Telengana tantrum

The Telengana Rashtra Samithi seeks to force the statehood issue with the resignation of its two leaders from the Union Cabinet.

THE struggle for a separate Telengana State has entered a new phase with Telengana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leaders K. Chandrasekhar Rao and A. Narendra determined to take the issue to the streets. Their resignation from the Union Council of Ministers in August and the threat of withdrawal of support to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government have ended the politics of conciliation and consensus. The issue is once again testing the political skills of leaders in New Delhi and Hyderabad.

However, the UPA is unfazed by the TRS' decision to withdraw the support of its five Members of Parliament and prefers to take a decision on granting statehood for Telengana at its own pace. Nevertheless, the chairman of the UPA sub-committee on Telengana, Pranab Mukherjee, has said that the process of consultation on the contentious issue will continue even after the parting of ways.

In a way, the TRS painted itself into a corner by fixing deadlines for the UPA to spell out its stand on its demand but the latter did not buckle. Chandrasekhar Rao was clearly under pressure from TRS Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), to either secure a separate State or step down. Having failed to deliver, he chose to resign, accusing the Congress of betraying the people of Telengana.

For nearly 400 years, Telengana had been part of Hyderabad, a kingdom ruled by the Qutub Shahi and Nizam dynasties.

After Independence, the Nizam of Hyderabad wanted to retain control over the region and launched a military campaign to suppress the people's struggle to become a part of the Indian Union. More than 5,000 people died in the armed struggle before the Indian Army at the instance of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel put paid to the Nizam's hopes through the historic `police action' (as the move to oust the Nizam was called) on September 17, 1948. Until 1956, Telengana was part of the Hyderabad State, along with five districts of present-day Maharashtra and three districts of present-day Karnataka.

The Telugu-speaking areas of Andhra and Rayalaseema were separated from the composite Madras Presidency following Potti Sriramulu's fast unto death demanding Visalandhra (Greater Andhra), and constituted as Andhra, the first State to be formed on a linguistic basis, in October 1953. With the passing of the States Reorganisation Act in 1956, Hyderabad State and Andhra State were merged to form Andhra Pradesh. Telengana was opposed to being considered as part of Andhra even at that time.

The State has witnessed two agitations for statehood since its formation, Jai Telengana in 1969 and Jai Andhra in 1972. The Andhra and Telengana regions are bonded by a common language, Telugu. But, the commonality ends there, according to the leaders of Telengana. The two regions have separate sub-cultures and festivals and speak different Telugu dialects. When there are nine States for Hindi-speaking people, why not two for Telugu, they contend.

The first States Reorganisation Commission headed by Justice Fazal Ali had recommended in 1954 that Telengana be made a separate state. With a population of more than 3.09 crores spread over 10 districts (Hyderabad, Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimanagar, Sangareddy, Rangareddy, Warangal, Nalgonda, Khammam and Mahabubnagar), the Telengana region is bigger in size than 24 States in the country. It accounts for over 40 per cent of Andhra Pradesh's population and about 42 per cent of its area.

The main plank of the campaign for a Telengana State is the neglect of the region by successive governments in Andhra Pradesh, particularly in the area of irrigation, although two major rivers - the Godavari and the Krishna - flow through the Telengana districts.

The Telengana campaigners argue that the region should get 70 per cent of the1,480 tmcft of the Godavari waters on the grounds that a major portion of the river's catchment area lies in the region. Of the 760 tmcft of water being utilised so far in the Godavari basin, nearly 320 tmcft is being diverted to the Andhra region, they say. In respect of the Krishna, the share of Andhra Pradesh is 800 tmcft. Only 37 per cent of this quantity is allocated to the Telengana districts although the catchment area in the region is nearly twice as much, they say.

Those in favour of integration contend that nearly 1,000 tmcft of the Godavari waters is received from the Sabari, the Balimela and the Sileru although their catchment areas do not lie in Telengana. They also point out that there is no formal agreement on the region-wise allocation of the Krishna and Godavari waters.

Moreover, the feeling that their distinct sub-culture is ridiculed, including the way the language is spoken in Telengana, is very strong among the people. This and the region's backwardness have given rise to the `Telengana sentiment', which is being used by political leaders. The leaders accuse the four Chief Ministers from this region - P.V. Narasimha Rao, Jalagam Vengala Rao, M. Channa Reddy and T. Anjaiah - of not doing enough during their tenures for its all-round progress. Moreover, the perceived widening of the economic gap between the Telengana and Andhra peoples has always rankled with them. However, the fact remains that the four districts (Cuddapah, Chittoor, Anantapur and Kurnool) of the Rayalaseema region and the nine districts of North Coastal Andhra, barring the pocket around Visakhapatnam, are as backward as Telengana.

Where does the problem lie in conceding a separate Telengana? It is primarily the issue of quantifying the Telengana sentiment. Also there is strong opposition to the demand for separation from the Telugu Desam Party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India - parties that matter in the State. The Congress, while agreeing that the Telengana sentiment exists, is awaiting party president Sonia Gandhi's decision on the issue.

The low credibility of some of the leaders who led the Telengana movement in the past has caused long-term damage to the cause. Four hundred lives were lost during the Jai Telengana agitation. The Telengana Praja Samiti led by Channa Reddy won 14 of the 16 Lok Sabha seats in the region but the party itself merged with the Congress later.

When he became Chief Minister in 1978, Channa Reddy never spoke about separation. After the two agitations for statehood, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi forced a truce and persuaded leaders of both Andhra and Telengana to accept a six-point formula for equitable opportunities in education and employment.

Controversy has dogged the Congress-TRS alliance, ever since an electoral understanding was reached in 2004. The TRS caused a flutter when it contested more Assembly seats than it was allotted.

The Congress says that the TRS joined the alliance only after it was satisfied with the Congress' commitment on March 4, 2004, to seek the formation of a second States Reorganisation Commission. It climbed down even from this position and agreed to the inclusion in the UPA manifesto that Telengana could be created "at an appropriate time and after due consensus". The Congress maintains that the UPA cannot be expected to fulfil all its pledges within two years of coming to power, but the TRS chief was impatient.

The Congress high command is also aware of the poor performance of the TRS in the elections to municipalities in 2005 and to panchayati raj institutions in 2006.

During the past several years, the TRS has generated more heat than light on the issue of backwardness of Telengana. According to the TRS ideologue Kothapally Jayashanker, every time people from the region raise the demand, the opponents of statehood obfuscate the issue.

Questions have been thrown at those who demand a separate Telengana as to how a small State can tackle the huge problem of Maoist violence, which is endemic to the region, or what the status of Hyderabad will be after separation. The polemical argument of Telengana supporters is that naxalites are not the cause but only the effect of Telengana's backwardness. The latest assessment of the Union Home Ministry that naxalites could penetrate the Telengana movement in good numbers has lent a new dimension to the problem.

People from coastal Andhra constitute a sizable chunk of Hyderabad's population. They have contributed significantly to the development of the information technology industry and have given an impetus to the development of the real estate business.

Although the divisive slogan of the 1969 agitation - "Andhras go back" - is unlikely to be raised this time, other concerns remain.