Telangana Crisis – United We Stand, Divided We Fall – Part 2
TweetIn the part 1 of this series, I narrated events that happened prior to late 1990s in the Andhra Pradesh. In the second part, I will cover the evolution of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the changed political climate. I will start with background on Naxal violence in AP.
Even though Naxalism has roots in the Naxalburi area of Dargeeling district, West Bengal, it penetrated strongly in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, United Madhya Pradesh, United Bihar and Maharashtra. Particularly in AP, around 1980s, one leader by name “Kondapalli Seetharamaiah” formed a group called People’s War Group (PWG). PWG has very natural support in the Telangana and Northern Coastal Andhra where landlords and contractors exploit uneducated farmers and tribals. Few things here are to be noted – in 1992, PWG extremists assassinated a Deputy Inspector General of Police – Vyas few yards away from Police Control Room and State Assembly. In 1999, they assassinated another IG – Umesh Chandra in Sajeev Reddy Nagar traffic signal – which is perhaps 3 miles away from the CMs residence. Then in 2000, they eliminated Madhava Reddy, ex-home minister around 30 minutes away from Hyderabad. (Of course finally in 2004, they targeted Chandra Babu Naidu in Tirupathi which is in Rayalaseema also). This is just a sample of how well organized this group is in particular in Telangana. When I visited Warangal in 1995, I felt like I was in an army barracks. Heavy security everywhere. Unbelievable to me. Maoist influence in Telangana is to be specifically noted in the background of Telangana struggle.
Coming back to KCR, after launching the party in 2001, very shortly he could create cadre across Telangana. In the 2004 general elections, YS RajaSekhar Reddy (YSR) reluctantly joined Congress with TRS. In 2004, YSR was not as powerful as he became later. Congress took support of TRS, CPI and CPM for fighting against Chandrababu Naidu, who looked invincible. TRS won 5 LS Seats and 26 assembly seats. Vote share – 6.83%. After winning the elections, TRS joined both UPA at center and state governments. TRS as we know has only one agenda – to get separate state. But for YSR, being at heart supporter of Samaikyandhra (United Andhra), started his new line – “problems in AP are due to Mr Naidu not doing enough in irrigation front”. Jala Yagnam – Water Projects of the scale unimaginable earlier were started with millions of rupees. He also sidelined TRS and forced them come out of the state government. KCR who was central labor minister also resigned in 2006 and withdrew support to UPA because the Telangana issue was kept with a committee headed by Pranab Mukherjee. But things did not move as fast as KCR desired but he used to promise to his cadres that Telangana is coming very soon. KCR also resigned the LS Seat and in the 2006 by-elections in the Karimnagar constituency, KCR won back the seat he just resigned. He also got a very high majority.
Again the cat and mouse game started. In between, YSR started weakening KCR by splitting TRS. The split faction used to consistently criticize KCR for his lack of commitment and running the party like a family affair. Meanwhile, Pranab Mukherjee kept sitting on the Telangana issue. Most of the Telangana ministers from Congress, never overtly supported Telangana to be on the good books of YSR. The only dissident voices from Congress were those Telangana leaders who can never win a direct election all by themselves. There could be other Telangana committed leaders, but were not very vocal. On the other side, KCR was getting frustrated. In 2008 (just last year), he made all his 26 MLAs and 4 MPs resign (from his faction of TRS). In the subsequent bye-election, TRS could just win 2 LS and 7 Assembly Seats. After forming TRS, this is the worst performance for that party after it’s formation.
Come 2009 General Elections, TRS formed alliance with TDP. TDP for the first time included Telangana in their manifesto due to pressure from the Telangana TDP leaders. In the elections, TRS won 2 LS seats and 27 Assembly Seats. Congress fared OK but one should agree that Congress won primarily because of splitting of opposition vote by a new party – Praja Rajyam Party(PRP) – launched by film actor Chiranjeevi. PRP won 18 assembly seats (and 16% vote share). Then came YSRs tragic death. I think that changed entire equation. Dr Rosaiah is a very good No.2 but is not an effective No.1. I think Congress High Command would have thought he would be a good consensus candidate as YSR did not groom any leader of his own stature. Meanwhile in November 2009, (just last month), elections were held for the Greater Hyderabad City Council. Considering the fact that TRS is traditionally weak in the Hyderabad Urban region and the fact that Hyderabadis are mostly against a separate state, TRS did not even contest the election. TRS argument is different. They thought enough is enough with the political games – let us try something new – fast until death by KCR. KCR also toured across the Telangana region and prepared the cadres for the big fight. An interesting side note – KCR did a fast until death near Jantar Mantar, New Delhi back in August 2006 as soon as he withdrew support to the UPA government. But he ended the fast just in 2 days at the insistence of Sharad Pawar. So, everybody in the state and center, including the media thought this is another such fast which may go at most 3 days.
