Fast unto new state of Telengana

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Vaishnavi Bala

12 December, 2009

The creation of Telangana will not put an end to all problems. Instead, it is now important to understand how feasible the option is as a majority of the natural resources would lie with Andhra, and not Telangana.

AFTER YEARS of agitation and protests, an 11-day fast has finally led to crossing the first hurdle thereby initiating the process of a separate state. The government decided to pass a resolution in the Andhra Pradesh assembly. TRS President K Chandrashekhar Rao’s claimed victory, while breaking off his 11-day fast thanked Congress President Sonia Gandhi and opposition leader L.K Advani.

Pranab Mukherjee, senior Congress leader said information from the state government would be needed in the matter. The government, he said, could inform the house in a day or two about the steps being initiated to form the new state. The roadmap for the new state is yet to be drawn, Hyderabad being the bone of contention. Political analysts claim that there can be three options. One could be Hyderabad would be the capital of the new state; two, it could be a common capital for Andhra as well as Telangana, somewhat like Chandigarh; and the most dreadful of the three - Hyderabad could be a union territory. Even after the state is carved out of Andhra, the issue of Hyderabad would be all- pervasive.

It is important to understand the need and basic background of Telangana, which is soon going to be carved out. The new state- Telangana - roughly has an area of 114,900 sq km, with Telugu and Urdu as the major languages. The region is situated at a high altitude in an upland area. Two major rivers Godavari and Krishna flow through the region but most of the land is arid. It would have 10 of the 28 districts currently in Andhra. Till 1956, Telangana was a separate princely state. When AP was carved out of the Madras presidency, Telangana was combined with Andhra in 1956. The region, as it has been noticed by analysts, has been neglected by Andhra and has not received its share. In 1969, there was widespread agitation by students, which led to violence and many deaths. In the 1990s, when BJP came to power, it promised to give a separate state, but was not able to do so due to the opposition it faced.

The year 2006 was a watershed for the Telangana Rajya Samithi won the by-election to the Karimnagar Parliamentary constituency with a record margin. This helped the party in gaining momentum and persuading the major political parties to form a separate state. Congress also claimed that it was committed to forming the new state, but it was being deferred from time to time. But now, it seems that Congress has made a head start. But the creation of Telangana will not put an end to all problems. Instead, it is now important to understand how feasible the option is as a majority of the natural resources would lie with Andhra, and not Telangana. Also this move would give other separatist powers in the country, a false sense of optimism.