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When Jawaharlal Nehru announced the formation of a united Andhra Pradesh, he commented, “an innocent girl called Telangana is being married to a naughty boy called Andhra. It is their choice to continue or to get separated.”

Today the people of Telangana say that the innocent girl can no longer stay married to the naughty boy. Several proponents of the movement say that it is high time their ’state’ is given back to them.

Dr Srinivas Raj, one of the leaders of the Telangana movement, has prepared a ready reckoner on the issue. Raj along with several others has been distributing this booklet among the people of Telangana and convincing the people why this movement is important and how their lives would change once Telangana is created.

In this interview with rediff.com’s Vicky Nanjappa, Raj gives an interesting insight about the movement for a seperate Telangana. He also goes into length about the backroom politics that is being played in trying to curb this movement.

Could you give us a brief history of the Telangana movement?

We talk of Jalianwala Bagh with such great interest. No one wants to even think of the massacre that took place in Telangana, when the Nizam was ruling us. The Hyderabad state was under the Nizam and Urdu was the official language at that time. Right from that time, the people of Telangana were being suppressed. The Nizam’s army butchered the people of Telangana who fought for their rights and there were at least 6 Jalianwala Bagh-like incidents at that point of time. The problem is that we continue to get suppressed even today and that is why we feel that a separate state is required.

You had a separate state, then what happened?

Between 1948 and 1956 Telangana was a separate state. Hyderabad had several industries including two airports. A lot of attention was foccused on the Telangana region and this area had a lot of infrastructure. Time magazine had in 1937 featured V Usman Ali Khan as the wealthiest man in the world. This only speaks of the wealth that there was in this region.

Once Andhra and Rayalseema came out of the Madras presidency, the people of those regions thought that it would be best to merge Telangana with their regions. Our assembly building, the high court building were all from the Nizam’s period. In 1909, M Visveswaraya, the father of engineering, constructed an underground drainage system in Hyderabad, which is being used even today. 69 per cent of the Krishna rivers’s catchment area is in Telangana. The revenue that was being generated in the Telangana region was much more when compared to Andhra and Rayalseema.

The fact that Dr B R Ambedkar had said that Hyderabad should be made the second capital of India [ Images ] speaks volumes about the region. Moreover Hyderabad is a connecting point between north and south India. They wanted ready-made infrastructure which was in abundance in Telangana and hence they managed to pressurise the government of India to consider their decision.

Which promises were broken when the Union government merged Telangana with Andhra?

The very first promise that was broken was regarding the name of the state. The Union government had promised us that the state would be known as the Andhra Telangana state. However overnight, the leaders from the Andhra and Rayalseema regions managed to convince the government to change the name to Andhra Pradesh. After that the leaders of the two other regions worked consistently to make Telangana a backward region. Another instance of a broken promise is the fact that the Shriram Sagar water project in Nizamabad has been in cold storage for the past 40 years.

What is the main justification for seeking a separate state? Do you really think that things would improve?

It is absolutely important that we be given a separate state. Our accent and our culture is different. Our style is very Deccan and we use a lot of Urdu when we speak. We have a mixture of northern and southern style. We even celebrate Holi. We have every reason to demand for a state. To be honest, if Telangana is carved out it would be bigger than 100 countries in the world and larger than 18 states in the country. Once Telangana is carved out it will be 1,14,800 square kilometers.

What we fail to understand is that how did the government manage to bypass all of you and merge Telangana?

We concentrated more on development and not politics. The simple fact is that we did not have access to the central leadership in the same way as the leaders of Andhra and Rayalseema had.

How do the people of Telangana region look at the people of the rest of Andhra Pradesh?
The question should be the other way around. Since day one, we have been treated like second-rate citizens. Depriving us of development is one issue, but the fact that everyone makes fun of us is also an important point in Telangana. Take the film industry for instance. There are no cinema heroes from our region. Moreover what hurts the most is that the language spoken by the people of Telangana is always attributed to a joker or a villain in the movies.

There has been terrible violence due to this issue. Would you want to justify that?

The violence is not half of what the media has been projecting it to be. In the Telangana region, the Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation faced a loss of Rs 7 crore due to the protests. This was mainly because the bus services were shut down and also due to incidents of stone pelting. Whereas in Andhra and Rayalseema the losses were to the tune of Rs 70 crore and this was largely because buses were being burnt.

The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited too had said that at the Shrikrishna Devaraya University at Rayalseema, students had burnt its optic fibres which resulted in a loss of Rs 2 crore.