Once he started the fast, as expected on the second day of this fast, KCR withdrew the fast and accepted a glass of OJ before the cameras. But what changed the entire scene is the Osmania University Students Joint Action Committee(JAC). These kids were also in the fast in support of KCR. When KCR withdrew they burned the effigies of KCR and projected him as an incapable leader. KCR then told some funny stories which nobody with right mind would believe, and again restarted the fast. KCR is moved to Khammam and eventually to Nizam Hospital, Hyderabad (for better access to National Media, of course which will add pressure). On the other hand, his health situation was deteriorating. There were reports that extremists(Maoists) penetrated into the JAC in Osmania University(proven to be correct). KCR’s fast soon caught the Congress High Command attention. They convened an all-party meeting inside the State Assembly where TDP, PRP, CPI agreed for announcing T-State. CPM, Lok Satta and MIM(Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) did not support the idea. With TDP and PRPs agreement, P. Chidambaram made the announcement. As soon as this was announced, the coastal andhra and Rayalaseema areas people got really pissed off. They started pressurizing their elected reps to do something. They announced the resignations and the state entered a political crisis.
One thing that can be inferred from this entire episode – the police intelligence in the state failed completely. They underestimated everything from end to end. The reports that OU JAC has outside elements including ex-naxalites is a fact and proven by recent attacks on TDP legislator Nagam Janardhan Reddy who visisted the Osmania University to support the JAC leaders. Even in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, many rowdy elements created havoc. This is a really deplorable situation where police could not control the events.
We have to do a small political analysis on who will benefit if a new T-State is formed –
1) Telangana Congress Leaders – With 4.5 more years Assembly term left until next general elections, even if the state is formed 1 year from now, they will get 3.5 years of ministries and power. It will be gold mine.
2) KCR/ TRS – KCR will become Father of Telangana and TRS will become an alternate party to reckon with in future. I dont know whether it is good or bad. He is not a trustworthy leader according to even Telanganites. He promotes hate and talks imbalanced.
3) TDP – They have strong cadre in Telangana. They have nothing to lose at least as they do not have power now anyway. So they will work towards strengthening the party.
4) Maoists – From what I know about these groups, they think of new revolution and controlling the country in a single party system with new democracy/ communism etc. Why the hell should they support a split state in Telangana and Goorkhaland? I infer one thing – a new and weak state is easy to have their influence. Not good for Indian Union in any way.
Now what about aam-aadmi – Let us go with the assumption that there is an injustice and Coastal Andhrites are exploiting them. This will not change. With the present state and structure, with the same administrative support – common man in T-state will not see any change in quality of life except a feel-good factor that they got a state of their own. It will be practically impossible to remove the population who migrated and mixed deeply into the Telangana. They will continue to exploit (if they are as smart as they are projected to be) the Telangana region. Next comes the encroachers in Hyderabad. A very large percentage of encroachers in Hyderabad and surroundings are rowdy sheeters who are from Telangana itself not some Coastal Andhrites. Coastal Andhra people really hiked up the market by trading plots around Hyderabad for exorbitant prices. After real estate crash, they are also impacted. It is also a proven fact that telanagana rurals were exploited by Telanagana landlords more than anybody else.
Issues which needs consensus even before we think of a new T-state
Hyderabad – Just like we have at least one person from every single district in India at US, we have at least one person from every Andhra Pradesh village in Hyderabad. I myself have personally at least 25 families of relatives in Hyderabad. If moron leaders/ goons pressurize and threaten, I dont think they will leave. Their life and property is to be protected. They should have equal rights and respect as any native Telanganite. This again is not a charity. This is a fundamental right. Period.
Water Agreements- I think it is an opportunity for making some innovative agreements between the new state and Andhra. Like KG Basin Energy for river water etc. Both water and energy are going to be scarce. Leaders in both sides should sit together with engineering and scientific community and finalize such agreements.
New Capital- Instead of all departments to be in both capitals, there should be some rational agreements to continue departments that can be run together. For example, Police, judiciary and marine departments can be shared. know it sounds crazy but I question why not. Whatever reduces the wastage of public money should be thought.
Even before a new state – there should be hard look at the issues that prevented development in Rayalaseema and rural Telangana so far. If they declare in haste – the only benefited parties will be politician and contractor class. Common man’s life may not change. And 30 years down the lane, Adilabad may ask for a separate state.
Hyderabad as a common capital is being discussed a lot. I don’t think it will be practical. But some people
will say – even today everyone will travel all the way to Hyderabad to get things done. Why not in future? It needs broader discussion. One thing is certain majority of Hyderabadis doesnt want to join Telangana. If Telangana people think their sentiment is not respected, I have the same question – should we not respect Hyderabadis sentiment? If not, then it amounts to double standards, which we should be ashamed of.
