Telangana XVIII: Betrayal

They say that nothing defines a nation better than a crisis. That’s when the nation unites itself under one banner. Today, Telangana faces a crisis – they are being bulldozed into submission. The Andhra politicians, who form a majority, have united to ensure Telangana doesn’t happen. Even if it happens, they want to have the last laugh – they want to deprive Telangana of Hyderabad.

During 2009 elections, TDP Supremo Chandra Babu Naidu went around Telangana, on media, endorsing Telangana state and won most of his numbers from Telangana. TDP leaders of Telangana used his endorsement to tell everyone in Telangana that they are going to get Telangana, not the TRS or Congress who had already betrayed them.

Prajarajyam chief, Chiranjeevi launched his party few months before 2009 elections. It was watched by millions in Andhra Pradesh, including Telangana. In that inaugural speech, Chiranjeevi clearly endorsed a separate Telangana.

Now, both of them have backtracked on their words to cater to their local constituents.

Telangana people are watching this act of betrayal as it unfolds on live media. Unlike in 1969, when the closed room conspiracies hijacked Telangana cause, the events are unfolding live in the eyes of millions of Telangana. They have not forgotten what Chandra Babu promised. They have not forgotten what Chiranjeevi said. It was just few months ago – the memories are still fresh. Now they see them doing volte face.

If ever there is one thing that is common for all people of Telangana and a common theme in its post-Independence history, it is betrayal. Today, Telangana is united with one feeling ‘a sense of betrayal’.

The word ‘betrayal’ has united Telangana like never before. Within Telangana, there were always a small minority who were skeptical of a new Telangana. They had not joined the bandwagon of Telangana state. Then there were those who were on the fence. They didn’t know if it made sense to be part of a grand Andhra Pradesh or a smaller Telangana. Now, those people have also joined their voices for a separate Telangana. Now they realize how Andhra politicians colluded to marginalize Telangana time and again. Each and every word an Andhra politician utters to resonate with his own constituents is also watched by Telangana people. They just don’t like what they hear. Nobody seems to care of Telangana – they are only interested in keeping us united by force, they realize.

Andhra people are using the age-old, clichéd oft repeated slogan:

UNITED WE STAND

DIVIDED WE FALL

They don’t realize this but Telangana is now UNITED against the onslaught of majority Andhra politicians who have taken them for a ride all these years. We were divided along party lines and casteist lines and hence you took advantage of us. Now, we want to stand united against the coercion of Andhra politicians. Thank you for the advice. We have taken it.

If Andhras mean we should not split and therefore should stay united as Andhra Pradesh. Then, why did Andhra split from Madras State. Why this slogan: United we stand, divided we fall, not apply back then?

We request Andhras to demonstrate this for us because we are not getting it. Why don’t they put their preaching into practice for us? Let the Andhra regions go back and join Tamil Nadu for a period of twenty years. Let them face the onslaught of majority Tamils in UNITED Madras state. And after those twenty years, if they still have extremely good experiences, Telangana will join back with Andhras to form a Samaikya Andhra.

Till then please don’t preach what you didn’t practice.

[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, Telangana XV: Concerns, Telangana XVI: Samaikya Andhra, Telangana XVII: More Concerns]

Telangana XVII: More Concerns

Here I address some more concerns raised by detractors of Telangana Movement. This follows Telangana XV: Concerns.

Isn’t Telangana Movement a purely selfish interest of politicians in their attempt to secure power?

Most detractors dismiss the current Telangana movement as an outcome of pure political and selfish play of some petty politicians of Telangana. They see KCR/TRS as bunch of manipulators who have only one agenda- to usurp power and fill their pockets. They see the entire Telangana movement as a charade that has been designed by these cunning politicians of Telangana. In 1930s and 1940s, Winston Churchill dismissed the entire Indian Independence movement as an artificial construct imposed by Hindu Brahmin Congress leaders onto innocent Indians with only one intention - to grab the power, rule and become rich.

