Telangana 75: Will Telangana become another Jharkhand?

Will Telangana become another Jharkhand, where corruption is rampant, political institutions are weak, and democracy has taken a back seat to pave way for oligarchy?

To answer this question, we need to learn a bit about Indian Independence Movement, because that’s the closest ideal we have in this subcontinent to measure ourselves against, and also because Telangana Movement derives its inspiration from it.  What happened on 15 August 1947 was not just toppling of British regime to be replaced by self-rule, but it was a major overhaul of the political, social and cultural map of this country, transforming itself from a eclectic mosaic of monarchies into a vibrant republic, overthrowing feudalism to be replaced by a socialist society, transforming a heavily male chauvinist society to give women their freedom, converting a upper caste dominated society to an emancipated society where lower castes are treated as equals.

All this happened because of what preceded before 15 August 1947, during the long course of Indian Independence Movement.  The focus of the movement was not just against the British but was directed at toppling our masters within [1][2][3][4].  For that, we had created organizations, forums, committees, parties, and groups enrolling people at grass root level.  These organizations and groups were the key to instilling a strong case for democracy in this country.  These peoples’ organizations competed and collaborated with each other, allowed debate, let reason prevail, giving voice to many suppressed sections of the society.  The fact that we had created hundreds of people’s organizations and democratic political bodies during our freedom struggle is a key reason why India remained a vibrant democracy after Independence while most third-world countries that attained freedom from their colonial masters quickly became dictatorships or autocracies.  

Telangana 74: Why are Andhras frustrated?

When Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) came onto the scene in Andhra Pradesh with a small political outfit called Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) in 2000, Andhras were not extremely disturbed.  Instead they were quite amused.  That’s because KCR spoke in Telangana accent and that was always a funny spectacle for most Andhras.  You see, in 100% of the Telugu movies, the guy who speaks Telangana accent is either a buffoon or a goon.  He is never the main hero or the main villain.  Of course, he is not even the side-hero or the main comedian, because they are also important actors, though second in rank.

In Telugu movies, the Telangana-accent guy gets kicked around all the time, literally.  By the time the movie approaches its end all the Telangana-accent actors are eliminated from the plot.  Only the hero and the villain remain – neither of them will be from Telangana.  Naturally, most Andhras thought that KCR was one of those small time actors; not the main villain and definitely not the hero.  They expected him to get out by the time big boys from Seemandhra come onto the scene.

So, when Telangana agitations got into full swing in 2009-10, and kept on rising, Andhras just could not fathom how this could be happening.  Is the sidekick turning out to be a hero (for Telanganas) and villain (for Seemandhras)? Nah! Not possible.  This is not an acceptable formula for successful movies.  This movie would never work.

Telangana 73: Are we condemned to repeat history?

The current generation in India looks at history as a list of milestones without knowing the details behind achieving those milestones, running the risk of repeating the mistakes of their forefathers. Are there lessons to be learnt from our histories?  Are we missing out on the most important lessons by not paying enough attention to our past? 

Indian history is replete with precedents which can guide us in making mature decisions.  It is unfortunate that Srikrishna Committee spent nearly eleven months in this region but did not make efforts to understand the underlying theme of this mass movement. It is also sad that this committee did not look at the precedents from Indian history to address the issues of this region.

Unlike what many Andhras would like us to believe, there was indeed a precedent where a region having the capital city wanted to become a separate state and eventually won the statehood with the capital city.   The conditions of those times are so uncannily similar that it is surprising that this Committee given such a huge responsibility on deciding the fate of thirty-five million people did not look into the historical documents to check on these precedents.

Key to Telangana: Article 3

The authors of Indian constitution, unlike the current generation of Indians, did not believe that the states, districts and mandals within India are static, unchanging, and permanent.  They had the maturity to accept that states would evolve and change, and hence made provisions for creation of new states in Indian Union.