All in all, what I wanted to say is – if there is a way to really spread the development without dividing the state, it should be strongly explored. If common man in T is going to be under the clutches of same/ similar exploiters, then it is not really a good idea to divide the state for the heck of dividing it. With Maoist resurgence and the reports that they have equipped latest arms through Nepal connection, a Telangana state is going to be not a good idea now. I am for a United Andhra for the benefit of entire AP rather than one section. I think it is the responsibility of entire Telugu people to strive for the benefit of the entire state not looking after our own resources we control. It is easy to divide and very difficult to join back. We lose all the leverage we have in the federal system.
I attempted this series because I was pained by the casual nature with which many of my friends from other states took this issue. I thought it could be because of lack of awareness on this issue and thought of explaining to the best of my knowledge. I am also not much politics person and had to research on this a lot to make sure it is as correct as possible.
As we know, the Telangana state cannot be formed by what happens inside Andhra Pradesh. It can be issued by a parliament act which will be voted by all our Lok Sabha reps. As you can see, with so much complexity involved and so many problems unresolved, a new state cannot be formed in haste due to black mail politics or violence spurred by some goondas. It will have impact on the entire country. So, I encourage people to understand this and help people of Andhra Pradesh. Your representatives’ votes and your opinion impacts lives of 8 crores of Andhrites.
Wow! another superb post Vamsi. Your arguments for an United Andhra are an eye opener for me. Thank you so much.
Beautiful, wonderful post Vamsi. It is like someone narrated the Andhra situation in front of my eyes. Based on your posts, i understand that now Andhra facing an inconvenience truth that they don’t have mature leader who can unite or let peacefully separate the state with the approval from all the parties. Your point well taken that, with the same immature political leadership now in Andhra, the new state would be a failed one like Jharkhand which is keep on hitting with corrupted CMs. Even though we split the state for better administration, our political leader would continue screw up our intention is the core point, i took it from your posts.
Here is some more points to counter you
1. Political landscape never going to change in India for foreseeable future. So can we experimenting with creating new states until we hit a jackpot, i mean a cure for political cancer. At end of the day, we know all the insights about how to change political equation. For example, if we separate TN in to even 2 states would end ADMK, DMK’s domination.
2. I agree Jharkhand was failed attempt but Uttaranchal was a successful one. Their “tax free to business” was huge success, i couldn’t imagine one from United UP.
3. Do you think PWG and TSR would become weaken, once we formed new state? Based on my knowledge yes, they would because people won’t support them for prolong period. They would forget them as soon as new state formed and some development being made.
4. For sake for argument, lets assume new state formed and HYD went with Telengana, don’t you think Vizag going to be next development city for Andhra, now we have two major Cosmo cities to live and settle.
Again, great post with lot of insights.
The series gives valuable insight about the history and politics of AP. Well written and nicely summed up vamsi.
Thanks for your kind words Sukumar.
I have great respect for JP – Jaya Prakash Narayan of Lok Satta. His op-ed gives more clarity on this issue. http://www.blonnet.com/2009/12/12/stories/2009121250290800.htm A must read.
Subba,
Thanks for your kind words. I will tell you one story which every Andhrite heard for the past 6 years. For every single point raised by Mr Chandrababu Naidu in Assembly, YSR government took pains to explain why it is because of some past decision/ G.O taken by TDP government during 1995-2004. Same thing will repeat – once new state is formed for the next 15 years, T-leaders will pass the buck on the Coastal Andhra rulers and run the show. Then the hard realities will hit upon them. Moving forward the resources that will be always in shortage are – water, energy and human capital. These can be distributed and balanced as a single state than as multiple states.
I came across this URL from a tweet – http://jabilli.wordpress.com/2009/12/26/question-answers-about-telangana/ It might bust some myths, the short sighted leaders and separatists are spreading as part of T-agitation.
Jaskirat, Thank you for your kind words.
Vamsi,
I have been waiting for part 2 before I said anything. Learned a lot about Andhra Pradesh, its history and its politics through your posts. Timely and well researched.
I used this site http://www.vepachedu.org/TELANGANA.html to understand more about the various districts that form the 3 regions. Was very interesting to learn how Rayalaseema and Andhra merged with Rayalaseema to form united Andhra. Even though, this union being reasonably recent (1956) and Rayalaseema can cite this merger as ‘unholy’ and request a separate state, I do not yet see a cogent argument in terms of economics and governance. It seems to be based on politics and emotional incitement.
As usual, another fire is burning just to satisfy the ambitions of a few politicians. In my mind, a state should be split ONLY if governance becomes an issue. One could argue that, it should be also be split when reasonable demands and constitutional rights are being suppressed from a set of population – be it based on language, ethnicity . I do not concur with this at this point in time. You need to find a way to address the problem within existing boundaries and tools rather than changing the boundary. Also, I do not see a correlation between size and governance.