The detractors of Telangana Movement show unsolicited sympathy for gullible people of Telangana who according them were successfully brainwashed by wily politicians of Telangana. They also extend a false pity for Telangana people who, according to them, are not able to see how these cunning politicians are conveniently using the Telangana people for their selfish political and material gains.

In fact, Andhra people are more obsessed with KCR/TRS than Telangana people. Every time we talk of Telangana movement, they launch into a tirade and criticism of KCR/TRS. They confidently believe that the current agitation is completely manufactured by KCR/TRS. If you remove KCR/TRS from the picture, they believe, there won’t be any Telangana Movement whatsoever. That idle people of Telangana would happily go back to being in United Andhra without any protest.

Andhra people actually think that the reports of discrimination, backwardness, and the feeling of being betrayed amongst Telangana people was all constructed by TRS/KCR. They find all our evidences of blatant discrimination, marginalization and suppression of minority by majority to be hoax and dismiss them without even taking a look at them. They pooh-pooh all our efforts in making a case for why Telangana feels neglected and suppressed.

They have already made up their mind even before we start speaking. We are not sure anymore who is brainwashed, them or us?

The more they do not listen to our arguments the more it becomes clear to Telangana people that people of Andhra do not care for us at all. We start doubting the very motives behind these ‘United Andhra’ slogans. Is it because they genuinely want to stay with us? Or is it just because they do not want to lose Hyderabad?

Whenever Telangana people talk of their Movement, Andhra people equate it to KCT/TRS. And this really irritating to Telangana people. It’s like Winston Churchill always referring to ulterior motives of Congress leaders whenever Indians wanted to discuss independence.

They don’t realize that Telangana is not TRS. Telangana Movement spans a time period of sixty years and is beyond political parties. KCR has only come now to capitalize on it. But he is definitely not the leader in control. The people of Telangana are in control. They know exactly what they want. They want a separate state.

Contrary to what most observers believe, it’s not KCR/TRS who is using the people. In reality, it is the people of Telangana who are using KCR/TRS to attain their dream. If KCR/TRS is going to deliver Telangana, they are going to rally behind him. If they see that he is not going to get them a separate state they are going to abandon him instantly.

What most observers don’t realize is that this movement has been going on in Telangana for nearly sixty years now. The torch has passed from generation to generation but the fire has not extinguished. If ever the fire has only become intense with more awareness. More people are now aware of the exploitation Telangana faced and they have more facts and figures and are armed with reason and rationale compared to their forefathers. This movement has reached all corners of Telangana, into Medak, into Mahbubnagar and even Adibalad. At no time was the Telangana Movement so widespread. And this happened in spite of politicians.

Didn’t TRS lose elections in 2009 clearly indicating there is no support for separate Telangana?

Andhra people and Telangana people have diametrically opposite views on how to interpret the verdict of the elections results.

In 2004, TRS contested elections on single point agenda – to secure separate Telangana. They didn’t talk about development, they didn’t talk about caste, they didn’t talk about religion, or any other incentives. So, if someone voted for TRS in Telangana, he did so because he wanted a separate Telangana. Congress formed an alliance with TRS promising Telangana if they come to power in the center. So, it was clear. If you were voting for TRS or Congress in Telangana, you wanted Telangana.

In those elections, TRS-Congress won a clear mandate from the people thereby establishing clearly the mood of Telangana people. They want a separate state.

After the elections, Congress came into power in center and in the state. Naturally, people of Telangana expected Congress to fulfill the promise. It did not. That left TRS was in a lurch. They didn’t have enough muscle power to pull it off on their own. They floundered and did all kinds of gimmicks. Telangana people got disillusioned with TRS/KCR who didn’t deliver on his promises.

In 2009 elections, every political party promised Telangana. TDP, Congress, Communists, Prajarajyam, and host others, along with TRS. That means if you wanted Telangana, you could vote any party this time. TRS lost its vote bank to other parties who promised the same dream.

