Why Telangana makes sense

The din and violence surrounding the government's announcement that it’ll finally push to carve out the state of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh, has claimed a major victim: reason. Most arguments against carving out Telangana are emotive, charged with hysteria, coloured with political posturing.

The only remotely sensible argument against creating Telangana is that it could set off an avalanche of competing demands for more new states. But even that argument, as we shall see, holds little water and can be dealt with reasonably.

Let's not kid ourselves. Over the last 60-odd years, successive governments have tinkered with state boundaries and carved out new states from older ones. The last three – Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarkhand – were created less than 10 years ago, in November 2000. India today has 28 states, compared to 14 shortly after it became a republic. So let’s stop behaving as if this is an unprecedented calamity that we’re suddenly faced with.

Folks who argue in favour of Telangana say that the region is backward, something that’s hard to refute. Districts like Nalgonda, Medak and Warangal are among the poorest in India. Glittering Hyderabad is located in Telangana, surrounded by these districts. Drive out from the city and it’ll take you less than an hour to reach some of India’s most backward areas.

Yet, this is also the place where a lot of India’s mineral wealth is concentrated. Miners like the Reddy brothers from the neighbouring state of Karnataka have huge operations in Telangana. One of their mining companies is now being investigated for – this is hard to believe – changing the border between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to benefit their mining interests.

Lots of resources, yet very few benefits coming to people on the ground: that’s what proponents of Telangana argue. As a new state, they say, the government of Telangana will have the political and administrative drive to do better for voters. Instead of trying to refute this argument logically, people in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, both wealthier than Telangana, are on a rampage. Burning state buses is no answer to an economic argument; it only leaves you with fewer buses.

For many years, Jawaharlal Nehru refused to pay heed to any claim for statehood based on linguistic or ethnic factors. His sole criterion was economic: would a new state be better off after independence? Would it be able to support itself better than before? Though Nehru’s blindness to language or ethnicity was, well, a handicap the economic arguments he so loved are very important. And most arguments for Telangana’s statehood are economic.

But are the assumptions of folks who want Telangana state realistic? Do people who live in newly carved out states do better than before? Nine years after the creation of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, there’s some reason to believe that, indeed, they do.

Among all the newly created states, Uttarkhand is probably an anomaly; it wanted to peel off from Uttar Pradesh because it felt that its parent was more backward than it was. So, it’s probably no surprise to know that by 2006-07, the average person in the hill state made Rs. 27,800, nearly double the Rs. 14,663 made by the average UP-wallah.

Most of the stories coming out of Jharkhand are about Naxalism and the fabulous wealth allegedly salted away by former chief minister Madhu Koda. Yet some of Koda’s prosperity seems to have rubbed off on Jharkhand, where the average person’s income two years ago was Rs. 20,177 again, nearly double the average Bihari’s Rs. 10,570.

It’s the same story in Chhattisgarh, where the average income was nearly Rs. 29,000, much more than the average Madhya Pradesh income of Rs. 18,051 two years ago. People in smaller, newer states are better off than counterparts in their parent states.

Another argument against splitting existing states is that the new ones are slow to mobilise their own funds from taxes or cesses and depend heavily on Central handouts. Ergo, to control New Delhi’s finances, it’s better to go slow on new states.

Sure, a state like Chhattisgarh might take time to get its taxation systems in place and need Central handouts. But even a state like Haryana, carved out of Punjab in 1966, needs funds from New Delhi. Bengal, which has been partitioned several times, and therefore got smaller, is hardly self sufficient.

Indeed many ‘established’ states like Bengal and Bihar are still so slow to collect local revenues that matching funds from New Delhi often go unused. All states, big or small, old or new have similar powers to collect revenues. Their ability to do so doesn’t depend on when they were created or their size, but by the efficiency of their administration and the buoyancy of their economies.

The creation of Telangana might trigger cries to make more new states like Vidarbha and Gorkhaland, or split Uttar Pradesh into three. The best way to figure out what’s feasible, which demand merits attention and which doesn’t, is to set up a group, like the States’ Reorganisation Commission and have it thrash things out with everyone, and then take a call.

Finally, the Congress party which dominates this government, needs to be internally consistent in what it stands for. As long ago as 2001, the Congress Working Committee accepted the report of one of its study teams and decided that it was in favour of creating two new states: Telangana and Vidarbha. Then, the BJP-led NDA government was in power and it mattered little what the Congress thought. But in 2004 after its election victory, the common minimum programme adopted by the first UPA coalition also agreed to work towards statehood for Telangana. In the hurly burly of coalition politics, it soon forgot this promise and lost an ally, the Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS) two years later.

Today, instead of dithering, the government should signal clearly that it will work to create Telangana. And set up a group to examine the demands for other new states. Remember, the United Sates, with about one third our population, has 50 states, a number that’s only grown over time.

Telangana Journal : Latest Articles & News on Telangana State Movement

Help spread the truth about Telangana region of India. Since 1956, when Andhra and Telangana merged, Telangana has gotten the short end of the stick in terms of natural resources, funding and representation in government. Though two major rivers have their sources in Telangana, irrigation projects divert the precious water to other areas. The feelings have often spilled over into violence, and in 1969, 400 people died in Telangana-related violence.

Telangana Today: Status paper

P.L.Vishweshwer Rao (Professor, Osmania University)

The long-suppressed agony of Telangana people is finding expression once again in their aspirations for independent existence and separate identity. After the great betrayal of 1971, they have once again gathered strength to assert themselves; they prepared to stake their all for realization of their dream to be free from the bondage to the people of coastal Andhra.

No movement, no struggle has ever started from the top: from intellectuals, thinkers, political and other leaders, elected representatives and so on. Inevitably, the struggles begin from people - the people give expression to their suffering because it is they who are victims of status quo. The long-dormant hope in the people of Telangana was awakened with the announcement as statehood for Uttarakhand by the Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda. Within a year it has gathered so much strength that politicians, realizing its potential have jumped on to its bandwagon. Such disparate schools of thought as People's War Group and Bharatiya Janata Party have supported statehood for Telangana.

Why Telangana State? 
Because successive governments and ruling political parties have not only neglected to develop Telangana but have systematically exploited it, denying its share of funds, grabbing its rich, fertile land, exploiting its mineral riches and impoverishing its people. Telangana people have been looked down upon, their language derided, their customs and traditions scorned at, their land grabbed, their houses snatched away. They have been discriminated against in recruitment and developmental programmes. In short, they were colonized in 1956 even as the country threw off colonial yoke.

Let us see a conscious, deliberate well-thought out and implemented conspiracy has worked against the interests of Telangana in the fields of education, irrigation, employment, industrialization, and allotment of funds and the region's share in income for its development. Even in cropping pattern is changing for the worse in Telangana, its traditional food crops being replaced with commercial crops with disastrous consequences.

Education 
Elementary education is recognized as one of the fundamental human rights. And yet this human right has been denied to the people of Telangana: the region has the lowest literacy rate and minimal educational infrastructure in the state.

Andhra Pradesh, with a literacy rate of 44.09 percent ranks among the least literate state. It ranks 26^th in the country out of 31 states and Union Territories. It is the most backward in the entire south. As many as eight districts of Telangana out of 10 (including Hyderabad) figure among the most backward educationally. Mahbubnagar has the least literacy rate, both among males(40.8 per cent) and females(18 percent). The entire Telangana, except Hyderabad city and Ranga Reddy Urban areas which are Hyderabad, has lagged behind educationally. Not a single mandal of Telangana has the national literacy rate of 52.19 percent. Coastal Andhra districts account for 33 out of 45 rural mandals which exceeds the national literacy rate (the rest being Rayalaseema). The mandals with lowest literacy rate of less than 20 percent are more in Telangana, as a consequence: 35 such mandals are in Telangana, almost three times those in Coastal Andhra (14). There are only two such mandals in Rayalaseema. District-wise, Adilabad has most of these mandals (14), followed by Mahbubnagar (9), Medak (6), Khammam (3) and Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Nalgonda (one each).