And we talk about aam admi and how his/her rights should be respected. This is tricky. With all due respects to the common man, most of them can be manipulated. Then, how can their opinion be respected – A plebiscite? Or if TRS wins a significant majority in the next elections, is that a vote for a separate state?
I kept thinking about my home state TamilNadu as I was reading through your 2 posts. What if the nadars, mudhaliars, chettiars, gounders, devars demanded a separate state? If Stalin becomes the next CM, Azhagiri is more than capable of demanding a separate state with Madurai as the capital.
When it comes to such matters, I am a fan of “do not fix if it ain’t totally broken”, and at this point, I do not think it is. If it takes some force to quell things, then so be it. So, the center needs to be mature and strong and put its foot down and squash such demands.
Has there been a demand for Rayalaseema to become a separate state? After all, if they are the most downtrodden of the 3 and could garner ambitions to have its own budget and help from center.
Ganesh
Thanks for the JP link Vamsi. That is a brilliant article.
Ganesh,
Thanks for the additional research. Your summation is excellent.
Please read the following paragraph in my previous comment
I used this site http://www.vepachedu.org/TELANGANA.html to understand more about the various districts that form the 3 regions. Was very interesting to learn how Rayalaseema and Andhra merged with Rayalaseema to form united Andhra. Even though, this union being reasonably recent (1956) and Rayalaseema can cite this merger as ‘unholy’ and request a separate state, I do not yet see a cogent argument in terms of economics and governance. It seems to be based on politics and emotional incitement.
AS
I used this site http://www.vepachedu.org/TELANGANA.html to understand more about the various districts that form the 3 regions. Was very interesting to learn how Rayalaseema and Andhra merged with Telengana to form united Andhra. Even though, this union being reasonably recent (1956) and Telengana can cite this merger as ‘unholy’ and request a separate state, I do not yet see a cogent argument in terms of economics and governance. It seems to be based on politics and emotional incitement.
Vamsi.. as usual, a very detailed description from you..
I agree with you on two points.. 1. KCR being an reliable leader for the new state.. 2. Maoist insurgency..
My understanding is that, once the new state is formed, the congress and TDP will also have presence there. So if KCR did not do well, there is always alternative..
Regarding Maoists, their presence will be eliminated, because of the following reason..
1. So far, the centre of power rested with hyderabad, controlled by non-telengana people.. so any development that telengana people want, has to be approved by that central authority, which did not happen… This is where maoist capitulate on, and brain wash the people..
but in new telengana state, a new power centre will be created, with wide participation from telengana region.. the telengana people will have the power to fulfill their needs. When people’s needs are fulfilled, Maoists cannot create a victimisation mind among the people..
2. so far, the political parties played game with three different regional groups, balancing each other.. ie, if a party loses support of telengana people, they will get the support from other two, and form the government. So even if telengana people reject a party, they cannot defeat them.. this creates a frustration among them, and thus have been in a situation to seek maoist support for their survival.
But in a new telengana state, there is no other regional group to counter balance.. hence the telengana people will have a collective psyche and decide on the party to rule.. and this will alienate them from maoists..
Vamsi,
It seems, that even MLA’s from all parties plunged in to protest defying their party bosses, like Chandrababu Naidu, Chiranjeevi.. and MLA’s from congress party also resigned and joined the protest. now they have formed a new telengana co-ordination committee..
It doesnt seem to be an entirely KCR game.. rather, KCR seems to have caught the tail of the tiger.. he cannot leave it nor hold it for long 🙂
Initially there were suspicion that telengana issue was raised to divert people’s attention from some important issues, like Copenhagen etc.. Just like Bomb blasts were organised by congress (along with CIA) during parlimentry Vote for cash scam when communists withdrew the support.
The suspicion might be true, but the events that unfolded went out of hand.. now both congress and TRS are like Monkeys that ate ginger.. (its a tamil phrase that i translated)
/** What if the nadars, mudhaliars, chettiars, gounders, devars demanded a separate state? **/
Actually, its not the castes that will ask for separate state.. its because of culturally distinct regions..
Tamilnadu had 4 major regional blocks.. the chola naadu, pandya region, kongu region and thondai region which has parts in andhra border too.. Thanjavur has their historic glorious period, but now they are backward of all.
Let me explain why unmindful merging of these culturally distinct regions affected thousands of people..
In kongu region which i belong to, many villages in the border region were merged to karnataka and kerala.. and similarly, many villages where kannada people were merged to tamilnadu.. as a result, the people living in these villages were rooted out, and faced lot of hardships in many ways.. For example, the kannada majority villages in tamilnadu, suddenly has to cope up with tamil which they could not.. and they were surrounded by culturally different tamil people.. Similarly the kongu people in karnataka side lost their roots, and had lot of difficulties socially..