There was also an incident in which supporters of J C Divakar Reddy in Rayalseema had bombed a railway station, causing a loss of Rs 10 crore. Now it is clear that the people of Telangana have not been protesting in these regions. We have only protested in a democratic manner. All these statistics have never been reported by the media since 95 per cent of the media is being controlled by barons from the Andhra and Rayalseema regions. The media too has been asked to project only incidents taking place in the Rayalseema region. Please understand this is our demand for the past 50 years, it is not something that has happened overnight.

What is your view on the flip flop by political parties in Andhra Pradesh?
Both the Telegu Desam Party and the Praja Rajyam Party had said that they would support the bill if it is introduced. Till the 2009 elections, the TDP was against Telangana, but at the time of the polls they joined hands with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti since it felt that the demand was very strong. Today due to pressure from the other regions, they are backtracking.

Many legislators raised a point saying that the Union government had acted in haste by announcing the formation of a separate state at midnight. I would like to ask them whether they had a problem when India got independence at midnight.

This issue has scared off investors. Aren’t you worried that the economy of the region will suffer?

The people of Andhra and Rayalseema have purchased land from the poor people of Telangana at throw away prices. Over the years they have inflated the prices. These persons are worried. There is also the middle class which has invested in land in the Telangana region. I would say for a fact that the prices would drop by half once Telangana is formed. However this is temporary. Once the state is formed and the Telangana government invites investors, the real estate would be back to normal.

Finally, there is a murmur that Y S Jaganmohan Reddy (son of late chief minister Y S Rajeshakara Reddy) could be behind all this in a bid to overthrow K Rosaiah. What is your take on this?

(Laughs), He is very much behind the scenes or at least was behind it. He did try and overthrow Rosaiah by escalating the tension. However things went out of control when the movement went into the hands of the Telangana people. He is now in soup since there is pressure from the people of his belt. He is now trying to paint a different picture to come out of the soup.

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Dismissing the charge of ‘flip-flop’ on the part of Centre on Telangana issue, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said the January 5 meeting of political parties from Andhra Pradesh is to devise a “mechanism and roadmap” on resolving the problem.

“The January 5 meeting is the first step in the consultations. In the first step, we have called the recognised parties in the state to devise a mechanism and a roadmap (on the issue,” he told a press conference, the state chief minister has been invited to the meeting in his official capacity.

He said as the consultation process progresses the issue of involving people beyond the 8 recognised parties could be thought of.

Referring to the two statements he had made on December 9 and December 23 on the issue of separate Telangana, Chidambaram said there has been criticism that there has been a flip-flop on the part of the Central government.

“There was no no flip-flop on the part of the Central government, which simply responded to the situation in Andhra Pradesh. We simply responded to the wishes of the people of Andhra Pradesh. I hope you don’t call the January 5 meeting a flip-flop,” he said.

Recalling the history of the issue, Chidambaram said the National Common Minimum Programme of the United Progressive Alliance [ Images ] in 2004 had said the government would consider the demand for the formation of a Telangana state at an appropriate time after due consultations and consensus.

Major political parties in Andhra Pradesh contested the 2009 assembly elections on manifestos that, in one manner or other, declared support for the formation of a separate state of Telangana.

He referred to the all party meeting convened by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah on December 7 in which all floor leaders of the political parties agreed to support the proposal to adopt a resolution in the state assembly for the creation of Telangana.

The CPI-M had a different view and the MIM said the appropriate forum for expressing its views would be the assembly.

The Centre received the minutes of the meeting on December 8 and on 9 the government decided to initiate the process of forming the state of Telangana.

“On December 9, it was announced that an appropriate resolution would be moved in the state assembly. I would like to highlight key words in the statement: they are ‘process’, ‘appropriate resolution’ and ‘moved’.

“In the background of the minutes of the all party meeting, I would like to ask, “what was wrong with that statement,” he asked.

However, Chidambaram said following the announcement major political parties in Andhra Pradesh witnessed deep divisions among their members, especially MPs and MLAs. It was obvious that the situation has altered.

“The government tried its best to bridge the differences. Unfortunately, there was no agreement and it was felt that there was a need to hold further consultations with all political parties and groups in Andhra Pradesh.

“Hence another statement was made on behalf of the Central government on December 23, 2009 emphasising the need for wide-ranging consultation and promising to take steps to involve all concerned in the process,” he said.

The minister said he could not understand why this was described by the media as a flip-flop. “There was no flip-flop on the part of the Central government. Government was simply responding to the altered situation as a result of divisions in the political parties,” he said.

To a question on ‘U-turn’ of political parties including Congress, TDP, Praja Rajyam, he said he would not agree with that view.

