The Telangana Tale

 "DEVELOPMENT" MANGLED UP AS "DIVERSIFICATION"

2020 and India will be a developed nation where developed may be synonymous to "more diversed".Telengana and KCR are the new names of buzz over the media(mostly to speculate) and words of political trauma for the non-telengana region politicians and the locals.Let us be frank! How many of you guys over there knew that a region called 'Telengana' even existed in Andhra Pradesh? The percentage will be meagre.The development in a state being 'region-centralised or  'city centralised' is unhealthy for the overall progress of both the state and the nation.


The 11 day fast by a 55-year old man and the President of Telengana Rashtra Samithi(TRS),K Chandrashekar Rao,was yet another fast or the non-andhra people till 10th December 2009 when  Home minister P.Chidambaram announced the "divide and rule" policy implementation in Andhra Pradesh which hit the headlines of the print and the electronic media.

History of Telangana

The pre-indepence history of Telangana deals with various dynasties out of all the Muslim rule was the most promininent,initiated by the Delhi Sultanate followed by Qutb Shahis and Mughals.In this part,I will give you its post-independence history succintly.After independence,the Nizam of Hyderabad who actually was ruling the Telangana region demanded for his regime once again.But the newly born Indian government made it sure by denying his claim and acting sternly.This stern action was called "Operation Polo".The Indian government condensed the  number of princely states of India into a lesser number in which the Telangana region was tucked in the "State of Madras" on September 17,1948.In 1946,a revolt was started by a communist against the injustice done by the landlords under the aegis of the Nizam to the farners of that region.This continued till 1956.Meanwhile,the telugu speaking areas were extracted out from the State of Madras by leaders like Potti Sri Ramulu who accomplished his misson by protests and clamours.Actually his demise in the process made the agitation shoot up in his cadres,resulting in a state of telugus called Andhra Pradesh with three major parts- Coastal Andhra,Rayalaseema and Telangana.


In December 1953,the State Reorganisation Commission was appointed for splitting Telangana from unified Andhra.This was ignored by the Indian government and a unified Andhra was created but in accordance with the "Gentlemen's agreement" which specifed some terms and conditions for the management of Telangana region with Andhra.

In the following years many vehement protests were made which include the 1969 Telangana movement.This was struck due to the violations of the Gentlemen's agreement.The agression still prevailed after that and even traversed past through a series of electoral years.But the agression "fading out" was never a possibility.


Now,the big question "Should Andhra pradesh be split?".What is it then? The Central gave a nod for the process of splitting.Will the fullfill it? or was it just a quick-fix solution for the heated up tension in Andhra? Was the "fast-unto-death" a leader's aspiring coup or a mere drama magnified by the media lens? These are the questions or even more lingering in all our minds.A debate that can never be won by any side.

The name "Telangana" actually means "land of Telugus" in telugu.The reason that tops the list is the backwardness of the telangana region but this cannot be argued as the sole reason for claiming the state.The protests for a seperate statehood did not pop out as a bolt out of the blue but dates back to 1950's.

First of all,out of the 35 states currently in India,70% are smaller than Telangana.So,the most basic qualification of a state cannot questioned. i.e 25 states in India are smaller than Telangana.So,this may not engender a problem of National Unity as many other smaller states still maintain the national bond of Unity.Many non-Telangana protestors and even leaders claim that Telangana region's telugu is not proper telugu and some even say that it isn't telugu at all.Why should they demand Telangana in Unified Andhra when they discriminate Telangana from their community?Most of the water resources traversing across the state of Andhra Pradesh has its root in Maharashtra.But non of these rivers or its tributaries are properly processed for irrigation in Telangana region.You can find all the major dams in non-Telangana regions of the state.So,these are some of the accusations made by KCR and other supporters which have indeed turned the table for the State's integrity in its entirety.

Hyderabad,on the other hand comes under the Telangana region.This is the part where Andhra and Rayalaseema cadres go berserk.Many stakeholders and Businessmen who have invested in Hyderabad are against this new statehood as they feel that the value of the present capital of Andhra Pradesh may be deterred by Telangana.This point was equally counterposed by the pro-Telangana leaders who say,"Hyderabad is ours.Becoming the capital of another state does not affect its value and stature by any means.After all,it is in India".

The Central Government is stranded after declaring statehood for Telangana unofficially but through the Media lens.Will the government define its words in action? or Is the declaration euphemeral? Will the outcome be a reasonable reckoning? Let us all wait admist the protests and rallies typified by the anti-Telangana cadres for the best possible outcome which makes sure India is diversed,united and in the track of develeopment irrespective of the regions,languages and communities.