Although Telangana accounts for half of the state's population, less than 25 percent of educational institutions from primary to college level are situated in the region. Only 15 percent of aided junior colleges are in Telangana while it has only two medical colleges. As many as six medical colleges are in the other areas. The region is discriminated in the field of technical education also. Only 26 out of the 72 government ITIs, 20 of the 91 polytechnic colleges are in Telangana. The gross injustice to Telangana can be seen from expenditure on education. Of the total expenditure of Rs 1150.2 crore the state has incurred on the aided degree colleges since 1956, coastal Andhra cornered the loin's share of 73.71 percent while Telangana got a paltry 10.43 percent. The corresponding share of the two regions in the expenditure incurred on the aided junior colleges is 62.71 percent and 9.45 percent, respectively. In this kind of lopsidedness, how can literacy spread? This is no accident; it cannot be especially since it has continued since 1956, and it pervades all type of education - school, college, professional and technical. This discrimination is deliberate, conscious and planned given its spread, the extent, and all-pervasiveness, it cannot be anything but a conspiracy against the people of Telangana.

Irrigation
Of the three regions of the state, Telangana has the largest area, with 11,48,000 sq km, followed by coastal Andhra with 9,28,000 sq km. The cultivable area is estimated at 64,02,358 hectares in Telangana and 46,33,304 hectares in the Coastal Andhra. But 13,12,795 hectares or 28.33 percent of the cultivable land in the Coastal Andhra is being irrigated under canal irrigation system, whereas 2,66,964 hectares or 4.17 percent of the cultivable land in Telangana is receiving canal waters. The entitlement of Telangana of waters of Krishna and Godavari rivers is 975 tmc. ft. In 1974, 800 tmc.ft water was allotted to AP by the Bachawat Award to Andhra Pradesh. A re-distribution of this in 1981 saw coastal Andhra getting the major share with 377.07 tmc, Telangana 266.783 tmc and Rayalaseema 123 tmc. Telangana's share in Godavari waters is 709 tmc.ft of the state's total allotment of 1,495 tmc.ft. Out of its total share 1153.50 tmc (from all sources) barely 380 tmc is used for irrigation.

The discrimination against Telangana stands out glaringly in the amounts spent by the state on irrigation. The amount spent in Telangana so far is Rs. 4005 crores while that spent in Coastal Andhra is Rs. 19,693.50 crores, nearly five times higher. In terms of percentage, while Telangana got a mere 15.5 percent, coastal Andhra got 76 percent. If the principle of expenditure proportionate to cultivable area were to be followed (as it should be), Telangana, with 44.28 percent cultivable area should have got an equivalent amount and coastal Andhra 32.04 percent. Instead, coastal Andhra got more than twice its share.

Since 1956 to date, the additional irrigation potential created in Telangana is only 5 percent since none of the planned irrigation projects have been completed although they were planned 30-40 years ago. The 12 projects sanctioned for Telangana at an estimated cost Rs. 5,449.53 crore to provide for 10.08 lakh hectares have been progressing at snail's pace for decades.

The Sriram Sagar Project (SRSP) was started 1n 1963 and is yet to be completed. Even the first phase of the project was not completed after 33 years. The rehabilitation of the displaced people under this project is still pending. The Bheema project, which is older than Andhra Pradesh has remained on paper. Jurala, Icchampally too have languished. While experts and decision makers debate interminably and have still not decided on Srisailam Left Bank Canal (which is to irrigate about 3 lakhs hectares in Telangana), to supply water either through lift or tunnel. The Srisailam Right Bank Canal feeding the coastal districts progresses steadily. Even the 33 medium projects proposed in Telangana which could utilize 80 to 100 tmc of water at a cost Rs 500 crore have been kept pending. Compare this delay with alacrity attending on the Telugu Ganga project: it got funds allocated consistently year after year, within 12 years of its grounding, the project is supplying water to Chennai.

Even budgetary allocation are not fully spent on projects benefiting Telangana. For the Bheema lift irrigation scheme, the budgetary allocation was nine crore rupees in 1996-97, which was pruned to Rs 10 lakhs. Subsequently, only six lakh rupees were spent. On the SRSP, only six crore rupees were spent during 1996-97 against an allocation of Rs 25 crores. In 33 years only Rs 978 crores had been spent on SRSP. And yet Rs 1075 crores were spent on Telugu Ganga in 12 years.

Callous indifference and neglect of maintenance of tanks in Telangana has reduced the area under tank irrigation by half, an unprecedented occurrence. In 1956-57, 4,47 lakh hectares were under tank irrigation which has come down to 2.26 lakh hectares. This increasingly made Telangana farmers resort to exploiting groundwater which is suicidal for a semi-arid region. This dependence on pumpsets saw a great tragedy befall Telangana farmers early this year: as power supply was erratic, irregular and of low quality (low voltage), they incurred huge losses as other region suffered as much due to power scarcity as Telangana.

Power Situation 
As irrigation projects for Telangana got bogged down in delays, cost-overruns, controversies, power generation projects too suffered. The Srisailam Left bank canal is one such project. Only 1543 mw of power is generated in this region whereas the generating capacity of the other two regions is 7477 mw. All power situations with the exception Ramagundam and Kothagudem are located outside Telangana, although Telangana accounts for a major share of power consumption and more than three-fourths of catchment area of Krishna and Godavari rivers is in Telangana. That the needs of Telangana are at the bottom of priorities of the government is evident from the fact as many as two lakh applications for new power connection is pending with the government. Yet, there is no plan to increase the power generating capacity in Telangana even as two lakh people wait in vain for a power connection.

Changing Crop Pattern
A dangerous and little-noticed development that threatens Telangana is the changing cropping pattern in the region with food crops giving away to cash crops. The change has been taking place over two decades now with food crops suitable for semi-arid regions giving way to water-intensive cash crops. Staple cereals such as jawar, maize and bajra preferred by local people, serving as food for them and fodder for their cattle have declined significantly in area. The area under jawar has come down from 13,63,169 hectares to 7,97,864 hectares during 1981-84 to 1990-93. Bajra declined from 1,94,981 hectares to 64,398 hectares and maize fell to 2,55,863 hectares from 3,17,098 hectares. Coarse cereals have been the major staple food for millions of people in the area and a shift from these crops needs to be understood in the context of the needs of the people most of whom continue to languish in poverty. Groundnut, castor, sunflower, cotton, chillies and sugarcane have witnessed considerable growth in cropped area. While sunflower registered 500 percent growth, it is more than 100 percent in case of cotton. Except for castor and groundnut, all other crops have entered the region quite recently.

While it may seem strange that the impoverished farmers of Telangana are opting for water-intensive cash crops in the place of rain-fed food crops, the fact is that this change has been brought about the migrant farmers and not the native ones. Settled in tracts irrigated by Nagarjunasagar and Sriransagar canals, these farmers who came to Telangana in 50s and 60s have adopted sugarcane, sunflower, chillies, cotton and groundnut since returns on them are higher than on traditional crops. Liberalization and opening of the market has come as god-sent opportunity to these farmers to make more money at he cost of the people of Telangana.

In Medak, where cotton has been introduced by the Coastal Andhra farmers on a wide scale, the people realized the dangers from it: it introduced new pests to the region and new diseases since the crop requires heavy doses of strong pesticides, and more important, the change in their dietary habits, from jawar and maize to rice had come with high undesirable price: insufficient nutrition to them and shortage of fodder for their cattle. Helped by NGO, the people have gone back to their traditional crops, which have provided them since time immemorial, food and fodder.Another development as a result of this change is the rise of a merchant class in towns dealing in these inputs, a majority of whom are immigrants from coastal area. The cash-rich migrants beat the local entrepreneurs and farmers out of the market.
Employment in Government
The entire government and its various departments are dominated by people of Coastal Andhra. This pattern has been a blatant violation of agreement to share government jobs between Andhra and Telangana in the ratio of 2:1. Out of 14 lakh jobs in the government today(1997 figures), Telangana's share has been barely two lakhs and these too are in lower levels. Similarly, of the 531 judicial officers, only 92 belong to the region. Of the 22 judges in the state high court, there are only two representing Telangana. Moreover, no one from Telangana could become the advocate-general since the state was formed in 1956. On the educational front, of the 96,031 primary teachers, only 15,921 belong to Telangana. All the top and middle level jobs cornered by Andhra people: there's not a single secretary in the government today belonging to Telangana. Out of 140 heads of department in the government barring a handful, all are from Coastal Andhra. Public and private undertakings, autonomous bodies, corporations and universities have been made the monopoly of Andhras.

