yuva telangana representation to skc

8/9/2019 Yuva Telangana Representation to SKC

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JAI TELANGANA, JAI JAI TELANGANAWWW.YUVATELANGANA.COM

ToHon. Sri Krishna Committee,

Member Secretary, Room # 248,Vignan Bhavan Annexe, Moulana Azad Road,

New Delhi- 110011

Respected Hon. Sri Krishna Committee Members,

Subject: Submission of Memorandum demanding formation of the Telangana state

Following is the representation on behalf of Yuva Telangana in support to the formation

of state of Telangana. This report is comprehensive in its content and is comprehendible of the

agony being faced by the people of Telangana, demanding a separate state.

Little about us, Inspired by the words of Margaret Mead; ―Never doubt that a small

group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that

ever has‖, we a group of energetic and aspiring like-minded committed youngsters, felt the need

to support the cause of Telangana unequivocally as we saw the deprivation of fundamental rights

of expression and association. With all our humane conscience, we would like to be grateful to

the people from all walks of life who are striving for the cause of Telangana.

On 5th Dec 09, we have united our voice and we have put our step forward confident,

with a strong motivation of supporting the cause of Telangana to ornate it with its lost pride,

privileges and prosperity which is possible only through the statehood for Telangana.

History of Telangana:

Historically, the region of Telangana was under the rule of the Nizam of Hyderabad who

had a treaty with the British government to rule his kingdom with no external influence. The

other two regions of the present Andhra Pradesh, i.e. Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema were

under the direct rule of the British government and were a part of the erstwhile Madras state.

When India got independence from the British in 1947 and the people of India were cherishing




their first moments of freedom after a painful wait of 200 years, the people of Telangana whowere still under the Nizam rule were fighting their hearts out in what can be termed as the

biggest peasants‟ revolt till date, the Telangana Armed Struggle. In this movement, the peasants

and the civilians fought against the feudal Nizam government, the landlords and especially

against the Razakars whose brutal carnage and pillage of wealth led to the death of hundreds of

common people. Eventually, the Nizam had to relinquish his greed to have Hyderabad state as a

separate country against the wishes of the people, albeit it happened only after the Police Action

performed by the Government of India. The Hyderabad State got its freedom on September 17th

,

1948, more than a year after India got independence.

Vishalandhra Movement:

Meanwhile, Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, which were a part of the erstwhile

Madras state, were fighting for a separate Andhra state on the same grounds for which the

present Telangana movement is going on: self-respect, self-rule and development. Once the

Andhra state was carved out in 1953, the people of Andhra started raising their voice to have all

the people speaking Telugu under one state-Vishaalandhra, which was derided by the then Prime

Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as a “tint of expansionist imperialism”. (Indian Express, Oct 17,

1953)

The First States Reorganization Commission (SRC) set up by the Indian government

under the supervision of Fazal Ali to restructure the states too warned against the merger and

argued that the then Telangana region with an area of 45,000 sq km, a population of 1.13 crore

and an annual revenue of Rs 17 crore would be a viable state. It also recommended a de-merger

in case the people of Telangana are not too pleased with the repercussions of the merger.

The people of Telangana were averse to the idea of Vishalandhra, as they were skeptical

that their employment and educational opportunities would be held at a stake in a unified state,

the reason being comparatively higher education standards for the Andhra people. Some of their




apprehensions indeed came true, when some migrants from the Andhra region started occupyingseveral government positions, courtesy their knowledge of good administration skills and the

English language which was used in maintaining the records. It is also claimed that most of

these migrants settled down here and bought large areas of land using fake mulki certificates, a

„Mulki‟ meaning a local. The people started protesting in what was called as the Mulki

Movement and the government had to come down and take the necessary steps to review the

Muki rules and protect the interests of the locals. In spite of all these events, the Andhra Pradesh

state was formed on November 1st, 1956 against the wishes of the Telangana people on the

pretext of uniting people speaking the same Telugu language.

Gentlemen’s Agreement:

At the time of the merger, there were vast differences between the people of both the

regions. By virtue of being under the British rule, the people of Andhra were far more educated

and intelligent when compared to their Telangana counterparts. Also, Urdu was the medium of

instruction in the Hyderabad state, which hampered the educational and employment

opportunities for the Telangana people. Another glaring difference was that Telangana state

inherited surplus revenue, thanks to the Hyderabad state being the only surplus state at the time

of Independence. On the other hand, Andhra state was facing financial difficulties and also

infrastructural issues in their capital city, Kurnool. Keeping these things in mind and to protect

the interests of the people of Telangana, a Gentlemen‟s Agreement was signed by the leaders of

both the regions at the time of the merger to ensure fair share of resources and opportunities for

the people of Telangana. All the main points cited in this agreement were violated as soon as the

state was formed. The subsequent governments too took no interest in conforming to the terms

and conditions cited in the Gentlemen‟s agreement. Various reports identified various violations

in implementing the Gentlemen‟s agreement, but no action was ever taken to counter them. This

led to the increasing discontent among the people of Telangana and numerous agitations have

spurred since then as a consequence of the violation of this agreement.




1969 Movement:

It is heart wrench to recollect one such movement, probably the largest and most

gruesome movements that took place in India after Independence - the 1969 movement. People

recall the horror of this incident which took away the lives of around 400 students and injured a

lot more, most of whom were brutally fired and killed when they led a peaceful protest from the

Osmania University to the Assembly. This incident which is buried in the history is the second

biggest massacre in India after the Jallianwalabagh incident. The 1969 movement started off by

government employees who were vexed up by the violations of all the agreements and promises

made for the Telangana people. It spread like a wild fire within no time and led to unrest among

the Congress government ruling the state then.

The Telangana Praja Samiti (TPS) party was formed as a consequence which swept away

the polls in the Telangana region, making the mandate of the people obvious. The Congress

government ruling at the center still didn‟t yield in, terming the regional movement as anti -

national and used tact in pacifying the TPS leaders and cooling the heels of the movement

thereby putting the discontent of the Telangana people on hold, rather than understanding their

hardships and showing them a proper solution. Again, a new GO 36 was passed to safeguard

their interests. But, the non locals in the Telangana region challenged not only G.O.36 but also

the Mulki Rules. The Supreme Court upheld the GO 36 after prolonged sessions and this in no

way pleased the non-locals. This paved way to the Jai Andhra movement, the sole purpose of

which was to nullify the Mulki rules.

Jai Andhra Movement:

These movements advocated the withdrawal of all the constitutional assurances given to

Telangana and revoke the implementation of GO 36 and the Mulki rules that were approved by

the Supreme Court of India. The political lobbying by the Andhra politicians resulted in the

Supreme Court to revoke its judgment and invalidate the Mulki rules. It also led to P.V.




Narasimha Rao, the then Chief Minister hailing from Telangana to resign. Presidents‟ rule wasimposed and later on another new agreement was made called the 6-Point Formula to prevent

such agitations from occurring in the future. The only point from these 6 points that was

implemented was the 6th

point, the one which was beneficial to the Andhra people. The people of

Telangana and their rights were once again marginalized.

The people of Telangana have time and again suffered exploitation in various aspects.

We have emphasized the significant concerns in the subsequent topics.