Assembly Elections 2008

A CONGRESS SHOW:

The terrorism debates and  investigation reports took a back seat in the Indian Media as the "talk of the town" was the election results that were out for five different states namely Delhi,Rajasthan,Chattisgarh,Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram.BJP just managed to get two out of the five but in a massive difference.In Mizoram,BJP was bashed out of the list with no constituencies under its belt.BSP(Bahujan Samaj Party) got some consolation victories in 17 constituencies on the whole.And it was Sheila Dikshit,who has won the elections for the third consecutive time.The Congress started celebrating the overall victory with zeal and zest and though BJP won in two assemblies they will have some serious decisions and plans to make sure that they wont miss the bus once again in the National Assembly Elections.  

  

MP(230/230)

BJP            144                    
CONG         70                      
BSP               6                     
OTHERS    10                         



CHATTISGARH(90/90)

BJP             49
CONG         39
BSP               2

OTHERS      0


DELHI(69/69)                                                                                           

CONG        42                                                                     
BJP             23                       
BSP              2                      
OTHERS     2                       



RAJASTHAN(200/200)  

CONG          98   
BJP              75
BSP               7
OTHERS      2


MIZORAM(40/40)

CONG         32 
MNF             3
BJP               0
OTHERS      5                      

The above statistics give us the clear image of the Assembly elections 08.'Terror failed to turn the tide' as the Congress continued to establish its supremacy by winning 3-2 in the regions.

TAMIL RIGHTS OR HUMAN RIGHTS?

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

                                                   

"The bone of contention" in Srilanka is now a matter of pride in Tamil Nadu.Innocent tamils dying in  the northern and eastern Srilanka has just become an issue for deviating the other internal ciivil problems in the state of Tamil Nadu.Several arrests were made in Tamil Nadu for raising slogans supporting LTTE.Many protests are ignited for the sole reason of establishing the Tamil Rights in another foreign land. An organisation which has assassinated the Ex-Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi during his rule in 1990,is being adored and admired across the Tamil Territories.Why should they try to establish Tamil supremacy there? After all,tamils just contribute 10% of their entire population according to the 2001 sensex.And morever,an important fact is that 53% of Srilanka's Extenal Military Training is provided by India.Addressing the large demonstration of the Tamil Protection Movement (TPM) opposite the Memorial Hall in Chennai Thursday, Viduthalai Chi'ruththaika'l Kadchi (VCK, Liberation Panthers Party) President Thol. Thirumavalavan, who condemned the Indian government for giving a red carpet welcome to Sri Lanka Army (SLA) Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka, charged that one of the primary objectives of Fonseka 's recent visit was to seek a substantial increase in the number of Sri Lankan forces being trained in India. "There has been a three hundred percentage increase in the number of training slots offered to Sri Lankan armed forces personnel between the year 2006-2007 and 2007-2008," he charged.

When thousands of lives are under the jaws of death and when it is a question of 'Tamil rights' or 'Human rights',it is high time to wipe away any organisation which causes threats to a nation under the name of tamil pride from the pages of history inspite of the polititical pressure.Consequently,the existence of LTTE Air Force is still  matter of speculation.A terrorist organisation which taunts two countries is still used as a weapon for political moves.And the innocent people are the losers everytime.This is not an easy step to put forward but a step which may be a ladder for blooming peace between the two countries. 

US WATCHES POLITICS IN INDIA CLOSELY

Thousands of miles away from the political crisis in India, US supporters of the nuclear deal are watching Tuesday's vote of confidence closely, with their fingers crossed.

They are not willing to bet on the outcome but want to ensure that if the Singh Government wins, no more time is wasted in pushing the deal through the US Congress.

"Our goal is to talk to every single congressman and senator who matters to make sure the deal goes through. Assuming that all will go well in India, this group is gathering in Washington and will spring into action but if it fails then there will be nothing for us to do any more," said Sudhakar Shenoy, founding co-chair, Indian American Republican Council

The languishing civil nuclear accord has been one of President Bush's top foreign policy initiatives and advocates of the deal are keen to have it go through under the present administration, partly because it is the only hope Bush has of leaving a positive legacy on foreign policy.

"There is much hope that this treaty, amongst other steps taken, are signs of a closer healthier Indo-US relationship in the future. I think there is a real fear now that if this is some how turned down in India or the US it will be a setback for many years. It will not be easily put back together," said John Engler, three-time Republican Governor of Michigan.

Although some in India believe that all will not be lost if the government falls on Tuesday. Insiders in the US political system from both parties seem to agree that it is increasingly looking like a now-or-never situation for the deal.


"If the matter slips over in to 2009 and a new Congress comes into place the politics become uncertain. We are then in the hands of a new administration and with America's distracting agenda around the world I don't like to have to think about pushing a complicated nuclear understanding through," Frank Wisner, former ambassador to India.

Both Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain have indicated support for the deal. But it is not clear that either would consider it a priority as president.

Given the BJP's strong emphasis on building ties with the US and Manmohan Singh's strong support for the nuclear agreement, supporters of the deal in the US assumed that politics would work itself out.

They are now monitoring developments in India to find out whether it is time for the final sprint through the last leg of this race or to call it a day.