Why did Telangana split from Andhra pradesh?

 

 In Hyderabad, somewhere between the Lakdikapul area and the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, you would find a small park. It's called the Gun Park. In the middle of the park, there is a memorial. The memorial may not look very extravagant, but it is the site of many major political events. Why is the memorial important? It was built in memory of 369 students who died during the 1969 Telangana protests. Despite the protests, Telangana's demands weren't fulfilled. People had to wait for 40 years. And some events were so dramatic that many might not believe them. While opposing the Telangana Bill, L. Rajagopal sprayed pepper in Lok Sabha. "This ensued Chaos among the MPs." These scenes are from the Indian parliament where MPs were opposing a bill. The bill is called the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, which intended to establish Telangana state. Despite the ruckus, a few days later this bill was passed by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. A few days later, the President of India signed this bill and on 2nd June, 70 years later, Telangana's dream came true. Telangana's demand wasn't unique in India's history. Because there are states in India that were created on the basis of language, but there are states that weren't created on this basis too. So why were people protesting for Telangana? And why did it take 70 years to fulfill this demand? To answer these questions, we need to delve into history. Not 70 years but a few hundred years back. To the time of this person called Aurangzeb . the situation has deteriorated beyond comprehension even during the time of British, Hyderabad used to have an army, a railway service, and a postal service.There's going to be an addition in the Indian map.A brand new state known as Telangana is being added. In 1687, the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb seized control of the Deccan by defeating the Qutb Shahi dynasty at the Golconda Fort. After a while, Qamar-ud-din Khan took control over the Deccan and started the Asaf Jahi dynasty with the title Nizam-ul-Mulk. That's why the rulers of Deccan came to be known as Nizams. The reign of Mir Nizam Ali Khan was a crucial phase in Telangana's history. In the Nizam's territories, the Telugu regions could be classified into three different regions - Telangana, Rayalaseema, and Northern Circars (or Coastal Andhra). We need to keep in mind that Nizam's territory of Telangana and modern Telangana state are different. Because Nizam's Telangana also included some parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka. During the reign of Mir Nizam Ali Khan, the British took control over Northern Circars and Rayalaseema. Thus, Northern Circar and Rayalaseema became part of the Madras presidency of the British. Nizam was left with the Telangana region, which came to know as the Hyderabad state. This means that the Telugus were split between the Madras presidency and Hyderabad state. And this continued for 150 years till India gained independence. After Independence, the British territory automatically became part of India. And Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel devoted himself to make the princely states joined the Indian Union. But Hyderabad state refused to join the Indian Union. Nizams were ousted through Operation Polo by the Indian army and Hyderabad became part of the Indian Union. Meanwhile, the Telugus living in the Madras state started a movement. They demanded a separate state for Telugu speakers rather than being part of the Madras state. Several Indian political leaders were against the idea of states being formed on a linguistic basis. For example, the Dar Commission, appointed by the Constituent Assembly, rejected this idea and said that it would be convenient to administer India if the states aren't created on a linguistic basis. However, it became difficult to overlook the demand for a separate state when Potti Sriramulu died in a hunger strike while advocating for Andhra Pradesh. As a result, the Congress leaders had to accept the demands and create Andhra Pradesh in 1953, its capital being Kurnool. Keep in mind that this Andhra Pradesh only comprised of Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. Telangana still existed as the state of Hyderabad. With the creation of Andhra Pradesh, others started demanding separate states too. Hence, the government had to form the States Reorganisation Commission to handle the issue. What did the commission suggest about the future of Hyderabad state? If you remember, the Hyderabad state wasn't composed of Telugu-speaking regions entirely. So the commission suggested that the Maratha region should go to the Bombay state. The Kannada region should go to the Mysore state. And the Telugu region should not go to Andhra Pradesh. They said it should not .The commission wrote that Telangana and Andhra Pradesh should remain as separate states at least till 1961 and thereafter the people can vote and decide if they want to merge with Andhra Pradesh. Why did the commission oppose the merging of Telangana with Andhra? It said that the people of Telangana were educationally backward, making them vulnerable to exploitation by the people of Coastal Andhra. Even Jawahar Lal Nehru had opposed this merger. He called the demand for Visalandhra, a.k.a