Education:

As discussed in this document previously, Telangana and Andhra have vast disparities in

education. At the time of the merger, the people of Andhra were far more educated and had

better administrative skills when compared to those of Telangana. Urdu being the first language

for Hyderabad state till then didn‟t help the people‟s cause either as most of the administrative

work was held in English right after the independence. The promises made in the Gentlemen‟s

agreement to minimize these differences were never addressed, making it tougher for the people

to get educated and get proper employment.

Though there has been some growth in the educational opportunities over the past 50

years, the reality is that it is more of a general growth of the whole state rather than the growth

taking place due to ample opportunities provided by the government. Even after all these years,

Telangana still remains the lowest when we compare the literacy rates of all the three regions.

Taking into consideration that Telangana attributes to around 40% of the state‟s population, the

amount of money spent on the infrastructure and facilities for education is far less in Telangana

when compared to the other two regions.

This abuse of funds has a telling effect on the primary school education in particular, as

the number of dropouts increase. This is reflected when we compare the primary education for




the aided schools in all the three regions, and is evident that the enrollment of students and the percentage of teachers in Telangana is much less. Same is the case for higher secondary

education. .

The range of injustice pertaining to education increases as we delve into details of higher

education. All the major national level and state level Universities in Telangana region have been

moved to in and around Hyderabad, on the pretext that they can be more accessible for the

people of the whole state. On the other hand, the other two regions enjoy a fair share of having

the national level and state level Universities, despite being far away from the capital. It is a

known truth that the Technological University started in Warangal, the Open University

originally proposed at Nagarjuna Sagar have been shifted to Hyderabad for better accessibility.

The same case does not hold true for the Andhra universities such as NTR Health University

established in Vijayawada, Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapee started in Tirupathi etc. The Six point

formula resulted in the establishment of the University of Hyderabad to safeguard the interests of

the future of Telangana. The sole purpose of starting this University has been dishonored.

Most of the major universities in Telangana have either been built in the Nizam era like

the Osmania University, Gandhi Medical University or with the funds from the central

government. In any case, all these major universities other than the NIT Warangal and Kakatiya

University, Warangal are located in Hyderabad and there is no preference given whatsoever to

the locals of the region. Compare this to the people of Andhra and Rayalaseema who have a local

quota in the universities located in the respective regions.

There is a vast disparity in the funds allocated and used for the universities between

Telangana and Andhra. The gross injustice meted out in the name of education is clearly evident

when we compare the funds allocated to the new universities established recently in these

regions. Where funds amounting to Rs. 343 crore were allocated to the two universities set up in




Kadapa district, only Rs. 27 crore was allocated to the five universities of the Telangana regionin the last budget. The new universities set up in Telangana such as the Telangana University,

Palamoor University are suffering due to the non availability of funds, almost nonexistent faculty

and virtually nothing spent on the infrastructure and facilities.

This equation worsens when the medical colleges come into picture. Both the medical

colleges in Hyderabad i.e. Gandhi Medical College and Osmania Medical College were built

before Andhra Pradesh was formed. Again, the Telangana students come under the general quota

and share the same privilege as the people from the other two regions when seats for these

colleges are allocated. The only other Government Medical College in Telangana is the

Kakatiya Medical College, which was built in the late 50s. Over a span of 50 years, not even one

Government Medical College has been established in Telangana.

Education creates opportunities and when the education in Telangana has been neglected

for such a long time, it has showed a direct consequence on the industrial, economical and

cultural development of Telangana.

Employment:

Employment has been another major area in which Telangana was discriminated and was

denied its fair share of allowance. The Mulki rules which were brought into effect during the

period of Nizams to protect its people from discrimination in employment were supposed to be

continued even after the merger in 1956. Mulki rules were laid taking into consideration the huge

educational disparities between the regions prior to the merger. This was one of the many

assurances broken starting from the very initial days of the merger.

As predicted by many before merger, fake Mulki certificates were used acquire the jobs

allocated for Telangana. Claiming the superiority of English education in Andhra to that of Urdu

education in Telangana, many administrative jobs in the initial years of grabbed by the people




from Andhra. The divide continued to increase and in a very quick time Telangana had barelyany representation in the key administrative areas.

People from Telangana raised their concern to the growing injustices and staged a huge

protest in 1969 demanding a separate state. To pacify the agitation, G.O 36 was released to allot

around 22,000 jobs supposed to be allocated for Telangana. The Supreme Court also ruled in

favor of Telangana that the Mulki rules should be upheld making it an even stronger case for

Telangana. But the government showed no real intent in its implementation. The numbers only

increased to 58,952 by 1985 and a new G.O was issued by the government. This order issued by

the government of Andhra Pradesh in December 1985 and was supposed to be implemented by

March 1986, but it is yet to be put into practice even after two decades.

Closing down of various major industries and the neglect of the government towards the

irrigation, handloom industries in Telangana pushed the problems even further. Lakhs of families

lost their livelihood and many people had to migrate to Gulf countries as laborers to make their

ends meet.

The saga of broken promises and a series of government orders which were never

implemented made people of Telangana lose their confidence in the administration and they now

strongly believe that separate statehood for Telangana is the only solution for any kind of justice

in employment.

Industries:

There were numerous industries established in Telangana during the period of Nizams

itself, which not only created huge employment for its people but also played a major role in the

development of the region. But, since the formation of Andhra Pradesh there has been a drastic

reversal in fortunes for the citizens. If not all, most of the major industries were closed down by

the successive governments with their willful neglect towards the region.




In 1956, when Telangana was merged with Andhra to form Andhra Pradesh, the regionwas a buzz of activity with several large thriving industries, prominent ones being Azam Jahi

Mills, Nizam Sugar Factory, DBR Mills, Sirpur Sir Silk Mills, Deccan Glass factory, Praga

Tools, Soda factory, Iron factory, Cannon factory, Taj glass factory, Hyderbad Allwyn & Metals

and the Antargam spinning mills. These factories collectively employed over one lakh workers in

Telangana. Save for the lone Praga Tools which is alive today all the others have been

meticulously nurtured to sickness and closure. There is a single story that binds the closure of

these industries and loss of livelihood of thousands of Telangana workers; it‟s the story of

Government apathy, systematic ruin of a thriving industry, followed by a distress sale to the real

estate tycoons.

The Nizam Sugar Factory in Bodhan was at one time Asia‟s biggest sugar factory. The

factory was suppressed by the government and was closed down. The story of the Azam Jahi

Mills is very similar, this was established in Warangal during Nizams and provided livelihood to

about 15,000 people in Warangal. It was also brought to foreclosure which was later closed

down and the Mills lands were sold as real estate. A housing colony is being built on this prime

land in the heart of Warangal.

Ramagundam fertilizers factory built by the central government after the Independence

was closed down abruptly. Shortage of electricity supply and quality coal were provided as the

reasons for its closure. While there is consistent supply of coal resources from Ramagundam to

Thermal plants in Andhra, it is astonishing that the fertilizer factory situated at its heart could not

have quality supply of coal. What is even more astounding is the shortage of electricity at the

same vicinity where the Ramagundam Thermal plant is located. The announcement of starting a

new fertilizer factory in Nellore on the same day of the closure of Ramagundam fertilizers

factory would show the real intent behind its closure.




Contrast this with the Government‟s patronage and wholeheartedness in reviving the sick Vizag Steel Plant at a cost of 1,500 crores. It would have taken this amount to revive many of the

industries in Telangana, and would have saved the livelihood of over one lakh families.

