Thursday, August 19, 2010

Telangana 55: Last refuge of the scoundrels

Recently a group of Ministers from Seemandhra made a presentation to SriKrishna Committee and describe Telangana Movement as ‘anti-national’.  Here are some excerpts from the THE HINDU [emphasis mine]:

…the demand for statehood to Telangana should be treated as a cognizable offence under IPC as it had the potential of disintegrating the country itself.

“The Centre should not give credence to demands for self-rule and self-respect as it will sow seeds for disintegration of the country. Asking for a separate State on these grounds is equivalent to waging a war against Indian Union. It is most reprehensible and dubious ground for formation of a new State under Article 3 of the Constitution”, the delegation of 16 Ministers said in their report.

Besides, the appointment of a committee by the Centre to look into such an anti-national demand was also surprising, they felt.

Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrels, it is said.  Detractors to a movement, a new policy or a brave action resort to introducing the elements of patriotism and national security as a last ditch attempt to slander a genuine aspiration or demand.   That is what is happening in Andhra Pradesh today.
I am not agitated because of this calumny.  I am only amused; because it shows that Seemandhra leaders are getting frustrated and becoming desperate.  It is clear that these statements carry no merit for the following obvious reasons.

1. Article 3 of Indian Constitution clearly outlines the procedures to create new states.  If creating new states was an offence it would have not featured in the Constitution.
2. P Chidambaram made a public statement which announced steps towards formation of a new state of Telangana on 9 Dec 2009. May be, P Chidambaram should be arrested first.
3. Most political parties in India openly discuss formation of new states including party members from Congress.  Shouldn’t almost every leader be arrested?

Patriotism and national security are brought into a debate when the detractors are unable to provide valid arguments to fight their case.  Patriotism is routinely used by dictators to settle scores with their political opponents, like Stalin against Trotsky or Rajapaska against Foenska.

Bringing patriotism into the current anti-Telangana movement in Andhra Pradesh shows that the Samaikyandhra cause is losing steam.   This sentiment has become hollow shorn of any solid platform to stand on.   They are losing hope and therefore are resorting to characterize Telangana movement as anti-national in a hope that they can completely snub the agitation with brute force.  How else can they win against the genuine aspirations of nearly 4 Crore people?  How long can they stand on their flimsy arguments, cooked up statistics, and devious reasons and continue to enslave such a large population in this free country?

It is becoming obvious now that Telanganas are winning in their struggle.  They stand united like never before.  They are ready to vote en masse to one single cause overriding everything else.  No amount of incentives and bribes can sway them away from their goal.  The movement has become universal inside Telangana and all bluffs will be called.  No Bhabli project protest or any amount of crocodile tears from Seemandhra leaders can convince Telangana people otherwise.   Seemandhra should realize this: You cannot win this.  You know it.  You are trying to suppress us with brute force of Indian armies calling us anti-nationals.  Not many Indians are ready to buy into this argument.  This time around the ‘scoundrels’ will not win.  This time around the common man of Telangana will win.

2 comments:

  1. Sujai,

    I do not have a clear stand on the issue of Telangana (Should it be created/Should it not be created/What's the status of Hyderabad) but I think some of these comments are worth a healthy debate:

    http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/aug/19/slide-show-1-interview-jyotirmaya-sharma-on-why-trs-does-not-represent-telangana-movement.htm

    "The problem is that between those who are asking for a separate state and those who oppose it, there is no debate, there is no serious conversation. Every difference of opinion on both sides is sought to be resolved either by violence or by an extra dose of rhetoric. "

    "There is neither unity of purpose nor is there clarity about why they want the new state. KCR's son was saying, for days together, on national television that Hyderabad has always been the capital of Telangana. Nobody had the gumption to get up and say don't distort history. Hyderabad was the capital of the Nizam state. Warangal was the capital of what you called Telangana. The Kakatia kings founded a dynasty in Warangal and it spread up to the coastal region. Politics is not always about reason or logic. It is about emotion, intuition, myths. "


    "I have been living in Andhra Pradesh since 12 years. I have not found one (such man). There is no difference between the language of an Andhraite and the language of a man from Telanagana except a few words. Both speak Telugu. Telangana locals have few Arabic/Muslim oriented words and few words taken from Marathi because they are close to Maharashttra"

    "In the end what irritates me when people begin to talk about `outsiders' and `settlers'. The Indian Constitution allows me, with few exceptions, to live anywhere I want. I do not need the permission of a political party to live in any part of India.

    This language of the `outsider' and the `insider' is the language of the fascists."

    When some people accuse that outsiders came in to Hyderabad and locals are not given preference, we should understand: That Hyderabad was/currently is the capital of "Andhra Pradesh" state, and that's why everyone in the state who has to get something done/has got jobs in state govt/has realized there are business opportunities had gone there. Not everyone thought, let's go to Hyderabad, and drive out the local telangana people, grab their jobs. If the capital was in Kurnool, the same thing would have happened.


    -Kiran

    ReplyDelete
  2. @sujai
    a guy like u who supports the seperation of kashmnir, talking about patriotism is like the devil preaching gospel
    andhra prantham lo entho mandi muslim ammayilu unnari kaani evvaru kuda mee sania mirzalaga kargil amara veerula aathmalu ghoshinchelaga pakistani vyakthini pelli chesukoledu
    and that u talked about leaders, lemme tewll u that ur kcr has attended parliament sesions for ONLY 3 days so far and has not raised ANY issue of telangana so far.
    okka constituenceyne sarigga chusukoleni vaadi 10 jillalalani abhivruddi chestaaduta
    what a leader and what a followers

    ReplyDelete

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