Consequently, out of nearly 35 lakh acres being irrigated under the projects built on river Krishna, maybe 5 lakh acres get benefited in the Telangana region and the rest in the other regions. While this is the scenario regarding the region-wise utilization of Krishna waters the powers that be are contemplating to construct Pulichintala on the down stream of Nagarjuna Sagar to further augment irrigation facilities in the already developed Krishna delta. This project will immensely benefit the coastal districts while the Telangana will not reap any benefits. It is at this stage that the question of allocation of Krishna waters between Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh is being reviewed. The allocation and utilization of Krishna waters among three regions within the state of Andhra Pradesh is also being reviewed. If the unfairness of the past is not rectified by reallocating water, it will inflict immense damage especially on the Telangana region which would be beyond future repair. Therefore, the people of Telangana are insisting that before going to the new tribunal the state should sort out the issues involving allocation of waters between different regions of the state. But, the state government argues that we should not take up the problem of internal allocation at this stage. First we should protect the interest of the state and sort out inter-regional problems later. This argument fails to convince anybody not only in the Telangana region but also in the Rayalaseema region. Well and tank irrigation issues are equally bad. The other two major projects proposed on river Godavari are Ichampally and Polavaram. Ichampally is meant for Telangana and Polavaram for Coastal Andhra. It apparently appears to be fair but the facts are different. The irrigation potential of Polavaram Project would be 6 to 7 times more than the irrigation potential of Ichampally. Further, Ichampally is going to be primarily a power project because of the inter-state issues involved. If that happens, Ichampally would ultimately become a balancing reservoir to ensure a perennial flow of water into Polavaram first and Dawaleswaram next. Consequently Telangana would be permanently impacted negatively. The other crucial problem in Telengana is the topic of literacy. This has happened because of uneven distribution of educational facilities in different regions of the state. The important point to be kept in view in this regard is the percentage of population spread over different regions of the state, i.e. Coastal Andhra 41.69%, Rayalaseema 17.77% and Telangana 40.54%. This is necessary to assess the adequacy or otherwise of the facilities of education created vis-à-vis the size of population and the levels of literacy achieved Primary Education: The data chosen for this analysis pertains to the year 2001- the latest made available by the government. During this period there were 60, 60,394 students in the state enrolled in the primary schools run by the government, local bodies and private managements (aided and unaided). The region-wise breakup is: Coastal Andhra 27, 57,269 (45.50%), Rayalaseema 13, 02,673 (21.49%), Telangana 20, 00,452 (33.01%). It should be realized that unaided primary schools do not reflect endeavor of the government, and if such institutions were not taken into account the position would be much worse in Telangana. Private colleges getting grant-in-aid from the government are playing a crucial role in collegiate education in the state. The state government has been admitting year after year several private colleges into grant-in-aid. It is obvious that the share of Telangana continues to be lowest, i.e. less than 20% in the total quantum of grant-in-aid. This is happening despite the claim of the government that it is trying to remove inequalities and do justice to Telangana Universities It is very often argued that all the state-level and national-level universities located in the capital city belong to the Telangana region. The question arises as to what benefit this region has derived from their location in Hyderabad. belongs to Telangana? The staff allocation is not even 10%. Further, some of the state-level and national-level universities are located in the other regions of the state as well, but none in Telangana districts. The Osmania University alone stands out here because of its location in the capital city of Hyderabad. There are six universities, two in each of the three regions, with their jurisdiction restricted to the regions concerned. In addition to the six universities with regional jurisdiction there are seven more universities with their jurisdiction over the entire state. None of these universities is located in Telangana region. Of these seven universities, the University of Health Sciences is located in Coastal Andhra, the Women’s University and University of Dravidian Languages is situated in the Rayalaseema region. The other four universities, i.e. Agricultural University, Technological University, Open University and Telugu University are in the capital city. Agricultural and Technological Universities have campuses and colleges in the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions as well, but no such campus or college exists in Telangana districts. It may be recalled that the Technological University was actually started in Warangal but was subsequently shifted to Hyderabad under the pretext of locating all state-level universities in the capital city. Similarly, the Open