Case for Telangana: People of Telangana have a distinct culture, a different history and different temperament in addition to different social and economic status. Andhra Pradesh was formed based on a set of promises called Gentleman’s Agreements which were all flouted. The history of Telangana after India’s Independence is riddled with false promises and betrayals. There was consistent and methodical discrimination against people of Telangana for all these years…establishing the practice of how a majority Andhra can always snub and suppress minority Telangana. Telangana people are left with no option – they have tried the electoral, democratic and legal routes – all of them failed. They seek a new state within the legal confines of Indian Constitution has had a voice since the time of Indian Independence.
SKC Report: Intellectual Dishonesty: The report sets new precedents for Telangana and India, like using per capita growth rates for measuring backwardness and for creating a framework of using economic indicators as basis for creation of new states. Such nonsensical precedents are harmful to Telangana and India in general and it is our duty, as Telanganas and Indians, to fight such intellectual corruption before it becomes endemic.
SKC Report: Bloopers or Lies?: SKC Report is a joke. It lists six options, some of them downright ridiculous and laughable. And yet, this report is being used by detractors to Telangana Movement to discredit our cause. Here is a collection of all the lies from Srikrishna Committee Report. This will tell you that information cited and deductions made in the report are false, fabricated and serving few vested interests.
Telangana 72: Unite or Perish: “A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history…” This is our moment. And this is our time to make history. This is not the time to ‘dither or dilly-dally’. This is the time to unite. We say to you: O! Politicians of Telangana! Keep your differences away! Get united for the cause of Telangana. Come under one banner. Fight for Telangana. And be spared. Otherwise, be ready to perish. If we can’t make history for ourselves, 'we will make you history!'
Telangana 71: Tughlaqs of Modern India: Muhammad bin Tughlaq came up with a ridiculous idea to move his capital city from Delhi to Daulatabad nearly 1500 km south into Deccan. Many such foolish ideas came about in the past and we look back at them with wonder not able to really grasp how those leaders could be so foolish. One such event which we will recall later fifty years from now are the suggestions given by SriKrishna Committee. Barring from suggesting that Hyderabad State should be made a part of Pakistan, they touched upon every other ridiculous idea.
Telangana 70: Solution is in politics, not in statistics: The solution to the current situation in Telangana lies in politics, not in statistics. Therefore, any statistical interpretation given on Telangana should be rejected by Telangana people, whether it supports their cause or not. Also, why are political outfits being called for consultations and asked of consensus? Indian Constitution does not recognize a political party as a legal constituent. The only true representative of people is the elected leaders, not the political party.
Telangana 69: Get off your ass and fight: It is not the time to have self-doubt. It is time for us to act. We owe this fight to our children and our grandchildren, so that they lead a life which is better than ours, where they hold their heads high because they are Telanganas, not to be ashamed of his identity, his accent or his language, but proud and confident. We owe it our progeny. We owe it to their future, their better life, and their self-respect.
Telangana 68: Democracy in Crisis?: Already the people of Telangana feel they are not represented in the state of Andhra Pradesh. They do not think or believe that this government which is ruling them is theirs. Now, each of Telangana’s democratic institutions is being meticulously broken down to pave way for an autocracy, rule of police and military.
Telangana 67: AP Formation Day: Telanganas reject the farcical experiment called Andhra Pradesh. People of Telangana have filed for divorce citing breach of trust, lack of faith, incessant and consistent betrayals, broken promises, outright discrimination and marginalization, suppression and oppression as the reasons for breakup of this marriage which was imposed onto people of Telangana 54 years ago.
Telangana 66: Notes: “Revolution means that an exploited population must take desperate measures against great odds to overthrow its oppressors”. The people of Telangana resort to ‘desperate measures’, which invariably include denouncing and defying the authority, which happens to be the Government of Andhra Pradesh, under the control of the ‘oppressors’.
Telangana 65: Born in Telangana?: The fight is not with the ordinary people of Seemandhra. The fight was always against their domination which had political power backing them. Once the state is formed that political power will not exist. Many Andhras will continue to live in Telangana the way many Tamils, Malayalee, Telugus live in Karnataka, and those who have lived long enough will have their kids born and raised in Karnataka availing the local opportunities like any other Kannadiga.
