To
Smt Sonia Gandhi
Chairperson
UPA
Sub: - Political clamor for separate Telangana – Validity or otherwise thereof
Respected Madam,
Namasthe.
There is a huge clamour for a separate Telangana. However, most of it is artificial. It is whipped up by vested interests, the politically unemployed and powerbrokers.
The allegation that Telangana region has not developed or has developed less than the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions is totally baseless. Actually, after the formation of the linguistic state of Andhra Pradesh in 1956, it is the Telangana region that has fared much better than the other two regions. This is not surprising because the capital city of Hyderabad is in the Telangana region.
It is a universally known fact that, anywhere, development takes place most in and around the capital city. You can take the example of even the Delhi city. Some foreign writer described Delhi an artificial city because, in its enormous development, it is not representative of the rest of India. Actually, the same is true of most of national capitals and even of state capitals in a federation. The clamour for separation comes normally from the regions away from the capital. In the case of Telangana, surprisingly, the clamour for separation is from the region which has benefited and is benefiting the most because of the location of the capital in its midst. This is not really so surprising when one realizes that the clamour has not come from the grassroots but only from the self seeking political activists.
Statistics possibly prove only what is visible even to the naked eye. However, I am enclosing a set of statements collected from authoritative sources for your kind perusal. You may get them verified. You may get statistics relating to other fields. The available figures tend to prove beyond doubt or dispute that, after the formation of the state of Andhra Pradesh in 1956, there was a faster growth in all fields in Telangana region, compared to the other two regions of the state. The requisite data is not available to me, but it appears that the growth in Telangana region, after 1956, compares favorably even with the other parts of the erstwhile Hyderabad state which were merged with Maharashtra and Karnataka.
After 1956, most of the Central investments have taken place in and around Hyderabad city even though, at the inception, the city had no infrastructural facilities like power, water, transport, access to a port etc. It didn’t have even abundant raw material resources. Because of the Central investments, many ancillary Industries have developed in this region. The necessary personnel to man the industries have migrated to Hyderabad from rest of Andhra Pradesh and all over India. This is a natural phenomenon and has benefited Telangana most. The rest of Andhra Pradesh didn’t see such development.
So far as irrigation is concerned, before the formation of the state in 1956, there were no projects except Nizamsagar in Telangana region. There were some projects in the other two regions like Dhavaleswaram dam on Godavari, Prakasam barrage on Krishna, KC canal from Tungabhadra, dam on Penna , Kanigiri reservoir etc. After the formation of the State, Nagarjunasagar, Srisailam, Somasila. Sriramsagar, Lower Maneru projects have come up. Of these, Nagarjunasagar and Srisailam projects have benefited both Telangana and Andhra regions. Somasila benefited Nellore district for irrigation, besides supplying drinking water to Tirupati and Chennai. Sriramsagar and Lower Maneru projects are exclusively for the benefit of Telangana. It can not be said that Telangana has been specially deprived.
After the formation of the State, Telangana region has developed industrially. Even service Industries like IT and Tourism etc. have developed more in Hyderabad city and around. The other two regions have remained mainly agricultural as they were at the inception, even though there may be a few rare exceptions like Vizag steel plant. Governmental records will prove this broad proposition.
The other allegation that Telangana has been exploited by the rest of Andhra Pradesh is absurd. The capital and manpower have flown from rest of Andhra Pradesh into Telangana, and not the other way round. The flow of capital has been only a one way street. The generation of employment consequent to fresh investment has taken place only in Telangana region, particularly, in and around Hyderabad. There is nothing surprising about this phenomenon.
In spite of such glaring facts about the development of the Telangana region, if there is still a clamour for separation, it can only be because of the politically disgruntled class and other vested interests and some government employees. It is worth notice that the TRS which spearheads the movement for separation has seen a gradual decrease in its share of the voters in the various elections that have taken place in recent years.
It is also worth notice that the movement for separation is headed by the dominant castes / classes in the Telangana region. Further, the said class is drawn from the more developed districts of Telangana like Karimnagar, Warangal and Nizamabad. Actually, a good number of them are migrants from rest of Andhra Pradesh.