This biased approach of the government and its inclination towards Andhra was a major

blow to the industires in Telangana. With the resources and the scope for growth, Telangana

could illustrate an incredible industrial growth as a separate state.

Irrigation:

Telangana land has a mixture of very fertile soils suitable for cultivation and Agriculture

has always been the primary occupation for the people here. Two major rivers Krishna, Godavari

and their numerous tributaries cover every district in Telangana. Most of cultivable land and all

the villages of Telangana would have been provided with irrigation and drinking water had the

water been properly utilized.

Telangana contains 68.5% of Catchment area for Krishna in Andhra Pradesh. Around

70% of the cultivable land through this catchment area is in Telangana. Telangana should get at

least 68% of the share if either catchment area is taken as the principal criterion for allocation of

waters between different regions of the state or cultivable area, rainfall, subsoil levels of water,

backwardness. But the allocation made for the projects in the Telangana region was only around

32%. If the actual utilization of water is taken into account it is only about 10%.

While 181.2TMC of water is allocated to Prakasam Barrage (Only used by Coastal

Andhra), 330TMC of water is being supplied and the extra 150TMC is being provided to Delta

Region in the name of generation of Electricity in Nagarjuna Sagar.The water used in the Power

generation was supposed to be sent back to Nagarjuna Sagar using Reversible turbines. But, the

tail pond through which was it was possible was not built and hence the water which was

supposed to be used in Telangana through Nagarjuna Sagar is now being used in Delta region.




Srisailam Project which was originally a power project is now converted into amultipurpose project. Yet the Telangana region does not get even a single drop of water from it.

It has only a right bank canal to facilitate irrigation in the Rayalaseema region. Further, its

capacity has been increased by 3 times when compared to what was originally contemplated. But

the left bank canal meant for the benefit of Telangana region has been abandoned. The canal

which is now styled as the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) and rechristened as Alimineti

Madhava Reddy Project is a misnomer. It is neither on the left bank of Srisailam Project nor does

it draw water from the Srisailam Reservoir.

Jurala Project which is the first project on river Krishna meant for Telangana is the

smallest of all the projects built on this river. The Bachawat Tribunal allocated just 17.5 TMC ft.

water for this project, and the state government reduced its storage capacity to 11 TMC ft. But

the actual utilization so far has not been more than 2 TMC ft.

Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme, taken up before the formation of Andhra Pradesh by the

then government of Hyderabad was envisaged to provide irrigation facilities to 87500 acres in

Mahabubnagar district of Telangana region. The Bachawat Tribunal also allocated 15.90 TMC

ft. of water for this project. This water has to pass through a canal in Raichur district of

Karnataka State. After the formation of Andhra Pradesh some landlords of Kurnool district have

not been allowing this water to reach Mahabubnagar. As a result, the land which was to be

irrigated by this facility has become more or less a desert. Consequently, out of nearly 35 lakh

acres being irrigated under the projects built on river Krishna, hardly 5 lakh acres are benefited

in the Telangana region and rest in the other regions.

Telangana contains 79% of catchment area for Godavari in Andhra Pradesh. Over 70% of

the cultivable land in Godavari Basin in Andhra Pradesh is in Telangana. Based on these figures,

atleast 1000TMC out of 1480TMC of Godavari Water allocated to Andhra Pradesh should be

utilized in Telangana. Before the merger, Hyderabad State planned projects allocating over

845TMC of water for the benefits of its people, but they were never completed as planned.




The Bachawat tribunal allocated 1480 TMC ft. of Godavari river water to AndhraPradesh, but half of this water is yet to be utilized. The Coastal Andhra region has been the major

beneficiary of the water already utilized. Under the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage in

Dhawaleswaram more than 12 lakh acres of land is getting irrigation facilities with nearly half of

it growing more than one crop. But in the Telangana region, the area irrigated with the Godavari

waters is not even 5 lakh acres.

The other two major projects proposed on river Godavari are Ichampally and Polavaram.

Ichampally is meant for Telangana and Polavaram for Coastal Andhra. Prima-facie it 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 is going to happen,

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

doomed. Also, The Polavaram project will sacrifice over 200 villages of Khammam district to

irrigate and enrich the Andhra fields in Godavari, Krishna and Vizag districts and as a bonus

provide drinking water to the city of Vizag and a continuous supply of water to the Vizag Steel

Plant. This scourge of Telangana, called Polavaram will bring desolation and despair to over

2,00,000 Telangana people by submerging their lands and indirectly affect the livelihood and

future of another 10,00,000 people living in the upstream areas.

The other projects that are talked about are Sri Ram Sagar Project Stage II, Sri Ram sagar

Flood Flow Canal and barrages at Yellampalli and Dummagudem. Even if they are completed –

which is a big if- all of them put together will not have a capacity to utilize more than 50 TMC ft.

of water.

Because of the factors enumerated above the benefit of irrigation through the canal

system under major irrigation projects is accruing substantially, i.e. 76.99%, to the Coastal

Andhra region. While the share of Telangana is just 15.88%, the remaining 7.13% goes to the




Rayalaseema region. Even the land cultivated under the lakes has gone down from 4,47,426Hectares to 1,92,814 Hectares from 1956 to 2002.

Most of the water resources planned for cultivation in Telangana was through Gravity

projects. So, it is not the higher elevation which is responsible for Telangana's situation but the

heights of arrogance and the deliberate negligence towards its people. It is infact a shame that the

cultivated land in Telangana has decreased from 46, 57,282 Hectares to 40, 82,370 Hectares

from 1956 to 2002.

The farmers in Telangana depend mostly on well irrigation which is becoming

prohibitively expensive day by day. This is leading to debts and in turn thousands of farmer

suicides every year in Telangana because of their helplessness to pay back.

As separate state, Telangana would improve its status in irrigation through canals, dams

and tanks, and will not anymore be hijacked and blackmailed each time with the show of

strength of Andhra because they hold majority in the State Assembly.

Farmer Suicides:

Farmer is a word with fair chances of being on the verge of extinction. Agriculture would

seem to be a mere impossibility in the future if there is no change in the current situation.

Farmers, the center source of food for the country are at stake. India has seen plethora of farmer

suicides starting in early 90‟s attributing to dire poverty and helpless amounts of debts.

Maharashtra was the first state where the farmer suicides came into limelight after rigorous

journalist surveys conducted. Vidarbha, a city in Maharashtra was at the peak in the number of

farmer suicides. But surveys have confirmed that the state of Andhra Pradesh has not seen any

less number of farmer suicides compared to vidarbha. The state‟s peasants and weavers are on

the verge to extinction. No wonder, the government has never deliberated their attention to this

suicide belt, the farmer suicides have not been put a check till this day. Central government has

lended its gracious eyes and ears on Vidarbha and promised 110 Billion funds to be allocated by




the state government to address the farmers. Various development projects taken up whichseemed very fancy by the name but proved no worth like the SEZ (special elimination zones).

Many tragic stories have surfaced up to the news channels and yet the ignorance continues.

“He spared his life so that we could live on his ex gratia” – Wife of a dead farmer

These disheartening stories have never awakened the governments of the state. The

farmer suicides were at the highest number of 2321 in 04-05. Congress government was the

ruling party then. The major factor influencing the farmer suicides is the money lender. Money borrowed with high interests has made the farmers expect farm profits which are dependent on

the natural resources. Yielding to the pressures, farmers are taking the extreme step of suicides.