Rules have been twisted, manipulated or simply ignored to ensure government jobs went to those from coastal a Andhras and to keep out Telangana people. The present trend is to keep out the Telangana people even from the posts of peons, bus conductors and drivers. The new recruits are all brought over from coastal districts. This strategy has been adopted since 1956 despite agreements entered into, working out the procedure and share. For instance, in 1966, all of the 70,000 vacancies, of which 90 percent went to the people of Andhra.

The latest example is that of recruitment of more than 200 munisif magistrates, the highest post under direct recruitment. In course of time, they will become district and high court judges. Evidently, with an eye on capturing these crucial posts, the procedure has been changed, more centers of examinations opened in coastal Andhra towns, and it was ensured that an overwhelming majority of examiners chosen belong to Coastal Andhra: 50 of 55 judges-examiners were Andhras. The written examination was held on February 23, 1997. The results were predictable: 68 candidates (80 percent of them from Andhra region) passed from Hyderabad; Warangal ( the only center in Telangana) was only 15. Visakapatnam accounted for 85, Vijaywada 75 and Tirupati 47 successful candidates. Only 30 candidates out of 290 called for interview are from Telangana.

Industrial Development
Industrialization of Telangana has been restricted to the Hyderabad city and Ranga Reddy district due to their physical proximity to the seat of the government. Industries in other parts of Telangana did not take off other than those set up prior to 1956. Several industries in Telangana have been allowed to become sick with government refusing to help out to restore them. Today, more and more PSUs such as Allwyn Auto and Republic Forge, located in Telangana are being closed down by the government for various reason. Those threatened include Antargoan and Sirpur Sirsilk Mills. Others in the line for closure are Nizams Sugar factory, FCI at Godavarikhani and Miryalguda Sugar Mill.

According to data, a major chunk of the existing medium and major industrial units in Telangana are owned by people from coastal Andhra. Of the 10,0000 odd units located in Telangana, only 1250 units are owned by the native Telanganites. Coastal Andhra industrialists own 6000 units and the rest are owned by outsiders from different parts of the country. With regard to employment in these industrial units, only 23 percent belong to Telangana, the rest hail from the Coastal Andhra region.

Budget Allocation 
In terms of budget allocations, the pattern is the same: denial, deprivation and diversion. Based on area and population, Telangana should get 39-44 percent of the state's budget allocations. But at no point did its allocation exceed 30 percent. Yet Telangana contributes 42 percent of revenue to the state exchequer. Besides, according to some reports, as much as Rs 5000 crores allocated to Telangana under various heads by successive state governments have been diverted to the coastal Andhra region in the past two decades. This is hardly unbelievable since diversion of all kinds of wealth and resources including Telangana's share of water, has become a regular practice. The plunder and exploitation of Telangana to benefit the coastal Andhra region and its people has been planned, constant and systematic.The utter indifference of the officials toward Telangana can be seen from a recent occurrence. The Nizamsagar dam on Manjira river, built in 1931 was designed to irrigate 1.1 lakh hectares but enormous siltation over the years has reduced its ayacut by half. A satellite mapping has shown that all its major distributaries (83 in number) and minor distributaries (243) have been silted up as the canal bunds eroded. Nine gates of the dam meant for letting silt escape from the reservoir has been jammed for the past 20 years, reducing the capacity of the reservoir. Nothing has been done to rectify them. In 1992-93, the World bank lent Rs 30 crores for Nizamsagr through its Natural Water Program for remodeling the project. The government utilized only six crores rupees and the rest of the amount lapsed. The state government failed to get the loan revived. A high-powered committee went into question of finding funds for the project and submitted its recommendations in 1994. They have remained on the paper.

Similar is the situation of all major and minor irrigation sources all over Telangana. Breached bunds siltation, infestation by water hyacinth have slowly killed them in places, reduced their ayacut, forcing farmers to drill borewells and open wells as in Toopran mandal of Medak district. This has affected the water table in the region. Medak has as many as 1.2 lakh borewells, all dug in the last few years.

Diversion of resources from an area to another to benefit the latter is feature of colonizer. And this has been going for several decades. Water from Krishana and Godavari, coal from Singareni, limestone for cement factories owned by Andhra entrepreneurs, revenue from Telangana are all diverted to Coastal Andhra region, or Andhra businessmen and entrepreneurs of Andhra settlers in Telangana. The result has been the impoverishment of the people of Telangana, slow and tardy development of the region, oppression of the people by unemployment, discrimination and lack of opportunities.

Statehood is the only Answer to Telangana's Suffering 
For hundreds of years, people from various parts of India made Telangana their home. There have never been any instance of intolerance of Telangana people towards them. To the credit of the immigrants, they too adopted the local culture, and contributed some their own to Telangana culture. However, the Andhras were a different category. They came, made their home and life in Telangana, and in a few years, assumed a superior, arrogant posture, looking down upon the Telangana people. Gradually, people who had come looking for opportunities, displaced the local people from every field. This brings to mind the pattern followed by European immigrants to the Americas and the English in India, in fact colonizers everywhere: they come as guests, stay as friends, turn occupiers, and overtime, shunt out the local people to reservations refusing them a place of respect in their dispensation, treating as a lower class citizens.

Case for Smaller States
Whether it is a case of state of Jharkhand or Telangana, the demand for a separate state is opposed mainly by those who have benefited from the exploitation of the disaffected people, just as colonizers everywhere. Several arguments have been put forth against the need, viability and purpose of Telangana. Most important, will Telangana become reality? And if it does, will it eradicate the problems of backwardness, poverty, illiteracy and unemployment?

Need for Telangana
For all the above reasons discussed above, Telangana has to separate. Another important reason is that the merger of the two regions in 1956 did not result in the merger of their hearts, nor have the last 40 years led to emotional integration. Quite to the contrary, in fact, because the economic inequality has grown, the developmental divide has become a chasm and the cultural differences have moved the two people further away. This is because over the last four decades, the relationship of two unequal partners deteriorated into one of oppressor - oppressed, exploiter - exploited. colonizer - colonized. The division has so greatly deepened that there's no going back.. history, attitudes, prejudices cannot be undone easily.
The common language, Telugu, has been devisive rather than unifying factor because that has been the major, most visible and universally experienced by Telangana people. They have been discriminated against, humiliated and ridiculed for the language they speak. If English language is the one dividing factor between English and American people, it is even more so between the people of Telangana and Coastal Andhra: they have been divided by a common language. This one factor rejects the premise of the state reorganization committee that language binds.
Can a backward region develop economically independently? Or does its future lie in a larger state? Experience of larger states like UP, MP and Bihar has shown that size impedes rather than promotes development - the backward remain backward; the administration is unwieldy, and the growth concentrated in pockets. The answer lies in smaller states where decentralization of administration is possible; developmental activities can be more focused in smaller areas; and people can be involved in the process of development, which is a major factor in giving a push to development. An example of how smaller, backward region can come into its own after separating from the more developed region can be seen in Harayana after breaking away from Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh.
Today in India, almost every large state is facing the demand from its backward, neglected, culturally different people to be recognized as different and given independent status and separate identity. Apart from Telangana, 11 regions are seeking statehood, and these are: Vidarbha (Maharastra), Saurastra(Gujarat), Chattisgarh(Madya Pradesh), Malwa, Bundelkhand( both comprising parts of MP and UP), Pancahl Pradesh (Western UP), Poorvanchal (Eastern UP), Uttarkhand (UP), Bodoland (Assam) Gorkhaland( West Bengal) and Jharkhand ( Bihar).
The size of the state cannot be a factor for its viability, as it is being argued by some. If that factor were top be applied, then Telangana should be considered first since there are at least five existing states that are smaller than Telangana. Telangana with 11.48 lakh square kilometers area, 107 Assembly and 14 Parliament constituencies with three crore population is larger than the states of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Hoimachal Pradesh, and Kerala. Another 49 assembly constituencies and nine parliament constituencies will be added to the present 107 assembly and 14 loka Sabha seats once the constituencies reorganized.
There is nothing sacrosanct about the 1956 merger that it has to be retained at the cost of the people of Telangana. The demand for separate state is neither undemocratic nor unconstitutional. In fact, by refusing to heed the genuine aspirations of the people, the rulers are being undemocratic. They are trying to supress the movement only to protect their own interests and hegemony over Telangana. The ceded districts of Madras Presidency - the Costal Andhra districts - put forth several reasons justfying their demand for separate state in the 1950s.They are extremely similar to those put forward by the people of Tlanga today: political and cultural domination by the Tamils; economic exploitation, discrimination in employment and education, uneven development of the land of the Telugus and jeopardy to the individuality and self-respect of the Telugu people.
The late K .Kaleshwara Rao, the first Speaker of the AP Legislative Assembly in his autobiography expanded on the perception of Andhras under Tamilians, that the latter had greater influence in the legislature, executive and judiciary and the Andhra district were neglected in industries, power, employment, education and economic development. "There are nine bridges across Cauvery but not even one on Krishna and Godavari…the pace of development of towns in Andhra area is no comparison to that of Tamil districts," he said. Supporting the movement for a separate Andhra state, an editorial in Andhra Patrika said, "If a separate state is formed, the very reason for Telugus' backwardness will disappear." If a separate state was an answer to Andhras' development in 1953, why can't a similar solution be adopted for Telangana in 1997?