In kerala, the situation was even worse.. the villages merged to kerala, has to undergo communist’s land reforms, and those well to do families, suddenly lost their status on the kerala side, while their relatives in tamilnadu could retain the land .. this posed a peculiar problem.. their relatives in tamilnadu were ready to have the brides, but not willing to accept bride grooms.. thus almost all girls in kerala side were married off to rich families here in tamilnadu, and the males there could not get a suitable alliance..
thus the entire village is uprooted both culturally and socially..
In kongu region, the gounders are not majority.. rather, there were many other groups, like kongu naadar, kongu vannan, kongu chettiar, kongu mudhaliar etc, who form the part of the cultural ethos of that region..
If we take the vanniyar belt, there are more than 18 different groups among vanniar itself.. Ramadass has made a clever strategic move, in including all those 18 groups within vanniar identity, atleast politically. But some of the groups do not accept this.. for example, the “muthuraja” or the “Mutharaiyar” community do not accept this culturally.. the vanniya kula kshatriya is another higher caste group, that do not mingle with other vanniyars.. infact they call themselves as gounders.. we can even see this in and around raya velur region..
other groups like “Kaavakaarar”, “Ambalakarars” also dont mix with other vanniyars in the western regions..
Added to that, the “parayar” community has numerical equivalence with vanniyars in many pockets..
Thus in tamilnadu, no single caste has 100% majority in any region, and a state based on caste is not possible, and not feasible..
(PS: How many are aware about the social structure of the tamilnadu? )
/** It is also a proven fact that telanagana rurals were exploited by Telanagana landlords more than anybody else. **/
Vamsi.. I would like to know specifically on how the land lords are exploiting the telengana people..
Senthil,
In your various comments on this post, I see you making some valid points (such as why maoists would not be a threat if Telengana is formed. You also talked about various regions in T.Nadu etc.). However, I am appalled at the flippant manner in which you made the following accusations with no data (credible or otherwise) to back it up –
Initially there were suspicion that telengana issue was raised to divert people’s attention from some important issues, like Copenhagen etc.. Just like Bomb blasts were organised by congress (along with CIA) during parlimentry Vote for cash scam when communists withdrew the support.
When you make such statements, even the good points you make tend to get lost and ignored. If a statement simply happens to be your opinion, please state that clearly. Otherwise, I hope you use more caution and come up with data based argument to make your points.
Thanks.
Vamc,.
It seems you did not reminded of another good police officer Mr.Umesh Chandra who was shot dead at S.R.Nagar and his statue is there in the S.R.Nagar center. Coming back to the status of Telangana even now you will find Patel,Patwari who commands the village and you will also find the two glass system in every hot tea shop. I feel the Telangana state welcomes this age old slavery system of ( banchenu kalmokkutha) and desires to rule the govenment as their own in their own way giving a liberal hand to Extremists to take active part and loot the common man as it was in Nijam’s Rajvi’s rajakar movement.Now if this state is allowed again no gurantee for any body specially to women and again another Sardar Valla bhai patel should born to take back the state back to it’s normal. coming back to the idea of a settler who is a settler.what is a settler., why is a settler,how is a settler,.can i get some comment on this.In my opine we are all settlers of this universe by virtue of civilization,culture and habbits our settlement is made and structured in this universe.
As you said this Hyderabad is not for any one it is for every one of us.
Vamsi,
Very good post. You have explained the truth plainly. But that doesn’t cover the loss of trust Telangana people have on being in A.P. I completely agree with you on the fact that having a separate state will develop T suddenly. But as you have seen in GHMC elections, people don’t think rationally, atleast in politics I think this emotional arousal is bound to have an effect to get a separate T state. Have you seen the situation in Telangana districts?? They are all emotionally charged up and are very much emotionally invested in a separate state. All this convincing by rational people like JP is falling on deaf ears. I would also be very happy if T people can feel happy with development without forming a separate state.
Thanks,
Ananth.
Vamsi,
Congratulations on two hard-worked and intense posts setting out your thoughts on a live subject.
This kind of a sub-regional demand within a hitherto regional framework arises primarily because of two factors:
First is the contest between regional elites in which one group of them wants an equal or better share of the development pie;
Second and relatedly, is the whole question of devolution : of powers, of benefits; on the whole an equitable share of development. If this had been ensured by previous regimes in Hyderabad then we would not have had such a problem at all.
Ganesh,
Thank you for your comments. You summarized the whole issue well.
Senthil, I am not interested in the political game. I am concerned about the people’s issues, development and mindless violence in the state. I am also worried about the long term impact of a landlocked state formed due to artificial pressure.