“There is a problem, we have to find a solution. My appeal to political parties is to please help us find a solution. That is all I can say now. I am sure political parties will show goodwill and accommodation to find a solution,” he said.

© Copyright 2009 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.

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News4u-News Desk-The Joint Action Committee formed to spearhead the demand for separate Telangana received a boost on Sunday with the main opposition Telugu Desam agreeing to join the panel, even as Congress leaders from Telangana have decided to meet on 29th December to discuss their participation in the JAC.

The JAC asks the Centre to announce immediately the time frame to initiate the process for the formation of separate Telangna state. The Committee calls for a total Telangana bandh on Wednesday to press for the demand.

Already comprising of the Congress, TRS, Praja Rajyam Party and BJP, the JAC called for a two-day programme from Monday to organise public meeting across Hyderabad and 10 Telangana districts as a show of their unified strength.

They appealed to all section to desist violence and to carry on the movement peacefully. The legislators, and MLCs, belonging to Congress, TDP, TRS, PRP

and BJP who had submitted their resignations in support of the separate Telangana were directed to meet the Assembly Speaker and the Legislative Council Chairman to press for the acceptance of their resignations from Assembly and Council.

Convener of JAC Prof K Kodandaram, who held talks with TDP leaders from Telangana region, told reporters that the main opposition party has agreed to join the Committee.

Several TDP MLAs from Telangana also attended a scheduled meeting of the JAC, that so far comprised TRS, Congress, BJP and a large number of outfits fighting for the separate statehood.

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The all-party Telangana joint action committee has extended its support to the students and called for a shutdown in the region on 30 December

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh police have denied permission for a mass convention planned in Hyderabad by students and politicians campaigning for a separate Telangana state.

The students’ joint action committee at Osmania University had called Telangana supporters from across Andhra Pradesh to march to the state capital for a convention on 3 January if the Union government did not start the process of bifurcating the state by then.

The all-party Telangana joint action committee has extended its support to the students and called for a shutdown in the region on 30 December.

Analysts say the call for a march and a convention is being considered crucial as a similar call for a march to the state assembly on 10 December, coupled with an indefinite fast by Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K. Chandrasekhar Rao, eventually forced New Delhi to announce the creation of a Telangana state.

 No relenting: Students throw stones at policemen during a strike at the Osmania University campus in Hyderabad. Mahesh Kumar/AP

The Congress party-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre later appeared to back down from this when home minister P. Chidambaram said a political consensus was required for such a move.

 Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh’s new governor, E.S.L. Narasimhan, a former director of India’s Intelligence Bureau, took oath at Raj Bhavan in Hyderabad on Monday and met chief minister K. Rosaiah and police officers to assess the situation as the protests continued for the sixth consecutive day.

Tension prevailed at Osmania University and other campuses in the Telangana region in the early hours of Monday, with police disrupting the relay and hunger strikes by students.

Fresh batches of students resumed the relay and hunger strikes at Osmania University, the nerve centre of the separatist movement, and other universities in the Telangana region.

Osmania University students also intensified agitations on the campus against a decision by the authorities to close the hostels till 5 January.

Additional director general of police (DGP), A.K. Khan, said 30 companies of paramilitary forces and 15 additional companies of police forces from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have been deployed in and around Hyderabad.

DGP Girish Kumar, citing the attack on Telugu Desam Party leader Nagam Janardhan Reddy last week when he visited the Osmania University, said antisocial elements were joining the agitators and escalating the violence.

Members of the Congress-led state cabinet from the Telangana region, who are camping in New Delhi, said they would consider withdrawing their resignations only if the gevrenment announced a time frame for creating the new state.

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NEW DELHI: The crisis in Andhra Pradesh showed no signs of ebbing with the 13 pro-Telangana ministers, who have put in their papers, refusing to 
join work till the Centre puts in motion the process to form a separate state.

The Centre, which has been struggling to find a way out of the tricky political situation, has mooted the formation of a “task force” — a group comprising politicians, bureaucrats and members of the civil society — to address the demand of statehood. But Congress leaders from Telangana have made it clear that this proposal will not break the logjam.

The ministers, who will be back in Hyderabad on Tuesday, have told top Congress leaders that they will not attend meetings of the state Cabinet till the matters are resolved. The ministers, accompanied by some Congress MPs from Telangana, met AICC in-charge for Andhra Pradesh and Union law minister Veerappa Moily and Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel on Monday. The meeting proved to be inconclusive with the Central leadership unable to defuse the situation.

“We told them that a clear clarification of the Central government’s December 23 statement was necessary. We also conveyed to them that the government should immediately announce a time-frame for the process of formation of Telangana,” Andhra Pradesh IT minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy said.