Indian Constitution

Article 3 of Indian Constitution addresses the topic of ‘Formation of new States and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing States’.  It says:

Parliament may by law

(a) form a new State by separation of territory from any State or by uniting two or more States or parts of States or by uniting any territory to a part of any State;

(b) increase the area of any State;

(c) diminish the area of any State;

(d) alter the boundaries of any State;

(e) alter the name of any State; Provided that no Bill for the purpose shall be introduced in either House of Parliament except on the recommendation of the President and unless, where the proposal contained in the Bill affects the area, boundaries or name of any of the States, the Bill has been referred by the President to the Legislature of that State for expressing its views thereon within such period as may be specified in the reference or within such further period as the President may allow and the period so specified or allowed has expired Explanation I In this article, in clauses (a) to (e), State includes a Union territory, but in the proviso, State does not include a Union territory Explanation II The power conferred on Parliament by clause (a) includes the power to form a new State or Union territory by uniting a part of any State or Union territory to any other State or Union territory

A note to commenters

Some of your comments have been deleted.  Some of you got upset.  

SKC Report: Intellectual Dishonesty

The chronic neglect in imparting scientific temperament into our people is now affecting this country, its social life, and its politics.  India is suffering from a massive bout of intellectual deficit.  This is coming out in various sections of our life.  Either it is 2G Scam or Satyam Scandal, it is clear that numbers are being fudged, scientific and dispassionate scrutiny is missing, manipulation and misinterpretation of data is rampant.  Now, it has affected the cause of Telangana as well. 

We are now facing a new menace in this country, the intellectual dishonesty, where certain eminent people given paramount responsibility of deciding fate of millions of people are misinterpreting data to promote vested interest groups.   Justice Srikrishna, a retired judge of Supreme Court, was given the task of making recommendations on the issue of separate Telangana or united AP.  The report is out and it is becoming apparent that Srikrishna is subject to the same malaise that has affected Ramalinga Raju of Satyam scandal or Raja of 2G scam.  It is also unfortunate that the media houses, some of them respectable ones, like THE HINDU, have also resorted to the same intellectual dishonesty.   Instead of making a scientific scrutiny, they are just playing pawns to the same vested interests that have been dominating Telangana for the last 54 years. 

Statistics like per capita have never been used by India to form new states or reorganize states.  The basis for forming a state has always been to satisfy aspirations of people of certain region.  Uttarakhand had a higher per capita than Uttar Pradesh and yet formed a new state.  Andhra State, Gujarat, Karnataka were formed on a regional identity irrespective of any study into per capita comparisons.  In fact, no such statistics were used when merging Telangana with Andhra State to form united Andhra Pradesh back in 1956. 

Why Srikrishna Committee thinks Telangana is NOT Backward?

Guest Article: Justice Srikrishna’s Magic Report

This is the first time I am posting an article written by someone else on this blog.  Sometimes you come across an article so well written that it makes to just publish it instead of attempting to write one yourself. 

Telangana and Justice Srikrishna’s Magic Report

Author: Nitin Harkara

The Srikrishna committee has now submitted its much-anticipated report on the “situation in the state of Andhra Pradesh”. The mere fact that the committee met the proposed deadline for submission of this document to the Government of India must be a signal achievement in the annals of government-appointed bodies. In the prevailing milieu where meandering activity takes precedence over timely delivery of results, Telangana’s people had probably resigned themselves to the inevitable request for an extension of the committee’s submission deadline. That such a request was not made, is evidence of apprehension on the part of an otherwise-uncaring Central government that even the normally-gullible masses would see through so blatant a delaying tactic.

There may be a tendency on the part of some in Telangana to view this committee’s report as a significant milestone in the region’s tortuous path to re-establishment as a free entity, as a state finally rid of its neo-colonial Andhra rulers. A word of caution is in order here: This document should not be seen as anything other than what it is, merely a clever ploy employed by Mr. Chidambaram and Co. to gain time. Time, they hoped, which would help them roll back the tide of Telangana’s resolve to achieve statehood and to realize dreams suppressed since the colonial takeover of their land and lives by coastal Andhra in 1956. 

SKC Report: Bloopers or Lies?

Let it be known that states in India were not formed based on statistics.   States were formed to satisfy aspirations of people of a certain region.

Let it be known that data is unreliable.  Data can be cooked and misinterpreted.  That’s why we had Satyam in Andhra Pradesh.

Let it known that even though Government of AP denied certain information to RTI activists of Telangana, the same information was provided to Srikrishna Committee.  If it is a fair trial, the information should have been available to everyone contesting the case.
Let it be known that Government of AP pulled down certain webpages and documents from their websites after Srikrishna Committee was announced.  

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.  [Please send your bloopers across.  I will list them here].