Daddy, Thanks for your comments. I think I covered Umesh Chandra’s assassination.
Your first hand experience of Patel-Patwari system, I know when you were working in Telangana rural during late 1970s.. I may be incorrect, but the last few decades with the PWG’s influence, the landlord abuse on the farm workers etc may be far less. (I dont have concrete evidence).
Ananth,
Thank you for your comments. I think you are right. Generally we have development challenges. It becomes very glaring when we look into it from the separatism lens.
I think the violence that is happening in Hyderabad is senseless. Even if there is an aspiration to have a new state, there is definitely a better way to achieve it. It is not good for Telangana. They can get a state with Hyderabad, if they give assurance that they will act mature. It is completely in their hands to get the state formation fast.
Disrupting film shootings ( a multi million dollar industry), illegal bands and possessions (forget Government – IT sector, Pharma Sector and other service industries), painting registration plates, violence on legislators, hate speeches, burning buses (APSRTC has 500 Crores loss so far – a conservative estimate) – this is like going back to medieval times. Frankly I am ashamed of my brothers.
Abdul,
Many thanks for your kind words. I think you are right – separatism demands started afresh in 2001. It should not have taken much time for government to take a hard look and transparently show the development – releasing white papers, etc. Ultimately we live in the denial mode for long and be surprised when such aspirations flame up. Sad indeed.
Vamsi,
Excellent post. Very insightful.
Ganesh,
/**However, I am appalled at the flippant manner in which you made the following accusations with no data (credible or otherwise) to back it up –
**/
I quoted this incident spontaneously for a comparison.. but i am surprised to see outright rejection.. since you had asked for some data or backing, i am quoting the following link where a senior politician had openly said this conspiracy in a press conference..
http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jul/30ahd9.htm
While many in this forum would reject her because she is in BJP, my point is that a senior politician will not risk herself, with such sensitive issues, and standing firmly by it.
But more than that, we can understand this easily, if we had understand how the intelligence of different countries operate, and infiltrate in othere countries.. Its a plain truth.. i can quote some historic incidents, like aircrash of “Homi Baba”, death of our former PM “Shastry” in russia, death of sanjay gandhi etc.
and how many will deny the fact that the recent death of YSR in chopper crash is not an accident but pre-planned conspiracy..
In Politics, particularly in inter-governmental politics, everything is possible,..
Please observe the recent arrest of “Headley” .. he was an FBI agent, but he played double game and orchestrated the Mumbai attack..
we need to have atleast basic level of skepticism to understand things in right perspective..
Particularly on 26/11 Mumbai attacks, few leaders in indian political establishment had provided logistic support to the terrorists.
Narayan Rane, an influential leader in congress threatened to reveal the names of those leaders in india who provided logistics to the mumbai terrorists.. earlier he was denied even a birth in the maharashtra government.. but after his blackmail, he was promptly given a minister post..
The original newspaper links are not available.. i am providing the following blog post about this incident..
http://chavda-ashok.sulekha.com/blog/post/2008/12/mumbai-attack-besides-kasab-only-mr-narayan-rane.htm
A article in time magazine on List of failed assasination attempts on various foreign leaders by CIA..
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917570,00.html
I hope, atleast now after reading the above, i may not be accused as “Flippant’ ..
Senthil,
I do not want to hijack this nice post and follow-on comments in a different direction. You still have not provided me fact/data based evidence for the statement you have made. A quote from a politician does not constitute a fact. And to quote you “In Politics, particularly in inter-governmental politics, everything is possible,..“.
I will not be commenting on this particular issue anymore. That would be deviating from the purpose of this post and doing injustice to the hard work that Vamsi has put in.
Thanks Ganesh for taking the issue up. Senthil, i have often urged you to write a well-researched post on whatever your opinions you are trying to propagate through this blog. I renew my challenge to you. But before you take that task up, please read some articles on the nature of evidence. You could start here for example, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearsay . Also please avoid right wing propaganda sites in your research. Neutral sites are best for such purposes. Hope you will take up this challenge one day.
Ganesh,
I too agree with you that the discussion should not deviate..
/** I will not be commenting on this particular issue anymore. That would be deviating from the purpose of this post and doing injustice to the hard work that Vamsi has put in.
**/
This appears to be emotionalizing one.. every post in this blog has lot of hard work put by the author.. let’s not isolate vamsi’s alone and sanctify it..
Vamsi,
Nice post on Telangana issue. I am just another Andhrite (from Andhra region) who is pained to see his motherland going to dogs. Here are my two cents on this topic:
I support any move if it improves the lives of the majority. If a separate telangana state is truly beneficial for Telangana people, then they should have a separate state. But what I see happening is divisive politics, selfish politicians exploiting the frustration (because of lack of development) of young people. Instead, what I would like to see is politicians/leaders-of-separate-state-movement coming up with detailed realistic plans (short term/long term) on how they will develop the region once a separate state is formed. Just because one greedy, out-of-mind politician like KCR, who can exploit the anguish of mass for his selfish needs, stages a 12 day fast-unto-death drama, we should not create separate states.