The DCCB‟s have always promised to deliver huge short term loans and have ended up give

only a mere share of their promises. 2000 crores of short term loans were promised and only 213

crores have been disbursed to the farmers. The interest rates on these loans are also at a striking

high level accounting to 15 %. Chidambaram announced low interest rates to farmers 7% during

all budgets, but the viable implementation has never touched the grounds.

Of the many factors, which are leading to the farmers suicides,

Farmers now are bound to dig their bore wells deeper and deeper to see a drop of water,

which would cost every penny he earns.

Power supply is never reliable.

Fake pesticides, low quality seeds, royalty seeds at sky high prices are making farmer‟s

life miserable.

Government aid is untimely, no credits given and local lenders pressure of pay backs.




Government has never tried to eliminate the market adverse linkages to the farmers in termsof fake components being sold to the farmers looting their hard earned money. The education of

the children of farmers is out of question.

Statistics according to an RTI act filed indicate that the number of farmer suicides in

Telangana during 2004-06 is around 2500 according to the government figures. This number

does not include the no. of famer suicides which were rejected to be accounted for since the

farmer did not have any agricultural land in his name.

Development:

The under-development of Telangana region can be easily observed with a naked eye and

is self explanatory with all the statistics and surveys conducted so far. But, a few detractors are

cleverly using growth rates to prove that Telangana is more developed than its counter parts. The

very fundamental flaw in this is that the comparisons made merely based on their percentages are

always wrong, because percentages always have a base and without looking at the base on which

they are calculated, there is every chance they present much skewed picture and can even

mislead.

Also while calculating the averages for GDP and other figures, GHMC should be

excluded to get a clearer picture of development in the other districts of Telangana, which is very

poor. The growth and investment in GHMC has been more at the cost of other districts of

Telangana while the global nature of GHMC made its benefits accessible to the rest of the

districts in Andhra Pradesh equally.

As on March 31st 2006, the combined GDP of all Telangana districts including

Hyderabad, Medak & Rangareddy (most parts of these 3 districts form the GHMC area) is Rs

99,462.81 Crores. Excluding these 3 districts, it stands at Rs 57121.27 Crores. The average for

these 7 districts comes to nearly Rs 8,100 crores per district and the GDP of the 7 Telangana

districts‟ is below Rs 10,000 crores.




The Per Capita income of AP in 2005-06 was Rs 26,211. 5 out of 10 Telangana districts fell below this average. Out of the other 5 which are above this average, 3 of them form the GHMC

area.

The Backward Regions Grant Fund (BRGF) scheme of Govt of India which is designed to

redress regional imbalances in development says, “9 of the 13 most backward districts in AP

are in Telangana. 9 out of 10 Telangana districts (barring Hyderabad) are most backward

as recognized by Govt of India.”

Telangana Culture:

Telangana region has a separate history, which it has built over the past few centuries. It

has a distinct identity and culture, thanks to its independent existence. The most prominent

culture identified here, especially in and around Hyderabad is the Deccani or Hyderabadi culture.

This culture is a fusion of essentially the Hindu and the Muslim cultures of the people living

here. The influence of this culture on the people here is so huge that a new dialect has evolved

here which is the language Telugu interspersed with liberal dosage of words from Urdu.

The Telangana region is famous for its religious harmony. Peoples ranging from various

communities such as Hindus, Muslims, Parsis, Sikhs, Marvadis, Gujratis, Maradis, and

Buddhists etc have been living here happily and peacefully. The best part of Telangana culture is

that it can be identified as their own by the people of different communities, languages living

here.

Diwali, Dasara, Ugadi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Bonalu, Ramzan, Bathukamma, Mohurrum, etc

are the main festivals celebrated here. The region celebrates distinctive festivals like

Bathukamma and Bonalu, which are unique in their own way. Bathukamma, the festival of

flowers is a unique festival celebrated in Telangana which celebrates the beauty and the

greatness of our Mother Nature. Sammakka Saralamma jatara held every two years in Warangal

district is termed as the largest tribal festival in Asia.




The religious harmony of Telangana can be understood by looking at the festivalscelebrated by the people here. People here celebrate a Diwali festival with as much verve as they

celebrate a Ramzan. The Muslims here celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi with as much happiness as

the Hindus celebrate the “Peerla Panduga” (Mohurrum). Other Hindu and Muslim festivals

such as Holi, Rakhi are also celebrated with equal enthusiasm as in northern India.

Differences between Telangana and Andhra Cultures:

People‟s poet and freedom fighter Kaloji Narayan Rao quotes “Telangana language is

different, Telangana lifestyles are different" when he compares the cultures of Telangana with

that of Andhra.

Telangana culture differs in many ways from Andhra culture even though they speak the

same language. As a matter of fact, the premise of being the same language albeit having

different dialects is the only common factor between Telangana and Andhra people. The festivals

here are very much different from Andhra festivals. It is not that some of the festivals are the

common in both the places, but this should be attributed more to the whole-heartedness of the

people of Telangana who have embraced Andhra festivals and cultures over a period of time,

The less said about the adaptability of the Andhra culture in embracing the Telangana culture the

better, as Andhra people didn‟t even try to adopt Telangana‟s culture and its festivals. Many

Telangana festivities are not found in Andhra region such as Holi, Bathkamma, Bonalu,

Kolatam, etc.

In the name of cultural unity and Telugu pride, Andhra rulers have tried to impose its

culture particularly in terms of language and food habits. The government public distribution

system in Andhra supplies only rice whereas the rain-fed areas of Telangana cultivates bajra,

jowar, raagi and such other food grains. This has resulted in extra pressure on Telangana

peasantry to grow only rice at the expense of their indigenous crops.




Identity Crisis:

Documenting and preserving the history and culture is the fundamental responsibility as a

state. Due to reasons unknown, the history of Andhra Pradesh has not been documented that well

when compared to the histories of other states such as Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and West

Bengal etc. When it comes to Telangana, nothing has been documented. The comprehensive

history of Telangana people and their culture have remained a far distant dream, long cherished

but unfulfilled.

The problems that aroused out of the merger of the then states of Telangana with Andhra

started with the gradual deprivation of Telangana history to the youth of Telangana and have

only compounded thereon. Starting from the very fundamental school education, there is only

little or no information about Telangana‟s rich and diversified culture and its history in the

curriculum. At a very tender age, the next generation of Telangana is forced to study the history

and eminent personalities of only Andhra, speak the text book Telugu dialect which is vastly

different to the language spoken in his real life and so on. The Telangana Armed Struggle, which

is one of the largest common peoples‟ rebellions, has no place in the history books of Andhra

Pradesh. There is no wonder that people of Telangana who are at least supposed to know their

culture, tradition, history and about the people who laid their lives for their future are still

ignorant about all these. The 1969 massacre, as monumental as the Jallianwalabagh incident, has

never been documented in the history books and the figures and facts have always been distorted.

The text books in the curriculum also falsify the history by elucidating that Potti Sri Ramulu

sacrificed his life for the formation of Andhra Pradesh state.

Telangana region boasts of a vast literature and many eminent writers and scholars, but

the Telangana literature is not even considered a literature in the first place by the Telugu

counterparts. Where accolades are reaped on and statues are built for Andhra legends like Sri Sri,

Vishwanatha, Gurajada etc., there is no mention about Telangana writers and personalities such

as Dasarathi, Ravi Narayana Reddy, Kaloji.