Agenda for a Separate Telangana State
It is extremely important that if our efforts for a separate state are to succeed we have a clear vision of the future of its people. An agenda needs to be developed through a pooling of ideas, tasks prioritized, and plans outlined to tackle the major problems facing the people.Blueprints would have to be drawn up for a social and economic development of the people. An action plan is necessary for the immediate tasks on hand, such as land reforms. This could be worked out to be completed within a time-frame to avoid the pitfalls of earlier well-meaning intentions that were hijacked by vested interests in free India.
Universal educational should be the first priority; special efforts should be made make access to education available to the Dalits, women and minorities. This task too should be achieved within a specific time-frame.
Other priorities should be safe drinking water in all villages, electricity and health for all. The rich mineral resources of Telangana, the fertile soil, massive irrigation potential and the hard-working nature of its people will help them to realize their dreams.
A word about the support PWG has extended to Telangana state.: it is welcome, as is all support, from within Telangana and outside. Given the political dominance and brute majority enjoyed by ruling Telugu Desam Party in the Assembly, given the control of the mass media by Coastal Andhra people, and given the threat a separate Telangana poses to the entrenched economic interests that have grown at the cost of Telangana people, any and all support is necessary to carry the struggle forward.
The statement of PWG that it will only support and not lead the agitation should lay to rest apprehensions of break out of violence, or that the struggle for Telangana would be hijacked by PWG. Solidarity and unity of all people, of all ideologies, of all persuasions is the need of the hour.
Another fear, perfectly justified, is that the support of PWG might be used by the state to suppress the Telangana movement. The government has found it convenient to blame PWG for the continuing backwardness of the region, for the agitation of the farmers against low voltage, and for many struggles taking place all over Telangana for justice. There is every danger of the government using the excuse of PWG support to Telangana to crackdown on the movement to suppress it. That is why the movement has to be democratic, peaceful and non-violent.

Rebuilding Our Telangana

        

we as students have pledged to take initative not just to achieve Telangana state , but to rebuild the Education Standards in Rural parts of Telangana ....

We are trying to bridge the gap in socio economic status , starting by spreading awareness among our offspring's .. the future citizens of Telangana state, We are planning to provide them books and clothings and few computers , not in schools of towns but very most remote part of Telangana , so that every mother of the withered student in this agitation feel proud that our son has died for a cause !

Many eyes are waiting for us .. I have started as one .. am waiting to be one among millions !

to Rebuild their hopes

to Rebuild their faiths

to Rebuild their dreams

to Rebuild their " LIVES "

support :   www.facebook.com/telanganabiddalu
our 1st Initative :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjqeOkXRQMI&feature=channel

Short Intro: Prof M Kodandaram of Osmania University ( Telangana political JAC Convenor )

(Courtesy: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Kodandaram-Rise-of-a-T-roubleshooter/articleshow/5486454.cms )
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Those associated with the Telangana movement and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) know M Kodandaram as one of the key advisors of the TRS chief when the latter launched the party in 2001. "He had a reputation as being a troubleshooter, and K Chandrasekhar Rao would consult him during times of crisis and even when he wanted ideas as to how to intensify the movement," said a TRS leader.

The son of a farmer from Manchiryal in Adilabad district, Kodandaram was born in 1955, did the major part of his education in Warangal, then considered the epicentre of the Telangana movement. After completing his degree from Warangal government college, he joined Osmania University in 1976 to pursue his post-graduation in political science.

As was the path of many who were Left-oriented in the late seventies, Kodandaram migrated to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi, then a red bastion whose student body elections and the fierce debates that preceded it used to be followed by the national media. He completed his M.Phil in political science in 1980 and returned to the state and joined Hyderabad Central University as a research scholar. However, within a few months, he returned to join Osmania University where he was appointed as a lecturer in political science. He finally obtained his doctorate from OU in 2003.

It was in the early eighties that Kodandaram plunged into the civil liberties movement full-time. From 1996, he started organising seminars on the Telangana issue and after joining Telangana Vidya Vanthula Vedika, was elected its president in 2004. The Kodandaram couple have a son and daughter both of whom are pursuing engineering.

"As JAC convenor, Kodandaram would have to play a crucial role in ensuring that the JAC stays intact, which in the present circumstances, is a very challenging task," said one leader. Like for many leaders who were children of the first Telangana movement of the late sixties, this may perhaps be the last battle to realise the dream that they have literally grown up with.

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Komaram Bheem - The Forgotten Martyr

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Komaram Bheem is not the hero that our literatures have raved upon. Neither is he a magical superman that Indian cinema has created.

He is like the wild forest into which, far from the madding crowds of civilisation, he was born. He is the very heart-throb of the Gond Tribals, whose hearts were in the forests of Adilabad. He revolted against the injustice meted out to his brother. He defied courts and the law, choosing to depend on the wild world. He took up cudgels against Nizam Nawab's soldiers, and fighting Babi Jhari, he breathed his last.

He is Komaram Bheem: the gonds' superman at the beginning of the 20th century, and a veritable 'Bheem' in the contemporary Gond history, a great valour that stood like a rock to protect tribals. He revered the beauty of Sombai, he was a man who never knew anything other than physical labour, and he was a beacon that lighted up the dark world of the Gonds with the flames of ideologies like the very sun lighting up the wilderness.

Like all the children of wild, Bheem's younger days did not expose him to the outside world. As he came on the threshold of adolescence, he heard the plight of tribals paying unjustifiable cess. Even as an adolescent, he took to task Siddiqui, an Officer of the Nizam, and gave him a taste of his muscle. Evading the police and traversing such places as Chanda and Pune, he finally reached the Gond land to sow the seeds of revolution.

Bheem was inspired by Alluri Sitaramaraju, and his heart was aflame when he heard the death of Bhagat Singh. Realising that the time was near to revolt against the the Nizam Government's wild official injustice, Komaram Bheem became a veritable deity, raging with the fire of revolt.

Talukdar Abdul Sattar failed to bring Bheem to kow-tow his line. Abdul Sattar, well equipped with ninety policemen armed with guns, attacked Bheem, who did not have any armour to protect himself. On that fateful full moon night, hundreds of followers of Bheem, just a dozen feet away from the police force, braved the guns, only to be riddled by the bullets.

That night, the moon burnt like a flaming sun.

That night, the wild moonlight became a veritable stream of tears.

That night, Komaram Bheem became a deity to gonds.

Demand for Telangana State: genuine and justified

Demand for TELANGANA State: genuine and justified

The statehood demand of Telangana has exploded to an unimaginable level in 2009 after 40 years of a sad episode of 1969 agitation in the history of Andhra Pradesh. The movement started with an indefinite fast of former Union Minister and Member of Parliament Mr. K. Chandrasekhar Rao and supported by students, quickly spread to urban intellect, towns and villages to give birth to numerous joint action committees independent of political parties to lead their own movement resulting in the democratic protests such as dhoom-dhams (songs and dances), garjanas (hullabaloos), and padayatras (marches) [58].

Further, the involvement of all communities in the villages and towns across Telangana region surprised everyone. The continuous agitations, frequent strikes, raasta-rokos, and the bandh calls in the late 2009 and early 2010 crippled almost all the cities and towns of Andhra Pradesh. The affect on the state economy and common man cannot be ignored, and the lives lost due to suicides for Telangana has even made the central government to appeal the elderly of the society to counsel the younger generations not to resort to extreme steps [59].

How and why it happened.

