Trouble in Telangana

Not happy with your neighbours??? Just ask for a new state, but its not as easy as it sounds. The Indian government is faced with its latest controversy the creation of the State of Telangana. The Union Home Minister was forced to make a statement agreeing to the formation of Telangana on December 9, 2009. The favourable nature of the Congress was brought on by the indefinite hunger strike carried out by K Chandrashekhar Rao, President of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). The main reason for the demand of a new state was the fact that the people of Telangana considered themselves culturally and linguistically different from the rest of Andhra Pradesh. The Telgu spoken in that region has formed a new dialect which has Urdu and Marathi influences. Post-independence the Nizam of Hyderabad wanted to retain his territory but Operation Polo conducted in 1948, consolidated his kingdom with the newly formed State of India. In 1953 the States Reorganisation Committee was appointed to prepare for the creation of states on linguistic lines. This started the Telangana debate. The Gentlemens Agreement in 1956 unified Telangana and Andhra. The agreement consisted of administrative domicile rules and distinction of expenses of various regions. It also provided Telangana the freedom to safeguard their culture and language. The movement to separate Telangana was sparked again in 1969. The agitation started due to the lapse in the implementation of the Gentlemens Agreement. Incidentally, the first Telangana rebellion marked the beginning of communist agitation in India, which was led by the CPM. With time the issue lost heat and faded into oblivion. The issue was brought up again by the BJP in the 90s. The BJP promised a separate state if brought back into power, this however did not happen as the TDP, which was in coalition with the BJP opposed the Bill. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) caused the dying flames to rise again under the leadership of KCR. They demanded a new state and wanted Hyderabad to be the capital. In 2004, the congress included the Telangana issue in their Common Minimum Program during the elections. This time around, they were supported by the TDP who were in coalition with them. It is ill-advised to form a new state as the results seem unfavourable. If the people of Telangana believe that the state authorities are neglecting them then a Bill better equipping them can be introduced in the Parliament. This issue is not an isolated one. In recent times, India witnessed the formation of three new statesUttaranchal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. If the Parliament supports the formation of Telangana then issues such as the formation of Gorkhaland and a separate state for the Kodavas shall also have to be addressed. This is causing the fragmentation and the degeneration of the country and shall push us centuries back to when India was a mere cluster of kingdoms. In addition, the Telangana region is not as fertile as the coastal regions, which provides the state with maximum income. Telangana would be hard-pressed to sustain itself without the

help of Andhra or the neighbouring states. The development of the region would be better looked after if it were under the Andhra state government. If discontentment is still prevalent then providing autonomy to the region seems like a viable option. The TRS should re-think its demands in light of the above-mentioned facts and prevent the segregation of the Indian state whose beauty lies in its diversity.