Telangana 64: Love Thy Rapist: How can Andhras say to us that they will not allow us to separate until we stop hating them? Don’t Andhras understand that their continued domination and their apathy to our concerns is the reason why we are angry with them? How is it possible for a slave to start loving his master with the hope that love will change his master’s heart? Shouldn’t it be reverse? That the master should start loving the slave so that the slave changes his opinion about the master?
Telangana 63: Is the movement nonviolent?: In a democratic country, freedom should be easily available. In fact, it should be guaranteed. Such a mature democratic nation is possible only if we become appreciative of people’s aspirations and accommodate them. When we consistently ignore their pleas, demands, and aspirations for freedom, we give way to a mass movement where protestors resort to defying authorities.
Telangana 62: Shall we become violent?: The youth in Telangana are frustrated because they have been protesting and agitating for nearly ten months now, but there is no sign of Telangana or of a positive indication that Telangana will be formed. Our peaceful agitations and protests don’t seem to yield results. They are seen as a sign of weakness by our detractors. In such an atmosphere there is a tendency amongst Telangana youth to take the route of violence to achieve faster results.
Telangana 61: Survival of the Fittest: Modern nations are built on the premise that all people irrespective of their race, color, sex, region, language, religion, get access to basic amenities and basic opportunities. Getting basic education is not ‘award of excellence’ that a person wins in a race of survival of the fittest. Instead, a state guarantees a basic education to all its citizens, irrespective of how strong or weak they are in the gene pool.
Telangana: Kodandaram at IISc Bangalore on 9th Sept: A growing and maturing democracy like India has to deal with demands for newer and smaller states coming from various parts of India. Telangana, a region that was merged with Andhra State to form new state of Andhra Pradesh in 1956, poses new challenges to Indian democracy.
Telangana 60: Divorce has happened in our hearts: Telangana cites ‘irreconcilable differences’ and ‘lack of trust’ to break this marriage. But like the Indian man who doesn’t let his wife leave, forcing her, beating her, and threatening to kill her and her family if necessary, Seemandhra holds onto Telangana at gunpoint pressing them to the ground.
Managing States in India: Governing states like mini-nations and regions like mini-states, creating a strong federation, introduction of Senate-like structure, and democratization of political parties will make India mature in handling current issues coming from regionalism and make India a strong and vibrant democracy.
When will these state divisions stop?: Lot of people, especially those who are not exactly entangled in Telangana and Andhra issues, are asking one question – when will these divisions end? Will it result in breakup of India? It looks like Telangana has opened a Pandora’s Box.
Telangana 59: Why do we accept Telugu movies?: When the producers make movies showing Telangana people in the negative light, they are not being dumb. In fact, they are being smart; they are catering to the prejudices of people, pandering to their biases, thereby legitimizing them, perpetuating them, and over a period of time institutionalizing them. One can feed into one’s prejudices and still make money. Even the group which is being targeted may not realize it is being targeted and happily watches the movies.
Telangana 58: Impact of Movies: Even someone living in remote part of Andhra has already formed certain strong opinions about Telangana person having never met one – and that opinion is usually most often low, full of contempt, and worthy of ridicule. Negative portrayals of Telangana people in the mainstream movies play a significant role in forming those opinions.
Telangana 57: Presentation to SKC: These are the three slides from my part of the presentation to SriKrishna Committee in May 2010.
Telangana 56: Article on Rediff: In any popular movement, masses do not always know the exact reasons why they want a new state or a new country. Even at the height of the Indian Independence movement majority Indians could not articulate the purpose of why they wanted to get rid of the British. In all such popular movements only few leaders have the clarity and they become the pillars, the voices, the ideologues.
Telangana 55: Last refuge of the scoundrels: 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.
Telangana 54: By Elections: It became necessary for people of Telangana to tell the world that the sentiment was indeed running high. In absence of an official referendum these by-polls substituted for it in Indian democracy. These polls were not for development, not for jobs, not for caste or religion, not for better health or for electricity. These polls were only for one motive – that of creation of Telangana.
Results are clear and emphatic.
Telangana 53: Raj in Bangalore: The cities are crown jewels of a region. No matter how much the investors and immigrants contribute to the cities those cities are always part of the regions. The immigrants, no matter how large their population is, should not wean away the cities from regions by force. Cities do not live in isolation. They are attached to the region integrally.
Telangana 52: Curious case of MIM: Why did MIM become so dear to Andhras all of a sudden? That’s because Andhras want to find the chinks in the armor of Telangana agitation. This newfound love is a momentary reaction to find flaws in Telangana Movement, not a real affection to Hyderabadi Muslims or MIM.