In my view, TRS & Congress are mainly responsible for the current situation, though TDP & PRP played their part. KCR (through TRS) started the whole drama and Congress worsened the situation by taking a hasty decision without studying the pros/cons properly. Though I never had a great opinion about YSR, I really miss him now. KCR would not have dared to start his fast-unto-death drama if YSR was alive. I have a great respect for Rossiah. He is one of the few politicians who have a clean image even after staying in politics, that too with congress, for a very long time. But he is not a strong leader like YSR. He is acting more like a messenger between state and central.
Also, I believe, we, people of andhra (including telangana region), are also responsible for the situation. What we have seen till now is people getting influenced by the divisive tactics of politicians. We should ask the politicians how a separate state helps us or how they want to develop the telangana region. The politicians promise a better state but they damage the government properties, ruin the economy of the state by bringing the state to a stand still. And we are letting them do that. People should come forward and stop political parties from ruining the state (hoping for a better tomorrow). As JP (I have a great respect for him, I just hope he can get the support of mass majority as well, the way Gandhi or Nehru could) often says, quoting Martin Luther King Jr, ‘The silence of good men is more dangerous than the brutality of bad men’.
Senthil,
Sorry to say this, but, I second Ganesh. You did make some valid points on this post, but the following statement is outrageous:
Just like Bomb blasts were organised by congress (along with CIA) during parlimentry Vote for cash scam when communists withdrew the support.
And when you say you believe this just because ‘Narayan Rane/Sushma Swaraj’ said so, it is ‘joke of 2009’ for me. 🙂
Happy New Year 2010, people!!!
Thanks & Regards,
Srinivas
Sukumar,
I am quoting the following, in support of my comment .. (i got it from the same wiki page you gave 🙂 )..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Probable_cause
I commented based on the probable cause, with a fair (!!!) amount of reasoning.. if some one could explain, why my point is wrong, i am willing to change.. Asking for proof, in such cases is an impossible task, as such kind of terrorist plots are conceived and executed secretly, and when a powerful institution like CIA is involved, there would not be any conclusive investigation..
So, i am not in a position to give any concrete proof for these.. (Its also equally difficult to prove that CIA is NOT involved in it or vote for cash scam).. probably we need to wait for another few decades where corresponding documents will be declassified..
Sukumar/Ganesh/Vamsi,
Vamsi had repeated few times, that landlords in telengana had exploited the poor people. I would like to know if there is any proof available for that?
Srinivas,
/** And when you say you believe this just because ‘Narayan Rane/Sushma Swaraj’ said so, it is ‘joke of 2009′ for me. **/
Let’s enjoy this joke.. 🙂 .. and at the same time, let’s give a second thought to what i say.. I may be wrong.. but the possibility i raise cannot be discounted..
I am not relying neither Rane, nor sushma swaraj as proofs.. rather, i look at the circumstances and the possible reasons, on why they have gone public on such important and sensitive matters, and the reactions of the governments..
Secondly, the timing of the blast and the extreme low intensity of the blasts, raise lot of suspicion.. If we look at other bomb blasts earlier, (like mumbai blasts, 26/11 etc), the purpose was to cause maximum damages.. But in this case, the terrorist attack was managed to cause minimum casualities..
Why i raised this point is because, the current telengana agitation might have some hidden factors or vested interests that we may not know..
Senthil –
Please Google for “Telangana Armed Struggle”. Then you can look into the list of elected reps in the last 50 years after Hyderabad is related in all General Category seats in Telangana district.
Well Researched arcticle Vamsi,
But I dont totally agree with on our vote counting on an united Andhra..It is important to see if Telegana will really lead to seperation in other parts…We did not have this issue when the govt t split UP,Bihar MP or Assam before that.Before all our opinions is it not correct to ask what the people of Telegana want?We should not create Telegana just because KCR wants it .If the economics is justfied thru’ proper study then we should give Telengana a chance(But again it shud be substanatiated and should not be a rhetoric)
IMHO humble opinion as the worlds largest democracy we should use it to fullest as am sure people have right to chose what they want .If Gibralter can make a choice so can Telegana too.
Srinivas,
/* I support any move if it improves the lives of the majority. **/
So you will support any move that improves 51% of people (simple majority) while it leaves out 49% of the other..
It is exactly this stance that caused the alienation of the telengana region.. the telengana people became either minority or divided in the united andhra, and the politicians only cared for the majority neglecting the telengana region..
