Telangana XVI: Samaikya Andhra

Currently many people in Andhra and Rayalaseema have launched protests, fasts, strikes and riots under the banner called ‘Samaikya Andhra’ to oppose the formation of separate Telangana.

So what is Samaikya Andhra?

Samaikya Andhra can roughly be translated as ‘United Andhra’. The hilarious but sad thing about all this is that Telangana people don’t even identify with the word ‘Andhra’. Telangana person has always considered Andhra, along with Tamil, Oriya, Marathi to refer to an outsider. They have identified with Andhra brothers under the identity Telugu but not 'Andhra'.

So, when students and politicians of Andhra keep repeating ‘Samaikya Andhra’, people of Telangana are not even thinking that they are involved in it. Many of them are assuming that people of Andhra are bent on uniting just the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of the state. Telangana people are NOT thinking that Samaikya Andhra even includes Telangana.

The politicians of Andhra have decided to take a bus rally on Samaikya Andhra – starting from Srikakulam to Chittoor- touching various parts of Andhra region completely bypassing entire Telangana. You would think that if they are referring to united Andhra Pradesh that includes Telangana, then they would take their bus through Telangana as well. That’s not how Andhra people think of Samaikya Andhra. They will tour Andhra region but urge Telangana not to separate. It’s all confusing.

And when they say they are going to fight for Samaikya Andhra, you would think that there would be overtures to Telangana people asking them to stay back or something like that. They don’t even address Telangana people. They address themselves and say, we will make sure Telangana doesn’t break away. They don’t refer to people of Telangana in their speeches. Instead they only criticize and ridicule TRS/KCR as if he comprises entire Telangana.

So there is no request, no appeal, or no friendly gesture from Andhras to Telangana people in this episode. It’s all about coercion, threats, ridicule and show of power and majority.

Telangana people don’t even know if they should respond to this. Why are they referring to themselves in Samaikya Andhra? Where do we feature? May be, we don’t feature at all.

The current situation can be made easy to understand through two people in relationship.

A and B in relationship

B wants to separate. A says, no, I won’t let you go.

B says, sorry, we tried for 50 years to make this work. I want to go my own way. A says, no, I won’t let you go.

B says, you are not getting it. I feel suffocated in this relationship. You have not been very accommodating. You have never respected me. You exploited me all through the relationship. A says, no, I won’t let you go.

B says, don’t you think you should say few things like, ‘Let’s give it another chance. Let me address your issues’ if you want me to stay with you. A says, I would die, but I won’t let you go.

B says, this is turning ridiculous. I am telling you I want to move out because you didn’t treat me good. Instead of trying to make it work you are just forcing yourself onto me. Aren’t you being little selfish? A says, we should be together because we both speak the same language.

B says, screw the language. I am not going to sacrifice another minute to keep this farcical relationship going on. I am moving out. A says, I will die but I won’t let you go. I will protest and tell our parents.

B says, screw the parents. I am done. You can’t keep blackmailing me like this. You have always exploited me. A says, I will protest harder. I will burn things down. I will riot. But I will keep you with me.

B says, don’t you think this is the right time for you to say, ‘Sorry, I will make amends. I will change. I will protect your interests. Please stay’. A says, you are taking away the mansion you brought in the dowry. I took care of it all this while. I won’t let you have it.

B says, Aha, so this is all about the dowry I brought into the marriage. A says, I invested in painting it.

B says, screw the paint. The entire mansion belongs to me. The last sixty years have been a hell for me. That paint you put on doesn’t even compensate for the pain I have gone through. A says, if I can’t have it, I won’t let you have it.

B says, Get lost, you freak. I cannot believe I lived with you for all these sixty years. I am moving out. Bye, Bye. A says, let’s stay together. We both speak the same language. What will other people think if we break up like this?

B says. Bye. Now, I don’t even know how we stayed together all these years. A says, I will not give you divorce. Let’s see what you will do.

Samaikya Andhra has nothing to do with Telangana people

Andhra people don’t want to let Telangana go no matter what. They don’t even want to talk to Telangana people to understand their concerns. Not a single Andhra politician has suggested that we should talk and work things out. They want Samaikya Andhra which concerns only the interest of Andhra people.

There is no place for Telangana in their grand designs as an equal partner, but yes, they do want Telangana as a region, to satisfy their pride that there is one big family of Telugu people and of course also because of its city called Hyderabad. Not a single Andhra leader says that they will implement the agreements which Telangana people were promised time and again in the last sixty years. Nobody says they will pass the GOs immediately as a goodwill gesture to accommodate Telangana brothers. Not a single Andhra politician talks about reward of water, power and incentives to alleviate the serious concerns of Telangana people.

Instead they talk about Hyderabad and how they are going to lose it to Telangana people. They talk about KCR/TRS and how corrupt these leaders are. Telangana people are standing and watching and realizing this:

‘Man, did we live with these self-centered Andhra people all this while? While asking us to stay, they not requesting us, they are not appealing to us. Instead they are forcing and coercing us. They are threatening us. Is this the kind of respect they carry for us? Why did it take 60 years to realize how bad our marriage was?’

[The related posts are at: Case for Telangana, Telangana - A New State, Telangana II, Telangana III, Telangana IV, Telangana V: Political angle, Telangana VI: Hyderabad State?, Telangana VII: Political Drama, Telangana VIII: You need to make a case, History of Telangana I, Telangana IX: Riots turn ugly, Telangana X: Congratulations!, Vision for Telangana I, History of Telangana II, Telangana XI: Why so much opposition?, Telangana XII: Ignorance, Bad Faith and Low Opinion. Telangana XIII: Let’s stay United!, Telangana XIV: Letter to Andhra Brothers]