To understand the present crisis, one should take a quick look at the formation of the Andhra Pradesh and its politics. The Telangana region of the erstwhile Princely State of Nizam called as Hyderabad state is demanding a separate state. In detail, the Hyderabad state comprise the present Telugu speaking Telangana region, and a few districts of present day Maharashtra and Karnataka, and the Andhra region (including Rayalaseema region) with a sizable Telugu speaking population were a part of erstwhile Madras Province in the British India. The Andhra’s in Madras state fought and demanded a separate state before and after Independence due to the discrimination of their language and culture, and the exploitation of educational and employment opportunities in the hands of majority Tamils and achieved it in 1953 [23].

During the states reorganization, the Fazal Ali commission in 1955 recommended that Telangana region to be made a separate state and with a provision for unification with Andhra state only after the general election to be held in 1961 with a two-thirds of majority in favor of unification in the Hyderabad state legislature [23]. However, in 1956, the Telangana region was merged with Andhra state to form Andhra Pradesh, with a specific assurance (Gentleman’s Agreement) and declarations by the then Prime Minister Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru. These assurances were hardly respected by the majority Andhra since inception, which led to serious discontent among the people of Telangana leading to agitate and demand a separate state in 1969. After being brutally crushed by the state government, the bruised people of Telangana understood that the political will is the need of the hour, but were exploited by a fellow Telangana politician and former chief minister Dr. M. Chenna Reddy for his personnel gains [60].

The successive state and central governments contained the agitation by further assurances and promises in form of agreements, formulas, amendment and introduction of articles in the Constitution. However, the exploitation in Telangana region by Andhra elite was a never-ending story. In 2000, three new states (Chhattisgarh, Uttaranchal and Jharkhand) were created from the existing states but the Telangana was not granted statehood because the ruling Telugu Desam Party in coalition with National Democratic Alliance opposed such a move [55]. The movement got much-needed boost in 2001, when Mr. K. Chandrashekar Rao quit Telugu Desam Party and founded “Telangana Rashtra Samithi” party with a single agenda to achieve a separate state for Telangana region [56]. At the same time, the state Telangana congress unit formed a Telangana Congress Legislators Forum to pledge their support for statehood [57]. In the subsequent elections (2004 and 2009) the Congress and the Telugu Desam parties in coalition with TRS, and others promised statehood to the people of Telangana in their manifestos and election speeches.

The unexpected death of the Chief Minister Dr. Y. S. Rajashekhar Reddy in September 2009 and the subsequent political vacuum and power struggles in the state congress unit gave a chance to Mr. K. Chandrasekhar Rao to revive his party aspirations and undertook an indefinite fast to force the central government for the introduction of a bill on Telangana statehood in the Parliament. The subsequent state government action against him, his deteriorating health condition, student protests, and massive people’s movement forced the central government to announce the initiation of process of forming a separate Telangana state on December 9, 2009 with the approval of all the state political parties in an all party meeting held on December 8, 2009 [61][62][63]. The spontaneous political resignations against the formation of Telangana, and the U-turn of main opposition (Telugu Desam) and other parties cheated the people of Telangana and forced the Central Government to constitute a Committee for Consultation on the Situation in Andhra Pradesh on February 3, 2010 headed by Justice B. N. Srikrishna to examine the feasibility of a Telangana state [64].

Why Telangana should be separated.

Let’s look at the opening statement of Home Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram’s during the consultations with eight recognized parties of Andhra Pradesh on Telangana issue dated January 5, 2010 [1]. Some of his statements are very essential for solving the Telangana issue in a genuine way compared to the main terms of reference “to evaluate the developments in the State to date and their impact on the progress and development in different regions of the State” given to Srikrishna committee [2]. Mr. P. Chidambaram said,

“You are all aware of the long history behind the demand for a separate State of Telangana. It is sufficient to refer to the report of the States Reorganisation Commission; the Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1956 and the amendment of Article 371(1) of the Constitution; the Six Point Formula of 1973; and the introduction of Article 371D in the Constitution. More recently, in the elections to the State Assembly of Andhra Pradesh held in May 2009, the political parties outlined their positions in their respective election manifestos. All this is in the public domain [1].”

In addition If one goes through the Reports of the Telangana Regional Committees between 1956 and 1969, the All-Party Agreement of Andhra Pradesh (1969). The Reports on the Quantum of Telangana Surpluses (1969) by K. Lalit, and the Committee on Telangana surpluses (1969) under the chairmanship of Justice V. Bhargava, and the Government Order (G.O.) 36 (1969). Further, the Report of the Officers Committee (1985) under the chairmanship of K. Jaybharath Reddy, the G.O. 610 (1985), the House Committee on Implementation of G.O. 610 (2001), the Report of J. M. Girglani Commission (2004), and the G.O. 1845 (2009) etc., for the violations and the injustices meted to the people of the Telangana region since 1956.

Now the people of Telangana want a separate state, to rule on their own (self-rule or self-governance), want to preserve their beliefs, dialect and the culture for the future generations (self-respect), and not to be ruled any further by the oppressors. Telangana should be made 29th state of Indian Union with Hyderabad as its capital based on the following points:

1. Vocally Same but Culturally Different

2. Political Domination and Abuse of Power

3. Mal-distribution of State Income and Funds

4. Exploitation of Educational and Employment Opportunities

5. Exploitation of Water Resources and Schemes

6. Exploitation of Industries and Mineral Resources

7. Exploitation of Land in and around Hyderabad

8. Branding Telangana supporters and Protesters as Maoists or Naxalites

9. Hyderabad as a Capital City for Telangana Only

10. Smaller States are good for Development and Governance

1. Vocally Same but Culturally Different

The people of Andhra Pradesh speak Telugu language, but in many different dialects. The Telangana region has a different dialect compared to the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions. The people from the Andhra region believe that their dialect is superior to the other regions and discriminate the Telangana dialect in many ways. The discrimination of the Telangana Dialect and the people is very evident in the Telugu film industry (called as Tollywood) dominated by the Andhra people (who incidentally came to Hyderabad after leaving the film industry in Madras). The films produced in Tollywood mostly show villains (or bad characters) using Telangana dialect whereas actors and actresses using the Andhra dialect. Thus leading to confusion in the younger generations whether the “Telangana dialect is really inferior”.

Culturally, there are many differences between three regions, the food, festivals, music, arts and crafts of Telangana people are different from their counter parts. For example, the festivals “Bathukamma” and “Bonalu” (also celebrated in few parts of Rayalaseema) are unique to the Telangana region. The school books do not feature the history of the Telangana region, cultural aspects and beliefs (for example the most important ones, Telangana rebellion and the liberation struggle), instead the books highlight Shri Potti Sreeramulu fasting to death for the creation of Andhra Pradesh State on linguistic basis. In reality, he specifically fasted for the formation of Andhra state with Madras as capital from the erstwhile Madras State [5]. The people of the Andhra and the Rayalaseema never bothered to understand the Telangana beliefs and culture, instead they resort to the mockery of the Telangana arts, music and festivals.

2. Political Domination and Abuse of Power

The political domination is clearly visible if one looks at the duration of the Chief Ministers served after the formation of Andhra Pradesh state. The Chief Ministers from the Telangana have just served 6 years and 3 months compared to the 46 years and 6 months by the Chief Ministers from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions (as of February 2010), barring the 9 months of the President’s rule in 1973 [3]. The disrespect of Gentlemen’s agreement, partial behaviour and the domination of the Andhra and Rayalaseema politicians on the people of Telangana led to the unrest and subsequent Telangana State movement in 1969. The death of hundreds of people including ca. 370 students in 1969 was the brutal act of abuse of power by the state government headed by the former Chief Minister Mr. Kasu Brahmananda Reddy [4]. It should be noted that the imposition of the President’s rule in 1973 was due to the non-cooperation of Andhra / Rayalaseema politicians, which led to the downfall of the first Telangana Chief Minister Mr. P. V. Narasimha Rao after 468 days [6].

The abuse of power is an important issue, and is the cause of the present situation in the state. The first abuse of power was noticed soon after the formation of the Andhra Pradesh state. According to the Gentleman’s Agreement “if the Chief Minister is from the Andhra / Rayalaseema region, then the Deputy Chief Minister-ship should be given to the Telangana Region” [7], but the then Chief Minister Mr. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy didn’t approved a deputy Chief Minister for the Telangana region. The power in the hands of Andhra and Rayalaseema politicians has allowed them to bypass most of the rules and agreements, and the people from Andhra region took possession of agriculture lands in and around the state capital and occupied most of the higher positions in all the state government jobs and their subsidiaries!. Even the judicial department is not immune to their power abuse, for instance the number of Advocates Generals appointed since the formation Andhra Pradesh are eight. Four from the Andhra Region and four from the Rayalaseema region and none were appointed from the Telangana region as of February 2010.