Telangana 51: My answers to questions for JP: When a victim complains that he is being bullied, you cannot tell him, ‘Go get a consensus from the bully, only then I will protect you’. Our forefathers anticipated this problem and hence introduced Article 3 which allows a Parliament to decide the creation of new states without having to consult the bullies. Consensus with Andhras is not possible for Telanganas. All such suggestions should be rejected.
Telangana 50: Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics: The problem with statistics is that you can prove almost anything if the listener doesn't know how the statistics are used. They say: there are lies, damned lies and then there are statistics. JP must have learnt the art of lying from his brothers at Satyam who have deceived this country and people for more than 7 years with cooked up statistics.
Telangana 49: Naxals: What do you want, India? A prosperous and Naxal-free Telangana or a impoverished and Naxal-infested Telangana? If you want to tackle Naxalism, grant Telangana immediately. It’s an opportunity to bring Naxals into the mainstream. Ask them to renounce the violent methods and ask them to join the mainstream politics. That’s the only way to end Naxalism.
Telangana 48: Idiotic journalism: Only a fool who has absolutely no idea of what a people’s movement is would write something like that. It’s like saying the authorities should have found out if someone was abetting young people like Bhagat Singh, Azad et al to do what they did.
Telangana burns: Telangana is like Yadaiah in many ways. Telangana burns, from betrayals, from disillusionment, from disenchantment. Telangana like Yadaiah is orphaned. Every political leader who has used them for their votes has now abandoned them. Telangana like Yadaiah stands clueless, leaderless and rudderless.
47: On People’s Movements: I believe that a people’s movement should have three set of activities- those that appeal to Insiders, those that appeal to Outsiders, and those that compel the authorities.
45: Stand on Sri Krishna Committee: We should embrace Srikrishna Committee for what it is – a study of Telangana, to understand how it is underdeveloped, where it is underdeveloped. However, we should completely, unanimously and categorically reject Srikrishna Committee as a political solution to the current situation in Telangana, because it doesn’t provide one.
44: A note to my readers: When I say that Andhras have discriminated, marginalized and dominated Telangana, I am being sincere without malice. If you know how discrimination happens, you will come to the same conclusions. There is copious amount of evidence if one chooses to look at it. Unfortunately, most Andhras do not realize this and do not even make an attempt to realize this.
43: Don’t play with us!: How long will it take to carve up a state within the legal confines of Indian Constitution? Indians think that forming a state is more complex and complicated than forming a country. Srikrishna Committee is given 11 months to come up with a report. The decision to create Telangana is now on hold. So nobody knows exactly when Telangana will be formed.
42: Where we differ with Andhras: While the fight for Telangana is a movement of people, to emancipate the lower sections of the societies, to free the peasant, to bring empowerment to the backward, to create opportunity for the common man, the fight for United State is a movement of the elite, the upper caste, the privileged, the business-focused, real-estate focused, that is primarily interested in perpetuating the hegemony of the Andhras over Telangana.
41: ‘Rowdy’ Movement: Most people outside Telangana refuse to discuss Telangana issue as if it is some kind of Taliban movement. They think it is a bigoted, blind, irrational, militant and anti-India movement. The mere association with Telangana supporters could put them in jeopardy.
40: Why blame all Andhras?: Andhras hold the collective responsibility of marginalizing, dominating and discriminating Telanganas. Right now, most of Andhra is silent, or is silently supporting their leaders, or is silently playing neutral. Your silence is no longer innocent. Your silence is culpable, like the silent majority which allowed the Holocaust. I am accusing you as a group that has perpetrated these acts that suppressed Telanganas.
38: Say No to consensus; Say Yes to Referendum: What use are the talks? Every agreement stands broken. What use are elections? No election promises are ever kept. Let’s go the democratic way, the true democracy, away from all this farce, this sham that we have created in this country which doesn’t allow mechanisms to voice one’s aspirations. Let’s go with Referendum.
37: Let’s Andhraize Telangana: In 1956, when Andhras sought to merge with Telangana to form Andhra Pradesh, they were carrying the same legacy of Europeans that ruled them. They were now carrying ‘Andhra man’s burden’. They sought to Andhraize Telanganas to purify Telangana Telugu from the onslaught and influence of Urdu. They wanted to set an example and teach Telanganas what pure and chaste Telugu is all about.