Telangana 72: Unite or Perish

Our fathers fought in 1969.  It was like an uncoordinated guerilla fight, spontaneous and violent, a sudden outburst which got extinguished as quickly as it got started.  It was students and young people who came onto streets and believed that the state would bow down and give them a separate state.  To their surprise the state dealt with them with an iron hand.  Using media blackout, they violently crushed the movement with hundreds killed, thousands injured, and most of the agitators jailed.  The state then blackmailed, threatened or bought the political leaders to give up all aspirations for statehood. 

That was 42 years ago. 

Surprisingly, the flame though small, was protected and carried by few of those broken fighters of 1969, till it got the necessary fuel to become a conflagration now.   This time around we are prepared for a long battle. This time we are not uncoordinated.  This time we are a polished machine.    This time around the state will not be able to crush us.  We had nearly 15 years to prepare for this.  We prepared songs, thousands of them.   We wrote books, hundreds of them.  We made slogans, we made flags; we made t-shirts and stickers, and wore them proudly.   We created hundreds of JACs, we mobilized millions of people. 

Telangana 71B: Tughlaqs of Modern India

Continued:

Option 3: Bifurcation of State into Rayala-Telangana and coastal Andhra regions with Hyderabad being an integral part of Rayala-Telangana

It looks like the committee wanted to come up with various permutations and combinations to make it look like they have explored many options.  This is a silly option, suggested by extremely few.  During the protests of 1956, and then during agitations of 1969, and then during the last ten years of Telangana Movement, Rayalaseema was on the side of Coastal Andhra to deny people of Telangana its statehood.  So, how is it possible for Telangana to merge with Rayalaseema to form a new state? When Telangana people say, we want separate Telangana, it is clear that they don’t want to be in the same state with Coastal Andhra or Rayalaseema.  No more experiments for people of Telangana.  We owe this to the future of Telangana.

Telangana 71: Tughlaqs of Modern India

When I was growing up there was a term used to insult someone.  The word ‘Tughlaq’ was used to call someone a dumb idiot and a fool.  Later on I got to know why the word ‘tughlaq’ became synonymous with a dumb idiot.   Long ago in 14^th century, a king named Muhammad bin Tughlaq ruled over Delhi and he came up with a ridiculous idea to move his capital city from Delhi to Daulatabad (Devagiri) nearly 1500 km south into Deccan.  He forcibly moved his entire city population including cattle, from Delhi to Daulatabad. It was a major disaster.  Thousands died, millions became homeless and economy was in shambles.  Two years later, he moved the capital back to Delhi.  To the current generation, that episode in history sounds utterly foolish and comes as surprise.  One cannot believe that Tughlaq took such extremely nonsensical and unrealistic idea so seriously.   However, back in those times, kings and nobles went with such decisions and ordinary people paid price with their lives.

Many such foolish ideas came about in the past.  And we look back at them with wonder – not able to really grasp how people and leaders of that time could be so foolish.

One such event which we will recall later, fifty years from now, are the suggestions given by SriKrishna Committee.  We will wonder how they could think of such extremely ridiculous propositions.  Barring from suggesting that Hyderabad State should be made a part of Pakistan, they touched upon every other ridiculous idea.  Here I discuss two of them:

SriKrishna Committee Report Summary

[Typed version of scanned PDF document]

SUMMARY OF THE REPORT OF COMMITTEE FOR CONSULTATION ON THE SITUATION IN ANDHRA PRADESH

1.      Shri Justice B. N. Srikrishna report was submitted to the Government on 30.12.2010.  The Terms of Reference of the Committee are enclosed.

2.      In its 461 pages Report (along with Volume II containing Appendices), the Committee has examined in great detail the following issues:

(i)                 Developments in Andhra Pradesh – A Historical Background

(ii)               Regional Economic and Equity Analysis

(iii)             Education and Health

(iv)              Water Resources, irrigation and Power Development

(v)                Public Employment Issues

(vi)              Issues Relating to Hyderabad Metropolis

(vii)            Sociological and Cultural Issues

3.      Based on the analysis of the above parameters the Committee has examined in detail the issues pertaining to current demand for a separate State of Telangana as well as the demand for maintaining the present status of keeping the State united.  After going into all aspects of the situation as well as keeping in view the local, regional and the national perspectives, the Committee has put forward the following solutions/possible options as the best way forward:

Telangana 70: Solution is in politics, not in statistics

When SriKrishna committee was constituted, I wrote the following on 15 Feb 2010:

…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.  There should no expectation whatsoever that Srikrishna Committee will provide a solution to the current problem in the state.  What is needed is not another ‘study’, not another ‘research’, but an action that demonstrates political expediency, a political and unequivocal decision that solves the problem of Telangana right away – which is creation of Telangana…Let’s make it clear to ourselves now.  We don’t want to be a guinea pig for another social research. 

