THE Central governments much-awaited nod for a separate Telangana state was followed by two announcements one, of K. Chandrasekhara Rao breaking his fast and the other, of Osmania University students suspending their agitation.
Apart from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chiefs indefinite hunger strike, a powerful students agitation had kept Andhra Pradesh on the edge for nearly two weeks. When Chandrasekhara Rao geared up for his highly publicised fast unto death on November 29, the students movement had begun to gather strength.
As it happened in 1969, students once again became the mainstay of the Telangana agitation, taking the cause to the streets, far away from the corridors of power. Osmania University spearheaded the movement this time. Back in 1991, the university saw the formation of the Telangana Students Front (TSF) and the Telangana Liberation Students Organisation. The following year, a TSF unit was formed in Kakatiya University, which remained the centre of protest in Warangal over the last fortnight.
Protests first broke out in Osmania University following Chandrasekhara Raos arrest on November 29. Students clashed with the police, who had already assembled in considerable numbers. A brutal lathicharge and its live coverage on television did much to fuel protests elsewhere, too. Across Hyderabad, protesters blocked roads and attacked buses. The Osmania University campus inched closer to normalcy only after the State Human Rights Commission intervened.
Over the next two weeks, teachers, journalists, lawyers and several associations, such as the Lambada Hakkula Porata Samithi, the Nayi Brahmins Association and the Rajaka Sangham, pledged their support to the cause. It is difficult to gauge the backing to the movement on the basis of statements made by these organisations, but students support was ubiquitous. A string of suicides added considerably to the emotional dimension of the movement.
The students Joint Action Committee (JAC), formed before Chandrasekhara Rao began his fast, took charge of the agitation in Osmania University. It pleaded with students to refrain from violence and insisted that the protests be peaceful.
The sudden intensification of the students agitation caught the government unawares. Even the TRS might not have expected such vociferous protests by students across Telangana. Hyderabads controversial free-zone status, mobilisation by TRS activists, and Osmania Universitys own historical allegiance to the Telangana cause combined to build the momentum. Chandrasekhara Raos arrest further strengthened the movement and police excesses fuelled it again.
The undemocratic way in which KCR [Chandrasekhara Rao] was arrested created a lot of sympathy, said Kumar, a member of the JAC. When we are protesting peacefully, why deploy the special police to crush the protests? There is a history of discrimination behind this attitude, he said.
Unemployment is the biggest issue worrying students. Since most of them are first-generation or second-generation students, they genuinely believe they will have dramatically improved opportunities in a separate state, said Professor S. Simhadri of Osmania University, a member of the Telangana Intellectuals Forum (TIF). The TIF has been critical of Chandrasekhara Rao and has gone on record as having stated that they do not want Telangana under his leadership. We want a peoples Telangana, Simhadri insists. Since the TRS is a political party, it has been the most visible face of the Telangana leadership. Now, after a long time, there is plurality in the movement.
True, the movement is no longer in Chandrasekhara Raos, hands but it may not remain in the students hands too. Who knows? says Kumar.
Osmania University continued to be a site of protest even after all colleges were closed in fear of further clashes. The campus was in the news almost every day for repeated demonstrations and relay hunger strikes. A tent pitched outside the University College of Arts and Social Sciences witnessed speeches and other expressions of support for Telangana.
The two weeks following the dramatic events of November 29 were punctuated by bandhs and sporadic instances of violence. The JAC insisted it had nothing to do with these incidents. If youngsters are spotted at these places, the media and the public claim they are students, said Kumar. We cant say who it is, but we are not encouraging violence. We know how powerful the state is and we dont want a backlash.
The frenzied uncertainty of the first two days gave way to a more measured approach. But the calm was shattered on December 7 with what seems to have been unprovoked police action when contingents of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Rapid Action Force (RAF) were deployed on the university campus. The subsequent lathicharge on students protesting within the campus drew a lot of flak. Many students were chased into a neighbouring residential locality, Manikeshwar Nagar, and beaten up along with residents who tried to help them.
Again, on December 8, paramilitary forces were deployed on the campus after the State government ordered the hostels closed. JAC leaders went into hiding following a crackdown by the police. We said we will organise a peaceful march to the Assembly but they are still targeting us, said Kumar. We are prepared for anything, even for the worst.
The State government had mounted police, water cannons and gas squads ready. The following day, the Centre conceded the 40-year-old demand for a separate state of Telangana.
Aparna AlluriCOMMents
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