Telangana is on the boil

A general strike planned by Telangana supporters in September promises more violence. Is there a solution in sight?

In just a few weeks, the Telangana issue is once again destined to roil the country. The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Telangana representing various pro-Telangana outfits, has given a call for a general strike on September 5 th. All around Hyderabad, small demonstrations, dharnas, and round table conferences are being held as a warm-up to the latest round of agitations. This may very well explode into pitch battles between the various factions on the streets of Hyderabad.

Telangana is a hot-button political issue. What happens here could very well set the tone for a whole host of claims for statehood around the country, chief amongst them Vidarbha (Maharahstra), Bodoland, Saurashtra (Gujarat), Bundelkhand (Uttar Pradesh), Gorkhaland (West Bengal), Coorg (Karnataka) amongst others.

Why do so many states want to secede? One answer lies in the ability of the state to be more efficient as well as implement better governance. Larger states make all of this more unwieldy. Also, new states are often underdeveloped parts of a larger one and this economic and social inequity becomes a big motivator to strike out on one’s own.(HOW TELANGANA COMPARES WITH ANDHRA PRADESH’S OTHER REGIONS)

By that logic, Telangana shouldn’t have a lot to complain about. For a region that has nine out of fourteen ‘backward’ districts in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana boasts some impressive statistics. Currently, according to the Justice Sri Krishna Commission— constituted by the Centre to examine and submit a report on the situation in AP —the Telangana region (excluding Hyderabad) ranks 15th in GDP in the list of 28 states and is listed above the states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Goa and all the North Eastern states. Moreover, the per capita income in Telangana, including Hyderabad, is at Rs 36,082 (excluding Hyderabad: Rs 33,771) which is just shy of figures for coastal Andhra (Rs 36,496) and more than Rayalaseema (Rs 33,056) These are decent numbers for a purportedly backward region. Clearly, the reason for Telangana’s drive for independence lies elsewhere.

LEGACY OF HISTORY
“A matrimonial alliance with ‘provisions for divorce’” is how the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, described the merger of the predominantly Telugu speaking areas of the erstwhile Hyderabad state, referred to as Telangana, with the state of Andhra in 1956. Nehru’s apprehensions proved to be well founded, since the marriage was on the rocks right from the very beginning.

Historically, Telangana was part of the Nizam of Hyderabad's empire which was never under the yoke of British rule. The region was combined with coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema on purely linguistic grounds under the States Reorganization Act of 1956. The people from Telangana were concerned that they would be marginalized and not given jobs. Given these apprehensions, it was felt necessary that safeguards should be provided to Telangana and a 'Gentlemen's Agreement' was signed by representatives of both the regions.

A 'GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT'
The agreement, consisting of 14 points, was aimed at ensuring good and equitable governance of both the regions in the united state. The agreement covers, among others, political issues relating to representation of Telangana in the power sharing structure as well as other socio-economic issues relating revenue, employment and education.

According to the agreement, the state Cabinet should consist of members in proportion of 60:40 belonging to Andhra and Telangana regions. If the chief minister is from Andhra, the deputy chief minister should be from Telangana and vice versa. However, the implementation of the agreement was stated to have been started on a discordant note. Deputy chief ministership was denied to the Telangana region by the first chief minister of AP, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, in the very first ministry in 1956. Reddy termed deputy chief ministership as "unwanted sixth finger on the hand." The SKC says that ever since, this historical denial has rankled Telangana-ites.

WHO GETS HYDERABAD?
The biggest bone of contention in any decision about Telangana surrounds what to do with Hyderabad. “Economic relations of Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema are rooted in towns and villages of the respective regions and not tied with the city of Hyderabad,” insists Kodandaram, chairman, Telangana Political Joint Action Committee (JAC). “All the economic relations of entire Telangana region are centered around the city of Hyderabad,” he adds. Plus, “what is important here is, these less than 10 per cent investments from coastal Andhra region have established monopoly over the entire infrastructure, contracts and other investment opportunities available in this region,” he says.

Not so says Sailajanath S, Minister for Primary Education and spokesperson for the elected representatives of coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions. “The country and the world at large today treat Andhra Pradesh with respect because we are big and achieved big in terms of economic development and prosperity….Therefore, accusing those who support the cause of united Andhra Pradesh as exploiters is unreasonable.”

In the last five decades, Hyderabad has witnessed establishment of many national institutions, proliferation of industries, development of the IT and ITeS sector and migration of people from various parts of the country and other parts of the state.

Consequently, Hyderabad is much larger than any other urban centre in the state. Its population—at around 10 million—is four times more than that of Visakhpatnam, the second largest city in AP. Along with adjacent Rangareddy district, it accounts for 44 per cent of the registered manufacturing units and 39 per cent of the construction activity of the Telangana region. Besides being the bulk drugs capital of the country, Hyderabad accounted for close to 99 per cent of the total IT exports from the state, valued at roughly Rs 32,500 crore.

The battle over Hyderabad, and Telangana, could prove costly for all of AP. Industrialists are afraid that Hyderabad, which accounts for nearly 60 per cent of the industrial activity in Andhra Pradesh, will go the Kolkata way as far as investments are concerned. Frequent bandhs (17 in the past one year) had resulted in huge production loss of about Rs 6,800 crore and resulted in choking of investments in the state capital.

SEARCH FOR A SOLUTION
Is Telangana, then, worth it? If you look at recently formed states in India as an indicator of the benefits of separate statehood, they have exhibited strong growth patterns. GSDP’s for Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand were 9.2, 11.1 and 8.8 per cent respectively. But this can hardly be a measure of success alone. In Jharkhand, politicians like Madhu Koda and Shibu Soren have been accused of criminal behavior. In Chattisgarh, hundreds and thousands have sprung up to battle the government because of being robbed of their essential livelihood.

Considering the escalating agitation, however, a solution is inevitable and necessary. Of the six solutions it considered, SKC has said that the best option is in keeping the state united by simultaneously providing certain definite constitutional/ statutory measures for socio-economic development and political empowerment of the Telangana region. The second best option, according to SKC, is bifurcation of state into Telangana and Seemandhra as per the existing boundaries with Hyderabad as the capital of Telangana and Seemandhra to have a new capital.

Which way the battle may go could invariably be decided on who decides to embark on the age-old tradition of blackmail in Indian politics, by fasting to death, to force a result. After all, the birth of Andhra Pradesh from the womb of the Madras Presidency was midwifed by Potti Sreeramulu’s fast to death, and subsequent demise, in 1953. One would hope that his efforts are not repeated during the tussle over Telangana.

-business-standard