The solution to Telangana problem lies in political decisions, not in committees, studies or research.  We have had 53 years of overwhelming evidence of false promises and broken agreements.   That is good enough to demerge this state which was formed on a conditional merger based on set of safeguards and protections which were all flouted or revoked.  

On 25 Feb 2010, I wrote:

There are lies, damned lies and then there are statistics. One look at the fields of Telangana and Andhra would tell you the state of affairs.   Facts can be interpreted the way you want to.   India did not fight for independence from Britain on a statistic.  Andhra State was not formed from Madras State on a statistic. What we need is a political decision, not a statistical report.

SriKrishna Committee Report Leaked

Hurrah! SriKrishna Committee Report has been leaked.  Here are some of the salient points:

For Separate Telangana State:

Overwhelming majority in Telangana seeks a separate state; the current ten districts of Telangana could be carved into a separate state with Hyderabad as its capital;

Pros: Enough indications suggest that this region was neglected and its people discriminated against; a separate state would address many of the concerns ailing this region.  For example, a new state of Telangana would definitely get more water and therefore bring prosperity to the region.  Could also lead to elimination of Naxal Movement because people will get a political voice in Indian democracy.

Cons: Seemandhra people may get disappointed and may burn some buses in Seemandhra region. 

For United State:

Majority in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema would like to keep the state united; the status quo could be maintained with introduction of regional board for each region – Telangana, Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, and special packages could be given for neglected and backward districts.

Pros: no change required to current administration setup; will make people of Seemandhra extremely happy; Telangana people will be under superior rulers of Seemandhra region.

Cons: will make people of Telangana extremely unhappy; could lead to massive agitations and uprising in Telangana, but our outstanding Indian Army and Air Force can easily suppressing it with less than 5 lakh people dead; could lead to escalation of Naxal Movement like it happened in the aftermath of 1969.

Telangana 69: Get off your ass and fight

I wouldn’t trade this for anything else.  I am witnessing history unfold right before my eyes.  I am happy that I am not living in another country like I was few years ago, then I would be so far away from the action.  Of course I wish I was living in Telangana, instead of living in Bangalore.  Every day I get up and feel bad that I am not living in Telangana. I wish I could be here all the time, right here, right now. But then I use every opportunity I get to visit Telangana to take part in the events unfolding in Telangana. 

How could I miss this historic movement?  It is like participating in our India’s freedom struggle against British.  Imagine you were a young man during British India and you see people marching in protests.  But imagine you were too lazy, or confused, or too ignorant, or gave some stupid reason not to participate in the freedom struggle.  Would you not regret it now? I would.

I am thrilled to be part of the current agitation of Telangana.  According to me, it’s once in a lifetime opportunity.  Missing out is not an option for me.  As an American would you not be thrilled to be part of your freedom struggle against British? Would you not give everything to be part of the struggle, participate in the raids of George Washington?  As an African-American would you not be thrilled to be part of the crowd listening to Martin Luther King Jr’s I have a dream’ speech?  [I am not African-American, but I would give everything to be part of that crowd on that historic day when he delivered that speech in Washington DC and I am quite sure I would be in tears]

New Age Corruption

In the last two years alone, we have seen ten or more major scams in India, each one outdoing the other.  The recent 2G scam is pegged at 176,000 Crores.  That’s 1,760,000,000,000 Rupees amounting to nearly 3% of our GDP.  Satyam scam was around 14,000 Crores while Common Wealth Games scam is at 70,000 Crores.   I was talking to some young people the other day and was telling them that in the early 1990s PV Narasimha Rao was embroiled in a 2 Crore scam.  They could not believe that a tiny amount of 2 Crore could actually result in a scam.    Even the much touted Bofors scam, because of which Rajiv Gandhi lost power in 1980s, was only 64 Crores.  So what happened to us as a nation in the last twenty years?  How did we go from mere 2 Crores to 176,000 Crores? 