Now, Andhra people read this as a clear rejection of Telangana sentiment because TRS lost, whereas Telangana people see it as a clear affirmation of Telangana sentiment because every party which won had endorsed a new state. According to Telangana people, Telangana sentiment is now endorsed by every party making it universal and stronger, whereas Andhra people think of it as dilution.

Why didn’t the politicians of Telangana fast for development instead of fast for separation?

I can easily make an equally silly counter argument: Why didn’t the politicians of Andhra fast for passing the resolutions that were promised to Telangana whereby Telangana would never have risen up to ask for a statehood instead of fasting for Samaikya Andhra now?

OK, let’s not be silly.

It is true that Telangana people are disillusioned by their own leaders. They have been betrayed by their own leaders many a times. Starting with those leaders who signed the Gentlemen’s Agreement on behalf of Telangana people to various Chief Ministers from Telangana, many politicians of Telangana betrayed their own people.

We had an opportunist and spineless Chenna Reddy who sold off Telangana agitation on a silver platter by taking his TPS and converting it into Congress. We had a weak PV Narsimha Rao who just sang the tune of his party bosses without fighting for his electorate. Time and again, Telangana politicians sold off their promises to secure morsels from their political masters.

Nevertheless, it is not entirely true that they never fought for their people. It is just that those who tried to fight got subdued by the onslaught of majority and savvy Andhra politicians.

How much ever corrupt and wile our politicians were, they came under pressure many a times in the last fifty years and did try to work for their constituents. But the political framework of India was such that they could not manage anything. When they raised objections as Communist and Opposition parties in 1960s, they were granted agreements which were later revoked by our flawed democratic process. When in 1970s, they voted themselves as TPS to get a separate state they were cowed down by Indira Gandhi with a grant of another agreement.

When this agreement was once again nullified in an assembly which was dominated by Andhra-Rayalaseema region, our leaders took the recourse of law. Supreme Court upheld the agreement, but it was later revoked by an act of Parliament when the Andhra-Rayalaseema held the Center for ransom by demanding a separate state for Andhras. In the last twenty years, the implementation of GO 610 was held back by the majority of Andhra-Rayalaseema though it was raised by Telangana politicians many a times.

In 2004, when Telangana voted TRS-Congress alliance to power because they guaranteed a separate Telangana, the Congress went back on their word eventually leaving the leaders of TRS in a limbo.

In the last sixty years, nothing worked for leaders of Telangana. All the recourses- electoral, democratic and legal institutes- failed to safeguard interest of Telangana thereby proving that things will never work out for them within a single state.

The current fiasco of December 2009 only elicits this further where all the MLAs of Andhra-Rayalaseema resigned en masse to adjourn the Assembly to ensure the current resolution on Telangana is not taken up. This is the third time they have done it to counter Telangana Movement in the last 40 years. This only proves further how partisan our assembly works.

In the current setup, a majority can always suppress the minority continuously, and forever, without having to face the consequences. A minority region will never be able to sum up the numbers to counter a concerted onslaught from the majority. A minority will continuously lose thereby further strengthening the argument why Telangana needs to be become a separate state.

[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]

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]

Telangana XV: Concerns

Here I address some of the concerns raised by detractors of Telangana Movement.

Why are Telangana people bent on dividing the country and state?

First, these detractors should decide whether we are dividing the country or if we are dividing the state. Because dividing the state is not the same as dividing the country. On a continuous basis, districts and states continue to evolve in our country, and if each internal division is treated as breaking up of the country and therefore seditious then we will live in a static world where no change can ever take place.

Second, if we are indeed breaking the state and not break the country, we should ask if there were historical precedents and ask if those precedents had a happy ending. India allows breaking up and reorganization of states within legal confines of Indian Constitution and even prescribes steps on how to do it. So asking for a separate state is a perfectly legitimate thing to do in India.