The main concern of the Telangana people is that their language is termed to be impureand is mocked by the people from the other regions of Andhra Pradesh. The truth is that the way

Telugu is spoken and written in all 23 districts of current Andhra Pradesh state differs. There is a

mix of Urdu words in Telangana Telugu which Andhra people term as impure. The Andhra

people find it tough to explain how Telugu can be purified using few English words on one hand

and unpurified using few Urdu words.

To add insult to injury, Telangana language is maligned in the Telugu films and shows to

such an extent that only villains, their chamchas and the comedians who play the hero‟s

sidekicks speak in Telangana dialect. This biased, negative portrayal has been continuing for the

past 50 years. The plight of Telangana people can be understood from the fact that they are

forced to laugh at their own slang in the movies.

Telangana people are often referred to as rustic and uncivilized by their “civilized”

Andhra “brothers”. They find it hard to comprehend that it is not language or land that make a

state, but the people and their culture make them a state. A state stands for people but not a land

mass. States formed on the basis of just a language is not the sole criteria where the cultures and

history of people of other regions is neglected. It is the right of the people to fight for their

identity which is in a deep crisis for the past 50 years.

Tourism:

Telangana has a rich history of 3000 years, and this can be seen in the ruins that dot the

districts of Warangal, Hyderabad and Nalgonda. The tourism potential of Telangana is immense.

It is bestowed with a bounty of cultural and religious relics and natural landscapes for adventure

sports. None of this has been advertised and publicized till date. For all those successive tourism

ministers of the Goverments that came in power, the tourist potential in Telangana started with

the Charminar and ended with the pearls in Hyderabad, with only minor mention of the




Warangal fort and Salarjung Museum. In contrast to this, Vishakapatnam has been touted as amust visit tourist spot in Andhra Pradesh with its Arukku valley and Borra Caves.

In the last few decades the number of tourists visiting Vishakapatnam, Vijayawada, and

Chittor has increased at more than double the rate for Warangal and Nalgonda combined.

Warangal has a rich tapestry of historical relics, the architectural marvel of the 1000 pillar

temple, the Warangal fort, and the beauty of the stone carvings in Ramappa temple, it has the

potential to attract both foreign and domestic tourists. Not many people in the country know of

Nagarjuna Sagar Konda which is a manifestation of man‟s efforts to save his history and to

provide for water security of his progeny. It can with a little effort be integrated into the Buddhist

circuit, resulting in attracting the hordes of Buddhist pilgrims. Promoting tourism in Telangana,

would have enriched the State and provided a decent standard of living to its citizens. But, this

subject has never even been brought up by successive Governments of AP. Instead of investing

in the tourism potential of the Telangana region, the Government has been destroying the very

edifices that can earn revenue for the State of Telangana.

The Government in its haste to develop the connectivity to Vijayawada, has gone ahead

with starting work on building a 4 lane highway connecting it to Hyderabad. This Highway will

wipe out 26 historically significant archeological monuments. Beginning with the „kos minars‟

or milestones from the Qutub Shahi dynasty, Chalukyan and Kakatiya period temples, mosques

from the Mughal era, which can be creatively packaged and sold as a “Highway Tourism

Project” will be turned to dust. Most important of all, there‟s a 13th century Shiva temple from

the Kakatiya period, located just before Chityal, in Warangal having a „garba gruha‟,

„arthamandapa‟, „maha mandapa‟ and a four - pillared „Nandi mandapa‟, a part of the temple is

buried under the existing road, and needs to be excavated. The government instead of saving this

monument is intent on burying it still deeper into eternity by running a bull dozer over it.

Tourism in Telangana, is never been a subject of debate or interest, but it can bring an

undreamed prosperity to a State, as witnessed by Rajasthan, Kerala and now Gujarat. However,




these states have been promoted by their leaders none of them have been crushed into the dustlike the history and culture of Telangana.

Tourism for Telangana state, will be one of the main sources of revenue, and it is

incumbent upon us to safe guard our monuments and heritage, and force the abandonment of this

Hyderabad-Vijayawada 4 lane highway.

Self Governance:

Telangana never had the chance to witness „Self -rule‟ being a minority and havingalways been hammered by its counterparts. The mere election of its MPs, MLAs and MLCs is

just not enough when the politics in the state is strictly divided on regional lines and while the

majority is working constantly for its vested interests suppressing the minority. The magnitude of

suppression was at such extent that even decisions of the institutions such as courts which are

supposed to safeguard the minorities and underprivileged were overturned with their superior

numbers. A classic example of this being the revoking of Supreme Court‟s decision to uphold the

Mulki rules to safeguard the interests of people of Telangana.

While Telangana constitutes 42% of its region and 41% of the state population, the

number of elected representatives was not in the correct proportion till recently. Telangana had

only 107 MLAs out of 294 which were only 36% while Andhra and Rayalseema enjoyed a

representation of 64% with 187 MLAs. The no. of MP seats allocated was no different.

Telangana was allocated 16 out of 42 seats which is 38% while Andhra and Rayalseema together

had 26 out of 42 Seats which is 62%. Being a minority was in itself a setback and the under

representation of its people in the Assembly and Parliament for decades made it even more

intricate to counter the hounding of the majority.

In 54 years as a combined state, the state was ruled by a Chief Minister from Telangana

for only 11 years. It is to be noted that even 5 out of that 11 years were ruled by Mr. Jalgam

Vengal Rao who is a settler from Andhra and is known for his senseless remarks of merging




Khammam in Andhra if Telangana is separated. None of the other Chief Ministers could rule for a full term and the rest of the 6 years were ruled by 3 different Chief Ministers in four terms.

This shows a clear prejudice over Telangana.

The intolerance against Telangana is not just confined to the elected representatives but it

extends to all the decision making positions in the government. The prominent positions in

secretariat, high court and other government offices which are supposed to be the key in decision

making is flooded with the people from Andhra and Rayalseema further increasing their

dominance in the state affairs.

The everlasting dream for self-governance for the people of Telangana would turn into

reality only with the demerger of the state.

Politics:

The Telangana Movement has been over 50 years old and its people have been using the

electorial procedure in support of Telangana state in every possible election. Time and again

political parties have raised their support for Telangana state and betrayed its people with their

opportunism.

The first political party in support to the Telangana State came after the „Jai Telangana‟

movement in 1969 under the leadership of M. Chenna Reddy with the name, Telangana Praja

Samiti . Telangana Praja Samiti (TPS) won 11 out of 14 Lok Sabha seats clearly indicating the

mood of the people for creation of separate Telangana. Despite electoral successes, some of the

new party leaders gave up their agitation in September 1971 and, much to the disgust of many

separatists, rejoined the safer political haven of the Congress ranks. The leaders and Members of

parliament were treacherously blackmailed into submission.

Telangana Rashtra Samithi was formed in 2001 with the single agenda of creating a

separate Telangana state, with Hyderabad as its capital. During the Assembly elections of 2004,




the Indian National Congress Party entered into election alliance with Telangana RashtraSamithi, and Promised separate statehood to the people of Telangana. The voters from

Srikakulam to Ananthapur to Adilabad elected the Congress-TRS alliance to power, thereby

giving mandate for separate State of Telangana. But soon after assuming office, the congress

party changed its stance stating that it was committed to second States Reorganization

Commission for creating new states. The same congress party, which carved Andhra out of

Madras in 1953 without any need for SRC or even Assembly Resolution needed SRC and

Resolution Once they won the elections. In September 2006 TRS withdrew support for the

Congress led coalition government at the centre on the grounds of indecision by the government

over the delivery of its electoral promise to create Telangana. In December 2006, TRS won the

by-election for the Karimnagar parliamentary constituency, which is considered by many as a

referendum on a Telangana state, with a record margin.