36: Did Andhras marginalize Telanganas? Andhras thought they were receiving awards for their excellence while in fact Telanganas were losing out on all their access to opportunities. For Telanganas it was formed on a set of agreements and promises. For Andhras it was an open competition where every resource was up for grabs, where the winner takes all.
34: Self-rule and Self-respect: Most Andhras do not understand what we mean by self-rule. They ask, ‘You elect your MLAs and MPs and they already represent you in Indian democracy, so what else do you want?’ Andhras don’t understand when Telangana people say they are fighting for self-respect. They ask, ‘how does one get self-respect, just by creating a new state’?
XXXIII: Notes on ‘My Telugu Roots’: Percentage increase is an extremely flawed statistic, which is being used by Nalamotu Chakravarthy. Suppose in region A you start with 1 acre and add 2 acres to it, it is seen as 200% increase. But in region B you start with 100 acres and add 50 acres, it looks like only 50% increase. Without knowing where one started, it looks like region A is doing much better than region B, when in fact the region A has only 3 acres while region B has 150 acres. Nalamotu Chakravarthy uses such a strategy.
XXXI: Free 1948. Surrender 1956. Free 2010. Telanganas are no longer ashamed of singing their songs and speaking their dialect. Now they do so with pride. They do so even on the podiums in public rallies.
XXX: How Telangana Movement Spread: Andhras don’t understand Telanganas. They don’t understand how deep and wide the current movement is. They underestimate the strength and vigor of this movement calling it ‘politically motivated’ movement. However, for many years now, Telanganas have been preparing themselves for this liberation through many songs, ballads, books, pamphlets, etc.
XXV: Congratulations Andhra: Most of us, even the most reasonable, literate and rational people of Telangana, hold Andhra politicians and people responsible for what happened today and grant you the victory.
XXIV: United we Stand: Potti Sriramulu can be credited with biggest ‘break up’ of this country. If ever, he should be a hero for ‘division of the country’ not for integration of the country. So the slogan should change to: United when Andhra wants to, Divided when Andhra wants to, and Damn Telangana!
XXIII: Tidbits: The only reason why a plebiscite cannot be held in a Hyderabad city is because cities in India are not treated as distinctly different from their regions... This one sided love story is becoming a little bit suffocating for Telangana… Are small states really bad?
XXII: Cheat the Cheated: Conceding that Telangana’s only asset is Hyderabad, now the Andhras are going to deprive Telangana even of that one asset. Is there a limit to greed? How much can you suck a region so dry? What’s the whole idea of giving statehood then, if you are going to deprive them of the very assets they were trying to protect? But that’s how the justice is being doled out in India nowadays. Cheat the cheated. That’s the mantra.
XXI: Status of Hyderabad: The Telangana separation issue has now become Who-Gets-Hyderabad issue. Andhra doesn’t want to give up Hyderabad to Telangana. There are three major claims made by Andhras to possess this city. #1 Andhra people paid for taxes that build this city. #2 Andhra people invested into this city heavily. #3 Many people including Andhra people have made this city their home.
XX: Welcome the Change: Dear Andhra brothers, Welcome the change. Don’t resist it…Shake hands with Telangana people, give up Hyderabad to those people who legitimately own it and earn the plaudits as a mature friend. Prolonging this will only sour the relationship for all of us. It will become bitter soon. And after that it will turn into poison for all of us.
XIX: Hyderabad a Union Territory?: So, is Hyderabad a part of Telangana? Or is it a city that has grown to be quite different altogether leaving behind Telangana? Should each cosmopolitan city in India be asked to vote if they want to be independent of the region they reside in? Should we hold referendums in cities as well, treating them like states?
XVIII: Betrayal: Telangana people are watching this act of betrayal as it unfolds on live media…They have not forgotten what Chandra Babu promised. They have not forgotten what Chiranjeevi said…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.
XVII: More Concerns: Isn’t Telangana Movement a purely selfish interest of politicians in their attempt to secure power? Didn’t TRS lose elections in 2009 clearly indicating there is no support for separate Telangana? Why didn’t the politicians of Telangana fast for development instead of fast for separation?
XVI: Samaikya Andhra: 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’.
XV: Concerns: Why are Telangana people bent on dividing the country and state? Why are Telangana people bent on separation when rest of Andhra wants to stay united? Should the settlers in Hyderabad panic now because of jingoism of Telangana agitation? Shouldn’t Hyderabad belong to rest of Andhra as much as it belongs to people of Telangana?