University was originally launched at Nagarjuna Sagar in Nalgonda district but was later shifted to Hyderabad again under the pretext of locating this state-level university in the capital city. There are two more institutions of higher learning, deemed to be universities namely the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences and Sri Venkateshwara Institute of Medical Sciences. The former is in the capital city and the latter is at Tirupati in the Rayalaseema region. In addition, a Sanskrit University funded by the government of India and Satya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, a deemed university in private sector, also are in the Rayalaseema region. There are three more institutions in the capital city that are fully funded by the University Grants Commission. The University of Hyderabad established in the year 1975 as a result of the Six Point Formula. The primary objective of establishing this university in Hyderabad was to augment the facilities of university education to compensate, partially, the loss sustained by the Telangana region under Six Point Formula. But no one, neither in the government nor in the university, seems to remember this fact of history and thereby the very purpose of starting this university has been defeated. Today the University of Hyderabad is as good -or as bad- as any other central university in the country in so far as giving preferential treatment to any particular region in matters of admission of student and recruitment of staff is concerned. Consequently, out of 21 universities and university-level institutions funded either by the state government or the federal government or self-financed, 3 are located in Coastal Andhra districts, 7 in Rayalaseem districts, 10 in the capital city and only 1 in Telangana districts. Location of a university in a district place facilitates and contributes to the development of that area. For instance, the University of Health Sciences has considerably improved the medical facilities in and around Vijayawada city, besides providing employment opportunities to the locals. Similarly the University of Dravidian Languages has changed the very face of Kuppam village in the Rayalaseema region. Telangana districts are deprived of such facilities and that raises questions in people’s minds. Dec 11, 2009 Andhra Pradesh was thrown into turmoil when Congress set in motion the act of separating Telengana. The Praja Rajyam party headed by movie actor Chiranjeevi supported Telengana but later changed its stance. The chief minister Y.S.Rajashekar Reddy was all for making it a separate state, but later changed his mind. He died in a helicopter crash during bad weather in September 2009.The movement by Telengana picked up impetus and student organizations, employee unions and others joined the movement. The Union Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Chidambaram announced that the government would soon start the process of creating a separate Telengana state. He said that the process was already started with Chief Minister K.Rosaiah leading the movement. The Central government has set-up a five-member committee headed by Justice B.N. Srikrishna to oversee the modalities of forming the separate State of Telangana. The deadline for the committee is till December 31, 2010 before which time the committee should consult all sections of the society and submit report. The terms of reference of the committee are:Examine the situation in Andhra Pradesh with reference to demand for separate Telangana State, as well as the demand for maintaining the present status of a united Andhra Pradesh.Review developments in the State since its formation and their impact on the progress and development of different regions of the State.Examine the impact of recent developments in the State on different sections of people such as women, children, students, minorities, OBCs, SC and STs.Consult all sections of people, especially political parties and elicit their views on a range of solutions that would resolve the present difficult situation.Identify the key issues that must be addressed.Consult organisations of other civil societies such as industries, trade unions, farmer organisations, women students.Make any other suggestion and recommendations that the committee may deem appropriate. But this committee was opposed with vehemence by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which has been spearheading the statehood agitation. They are in protest saying that that their MPs, MLAs and MLCs would resign. The TRS chief claims that the Centre had once again cheated the people of Telangana by backtracking on its December 9, 2009 statement announcing initiation of the process for formation of separate State. Still the committee finds favour with the leaders from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions who claim that they welcome the terms of reference, which according to them are fairly balanced. It would give them an opportunity for a thorough assessment of the ground situation. The entire state of Andhra is in turmoil, violence has erupted many times and political parties are divided about this issue. According to latest updates major IT Companies are trying to shift their offices to Chennai and Vishakapatnam.The Sri Krishna panel will take the views public and political parties and look deeper into these issues.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 21:22:21 +0000
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