I believe that we are witnessing a completely new set of rules being played out in the corrupt India (BTW, India proudly ranks 87^th in the world on the corruption index).  And unlike what many people think, I believe it is the younger generation, not the older generation, which is setting these new rules.  It is New Age corruption, which is vastly different from the old school.  The old school’s appetite was small, and therefore was content with small money and stored it as cash stuffed in pillows or deposited it as gold in some foreign accounts.  The new age is rapacious, they want to become the world’s richest, get hold of all vital natural resources of the country, and they route the money through legal methods like IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, to convert their black money into white money.

I discuss this New Age corruption through the following three trends. 

Telangana 68: Democracy in Crisis?

It took hundreds of years of human struggle and strife to bring in a type of government where a common man got his freedoms, became a citizen, and actually had a say in the politics.   Democracy is a fragile institution, which can easily slip into autocracy in times of insecurity or weakness.   It takes lot of strength to keep it going, not succumbing to easy methods of imposing military or police rule at the first sign of trouble.   Countries like China suppress people’s voices and freedom with use of force, armies and tanks, like in Tiananmen Square, killing innocents who protest.  They jail everyone who speaks of freedom on the charges of sedition. 

Back in 1969, during Telangana agitation, the government imposed a media blackout, brought troops into the region, jailed nearly 70,000 people, injured nearly 15,000 people, and killed 370 people.   Not very different from how China treats its people.  Clearly, a democracy has tendencies to become autocratic when it has to face tough questions that come out of democratic aspirations of its people.   Those are the times when the nation suffers from insecurities, of egos, of prejudices, and weaknesses. 

Andhra Pradesh government is now imposing additional 50 companies of paramilitary forces in the state, most of them in the region of Telangana, getting ready to forcibly control the people’s agitations that may arise after contents of SriKrishna Committee report are disclosed. 

Freedom from persecution

A constitutional right can be loosely defined as a freedom guaranteed by the state allowing an individual to do certain things without fear of persecution, without getting harassed or obstructed, either from the state, a group or another individuals.  One commenter on my blog writes:

…while it is right for Ms Roy to question the status of J&K in Indian union, the court is also right in allowing FIR to be lodged…it is correct to have a court hearing on it and matter be decided in a non-emotive atmosphere.

In the case of MF Husain’s episode, the High Court ruling clearly exonerated MF Husain of any wrongdoing and let him go free.  However, that did not stop various groups to continuously lodge complaints against the artists, or stop many police stations from issuing warrants for his arrest.  Basically, Indians kicked out MF Husain by hounding him with thousands of cases, generating hundreds of arrest warrants against him, depriving him of his freedoms.    He could have fought each case meticulously one after another, but then he would have wasted lot of his time and money, and ended up not doing what he wants to do – which is to paint. 

A freedom sanctioned by the state of India also includes freedom from such frivolous and unnecessary prosecution, from such arrest warrants in each and every Indian city, and from related court summons.   So that we don’t have to negotiate each freedom in a court of law, the Indian Constitution makes certain freedoms non-negotiable and gives them as rights to its citizens, in order to protect these citizens from harassment of the state or other groups or other individuals, so that these citizens can go ahead and live a free life without getting hindered and obstructed by other people. 

Are you a ‘Secularist’?

There is a mail floating around which includes a presentation called ‘Pseudosecularism’ with the following questions.  Usually I avoid countering such propaganda but when sometimes you see a recurring theme in most people’s arguments it becomes necessary to address it.  This presentation has the following questions which one is supposed to answer for oneself.  I am going to answer them here. 

Are you a Secularist?

I am not sure what that means.  But if it means I believe in the principles of secularism and believe that our country, India, should adhere to the secular principles, yes, I am a secularist.  But it does not mean I am going to demonize other’s religion while praising my own, or denounce my religion while praising others.   I believe that state should be separated from religion – irrespective of whose religion it is. 

There are nearly 52 Muslim countries.  Show one Muslim country which provides Haj subsidy.

I don’t know if other Muslim countries provide Haj subsidy, but as a ‘secularist’ I oppose India giving Haj subsidy.   As a secularist, I do not agree to state providing Haj subsidy.  But it is also true that no country in the world gives government funds for construction and renovation of private Hindu temples.   Karnataka Government in India has donated crores of money to Hindu temples. 