3. Mal-distribution of State Income and Funds

According to the Gentlemen’s Agreement, the state income should be distributed proportionately between the two regions and the balance of income from Telangana should be reserved for the development of the Telangana region [7]. The mal-distribution of state income was one of the main causes for the separate Telangana movement in 1969 and thereafter. The 1969 Telangana unrest forced the central government to appoint the Justice V. Bhargava Committee of Telangana Surpluses of 1969, this committee report showed the unspent surpluses totaling of Rs. 28.34 crore were recorded from 1956 to 1968, which were ought to be spent on the development of the Telangana region [8].

After this fiasco, the region wise evaluations were abolished and the information is scarce on the public domain, but in few instances, there were queries in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly for the region wise income and expenditure. The present Finance Minister and the Chief Minister Mr. K. Roshiah answered these questions, and were reported in the local newspapers. In the last 5 years the large chunk of the state income (including Hyderabad) was generated in the Telangana, was 76% (Telangana: Rs. 57,752 cr, Andhra and Rayalaseema: Rs. 17,270 cr) but the expenditure on the Telangana was only 51% (Telangana: Rs. 27,059 cr, Andhra and Rayalaseema: Rs. 25,794 cr). Similarly, for the year 2006-07, the income generated from the Telangana region (excluding the Hyderabad and the central government income) was 57% (Telangana: Rs. 6093 cr, Andhra and Rayalaseema: Rs. 4677 cr) and the expenditure on the Telangana was only 48% (Telangana: Rs. 5987 cr, Andhra and Rayalaseema: Rs. 6370 cr) [9]. The revenue from Telangana region (including Hyderabad) was more than half of the Andhra Pradesh total income from 2003-04 to 2006-07, mostly comes from the coal and the forest resources [52].

It is clear from the above financial data that the Telangana region has the surpluses in the last five years but surprisingly 9 out 13 districts of the Andhra Pradesh listed for the Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF) scheme started in 2006 by the Government of India are from Telangana region [10]. Hyderabad (or state capital) is the only Telangana district that is not in the BRGF scheme. The Telangana region has faced a gross injustice in the funds allocation from the state and the central governments. There are numerous examples of funds mal-distribution, the latest and a glaring example is the G.O. 1845 issued with regard to NABARD under rural infrastructure development fund on December 11, 2009 for the construction of roads and bridges across the state. The Telangana region received a meager amount of Rs. 9.32 cr compared to Rs. 121.13 cr for the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions [11].

4. Exploitation of Educational and Employment Opportunities

The best way to develop a society or region of rural India is by imparting the educational and the employment resources of the state. In case of the Telangana there has been a gross violation compared to the other two regions. The main sources of education such as public aided schools, junior colleges and degree colleges are unbelievably mismatching with the population, thus hindering the development in the Telangana region. According to 2001 census, the Telangana has 40.5% of state population, in the same year the enrolled students in Telangana region were 33%, for them the state government allocated 31% of schools, 31% of teachers whereas for the rest 59.5% population and 67% enrolled students, there were 69% schools and 69% teachers of the total number in Andhra Pradesh [12]. Similar situation can be observed in the further education, there are only 36% of junior colleges, 24% of degree colleges, 43% ITI’s, 39% polytechnics, 36% engineering colleges, and 27% of medical colleges in Telangana region of the total number of aided institutions in the state of Andhra Pradesh [13][14][15].

If the allotment of educational opportunities to the people in the Telangana region to be considered as a naive mistake, then the funds distributed or the amounts spend on the education by the state government is worse. For example between 1956 and 1997, the total expenditure of the degree college (aided) education for the state is Rs. 1150.2 cr the Telangana region received a paltry amount of Rs. 120 cr (10.4%) and the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions got Rs. 1030.2 cr (89.6%) [16]. In recent times (2006), the Telangana University and the Vemana University were established in Nizamabad and Kadapa districts of the Andhra Pradesh, the former was allotted only Rs. 27 cr with 40 teaching staff, and the later received Rs 300 cr with 250 teaching staff [17]. With such a step motherly treatment, no wonder the Telangana region will have the lowest literacy rate and the present literacy rate (2009) is around 57% (including Hyderabad) compared to 62% and 60% in the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions respectively [18].

The exploitation in employment is another major concern among the people of the Telangana region. The Andhra region under the British colonial rule have had good awareness in the education field, while the Telangana region under the Nizam did not had the same opportunity. After the merger, the Gentlemen’s agreement of 1956 clearly stated the Mulki Rules (which guarantees the rightful employment for the locals in the Telangana region) to be followed, but were bluntly violated. After 1969 unrest G.O. 36 was issued in order to repatriate the 25,000 non-local employees illegally appointed in the Telangana region between 1956 and 1969, the non-locals challenged the G.O. in the Supreme Court [19]. The Supreme Court upheld the Mulki Rules and the implementation of G.O. 36 thus leading to 1972 “Jai Andhra” movement, which eventually abolished Mulki Rules and gave birth to the Six Point Formula in 1973 [20].

The history repeated again, when the former Chief Minister Mr. N. T. Rama Rao appointed the Officers’ Committee under the chairmanship of K Jayabharath Reddy in 1985, to find out the number of employees appointed in violation to the Six Point Formula between 1973 and 1985. Again, a new G.O. 610 was issued to repatriate more than 50,000 non-local employees [19], nothing happened. Sensing a serious discontent among the people of the Telangana in 2001, former Chief Minister Mr. C. B. Naidu appointed a one-man commission headed by J. M. Girglani. Submitting the report in 2004, he indicated a gross violation of non-local appointments in almost all the departments in the Telangana region with recommendations [21]. According to an unofficial estimate by the Joint Action Committee of Unions of Telangana Employees, Teachers and workers, the number of non-locals employed in Telangana region exceeded 2,00,000 in 2004. Out of 15,00,000 jobs in state government the people of Telangana occupy only 3,00,000 (i.e., 20%) [22], it will become 33% if the 2,00,000 jobs of non-locals are repatriated, and is more or less the rightful share of Telangana people. Further, there is not even one district collector from Telangana region in the entire state, and only seven department heads out of 433 department heads spreading across the state are from Telangana region [22].

5. Exploitation of Water Resources and Schemes

The exploitation of water resources was also a serious concern expressed by the people of Telangana during the merger with Andhra state in 1956 and even today. Main concerns were the irrigation projects (Major projects e.g., Nagarjuna Sagar and Sriram Sagar and medium irrigation) and the schemes (minor irrigation) taken up by the Hyderabad state to provide extensive irrigation facilities for the people of Telangana in the valleys of the Godavari and the Krishna rivers [23]. The rightful share of these waters considering the fact that large portion of the catchment area (79% for Godavari and 68.5% for Krishna Rivers) lie in the Telangana region [12]. Before the merger, the existing, under construction and the committed projects and schemes would have provided 790 TMC (Thousand Million Cubic ft) of water to the Telangana region (excluding the future projects worth 504 TMC). After the merger, due the Godavari and Krishna water disputes with other states and the re-distribution among the three regions in Andhra Pradesh, the Telangana region got only 627 TMC (including the minor and medium irrigation projects), while the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions received 853 TMC of water [24]. Further, 800 TMC of Godavari water and 89 TMC of Krishna water surpluses were allotted to all the regions as future projects and expansions.

All though Telangana lost a considerable amount of its water share due to merger, the utilization of the entitled water tell a different story. The projects benefiting the Telangana region has been lagging since their inception and inadequate funds added to more delays. There is shortfall of 133 TMC of water as of year 1997 due to the inadequate funds in completion of projects and the diversion of allotted amounts to the other projects [24]. One example worth mentioning is the Nagarjuna Sagar project, was signed as a joint project between the Hyderabad state and Andhra state in 1954 for equal sharing of 264 TMC of water as left and right canals. After the merger the 132 TMC was reduced to 106.2 TMC and this amount was eventually reduced to 89 TMC during the design and execution stage by the manipulation of levels and alignment of the Telangana left canal [24]. The Tank irrigation developed by Kakatiya Kings in 13th Century is unique to the Telangana region and has a potential to provide irrigation facilities to 3,56,123 hectares at the beginning of the century [24].