The problem lies in our approach.. The healthy approach is to support a solution that caters to all sections of the society and NOT just majority alone..
/** We should ask the politicians how a separate state helps us or how they want to develop the telangana region.
**/
In order to understand this, we should study the society, and people’s link.. the network among people and people’s group plays an important role.. this network is shaped by culture and history.. when telengana state is formed, the resulting power diffuses through these network.. (either it may be positive or negative)..
I think, those who are living in metros, are mostly individualistic, and may have difficulty in understanding how these social networks function.. (i may explain if given a chance 🙂 )
@Srinivas, @Ganesh,
/** Sorry to say this, but, I second Ganesh. You did make some valid points on this post, but the following statement is outrageous:
**/
/** I see you making some valid points (such as why maoists would not be a threat if Telengana is formed. You also talked about various regions in T.Nadu etc.).
**/
There is no good and bad points in a debate.. rather there is only points we agree and disagree..
Should we be judging each and every point in a debate, where diverse views are discussed? I am asking this, bcoz, good and bad are relative subject..
Vamsi,
/** Please Google for “Telangana Armed Struggle”. **/
I googled it.. but how armed struggle of 1950s relate to current situation.. Even in 1950’s, the fight was against fuedal lords loyal to Nizam..
It would give a better understanding if you could do a part-3 of this series, on landlords and their exploitation of the people..
Dear Vamsi,
It is an excellent post, very informative with superb analysis. I am sure, the wide range consultations on the issue planned by Centre will eventually lead to continuance of an unified state of Andhra Pradesh. My compliments to you once again for the wonderful article.
This is a great discussion. It is a pity that an issue as big as this doesnt get adequate attention in the national media [mostly busy now with the Ruchika case and some needless discussions on 3idiots]. Being a life long non-andhraite, my two cents are as follows:
1) The division of AP looks inevitable now. With the kind of mass hysteria invoked in the region, this is not going to die down anytime soon.
2) This prolonged state of uncertainty is not good for the state. It is high time, they took a decision one way or the other and moved ahead with it.
3) The business channels have been talking about the steady decline of investment climate in the state. The impact of this current turmoil is going to be possibly far bigger than the Raju scam or even the global recession. I am not sure if those creating the chaos now are mindful of this. Again, sadly, there isn’t enough awareness generation by the media. Such an important matter is sadly getting sidelined by breaking news about fasts, dharnas and rail-rokos
4) Irrespective of whether the state gets divided or not, there is another important lesson for the political and business bigwigs of the state – which is to not put all eggs in one basket. Today, the real deadlock is mainly due to the investments locked in and around Hyderabad. If enough attention was paid to development of other cities such as Vizag, Vijayawada, Tirupati and other cities, the rest of AP wouldnt have felt as much pinch as they do today.
5) If Telangana does become a separate state, I hope some sense will prevail in the rest of the region and there will be no further demands for a separate rayalaseema and a separate coastal andhra. Or, there will be no further disputes on whether it should be Karnool or Vijayawada as the state capital. It should be a place that is well connected and has the wherewithal to attract the right investments into the state.
6) And finally, I hope the students involved in the current problems from all regions do not become victims of the movements from both regions. It is very difficult to understand what students have to gain or loose. If anything, a smaller state will mean lesser quota in various national institutions. Trying to make your educational institutes more territorial and closing them to people from other geographies will only work to their disadvantage. Corporates would like to see students from institutes that have lot of diversity. I hope the current problems don’t impact whatever little employement opportunities they have.
Senthil,
I will try to get a part 3, but I am not sure how much we can get the 194os data in the public domain on the net. I will try but cannot promise.
Babu uncle, thanks for your kind words. My hope is also on the consultations.
Ramdas, Thanks for your comments. You made excellent points. Students are unnecessarily becoming scapegoats. They are being fed steadily with propaganda that is paralleled by nothing I had witnessed in my life. The seeds of hatred that is being sown is not at all good for anyone.
The discussion seems to have died down long ago,though any decision on Telangana appears to be just getting delayed.
One thing is conspicuous by its absence in the discussion;the policies directed from 7th race course road that seems to be largely concerned with foreign investments in Hyderabad and less control to government rather than genuine concern to the common people or asserting the command of local govt for the distribution of wealth and development across the state.Looking from a distance for the past these many months I feel that the call for creating separate Telanga only reflects the opinion of the masses opposed to powerful business lobbies on the other side.I also feel that the analysis based on benefiting political parties in this blog is less important because parties themselves are divided between pro-Telanaga and united Andhra.
The concern that “we lose… leverage we have in the federal system” and the thoughts reflecting the view that newly formed state is just a way to create a local elite that profits from this arrangement seems to be very true,but to call the Telangana movement as ‘black-mailing and plane violence spurred by goonda elements’ is not fair.