Ahead of the 2009 General Elections in India, all the major parties in Andhra

Pradesh supported the formation of Telangana and also included it in their manifestos.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) again announced their policy of having smaller states and

would create two states, Telangana and Gorkhaland, if they won the election. The Congress

Party said it was still committed to Telangana statehood and also included in its manifesto.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) who had a drubbing in the previous elections realized the need

to support Telangana state and promised to work for Telangana statehood. The Praja Rajyam

Party (PRP), newly founded by the film star Chiranjeevi, supported Telangana statehood prior to

elections, but later changed its stance. Nava Telangana Party merged with PRP after it realized

that there is not enough political space for two sub-regional Telangana parties with Telangana

statehood as main agenda. All the parties promised Telangana. TRS has lost the election, but not

the sentiment of the people. The sentiment logic will only be discussed when there are two

parties. When everyone says YES, there is no competition and when everyone says Telangana,

there is no polarization on that issue. The whole 2009 elections were not about Telangana. All

parties including congress promised Telangana in their manifestos. So counting 2009 elections as




the one between Pro and anti Telangana lobbies would not make much sense because everybodywas in favor of Telangana State.

Even during the All Party Meeting on Dec 7th

, 2009 all the Political Parties expressed

their consent for formation of Telangana State.

The backtracking of all political parties, except the muted support by the Bharatiya Janata

Party, for the promised statehood of separate Telangana, is a great democratic betrayal. The

commitments made were apparently pure rhetoric and insincere. They were promises made

during the elections and then forgotten. There is a great chance of people losing their confidence

in the electoral process if Telangana State is not formulated even after the continuous verdict in

support to the formation of the state.

Hyderabad:

Whenever the issue of Telangana rakes up, numerous voices from the people of other two

regions are vocal about the status of Hyderabad. Some claim Hyderabad to be made a common

capital and others demand it be made a Union territory. A few of them even go to an extent of

insisting that a separate Hyderabad State be carved altogether out of Telangana. The basis for

such baseless claims rests on a strong misconception and arrogance on the part of the Andhra

leaders and industrialists that Hyderabad was developed by them. A simple glimpse back into the

history should be enough to answer these doubting Toms who never care to listen at least.

History reveals that Hyderabad, which is the 6th

largest city in India, has been developed

even before the merger and was the 5th

largest city in India at that time. In those days itself,

Hyderabad city was very well built with the entire infrastructure required for a capital. It had the

best underground system in India. Also, the entire infrastructure such as the Secretariat,

Assembly, High Court building, Osmania University, the Hyderabad and Kachiguda railway

stations, the Begumpet airport, the Osmania Hospital, Nilofer hospital were built before the

merger. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was marveled by the infrastructure here and recommended




Hyderabad as the second capital for India. It is a known fact that the Andhra state before themerger was low on revenue and didn‟t have the basic infrastructure to hold administrative

offices. Hence, Hyderabad was the obvious capital once Andhra Pradesh was formed and it was

bound to develop more over a course of time being the capital. In the same time other major

cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, and Bangalore too developed a lot.

Over the past few years, various multinational companies invested a lot in and around

Hyderabad in the form of IT and it can be credited more to the current globalization phenomenon

rather than the Andhra leaders and industrialists who claim to be the cause for this development.

Another fact these people tend to forget is that Hyderabad was built with the heavy taxes levied

upon the people of Telangana by the Nizam. Also, this development of Hyderabad has come at

the expense of the development of the other Telangana districts, as most of the amount spent for

development in Telangana was in an around Hyderabad and this can be found if we observe that

all the major industries and universities established in Hyderabad at the expense of the other

districts of Telangana.

The real estate boom which has been pointed out as a benchmark by the Andhra

politicians for development in fact has led to various entrepreneurs securing large areas of lands

for a small price and making huge businesses with them. This trend if observed from an

economic standpoint can never be termed as development in the first place. On the other hand,

this led the farmers and the downtrodden living in the outskirts of the city to migrate away from

their homes searching for ways to make their ends meet. Also, various SEZs identified by the

government are driving the common man away. The film industry which has grown on a large

scale over the past few years too has flourished at the expense of Telangana. The film industry

has received various sops in lands, electricity etc for its establishment. Most of the lands where

the film studios stand today have been sold to them at a trifle amount by the government.

During the same time when Hyderabad has been developing, Vishakhapatnam has been

growing by leaps and bounds at a rate faster than that of Hyderabad. The advocates demanding




Hyderabad as a common capital or as a union territory shy away from this question as they haveno answer.

Hyderabad has been and would be an integral part of Telangana. Hyderabad is located

almost in the center of Telangana and is surrounded by various districts of Telangana. Access to

Hyderabad from the nearest part of Andhra is at least at a distance of 100 miles and it is almost

like traveling to a different state from a place like srikakulam. In such a case, it is not a feasible

solution to have it as a common capital which is located in the heartland of the other region,

Telangana. It would be better off to have a capital city for the Andhra region that could be easily

accessible to all the people.

The concept of a Union Territory in India is vanishing as most of the Union Territories

have transformed into states for better administrative purposes. In such a scenario, there is no

reason to make Hyderabad as a union territory to protect the vested interest of a few real estate

barons who feel their business is at a stake and a few power hungry politicians.

Also, this concept can be ruled out as it has to depend on Telangana for all basic needs

such as water, electricity etc. Some people point out Chandigarh as an example of a common

capital, conveniently forgetting its geographical convenience.

Smaller states - case study:

A vivid example which is being witnessed by the country is the state of Gujarat, which is

now being sought to be one the most developed states in the country could never have had seen

such development if it was not carved out from Maharashtra. Another classic case record

scenario of three carvings from the larger state in 2000 - Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and

Uttarakhand, it is very evident that the smaller states are deemed to grow at a larger rate than

their predecessors. Uttarakhand which was once considered to be the poorest and the most

backward part of UP is now becoming a champion with many big industries rushing into the

state giving its growth a great boost.




Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh were the most backward parts of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh,which in turn were among the most backward states of India. Separation worked wonders and,

after becoming separate states, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have emerged as industrial dynamos.

Both states have ample minerals like coal and iron ore. But this was not an economic advantage

when they were part of larger states. Rather, their mineral revenues were diverted to state

capitals. This diversion ended after they became separate states.

Mining is not the only reason for the fast growth of Jharkhand and Chattisgarh. They have also

experienced a huge manufacturing boom.

"Since 2001, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have moved up into the top 10 (industrial

states), displacing Rajasthan and Punjab... The phenomenal growth in these two states has seen

the share of manufacturing in their GDP rise dramatically as they have attracted industrial

projects. Looking at the share of income that originates in the manufacturing sector, these two

states have shown higher levels than Maharashtra, Haryana and Tamil Nadu...Being newer and

smaller states, they responded more rapidly than their larger — and in some cases better

endowed - neighbors… Raipur in Chhattisgarh has now entered the top 10 districts of India in

manufacturing, with two industrial estates at Urla and Siltara". – Indicus Analytica, Reasearch

firm

With the dominating and biased political decisions which continued till date,

discrimination has grown to a large extent in terms of the resources and opportunities. Having

faced this continuous discrimination in a combined state, Telangana will experience a similar or

even better growth after the demerger making a good utilization of its rich natural resources and

the existing infrastructure for its own development.