These minor irrigation storages were encouraged by erstwhile Nizam government and were providing irrigation facilities to 4,47,286 hectares as of 1956, but this potential was deliberately neglected by the state government which led to the decline of 72% to 1,26,000 hectares as of 2004 [12][27]. This shortfall and other factors had severe effects (e.g., suicides, abandoning farming etc) on the poor and medium farming community in the Telangana region that started exploiting the ground water (wells / bore-wells) using pump-sets. The well / bore-wells irrigation has seen an increasing trend in the whole state between 1956 and 2004 from 2,84,000 hectares to 19,00,000 hectares (i.e., 669% increase), while the increase in the Telangana region during the same period was 968% (from 1,16,000 hectares to 11,24,000 hectares) [27]. The other factors such as erratic and low voltage power, higher seed prices, pesticides, crop failures and high interest rate borrowing added to their peril.

To sum up as of year 1997, it was estimated that the canal irrigation system for the cultivable land of 64,02,358 hectares (58%) in Telangana region receiving only 2,66,964 hectares (4.2%) and 46,33,304 hectares (42%) of the Andhra region receiving 13,12,795 hectares (28.3%) [16]. Further, the amount spent on irrigation purposes in the three regions are as follows, Rs. 4005 cr (15.5%) in Telangana, Rs. 19639.5 cr (76%) and Rs. 2201.5 cr (8.5%) in the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions respectively. In recent years, due to revival of separate Telangana state demand in 2001 and the Congress party in alliance with Telangana Rashtra Samithi party in year 2005-06 has given a large allocation of budget to the irrigation projects and schemes to the Telangana region, got Rs. 2797 cr (44%) of the total amount (Rs. 6374.12 cr). However, 25% (Rs. 689.67 cr) was allotted to Sriram Sagar Project – Stage II and the Sriram Sagar Project – Stage I started in 1963 is yet to be completed and was given Rs. 158.41 cr for its completion works in same budget [25][26].

6. Exploitation of Industries and Mineral Resources

To understand the exploitation in the industries, one should look at the stage of industrialization in Hyderabad state before the merger in 1956. The industrialization was far more advanced than in Andhra state, with 26 major industrial undertakings (state-owned or controlled) such as Ajamjahi Mills, Nizam Sugar Factory, Singareni Collieries, Sirpur Paper Mills, Allwyn, Praga tools, Sirsilk etc., while the Andhra state consists of only AP Paper Mills, Andhra Sugars, and few jute mills [23]. At the turn of the 21st century, most of these industries were either closed, sick or privatized due to the delay in the expansion, modernization and siphoning off the entitled funds. While the existing industries and mills in Andhra region were allotted funds for expansion and modernization with more incentives. Only the Singareni Collieries sustained because of its indispensable nature, supporting the non-Telangana industries and the strong worker unions [28].

The Nizam Sugar Factory (NSF) was one of the Asia’s largest sugar factories in 1937 with a crushing capacity of 2500 tonnes [24]. The company started incurring losses in the late 1970’s further the faulty expansion of units (Hindupur and Miryalaguda), takeover of loss-making units (Bobbili and Seethanagaram) in 1981, and delayed modernization ultimately led to the verge of closure in 2000 [29][30]. The state government decided to put up the auction of the NSF and its units citing the private-owed sugar companies were making profits, and to reduce the financial burden on the state. Later in early 2002, the state government decided to enter into a joint venture with the Delta Paper Mills (owned by an Andhra industrialist) with 49% equity share capital of Rs. 9.8 cr along with the NSF and its two units. Before auctioning off the 4200 acres of agricultural lands belongs to the NSF and making a monetary gain of ca. Rs. 84 cr by the state government [54]. The new venture (Nizam Deccan Sugars Ltd.) absorbed only 37% of the existing staff and sending the remaining to voluntary retirement scheme [31]. The remaining units were either closed or sold out. Further, in mid 2007 the state government was mulling to take over from the Delta Paper Mills due to the pressure from its allies [32].

The NSF case in not unique but it is the same story with all the major industries in Telangana existing before the merger. While the state government encouraged the closure of the sick and futile industries in Telangana region, at the same time it encouraged and developed similar industries in the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions e.g., Nandyal sugar factory, Hindupur, Guntur and Eluru spinning mills etc [28]. The coal deposits in four districts of Telangana have been the jewels of Telangana. The power sector in the state is mostly supported by the coal based Ramagundam (62.5 MW), Kothagudem (1200 MW), Vijayawada (1760 MW) and Rayalaseema (840 MW) thermal power stations [34]. The power stations located in Telangana coal belt produce only 1263 MW (i.e., 33%), while the Vijayawada and Rayalaseema units produce 2600 MW depending on the coal transported from the Singereni Collieries (Telangana), Mahanadi Coal (Orissa), etc [33]. Thus leading to question the attitude of the state government in establishing more power stations in the Telangana region allowing the transportation of coal instead of power, the former is economically in viable [28]. This is just a tip of the iceberg, the others such as the state government tenders, contracts, employment of administrative staff and industrial land auctions show gross violations.

7. Exploitation of Land in and around Hyderabad

Today, the land exploitation in and around Hyderabad has become a major issue for solving the Telangana issue. The Urban Land Ceiling Act (1976) can be considered as a starting point, feared of losing their large tracts of prime land in the middle of Hyderabad e.g., Road No. 1, Banjara Hills etc., many Muslim families resorted to distress sales. Which were bought by the people from Andhra region at a throw away prices, after changing hands these were regularized [35]. The enormous tracts of lands surrounding the urban capital amounting to 13,00,000 acres were either available for free or at throwaway prices, until 1960’s the grabbing was limited to government employees and their industrial lobbyists, but the 1969 Telangana movement changed all the dynamics and the domination was exponential in terms of land exploitation. To name a few of these acts are the GPR Housing (5600 acres), East City (3000 acres), Sanghi Industries (2842 acres), Ramoji Film City (2812 acres), Satyam Enclave (2600 acres), BHEL Housing (2500 acres) etc., [28].

The irrigation in the surrounding villages of the Hyderabad city was supported by number of tanks and the Musi river, without proper support from state irrigation department the tanks gradually silted and the river dried up making the farmers to face hardships. It is an undeniable fact that most of these lands were bought by the agricultural surplus from the coastal Andhra region [36]. At the turn of the 21st Century, the politicians, prospered industrialists, and the NRI’s possess these lands, incidentally most of these are from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions. Today (as of 2010) the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority has grown to 6300 km² (15,56,764 acres) with 54 mandals located in five surrounding districts. The old municipal corporation with 173 km² (42,749 acres) consisting 300 villages is extended by sucking 600 more villages [37]. The famous mega projects like Hi-tech city, GMR airport, Outer Ring Road rapidly increased the development of Hyderabad, although it gained a monumental name in the world as an IT hub and income for the state, but is purely a real-estate based development. The HUDA started selling the government lands (also the Wakf board properties) to the private parties for infrastructure development and IT parks in the name of Special Economic Zones [38]. As of 2010, the state government had encroached the 57% of total 1,45,411 acres of state Wakf Board (the land or buildings denoted for Muslim religious or charitable purposes) properties by the influential board members, politicians, and realtors [39].

The case of Lanco Hills is an example of Wakf Board property exploitation, the 180 acres of land at Manikonda in Hyderabad was bought by the Member of Parliament from Vijayawada (Mr. Lagadapati Rajagopal) for IT SEZ development from the state government. Upon allotment, the IT SEZ was limited and the real-estate development was planned in the major portion of the land, after inception a case was filed by Mr. H. A. Rahaman challenging that the land is registered as Wakf [40]. One should not forget that the Satyam Fiasco, that caused mainly due to the desire of Mr. B. Ramalinga Raju to move out of lucrative IT business to more profitable real-estate businesses [35]. Further, the large chunk of private companies in and around Hyderabad (mostly owned by the people of Andhra and Rayalaseema regions) e.g., pharmaceutical, cement, granite and food processing etc. are polluting the air and ground water and creating severe health hazards to the local residents, showing the negative impact of industrialization that took place in Telangana region [28]. Hyderabad, known to the world as a “City of Pearls and Nizams”, transformed in 1990’s into Cyderabad due to location of several IT and ITES companies, and should not be surprised when called as “Pollubad” at the dawn of the 21st century.