As a secularist, I oppose Haj subsidies, and also oppose state sponsorship of Hindu Temples. As a secularist, I also oppose state sponsored cow veneration, state sponsored celebration of Hindu and Muslim festivals, state sponsored Hindu ceremonies for government offices, etc.

So, India happens to be a ‘secular’ country in theory which doesn’t necessarily practice secularism, and does all kinds of funny things to promote various religions, including Haj subsidies, and donations to temples.  So, to highlight only Haj subsidies does not do justice to the argument that India somehow treats Indian Muslims preferentially, because it treats Indian Hindus even more preferentially.

'You hate me, I arrest you'

A young girl of 18 shouts at her mother, ‘I hate you’, and leaves for college.  During the lunch time, the police visit the girl’s college and arrest her on charges of sedition.  The fact that the mother was a government employee was good enough for the mother to file a case of sedition against her daughter.  Because IPC 124 A reads:

Whoever by words spoken brings hatred towards the Government established by law in India shall be punished with imprisonment for life.

A jilted lover who shouts, ‘I hate you’ at a woman is now booked under sedition laws of India just because that woman is a government employee.  It’s not hard to imagine such a situation now that Arundhati Roy is being slapped with various cases across India just because she has been found to harbor ‘hatred’ for this country.  We are on the verge of creating another MF Husain episode, hounding the person we do not like so much so that they would have to eventually flee the country.   Soon we will get rid of all artists and authors from this country who do not conform to the opinions of the majority.  

Scrap sedition laws

When I was a young boy, I assumed, very naturally, that I was extremely patriotic.   Singing the national song and national anthem gave me goose bumps (it does even now), and the very idea of dying for one’s country was a heroic and romantic notion, something I thought I would do without hesitating for a moment.   But then I ‘grew up’.  

The unfortunate consequence of ‘growing up’ is that you are no longer innocent.  You know more than what normally appears.  [I put 'growing up' in quotes because not everyone who lives longer actually grows up.  Most people, I realize, stop growing at around 16 or 17.  They carry their prejudices from then on defending them for the rest of their lives.]

Now, I realize that there are two versions of patriotism.  The first is the love of one’s homeland, which is natural to most people.  We are nostalgic and have an attachment towards one’s origins; either it is a place of birth, or the times when we were young.  We reminisce the moments of the past with longing and feel attached to them.   

Almost every human being will try to protect one’s home against onslaught of the invaders.  One’s home could be just one’s house, one’s street, one’s village, one’s district, one’s region, one’s state, one’s country, or one’s planet.   The definition of home itself changes depending on who the invader is.  If the neighbor tried to encroach upon what rightfully belongs to you, your home is just your house and you fight for it.   But when aliens invade us, then our home is our planet and we fight for the planet. 

If the definition of patriotism is love of one’s home and feeling to defend it from the invaders, then it is completely natural to most human beings to be patriotic.  I think I am a patriot from this definition.  I take pride in fighting for my people as long as I think it is a fight for justice.  I also feel that I should express solidarity with those who fight for their people as long as I think it is a fight for justice.

However, if patriotism is the feeling that my country is the greatest and that it can never do anything wrong, then it is based in sheer arrogance coming out of absolute ignorance.   It is this arrogance based in ignorance that makes me think that my nation, my religion, my race is the greatest just because I am born into it.  I am NOT this kind of a patriot.

Pale Blue Dot

This is the picture of our planet Earth.  There is a ‘pale blue dot’ that you can see on the right side of the picture somewhere in the middle from top to bottom. - that's our planet Earth.   The picture was taken by Voyager 1 spacecraft that was launched in 1977.   It left Solar System in 1990.  Carl Sagan made a special request to NASA to turn the camera around and take this picture of Earth.  The band of light is result of play of sunlight off the spacecraft onto the camera, an accident.

When this picture was taken, the spacecraft was 6 Billion kilometers away from us.

Telangana 67: AP Formation Day

Why Telanganas refuse to celebrate AP Formation day?

Telanganas reject the farcical experiment called Andhra Pradesh.  The conditional merger that was brought in on 1^st November 1956 has not lived up to the promises made on the eve of formation of Andhra Pradesh and therefore it is now paving the way for an unconditional demerger.  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. 