He added that Mr Moily and Mr Patel had listened to their demands and promised to convey the same to the Congress high command. The leaders also indicated that they would get back to the ministers in a day or two, he said. The ministers, nine of who came to the Capital to mobilise support for their demand, also held a press conference to drive home their point to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who refused to meet them.

All Congress MPs, MLAs, MLCs, mayors and local body functionaries from Telangana are now set to meet in Hyderabad on Tuesday to chalk out their future course of action. The meeting comes in the wake of a section of the Congress’ Telangana leadership seeking a separate agitation rather than playing second fiddle to TRS’ K Chandrasekhara Rao in the Joint Action Committee (JAC). However, with the TDP having joined the JAC, there is now pressure on the Congress to also do the same as staying out will be seen as weakening the pro-Telangana pressure group.

In the Capital, the Congress leadership was working on a proposal that would satisfy Telangana leaders as well as those from coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalseema. One of the ideas doing the rounds is that of appointing a committee under the Central government with a set time-frame. However, with the Telangana ministers insisting that they want the committee to be guided by the main agenda of “formation of Telangana”, the matter continues to be deadlocked.

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Property prices in Vijayawada have spiked nearly 20 per cent in one month as realtors have shifted their focus to the coastal city, anticipating that it would become the capital of Andhra Pradesh if a separate Telangana  is carved out of the state.

Although both Telangana and Samaikyandhra agitators are still fighting over the status of Hyderabad, many builders are showing a keen interest on ‘construction activity’ in Vijayawada, said Giridhara Prasad Gupta, a real estate businessman.

And this has led the prices of apartments and plots zooming northward in Vijayawada. Ramavarapadu and Gannavaram in the city are now the most sought after areas as the L&T IT Park construction is going on there.

C Sekhar Reddy, president, Andhra Pradesh Builders Forum, said real estate transactions in Hyderabad have come down recently.

However, he said, this could not be attributed totally to the Telangana issue. “There has been a slump in the sector for the past one year,” Reddy told PTI.

He said on an average as many as 15,000 apartments were sold in Hyderabad from 2004 to 2007.

The figure has come down to 10,000 in 2008. According to a senior official, the property registration activity has come down by 10 per cent in Hyderabad whereas it is normal in other parts of the state.

Reddy said the builders were hopeful of recovering from the signs of global recession and see good growth this year.

“Hyderabad has become global destination for investments. Telangana will not be an issue for investments. This is only a temporary issue,” the builders frum president said. “There were massive speculative investments in and around Vijayawada when the Congress party won election in 2004 along with Telangana Rashtra Samithi. People have invested thinking that Telangana will be separated.

However, it did not meterialise as they expected.

“Now only those big people are creating hype in Vijayawada now to clear their investments,” a contractor said on condition of anonymity.

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Hyderabad, Dec 27 (IANS) Pro-Telangana activists Sunday attacked the office of Geeta Arts, a production firm owned by well-known film producer Allu Arvind, who is also the general secretary of K. Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam Party (PRP).

Raising slogans of ‘Jai Telangana’, a group of protesters attacked the office at the posh Jubilee Hills and hoisted a banner of ‘Telangana Youth Joint Action Committee’ on it.

 Police reached the scene and arrested the protesters.

 The latest attack has heightened security concerns in the film industry, dominated by coastal Andhra region. Police said the protesters had come from Mahabubnagar district.

 A furious Allu Arvind, brother-in-law of actor-turned politician Chiranjeevi, said it was the responsibility of all political parties to ensure that the Telangana agitation does not spark a war with people of other regions settled in Hyderabad.

 Allu Arvind is also the general secretary of PRP floated by Chiranjeevi. The actor’s u-turn on the Telangana issue has angered pro-Telangana groups.

 Pro-Telangana activists have not only stopped screening of films of Ram Charan Teja, son of Chiranjeevi, and Allu Arjun, son of Allu Arvind, but also attacked their film shootings.

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The Telangana activists raised slogans against actor Junior NTR at the Khursheedja College in Hussaini Alam, where he was shooting for his film Brindavanam, on Saturday. The actor was present at the shooting site, at about 2 pm, when the incident took place. The movie is being directed by Vamsi Paidipalli and produced by Dil Raju. Mr Raju said the TRS activists could not enter the college as local police personnel were guarding the college. The crew was able to finish shooting without any problems. We had to shoot a fight sequence. That is why a college was chosen as location. It was a minor incident and the police was able to handle it, Mr Raju said. Police officials said they have not booked any case against the activists. – D C

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