Telangana: At long last

A new state is set to emerge amid sighs of relief in some places and chewing of nails in others

The Centre’s decision to carve a separate Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh—with the new state composed of the 10 inland districts that were added to Andhra in 1956 as part of its reorganisation—has seen celebrations in these parts, as expected. It has also come as a relief to millions across Rayalseema and Coastal Andhra, where tensions were rife on recent reports that the new state would include two Rayalseema districts and thus be called Rayal-Telangana.

Though protests have broken out in Rayalseema towns against the bifurcation, this anger is directed more at the Congress for its neglect of this backward region of Andhra than capitulation on Telangana, as they see it. In other parts of Andhra Pradesh (the remnant state), public sentiment seems similar. While people by and large are not dismayed at Telangana being given away, they want the government to pay more attention and devote more resources to the problems of their outlying regions. There are those, of course, who appear far from reconciled to the division. Groups fighting for a united Andhra have taken to the streets, angrily setting public property on fire and blocking traffic in protest.

Observers feel that the Congress should move quickly to address issues of regional imbalances and economic development to quell the anger of protestors. But the party appears content in its assumption that the ‘united Andhra’ movement will fizzle out in a few days.

The status of Hyderabad as the capital of both states for 10 years remains a tricky question because the city is located in Telangana now and has no border with the rest of AP. For many, this is in fact the biggest question of all. Andhra’s capital remains a city of dreams for ambitious youngsters in Rayalseema and the coastal areas, and the thought of it eventually being Telangana’s capital disheartens them. It is true that Hyderabad is not just the centrally-located administrative capital, the sweat and toil of migrants—many of them from those parts—has played a significant role in the city’s success. Be it the film industry, business or trading activity, and lately even the infotech industry, much credit must go the industrious folk who came to Hyderabad looking to make their fortunes.

A large chunk of the money that moves the commerce of the city has also come from other parts of Andhra, especially the rich belt of Vijayawada, Guntur, Nellore and Visakhapatnam. Since 2008, Hyderabad has seen several swanky malls, restaurants, star hotels and showrooms spring up, many bearing glitzy foreign brands. Volvo, a new entrant to India’s luxury car market, has been a roaring success in Hyderabad, with its local showroom accounting for over 40 per cent of its all-India sales. More interestingly still, Harley-Davidson, the American motorcycle company, chose the city to open its first showroom in India. The city is also known as a medical hub, drawing patients from the rest of India and abroad.

Till some years ago, the city’s real estate market had been in boom, most visible in the glassy skyline that emerged as ‘Cyberabad’ on its outskirts in architectural contrast with the old city of Nizami spires and domes. But that boom did not last. “All development had come to a standstill in the last four years of the pro-Telangana agitation,” says a builder, “Projects came to a halt as nobody was sure of the future status of Hyderabad. If the city went to the new state then businesses would have fled and demand for housing and commercial space would have dropped.” That fear has been allayed, but not entirely. “Even now,” he adds, “confusion persists and a permanent solution has to be found.” Meanwhile, the pro-Telangana agitation had seen property prices rise in Vijayawada, since it was tipped to be the capital of Rayalseema and Coastal Andhra. “In the last decade, Vijayawada witnessed a fivefold boom [in prices],” says V Bhaskar Rao, an economics lecturer.

One industry that is left at something of a loose end is Hyderabad’s Telugu film industry, which produces the highest number of films in India every year. Most people who work here are originally from the coastal and Rayalseema regions. In fact, the films this industry churns out reflect the aspirations of the people of Andhra more than Telangana, where the Telugu spoken differs a little from that elsewhere.

Vocal groups in favour of a samaikhya or united Andhra want the Centre’s decision reversed. They want to know what right the Congress has to determine the fate of the state when the Justice Srikrishna Committee that examined the proposal of Telangana had clearly stated that there was no political consensus on such a carve-up. That committee had also suggested that the state be kept united and constitutional guarantees be provided to develop neglected areas.