Andhra Pradesh has a population of around 90 Million which is more than that of

countries like France or Britain. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the administration to

reach out to its entire people and this is one of the major reasons for the huge regional disparities.




The rich and powerful has been bullying the poor and downtrodden and the majority has beencrushing the minority at its will. Smaller states are not only economically viable, but also help in

providing better administration to the people. The accountability for the elected leaders will

increase. The benefits of the capital city will be easily accessible to the people. The ordinary

people will have better access to power elite.

Current Telangana Agitation:

Movements which can sustain their identity and voice over sustained periods are destined

to succeed. The key is to "not give up" - "not relent under extreme duress". A movement needs to

be broad based at various levels to ensure secure anchorage and sustainability. A tree which can

spread its' roots deeper and wider has greater chances to survive a drought or storm. Shallow

ones are either blown away or wasted by withering. Telangana movement succeeded only

because it could do both in many ways. It survived by going deeper - deeper when it was

oppressed, deeper when it was sought to be erased by false promises of hope and wider - it

garnered support from varied quarters. The recent struggle has been very successful in doing all

these things and hence was able to bring pressure on the administration.

Students of Osmania University, Kakatiya University, JNTU, Kakatiya Medical College,

Mahatma Gandhi University, Palamoor University, Satavahana University and

Telangana University have been agitating in various forms from 29th November. Student unions

of all political parties like Congress, TRS, TDP, PRP, Lok Satta, and CPI have been participating

in these agitations.

Journalists, Writers, Intellectuals Lawyers, Doctors, and Businessmen from Telangana

region have started conducting dharna's, rasta rokos and hunger strikes. People from all walks of

life like trade union members, barbers, washer men, farmers, auto-rickshaw drivers, coal mine

workers and even staff of local crematoriums have been participating in the agitation. Even




school children have come on to the streets in support of the Telangana state. The movement isalso supported by Telangana Settlers front.

It is a genuine people‟s movement which has spread into every corner of Telangana in

peaceful and creative ways. From cooking on national highways to planting paddy on the roads,

from rolling beedis on roads to setting up Telangana schools to teach history of Telangana

Movement, from washing clothes on the streets to weaving saris on a moving tractor, there is

never a dull movement in the T-land. The movement has spread wide and very quickly with

programs like Dhoom-Dhaam and playing Batukamma for the cause of Telangana. People made

„Jai Telangana‟ rubber seals and stamp them on currency notes. Many number plates for vehicles

are already changed to TG (Telangana) from AP. Villagers from Khilashapur gave up liquor for

the Telangana cause. The largest human chain ever in India was formed on NH 7 at a stretch of

500KM in support of Telangana state. The list of innovative ways to keep the movement alive

goes on.

The demand for Telangana is not just limited within the Andhra Pradesh now;

Telanganites across the nation are expressing solidarity to the student movement and demanding

the separation of Telangana state. In Surat, Gujarat, thousands of Telanganites are taking-up the

hunger strike. In New Delhi, the Telangana students of JNU are representing the region and

demanding the formation of state, and requested the President Mrs.Patil to take a look into it.

Telangana NRIs across the globe, in US, Europe, Dubai, Australia have expressed their solidarity

and sympathy to the movement. Hence, this is not a regional issue anymore, and it already has

the attention of the national and international magnitude.

Having said all this, the people are a lot more educated about the Telangana than any

time before and are not ready to accept nothing less than Telangana State with Hyderabad as its

capital.




Violation of Democracy:

Telangana movement was always mishandled and was brought down by various

undemocratic means. According to estimates nearly 70,000 people were arrested, converting

colleges like Kakatiya Medical College and Regional Engineering College Warangal into

jails. Nearly 370 people were killed during the 1969 Movement, thousands injured. There were

1800 lathicharge incidents. There was complete media blackout and nobody outside Telangana

knew much about the state-sponsored violence to curb this movement.

Situation is no different during the current movement. Students from various universities

fighting for justice in a peaceful way are being dealt with brutal police force. Following are the

figures collected through RTI to know what kind of police are stationed in Osmania University

on a normal day. The answer shows without doubt the excessive force being used by police to

crush the Telangana student movement. Note that these numbers are for a normal day and does

not take into account the hundreds of Rapid Action Force and civil police personnel sent during

processions or rallies in OU.

Armed Reserve Forces: 3.5 Platoons of APSP (Andhra Pradesh Special Police), 3 Platoons of

CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force), 3 Platoons of CISF (Central Industrial Security Force)

Civil Police: 2 ACPs (Asst. Commissioner of Police), 7 Inspectors, 9 Sub-Inspectors, 36

Constables

Deploying such huge police forces by the government in the OU campus on a normal day

is nothing but act of creating unrest in the campus. Human rights are being violated at will by

brutal assaults of the Police on students in the various university campuses. This brutal act of the

administration that did not show mercy even to girl students and rained lathi‟s and rubber bullets

on their hapless heads is the final straw for the people of Telangana.




Universities, in the region have been turned into prisons with neither the students beingallowed to leave the campus nor outsiders allowed to enter. There is a complete cordoning off of

the Universities and any attempt by outsiders to enter the campus is met with lathi‟s and batons

of the police force. The students in the university are being tortured brutally in the false name of

Naxal presence, while in reality the government could not prove a single instance and was also

criticized by Supreme Court for its irresponsible behavior.

For us, the people of Telangana, our fundamental rights have been suspended; we can no

longer claim right to freedom of speech and freedom of association. Even senior citizens are

denied permission to conduct peace meetings and if they by sheer perseverance get the required

permissions from the courts, the gatherings are disrupted by the police by cutting off the power

supply. Students who are active participants in the demand for a separate state are arrested on

trumped up charges and denied bail. The Central government made no conscious effort in lifting

the cases as promised by Mr. Chidambaram‟s statement on Dec 9th

, 2009. People of Telangana

lost all hope for justice, human dignity and humanity from the Government through such

incidents.