Therefore, today it is clear to all people of Telangana that we cannot celebrate this day.  It is not a day to be proud of.  It is not a day to be happy about.  In fact, it is a sad day.  It is the day when Telangana was tossed from pan into the fire.  Getting out of Nizam rule was a relief, but immediately, it got into subjugation by Andhras that lasted 54 years now.

Many Andhras ask why we have celebrated AP formation day all these years?  And why do we reject it now? Pre-Independent Indians celebrated the events of British Empire and sang their songs.   They didn’t know better.  Those who did, they did not have the power nor the voice.  But when the movement was in full swing, people of India got enlightened and could muster enough support to boycott such celebrations.  That is what you are witnessing in Telangana now.  Some of us did not celebrate this day for quite many years now, but you failed to notice it because we were a miniscule people.  But now, entire Telangana stands enlightened of the past deeds, and they are part of the movement.  And therefore you see such huge outcry of rejection only now.

Telangana 66: Notes

On People’s Revolution

There’s a definition for ‘revolution’. 

Revolution means that an exploited population must take desperate measures against great odds to overthrow its oppressors. 

-          Marvin Harris

Let’s understand this in Telanganas context. The ‘exploited people’ are Telanganas.  The ‘oppressors’ are Seemandhras, more specifically Andhras.  The ‘great odds’ are stacked against Telanganas, as we can see from the recent political maneuvers that creation of Telangana was initially impossible, and even now not a distinct possibility.  Back in 1990s when I talked about separate Telangana, most friends, from the state of Andhra Pradesh or other parts of India called it a pipe dream - impossibility.  Even now it is not assured that state of Telangana will be created, and therefore the exploited people continue to fight.   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’.  People of Telangana go about protesting, destroying or attacking the symbols of authority, the symbols of oppressors, and defying the rules and laws imposed onto them. 

Telangana 65: Born in Telangana?

Yesterday KCR said that everyone born and raised in Telangana is a Telangana. 

The Telangana Rashtra Samiti president, Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao, turned the T-line upside down, stating that everyone born in Telangana would have all rights to government jobs when the region gets statehood.

The new diktat means that a child of a person belonging to either Andhra or Rayalaseema will be considered a Telanganite if he is born in the region.

I welcome this stand coming from KCR.  I am actually happy that he made such a sensible statement.  However, some Telanganas have objections to this. 

Telangana lawyers and different joint action committees were not amused by this sudden deviation by the TRS chief.

Some statehood units have threatened to stage protests to force Mr Rao to abandon his stand.

I think it is time we educate our own Telangana people on what future Telangana means to all of us.  We have been partially successful in telling our people why we want Telangana.  [And I have failed miserably in trying to reach out to Andhra brothers]. 

Telangana 64: Love Thy Rapist

One commenter writes on my blog:

The very basis of Telangana movement is hatred towards Andhra and Seema people. This is sadly true. If that were not the case Telangana would have formed long ago.

That is so sad that some Andhras have to blackmail us this way.   It is like British saying to Indians, ‘as long as you hate us, we will not give you freedom’.  I understand that many Andhras got tired of my examples from Indian Independence movement.  Therefore, I will give you other analogies.  It is like White Americans telling Black Americans, ‘as long as you hate us, we will keep you as slaves’.  And for those who think our relationship is not that of Whites and Blacks, here is another analogy.  It is like a rapist telling the victim, ‘as long as you hate me, I will continue to rape you’. 

Is it not the time for Andhras to introspect instead of asking Telanganas to stop hating them? Ideally, it should have been that Andhras ask themselves, ‘why do Telanganas hate Andhras? Is there a reason why Telanganas may be very angry with us?’  Why there are no Andhras who admit their guilt, apologize, and make amends?  Why doesn’t a single Andhra leader or commenter suggest implementing GO610 right away to win the hearts of Telanganas?  Why do they continue to coerce us, blackmail us, and ridicule us, our agitations and our leaders instead of making attempts for reconciliation?

Telangana 63: Is the movement nonviolent?

Andhras keep insisting that the current Telangana Movement is violent.  So I ask myself, is it a nonviolent or violent movement?  I am of the opinion that it is a nonviolent movement.  So, how do you characterize stone pelting and bus burning? I still consider them to be nonviolent, not legal, but still nonviolent. [Purists may not agree with me here].  While the policeman has the legal right to arrest that protestor, that protestor has the inalienable right to fight for freedom defying the authority that has been suppressing him. 