India started off not as dividing the states, but as combining and reorganizing various regions into states. Our leaders took many big provinces from British rule and reconfigured them adding many regions, including those from princely states to create new states. Only those regions which had completely different history (like being ruled by French or Portuguese) or those regions which had really small population were made into Union Territories. Some of those Union Territories became states eventually.

Initially, India came up with 15 or odd states. Nobody knows whether we should have had 15 or 50 to start with. Since nobody knows what the right number should have been, why make the initial number a sacrosanct number? May be, we should have had 50 states to start with, in which case we are still short of the desired number.

In 1956, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka were formed from Madras Presidency, Hyderabad State, and some portions of Bombay State. In 1960, Gujarat got formed out of Bombay State. These states were formed on linguistic basis. In 1966, Punjab was trifurcated into Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. This division was not exactly along linguistic lines. Later on Nagaland was created. In 1972, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura got divided from Assam. In 2000, Chattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand were separated from their original states. Once again, the division was not along linguistic lines.

Most new states are quite happy to be on their own. Even if given chance they don’t want to go back and rejoin the big states they broke from. Economic condition is not the only criteria for statehood. Ability to have a freedom for a group’s self-rule and self-expression is of paramount importance. The quasi-federal states of India find that independent voice within the confines of Indian constitution.

Why are Telangana people bent on separation when rest of Andhra wants to stay united?

Most of Telangana wants a separate state while most of Andhra doesn’t want to let Telangana go. We see a clear polarization today along regional lines. Almost all MLAs of Andhra-Rayalaseema resigned en masse after hearing P Chidambaram’s statements supporting a separate Telangana. Many of these MLAs who resigned belong to those parties which have openly promised to support separate Telangana in the last elections.

When the girlfriend wants to opt out of the relationship that has gone sour, it doesn’t help if the boyfriend forces himself onto her. The girl has already explained what her issues are. Now the guy instead of even attempting to address those issues is only forcing her to come back, all the while calling her names. He is throwing tantrums and refuses to let her go. Prolonging the breakup only worsens the situation. Instead of leaving as friends, the girl would start hating the guy.

The whole charade of recent mass resignations is a very good political tactic stalling the State Assembly thereby hijacking the democracy. Telangana politicians should learn a thing or two from their Andhra politician brothers. When Potti Sriramulu fasted in Madras in 1950s, he was not fighting for creating a new state for all Telugus. He was fighting for ‘dividing’ an existing state called Madras State to carve out a new state for his Andhra people, on a ‘separatist’ agenda.

And very similar to the current Andhra politicians, Potti Sriramulu asked for a city which did not belong to him. He wanted Madras as the capital of separate Andhra State. Rajaji was clear, he purportedly said, ‘If they want Madras, then they can forget about Andhra’. Unlike what most people think, Potti Sriramulu’s fight did not include Telangana people and he was not fighting for creating a state for all Telugu people.

There are more things to learn from Andhra politicians. In 1973, after the suppression of 1969 Telangana agitation which clearly established the mood of Indira Gandhi who quelled a separatist movement with ruthless force, Andhra politicians demanded a separate state under the slogan ‘Jai Andhra’. Why did they do this? They wanted to coerce Indira Gandhi into revoking a Supreme Court judgment that asked Andhra Pradesh to enforce an agreement to safeguard Telangana people’s interest. This agreement was agreed upon after 1969 agitation to take care of Telangana people.

So when and where necessary, and when it is in their interest, Andhra leaders, either it is Potti Sriramulu, or politicians of 1973, ask for a separate state dividing the existing states. But that right is denied to people of Telangana. As a majority they coerce Telangana people to toe the line and stay united.

This whole charade of Samaikya Andhra coming from them now sounds really hollow. Why did they break up Madras State to create their own state? Why did they demand a separate state in 1973 when it served their selfish purpose?