While the Congress may appear to have scored a point over its political rivals by taking a bold decision, it is worth noting that regional political parties such as the Telugu Desam Party and YSR Congress Party are still divided over the bifurcation. The YSRCP, led by Jaganmohan Reddy, has been ambivalent to the extent that former Congress MLA and minister, Konda Surekha, who jumped onto the Jagan bandwagon, has questioned her new party’s commitment. “The YSRCP is answerable to the people of Telangana who have supported [Jaganmohan Reddy],” she says, perhaps finding herself on the wrong side of the victory dais. Senior YSRCP leader MV Mysoora Reddy, however, has said the Congress had taken a unilateral decision for the sake of votes.

Former Chief Minister and TDP leader Chandarbabu Naidu was never in favour of Telangana, and quite a few local leaders he had in these districts have deserted his party. He is still tightlipped on the division.

There is dissent within the Congress as well, with some party members unhappy with the division. Vijayawada Parliamentarian Lagadapati Rajagopal, head of the company Lanco and also one of the Lok Sabha’s richest members, had been trying hard to convince his party not to divide Andhra. “The decision of the Congress Working Committee is unfortunate,” he says, “I am confident the state will remain united and the Telangana bill will be defeated in Parliament.”

The Telangana movement dates back to the 1950s, when a demand arose for a separate Telangana state comprising the 10 districts that were administered by the Nizam of Hyderabad. In 1956, the Telangana region was clubbed with the Coastal and Rayalseema regions that were earlier under the Madras Presidency to form Andhra Pradesh. But this left many aggrieved, and the proposal of a separate state of Telangana kept popping up from time to time.

The movement gained traction in 2001, when the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) was formed under the leadership of K Chandrasekhar Rao with a clear agenda: the creation of a separate state. The TRS was an ally of the BJP in the NDA and then switched to the Congress in 2004. But Rao later quit the UPA disillusioned. He famously went on a fast-unto-death in late 2009. The idea of this was to test how hard he could press his demand. His agitation was quickly joined by pro-Maoist elements and students of Osmania University.

The movement gathered steam after P Chidambaram, who was then India’s Home Minister, made a midnight announcement of Telangana’s creation on 9 December 2009. The Congress has now done as it said it would.

Though the TRS has reacted with caution for now, the party says it will abide by its promise of merging with the Congress. “I had promised the Congress that ‘once you give us Telangana, I will merge the TRS with Congress’. I will keep my promise,” Rao said minutes after the Centre’s declaration of 30 July 2013.

On its part, the Congress expects the decision to solve multiple problems. The party, despite having a clear majority in the Andhra Assembly and 33 Lok Sabha members from the state, has been in turmoil here ever since the death of its former Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy in a helicopter crash in late 2009. Not just the Telangana agitation, but also the popularity of the breakaway YSRCP led by the former CM’s son, Jaganmohan Reddy, had rattled the Congress.

Whether Jagan’s rise has been countered is not clear. Last week, Congress spin doctors floated the idea of a Rayala-Telangana to nullify the YSRCP’s popularity in and around Rayalseema by trying to merge Anantpur and Kurnool districts with the new Telangana state. This idea, the brainchild of S Jaipal Reddy, would have split Andhra’s 42 Lok Sabha seats equally between the two regions and would have probably helped the Congress retain its influence at least in one of the two. But it was soon clear that the idea would cause a violent rupture in those areas.

By being decisive on Telangana, the Congress hopes to retain its influence in at least these 10 districts, even if it means a dismal showing in Seemandhra (as the rest of the state may now be known). Congress sources say the decision to have Hyderabad function as a joint capital for a decade was a way to defer this tough call.

The Telangana decision is expected to set off demands for new states in other parts of India. Voices have arisen for a separate Vidharbha carved out of Maharashtra. Also, for the division of Uttar Pradesh into West UP, Porvanchal, Bundelkhand and Avadh Pradesh. In the east, Darjeeling has seen an agitation erupt; the Gorkhaland Janamukti Morcha (GJM), which had signed an autonomy accord for the administration of Gorkhaland, has revived its demand for full statehood. In Assam too, a Bodoland is being sought by Bodos. All said, India’s precarious balance of regional, linguistic and other identities may be in for rough times in the months and years ahead.

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