If the movement for separation had a mass base, TRS would not be craving for an alliance with other parties. The very fact that the TRS is eagerly searching for political partners would show its diffidence and its lack of mass base.
It requires to be noticed that the Telangana started from a lower base. For ages, it was under the Nizam’s rule, whereas the rest of Andhra Pradesh was under the British rule, which was relatively more enlightened. There were greater facilities for education under the British government and also there was lesser social suppression of the weaker classes.
Inequalities between regions because of historical and other reasons are inevitable and cannot be wiped out in a day. What is to be seen is whether regional imbalances are reducing over a period or not. Judged by this standard, Telangana region has benefited more by its integration than the other two regions. Actually, the shoe is on the other foot. If at all injustice has been done, it is to the backward districts of Rayalaseema like Anantapur.
A slogan is raised that the culture of Telangana is in jeopardy and that its self-respect is damaged. In these days of global integration, no region’s culture is in tact. Every region benefits from its exposure to global culture. Concepts like individual dignity and freedom from servility have spread more in Telangana region after the formation of the state. If separate Telangana should happen, there is the danger of a reversion to the original state when the servant could not see the master in the eye or had to carry his chappals. Such slavery was more wide spread in Telangana region than in the rest of Andhra Pradesh at the time of the formation of the State.
The dominant castes/ classes feel deprived because, after integration, they don’t enjoy their old power and privilege. In a separate Telangana, it is exactly the minorities, the dalits, the tribes from the hills and the landless working class that will suffer the most and will see an erosion of their dignity and relative freedom which they have slowly won after integration. The so called loss of culture or self-respect is more a call for the restoration of the old privileges on the part of the exploiters than anything else.
Historically speaking, the word Telangana originally meant only a region of the Telugu speaking people. The Telugus were united under 1) Andhrasathavahanas, 2) Kakatiyas 3) Vijayanagara empire and 4) even Nizam before certain districts were ceded by him to the British. It is interesting to know that, at the beginning of the 16th century, it was the coastal and adjoining region that was shown as Telangana in a Map from the book “INDIA-A History” by John Keay (Page: 280) Pub: Harper Collins. (copy enclosed).
The formation of the separate state of Andhra Pradesh is a culmination of the dream of all Telugu people and the result of the sacrifices of so many patriotic people. The dream should not be allowed to be shattered by the machinations of a few short-sighted, self-seeking, and power-hungry, political activists. The political parties are toeing the line and are aligning only for drawing political mileage. They have no other interest except self- interest and short term gain.
There is a slogan of “sentiment”. The so called “sentiment” is limited to the power brokers. If at all there is some “sentiment, it is because of the ignorance of the masses and because the relevant facts and figures are not made known to them. So there is an urgent need to make available the correct facts and figures to the masses and enlighten them. This can best be done by the Government in power.
The Telangana movement has been whipped up at different points of time by the politically disgruntled. Similarly, a counter movement for a separate Andhra region was also seen in the past. The Central leadership of those times stood rock-like and didn’t yield. There is a need to exhibit the same determination even today when political morality outside is at its lowest ebb.
If Central leadership yields to every passing whiff of “sentiment” or to the machinations of the self-declared defenders of regional interests, it will lead shortly to the balkanization of the County.
There are multiple states among the Hindi speaking people. That cannot be a precedent for dividing other linguistic groups into multiple states. In these days when communication and transport are so easy and developed, the size of the state doesn’t really matter for administrative convenience. Linguistic states have a cultural unity of their own, which deserves to be nurtured and promoted.
There is another aspect of the matter. The Dalits and minorities have a unity all over the country which the rest of the population doesn’t enjoy. So the Dalits and minorities will have a greater say in a larger state. They are more vulnerable in a smaller state
In the light of the above, I would request you to stand rock-like as the Central leader ship of the past and steer the ship of the State through these troubled times.
With respectful regards,
Yours faithfully,
United NRI Telugu People.
Dallas, TX , USA.