Shouldn’t Hyderabad belong to rest of Andhra as much as it belongs to people of Telangana?

Lot of Andhra and Rayalaseema people have suggested that Hyderabad belongs to them as much as it belongs to Telangana people. One of the reasons they cite is that they have paid taxes that contributed to the development of this city and hence they own the city as much as people of Telangana.

As a counter argument, people of Telangana ask, how about the cities of Andhra, like Rajamundry, Vizag, Vijayawada, Nellore, Kakinada, that were developed with tax money that came from people of Telangana? Should Telangana people own these cities then?

That’s when a new argument comes from Andhra people. It is not about taxes, they say. It is about investments they made in the city of Hyderabad. What about them? They also tell us that while many Andhra people have investments in Hyderabad, almost no investments exist in Andhra cities (further telling us that migration happened only one way).

Most of them who ask such questions don’t know that India does not sell its cities to its investors or settlers. Intel or GM can own property in India, but that does not mean they belong to America now. Many settlers in Bangalore coming from North, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, own huge swathes of property. And yet, there will be no time in future when certain people of Tamil Nadu can gang up to make Bangalore a part of Tamil Nadu just because they bought the city out. The city will continue to be with Karnataka. And if in future Karnataka divides into North and South, it will belong to South, though many investors of North Karnataka might have invested in it.

So no matter how many people, either it is Andhra or Rayalaseema, Gujarat or Tamil, have invested in Hyderabad, the city still belongs to Telangana. If for some reason, in future, Rangareddy, Khammam and Nalgonda become a new state they would get the city because Hyderabad lies inside Rangareddy. Also, one should note that a significant portion of Hyderabad is built by using the lands from adjoining districts of Telangana. So can Rangareddy now ask the lands back? If so, can’t Telangana ask entire city of Hyderabad back?

Good for India, we still have not reached a stage wherein a rich state like Gujarat can go to any city, pay a check and buy that city for itself.

Should the settlers in Hyderabad panic now because of jingoism of Telangana agitation?

The detractors of Telangana Movement are spreading fear amongst everyone saying that Telangana agitators would target non-Telangana people, especially the Andhra and Rayalseema folks. They use this as a case to tell everyone that it is not in the best interest of non-Telangana people of Hyderabad to leave that city to Telangana people. They compare Telangana with Kashmir where Hindu pundits were kicked out. They also advice India not to create Telangana because that would mean Hyderabad as a city, and India as a country, would lose out. The investments into the city would dry and the city would go back decades in development. They hope to generate enough fear so that they can get a Union Territory status or sharing of the capital.

During any heated political movements, there are always some spurious incidents that happen which are not very nice. Those are moments when you are not proud of what your people have done. Some Andhra people were targeted in 1969 and this time around there were stray incidents few incidents where Andhra restaurants were targeted.

But that is not unique to Telangana movement alone. It is true of any political movement including the non-violent struggles of Gandhi. And it is true of many cities in India. Mumbai has launched Shiv Sena only to target Tamils. For many decades Tamils in Mumbai were targeted. Bangalore has seen many incidents in the last two decades where Tamils were targeted.

And yet, Tamils do not migrate out of Mumbai or Bangalore. They continue to live there as ever. That’s because no matter how rabid Shiv Sena, MNS or Kannadiga outfits are, our country still continues to protect the settlers and their investments in most cities of India. Cosmopolitan cities do a much better job of protecting people of diverse regions. Hyderabad is home to many people, not just Telugu people of Telangana, Andhra or Rayalaseema. It is home to many Gujaratis, Bengalis, Rajasthani, Punjabi, Tamil and Kannada populations. It has many religions – Parsi, Hindu, Muslim and Christian. To believe that such a cosmopolitan city would turn into a Kashmir is a farfetched assumption which does not have any examples in the contemporary history to make a case.