XIV: Letter to Andhra Brothers: [Parody on Andhra people’s comments] Dear Andhra Brothers…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.
XIII: Let’s stay United!: Here are three issues that Andhra politicians should go ahead and implement. If you can make this work, we are going to completely stop all movements towards creating a separate state. We will start believing that you are indeed going to honor your commitments towards your Telangana brothers.
XII: Ignorance, Bad Faith and Low Opinion: Andhra people wrote many checks which eventually bounced. The history is fraught with so much bad faith that people of Telangana are unable to trust their Andhra brothers anymore… These words of care and concern sound hollow to us when it is coming from such a supercilious stand; and we dismiss them.
XI: Why so much opposition?: Time and again Andhras have come up with terms of reconciliation which have failed only because those terms were never implemented – they just remained hollow promises. Telanganas want to move out of this relationship but Andhras are not able to understand and appreciate our position. We ask: Why are you imposing yourself onto us when we want to live our lives separately? Can’t you be mature enough to let us go?
History of Telangana I: Sardar Vallabhai Patel under Nehru Government decided to intervene. The police action, called Operation Polo, was launched on 13th September, 1948. Within four days, Osman Ali Khan, the Nizam, surrendered. So, the people of living in Hyderabad State obtained Independence after one year, on 17th September, 1948.
History of Telangana II: One of the misconceptions that are flouted nowadays is that Potti Sriramulu fought for a greater and unified Vishalandhra comprising all Telugu people under one state. There is no truth to this. He had in fact fought for extremely local demands for his own people, and not Telangana people.
Vision for Telangana I: What shall we do when we get our Telangana? What is our vision and what are our objectives? How shall we correct the mistakes of the past? How shall we better the lives of our people? How shall we make Telangana a great place to live?
X: Congratulations! : Why does it always come to this in India? Why should people get onto streets, protest, pillage, vandalize, beat up, destroy, before the government concedes to their demands? Why should the people hold government at ransom before the government starts making sense? Why can’t India be proactive and take necessary measures to alleviate concerns of various groups and identities?
VIII: You need to make a case: All those who seek a Hyderabad state carved out of Telangana, you need to make a case. First, you were not willing to give us a separate state. Now, you ask for a separate Hyderabad state. Your case is quite flimsy and is fraught with greed, selfishness and extreme self-centeredness.
VII: Political Drama: TRS, the most vocal of all parties to demand a separate Telangana lost many seats to TDP and Congress in the recently held by-elections. What does it mean? Did Telangana Movement lost its wind? Is TRS same as Telangana Movement? What is Telangana ‘sentiment’? Why are other political parties embracing Telangana ‘sentiment’? Is political outcome same as referendum?
VI: Hyderabad State?: Many detractors of Telangana Movement want to create a Hyderabad state out of Telangana. Is there any merit to such a demand? Hyderabad has always been a part of Telangana. Can the immigrants of a land ask for a separate status by flooding a city or a piece of land?
V: Political Angle: Though we should have got Telangana during NDA regime, it did not happen. So, why did we not get Telangana along with Chattisgarh, Uttarkhand and Jharkhand? What are the political angles that are delaying creation of Telangana?
IV: Some of the questions from commenters are answered here: Why should Hyderabad be given to Telangana? Do land-locked states fail economically? Do new states take long time to form? Will the new state has to grapple new problems like crime?
III: There is no animosity towards anyone while creating Telangana, not even Andhra people. Fight for Telangana is not new. It has been there since the inception of Andhra Pradesh. TRS is just a political party that came into cash in on the prevailing mood of Telangana people to have a separate state. TRS is not Telangana. And one cannot rubbish a movement based on the quality of its leaders.
II: The detractors to the formation of Telangana give the following reasons: 1. Andhra people will take away all their investments from Telangana, 2. Muslims will dominate if Telangana becomes a State, 3. Hyderabad will become a Union Territory; away from both Andhra and Telangana, 4. Andhra people are hardworking, enterprising and well-educated, 5. Andhra Telugu is superior – everyone should become like them, 6. We will lose our identity as Telugu people. All these are mere excuses. In reality, a separate Telangana makes sense for one reason alone- that its people want it.
I: A New State: When one state has two economically and culturally different regions, one being prosperous and the other backward, if corrective measures are not taken to uplift that backward region, there is a great danger that only the prosperous region gets all the attention…