8. Branding Telangana supporters and Protesters as Maoists or Naxalites

The merger of the Telangana into the Andhra state has no logical reason, no sentiment in the people of Telangana, not recommended by States Reorganization Commission, and no interest shown by the then Prime Minister Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru. However, the merger took place because the Andhra state was virtually bankrupt and needed the surplus government revenue of the Telangana region, the industrialization is more advanced although the agriculture is poor, to choose the 4th largest built-up city of Hyderabad as Capital, finally the merger would strengthen the Congress party [23]. The assurances in the form of Nehru’s declarations and the Gentleman’s agreement were given to the people of Telangana. In 1956, Nehru declared that the merger is against the recommendations of SRC and clarified that “if the people of Telangana suffer injustices at the hands of Andhras then they will have the right to seek separation”, and “Andhra people are on Trial and the Unity of the new state depends on how fairly they treat people of Telangana” [48].

The conditional merger, disrespect of agreement, and the assurances lead to the discontent and unrest among the people of the Telangana in 1960’s, the Telangana agitation in 1969 was a witness of the injustices and subsequent G.O. 36 is the proof of it. The agitation was brutally suppressed by killing hundreds of people including students, later the former Chief Minister M. Chenna Reddy betrayed the people of Telangana for his personnel gains. The police action in 1969 forced many students, protesters and supporters to take up radical path into Communism to fight the government and the injustice. The Communism was already in place due to the roots of Peasant’s Struggle (1946-51), the people found solace from the autocratic Andhra rulers. The people of Telangana were forced to listen to the Andhra rulers in the name of development, election promises, and manifestos, and their democratic separate statehood demand is now refereed as Naxalism with supporters as Naxalites or Maoists. People tend to forget that Naxalism or Maoism did not take birth in Telangana, it originated from Coastal Andhra in Andhra Pradesh and often guided by Andhra comrades [49].

The suppression of this democratic wish is clearly visible to what happened and happening in several universities and districts of across Telangana in late 2009 and 2010. As in 1969, the Separate Telangana Movement started by Member of Parliament Mr. K. Chandrashekar Rao in late 2009, the Osmania University students are taking most of the grievances by the police force. Unlike 1969, the state government deployed central and special commando forces (Greyhounds of Andhra Pradesh Police) along with civil police to contain the movement. The Greyhounds, committed human rights violations on the students and media persons in the campus as reported by Human Rights Watch report dated January 19, 2010, thus leading to question the attitude of the state government by the Supreme court, High court and the people of the Telangana [50]. The people of the Telangana are not patient enough to sustain these movements, young people mainly students committed suicides fearing Telangana might not become reality, and the number has reached more than 300 as of March 2010 [51]. The media (print and television) is playing its part by showing partial news and censoring the movement for their own gains!

9. Hyderabad as a Capital City for Telangana Only

The Historical city of Hyderabad is 419 years old, founded by ruler Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah of the Qutb Shahi dynasty in 1591. The Hyderabad fame, Golconda’s wealth, and the strategic location attracted the Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb, who captured Golconda after a long siege in 1687. In 1724, Mir Qamaruddin (Asaf Jah I), a Governer appointed by the Mughal Emperor defeated the rival official to establish control over Hyderabad, this marks the beginning of Asaf Jahi Dynasty which lasted for seven generations until 1948 [41]. During this period, the city of Hyderabad has grown both culturally and economically, the public works department in 1868, municipal administration system was first introduced by 1869 and the taxation structure was established. The last ruler Mir Usman Alik Khan Bahadur (Asaf Jah VII) reign spanning 37 years witnessed the introduction of electricity, railways, roads, airways, irrigation projects, Hyderabad State Bank with Hyderabadi rupee as currency. Nearly all the public buildings were built in the city such as Osmania General Hospital, AP High court, State Central Library, Assembly Hall, Jublee Hall, State Museum, and also started Osmania University making primary education compulsory and provided free for the poor [42].

Although the Nizams repressed the majority Hindus and their contributions, they depended heavily on the rural economy of the state and a significant portion of this wealth was invested to develop the infrastructure and services in the city of Hyderabad. The process of industrialization began in 1909 with the establishment of several spinning and weaving mills. By 1956, it was 4th largest city in India, and became a home to many industries (listed in the 6th point) with industrial estates such as Azamabad and Sanathnagar [35]. The amenities of the Hyderabad city fascinated Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and in 1955, he recommended Hyderabad to be made the second capital of India. He said,

“Hyderabad fulfils all the requirements of a capital for India. It is equidistant from all parts of India. Hyderabad has all the amenities which Delhi has, and it is far better City than Delhi. It has all the grandeur which Delhi has. Buildings are going cheap and they are really beautiful buildings, far superior to those in Delhi. They are all on sale. The only thing that is wanting is a Parliament House which the Government of India can easily build.” [43].

The culture of Hyderabad is referred to as a “Ganga-Jamuna tehzeeb” that is peaceful co-existence of all. The people of many religions (Armenians, Anglo-Indians, Parsis, Shias, and Sikhs etc) co-existed in the state along with Muslims and Hindus (Telangas, Kannadigas, Marathas, North Indians etc) [35]. Before the annexation of Hyderabad State into the Indian Union, a Communist led Peasant revolt popularly known as Telangana Rebellion took place between 1946 and 1951. The people revolted due to the illegal and excessive exploitation meted out by the feudal lords of the Nizam. The revolt began in the district of Nalgonda and quickly spread to the Warangal and Bidar districts. The Nizam’s response was brutal and thousands of people lost their lives during the course. Many great leaders were in the forefront of the movement to name a few leaders like Puchalapalli Sundariah, Chandra Rajeshwara Rao, Raavi Narayana Reddy, Makhdoom Mohiuddin, Hassan Nasir, etc., [44][45].

Later, the people of Telangana sought integration of state with rest of India with a non-violent and peaceful struggle known as “Hyderabad Liberation Struggle” under the leadership of Swami Ramananad Tirtha. However, this turned violent due to the brutal oppressive and communal movement of the Razakars (a private Islamic militia organized by Qasim Razvi to support the rule of Nizam). Eventually, the Indian Army routed the Razakars and Hyderabad state is liberated [46]. The History of Hyderabad makes Hyderabadis and the people of the Telangana proud. The Telangana region does not have an alternate city like Hyderabad, other cities such as Warangal (fourth largest), Nizamabad (tenth largest) are either small or in viable for a capital city. At the same time, the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions have the second (Vishakapatnam) and third (Vijayawada) largest cities in Andhra Pradesh [47]. Considering the historical aspects, factors and economics, Hyderabad should be made capital for Telangana only.

10. Smaller States are good for Development and Governance

From 1952 to 1956, Telangana existed as a part of Hyderabad state with 16 districts (10 districts of Telangana, few districts of Maharashtra and Karnataka) with Hyderabad as its capital. The States Reorganisation Commission had judged correctly in the division of the linguistic states, suggested that Telangana and Vidarbha to be made separate states. The political-will stopped from doing so, while there are five Hindi speaking different states in the north India, none were made in south India [23]. The States Reorganization Commission said that the Hyderabad state with an area of 45,000 km² and 1.13 crore population with an annual revenue of Rs. 17 crore was a stable and viable one. Due to its higher land and excise revenues, it has revenue surpluses, which would be sufficient to finance the irrigation projects it needed. It further said the Telangana is neither poor nor backward due to its rich resources however, it lagged due to the lack of English educational institutions and employment opportunities under the Nizam [52].

The economy of the newly formed states in 2000 such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand supports the formation of the Telangana. The gross domestic product figures of these new states are much better than their parent states as of 2007-08. The percent increase in the growth of GDP from 1999-2000 to 2007-2008 is 102% for Jharkhand, 150% for Chattisgarh, 182 % for Uttarakhand, while their parent states figures for the same duration are 76 % for Bihar, for Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are 78% and 97% respectively [53]. The newly formed states are achieving higher rates of growth than their target growth rates in the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012) [52]. The main problems of these states such as poverty and extremism also exist in their parent states. The smaller states would be beneficial for efficient governance to tackle these problems compared to their larger counterparts. Telangana with Hyderabad as its capital will definitely prosper as a separate state, and will bring the lost prosperity and happiness to the people of Telangana. With its peaceful co-existence nature, the settlers can lead a