It turns out that this is a canard spread by vested interest groups who have no intention of giving up Hyderabad to Telangana people and hence are creating rumors of a hypothetical future of targeted attacks. If you compare the attacks that settlers endured in Mumbai or Bangalore, Hyderabad must have seen 1/100 of those incidents. That would make Hyderabad 100 times safer compared to Mumbai or Bangalore. That’s good enough for me.

[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]

Telangana XIV: Letter to Andhra Brothers

Dear Andhra Brothers:

I am saying this because I really care about you. Since I care about I want you to stay away from poor, illiterate and backward Telangana. Association with them in a single state will only take you down. Your development will go back by twenty years.

Don’t get brainwashed by your politicians. Samaikya Andhra is not in your best interest. If you continue to stay with Telangana people you will only have to save these lazy bums of Telangana with your tax money. You have to feed them with your crops, take care of their poverty, and you have to share your rewards with them. It is in your best interest to stay away from Telangana people.

Let me tell you Samaikya Andhra is artificially created false feeling that has been successfully planted into minds of your people. All this is the work of selfish leaders of Andhra. You have become obsessed with this idea. But if you think rationally keeping your emotions aside you will see reason.

Why are you students getting into streets fighting for Samaikya Andhra? Do you really believe your Andhra politicians? Do you think they are really serious about Samaikya Andhra? They are doing all this only to get power. You are not realizing this. In the last elections, they all supported a separate Telangana, so why are they protesting and resigning now. Can’t you see? Open your eyes, my Andhra brothers. See them for what they are? Don’t get brainwashed by them.

Why are your politicians fasting for Samaikya Andhra now? Why didn’t your politicians fast for development of Telangana when they had a chance? That way, you could have stayed united. Why did your politicians vote against all resolutions that could have developed Telangana? That way, today you could have stayed in Samaikya Andhra. I am telling you. Don’t trust your politicians. They are corrupt, good-for-nothing, and unemployed politicians.

Why are Andhra politicians protesting now? Why did they not protest when Telangana has been demanding for separate state all these sixty years? Why did they allow for all GOs to be rejected? When they had a chance why did they not vote for giving water for Telangana fields? Don’t you realize your politicians are only interested in filling their pockets?

Wake up. Don’t waste your time fighting on the streets and listening to your politicians. Be mature. Think progressively. Are we in 2000 BC where we were bent on unifying everything? Think modern. Break up. If we keep getting united we will have only one district, one state and one country in the entire world. What kind of world would that be? Think about it.

Think of your identities. You have such a proud heritage? Do you really want to be put in the same identity as Telangana people? Come on, you ridicule them in each of your movies so why do you want to be put in the same identity group?

There are so many things to fight for, like your own development instead of worrying about Telangana people. Don’t waste your time and energy protesting for Samaikya Andhra. It’s all political.

I am telling you… this is all about Hyderabad. Your politicians have invested lots of money which they looted from you and bought properties in Hyderabad. Let me tell you. I have inside information. Your politicians are afraid they will lose all their lands if Telangana separates. If you continue in a united state, it is only going to hurt you, because these politicians will loot money from you and invest in Hyderabad away from you.

It is not in your best interest to have Hyderabad with your, because that way nobody will invest in your Andhra cities. Don’t ask us why this happened after twenty years when your realize this. Do you really think you will be better off in Samaikya Andhra with Telangana people taking away all taxes? Think about it.

Do you really think your leaders have a vision for development for Samaikya Andhra? If so, what did they do all these years? Don’t you realize they are just corrupt politicians who want to get rich and more power? They only want to exploit Telangana people further and not give you any fruits of that exploitation. They will fill only their coffers and not give you any share.

Why are you doing strikes and burning buses? Don’t you know that all this Samaikya Andhra protests is just political? You seem to have no work other than protest? Work hard and get jobs. Protesting for Samaikya Andhra will not get you anywhere.

Your well wisher

Telangana brother

;-)