A struggle for freedom first tries to explore the available tools – democratic, legal, and electoral.  When all such tools fail to deliver, it will turn into a mass movement.  A mass movement will invariably use expressions of defiance.  The defiance is directed against the authority and the tools of authority which is oppressing or suppressing the protesting people denying their freedoms.  People of Telangana express their ire against the state by the defying the first tool of authority that they encounter – the armed forces.  The other objects of authority are usually public property, because they are also the symbols of the oppressing authority.  Some of the acts of defiance used by Telangana against their authorities are stone pelting and bus burning.   As long as you do not hurt a person and cause bodily injury, as long as you do not damage private property, I would consider it to be nonviolent movement (may not be legal, but still nonviolent).  

Telangana 62: Shall we become violent?

The youth in Telangana are frustrated.  They 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.  Many doubts remain.  The detractors from Seemandhra seem to be winning over Telanganas once again.

Our peaceful agitations and protests don’t seem to yield results.  They are seen as a sign of weakness by our detractors.  Andhras taunt us saying Telanganas are not capable of achieving statehood.  One director of a movie provoked Telanganas saying, ‘you cannot even stop my movie from screening, how will you achieve Telangana?’  Recently, some Andhras celebrated when the APPSC examinations were held with the help of armed forces in spite of major opposition from Telanganas.  They rejoiced that Telanganas were crushed while they prevailed.  In such an atmosphere there is a tendency amongst Telangana youth to take the route of violence to achieve faster results.  

Comic: Them Trolls

This is from a website called www.flyyoufools.com.  This is not my creation.  I am simply copying it from that website using the link given at that website.

Fly You Fools - Indian Comics about Life.

Kashmir wants freedom

On a daily basis, people are dying in Kashmir.  These are ordinary people, civilians, young men, students, and boys.  These are not dreaded terrorists or militants.  These are not Pakistani infiltrators.  They are Kashmiri people living Kashmir.  And they are being shot dead by Indian armed forces, whose guns are bullets are paid for by my taxes. 

Yesterday, more than 15 Kashmiris were killed by Indian security forces taking the toll to 85 since June 2010.  The people came out defying curfew in almost all parts of Kashmir Valley, in Srinagar, Baramulla, Sopore, Anantnag, Pampore, Charar-e-Sharif, Budgam, Pulwama.  The message is clear.  Kashmiris seek freedom.  Freedom from Indians.

Telangana 61: Survival of the Fittest

One Andhra Commenter writes:

Tell me if you know of a genuinely hard-working guy who is unemployed? Opportunities are for everyone. The fittest always survives. Others make excuses...

 

Many people who have absolutely no clue what Evolution is or what Darwin’s Theory is often swear by ‘Survival of the Fittest’ argument.  First, Darwin and evolution scientists prefer terms like natural selection, sexual selection, etc, to explain the drivers for evolution instead of ‘survival of the fittest’.  Second, Survival of the Fittest amongst humans stands as a discredited notion that spawned fascist movement of the early 20^th century resulting in more than 50 million people dead.  Right now only Aryan supremacists believe in this.  The concept was used by White Europeans to legitimize their slavery of the ‘inferior’ races, spawning discriminations based on race, ethnicity and sex, and colonization of ‘uncivilized’ countries.

To swear by ‘survival of the fittest’ is no longer proud thing to be, the way swearing by Nazism is no longer proud thing to be.   But India continues to be an exception.  Here in India you will find a great fan following for Adolf Hitler, and the educated and the elite swearing by flawed and misconceived notions of ‘survival of the fittest’.

Humans fight ‘survival of the fittest’

Contrary to what most Indians believe, humans consistently fight natural selection, the natural order that drives evolution.   Humans fight the order of nature and that’s what makes them humane.  We don’t let our weak die, even if they happen to be beggars or homeless, or even our enemies.   We take care of our weak; we hospitalize them, we use medicines, we use inoculation, we use vaccines, we use artificial organs, and we do surgery. Even the weakest of humans gets a chance to reproduce and thereby contribute to the gene pool.   The weak doesn’t get eliminated as is done in natural selection.  Instead, even the weak humans continue to add their gene content to future generations with equal vigor.