Samaikyandhra Movement:

The delight of people after the government issued the statement in favor of the Telangana

state did not last long. People who never raised their voice before against Telangana came out

and raised a hue and cry against the statement made by the government. These people who are

fighting for the Samaikyandhra Movement never ever raised their voice against the injustices

meted out to Telangana. They never uttered a single word when all the political parties pledged

their support for Telangana in the elections and they didn‟t say anything even when all the

parties supported the cause of Telangana on December 5th in the all-party movement. But after

the December 9th statement, the Andhra politicians resigned in huge numbers, raising chaos

among the people and ringing false alarm bells among the people that the formation of

Telangana will be the doomsday for Andhra. The Samaikyandhra movement that has thus




emerged on false assumptions and twisted facts has been orchestrated essentially by someentrepreneurs who had business stakes in Hyderabad and some politicians looking for political

mileage. The Samaikyandhra movement has never been a people‟s movement, as a common

Andhra man living in the Andhra region had no access to Telangana whatsoever and it is his

least interest whether Telangana is formed or not. While it is true that the false feeling of

“Telugu Pride” has been instilled by some of these people with vested interest in a few students

from Andhra, the effect of this movement on the common man in Andhra has been minimal. On

one hand we have the Telangana movement which has a history of more than 50 years and has

unprecedented support in all the villages and cities of Telangana, the Samaikyandhra movement

was more of an after effect to the Telangana movement that didn‟t have the support of the

common people. The Telangana movement has been a movement against exploitation whereas

the Samaikyandhra movement has been more of a movement spawned by selfish benefits. The

reason why the Samaikyandhra movement is nonexistent in Telangana is another thing the

proponents of the Samaikyandhra movements fail to elucidate. Samaikyandhra advocates have

stooped to such a low to distort the facts that they started committing blasphemy. They started

misguiding the people that the sacrifice made by the great freedom Potti Sri Ramulu to unite all

the Telugu brethren should not go futile. Potti Sri Ramulu, though he sacrificed his life for the

cause of separating Andhra from Madras state, has never fought for Telangana and never ever

desired to unite Andhra and Telangana. The Samaikyandhra Movement, which is literally an

anti-Telangana movement and based on such false hypotheses and distorted facts, has only

increased the animosity among the people. As the Samaikyandhra people try to prolong the

inevitable, it will only result in the restlessness among the people. Instead, the Andhra politicians

should facilitate the process of creating the Telangana state as soon as possible so that the people

can part amicably, rather than playing cat and mouse with the people. It would serve well for the

Samaikyandhra region too, as they can have their own capital accessible for people from all parts

and can also concentrate on the development of the areas in and around the capital.




Exploitation never seizes:

In December 2009, just a couple of days after the Government of India came up with the

statement favoring the formation of Telangana state, NABARD GO 1845 was released by the

Andhra Pradesh government. This GO is supposed to allocate funds for the construction of roads

and bridges. According to this GO, out of the total allocation of Rs 130 crores, a measly 8.5

crores was allotted for Telangana. This happened in spite of Telangana being the most backward

of all the three regions, contributing to 40% of the area of the state and also the fact that most of

the roads were damaged in the recently flood-hit Mahaboobnagar district of Telangana. This GO

itself is a testimonial for the evasive actions taken by the Andhra lobbyists to reap out maximum

profits for their region before the separation.

Another testament to the “make hay while the sun shines. “ philosophy of the Andhra

rulers is the war foot haste they are showing in moving forward the Polavaram project that has

been vociferously opposed by the people of Telangana. This project is a potential hazard for the

people of Telangana and would lead to large scale evacuations of the Adivasis in this area.

The Government of India should take stern actions in preventing the Seemandhra lobby

go away with such activities which would be perilous for the future of the Telangana people even

after Telangana is formed.

Role of Youth:

Of all the classes of people of Telangana youth was majorly stricken by the domination

of Andhra. This lead the youth to trigger many movements of which some of them did not even

come to limelight due to sheer political ignorance. Like any other successful people‟s movement,

Telangana movement was always being carried forward by students and the youth. The

movement is over 50 years old and youth of Telangana played a major role in keeping it alive.




After the forceful merger in 1956 the first major movement demanding for a separatestate started in 1969 which was led by the students. The democratic movement was dealt with

brutal force and around 370 students were gunned down, thousands injured. Even the electoral

mandate given by people of Telangana for a separate state by electing 11 out of 14MPs was

diluted by some cheap politics from the then government. As a result, Naxalism came about in

Telangana region after the ruthless crushing of 1969 Telangana Agitation followed by

Machiavellian political maneuvers that completely hijacked a genuine people‟s movement. The

youth of Telangana got disenchanted with legal, electoral institutions and as a product of many

betrayals, came Naxalism. The youth of Telangana took up an alternative method to fight the

system leading to a huge unrest in the region and thousands of them were killed through the

years.

History is repeating itself once again. A genuine democratic movement led by the

students currently is again being dealt with brutal force. In the false name of Maoists‟ presence,

the genuine students regardless of gender are being tortured brutally while the fact is that the

Maoist presence in the movement was never proved. Suppressing the movement with force can

have serious consequences. It is the same suppression that led to Naxalism in this region

previously, and any kind of suppression to the current movement could refuel the Naxalism in

this region yet again. The formation of Telangana state is on the other hand could be a very

important & mandatory step to make to decrease the current Naxal movement apart from the

development measures that are needed to be undertaken in the downtrodden areas of Telangana.

While the impatient ones join violent movements, the weak-hearted ones are committing

suicides. It is unfortunate that over 300 people have committed suicides in the last three months

and the number could only increase if the formation of the state is delayed or halted completely.

Formation of the Telangana state would provide their rightful share of education and

employment opportunities to the youth who are otherwise denied justice in a combined state.

There are several villages in Mahboobnagar and other districts which have no young generation




left as they have migrated to other places leaving their families in search for opportunities. Manyof them are being betrayed and a lot many are also ending up in prisons in other countries for no

fault of theirs, leaving their families devastated and helpless. Opportunities would be created in a

new state for the youth who have been migrating to other states & Gulf countries as daily labour

because their rightful share of employment is denied so far in a combined state.

The region has seen some very active involvement and leadership of young people through the

movement and if the state is formed, they will play a key role in its development.

Conclusion:

Taking all the issues stated above into consideration, we on behalf of Yuva Telangana would like

to conclude making the following recommendations.

1. Telangana state has to be formed with Hyderabad as its capital. The process cannot be delayed

anymore and should be completed as quickly as possible.

2. The committee should make sure that the authenticity of the statistics provided by the state of

Andhra Pradesh has to be verified before reaching into any conclusions, as many questions are

being raised over the legitimacy of these figures.

3. The revenues and expenditures of all the three regions for the past 54 years should be taken

into consideration.

4. As per the statement released by Mr. P. Chidambaram on Dec 9th, all the protestors arrested

during the Telangana agitation should be released and all the cases filed against them during this

period should be lifted.

5. Special importance should be given for the improvement of under developed areas of

Telangana.




6. Transparency has to be maintained throughout the process of formation of Telangana state.

7. Vigilance is required to make sure that Telangana doesn't lose on its resources any more

during the transition period of formation of the state.



References:

1. Telangana Movement – The Demand for a separate state, by Prof. JayaShankar.

2. http://sujaiblog.blogspot.com/p/telangana-guide-to-articles.html

3. http://yuvatelangana.com/blog/2010/03/11/singareni-coal-fields-most-visible-

example-seema-andhra-exploitation

4. http://yuvatelangana.com/blog/2010/03/26/glorious-history-telangana-submerged-

under-government-apathy

5. http://yuvatelangana.com/blog/2010/03/26/where-have-all-industries-telangana-gone

6. http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Swaminomics/entry/the-economic-case-for-

creating

Thanking you,

Yuva Telangana

http://sujaiblog.blogspot.com/p/telangana-guide-to-articles.html


http://yuvatelangana.com/blog/2010/03/11/singareni-coal-fields-most-visible-example-seema-andhra-exploitation



http://yuvatelangana.com/blog/2010/03/26/glorious-history-telangana-submerged-under-government-apathy



http://yuvatelangana.com/blog/2010/03/26/where-have-all-industries-telangana-gone


http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Swaminomics/entry/the-economic-case-for-creating











yuva telangana representation to skc

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