unified Andhra, as an example of imperialism. And the people of Telangana felt that they had experienced such exploitation. For example, after the Indian army defeated Nizam's forces and took control of Hyderabad, many government officials from Coastal Andhra were brought in. And the people of Telangana said that the officials mistreated them. As Telangana had higher revenue, because it had excise duties on liquor that were absent in Andhra, the people feared that the income could be diverted to Andhra. They also feared that the water from Krishna and Godavari rivers would be used for Andhra. The key reason for these fears was that the Nizam-led Hyderabad was much poorer than the British-led Andhra. The people of Telangana were suffering due to the taxes imposed by the Nizams. While in British-led Andhra, irrigation and railway projects were being built. Some even received education in the English language, gaining an advantage of getting a government job. Hence, the political leaders of Andhra reassured the people of Telangana and signed the Gentlemen’s Agreement, which made several points. For example, the income of Telangana would be spent there only. Due to these promises, a unified Andhra Pradesh state was formed with Hyderabad as its capital city. Now you may ask: why did the Andhra leaders want to build a unified state? It was largely due to economic and political reasons. For example, some leaders felt that the unification will solve the problem of finding capital for Andhra. Despite the agreement, many felt that it wasn't permanent. Pandit Nehru compared it with the matrimonial alliance which has provision for divorce. And in time fissures started to develop between Telangana and Andhra regions. There were several reasons for this. A key reason was water. Telangana historically depended on tank irrigation. But due to a lack of public investments, farmers had to depend on private borewells, which had an environmental impact. While due to strong public investment in the Andhra regions, its farmers had easy access to Krishna and Godavari. The second reason was public representation. The Telangana leaders had to play a supporting role in the state's politics. Similar discrimination was noted in education institutions and bureaucracy. Apart from the socio-economic differences, leaders in Telangana felt that they also had a different identity with their own culture, dress code, and food habits. For example, festivals such as Bathukamma and Bonalu have been celebrated in Telangana but not in Andhra Pradesh. While Andhra leaders spoke about Telugu Thalli, the mother of all Telugu people, Telangana leaders spoke of Telangana Thalli, the mother of all Telangana people.  Due to the violation of the Gentlemen's Agreement, the people of Telangana started a massive revolt in 1969. While some demanded stricter implementation of the Gentleman Agreement others demanded a separate state of Telangana. This movement was called the Jai Telangana movement. This movement was led by students and government employees. They argued that they didn't have enough positions in colleges and government jobs. So some went on hunger strikes while others started protesting. In an incident, an angry mob attempted to set fire to the residence of a sub-inspector. This led to police firing and the death of several students. To counter the Jai Telangana movement, some citizens of Andhra initiated the Jai Andhra movement. Its demand was to keep Andhra Pradesh separate from Telangana. To represent Telangana demands on politics, a new party called Telangana Praja Samiti (TPS) was formed. But the political movement for Telangana was halted when some members from TPS joined Congress and Indira Gandhi established a political settlement through a ˜Six Point Formula. The movement did get halted, but the key issues weren't solved. Let's talk about water. The green revolution had made Indian agriculture more water-dependent. As the demand for water increased, Andhra was favored because most of the water flowed into it. According to the catchment area of Krishna, Telangana argues that it should receive 69% of its water. But in reality, it only received half. Due to the lack of water, farmers in Telangana had to migrate to Andhra Pradesh. For example, some migrated to Guntur where they worked for Andhra Pradesh's landowners despite miserable wages. This had a significant impact on Telangana agricultural sector. For example, between 1998 and 2005, of the total suicide cases in Andhra Pradesh, most were from Telangana. Locals also alleged that most of the companies in Hyderabad belong to owners from Andhra, and the owners discriminate against the locals. The Coastal Andhra dominated Telangana economically, while Rayalaseema dominated politically. And this domination was largely in the hands of two caste groups - Reddys and Kammas. As Dr. Ambedkar once said that Reddys and Kammas hold all land, offices, and business. Hence, the demand for Telangana became prominent nearly two decades later with the rise of a leader known as KCR. He formed his own party with the vision of establishing a separate state for Telangana. His oration is his peculiarity. He had a strong grip on Telugu and Urdu, and his speeches helped attract a large crowd. His famous dialogue goes like, Telangana Waley Jago, Andhra Waley Bhago. In the 2004 elections, he formed a coalition with Congress when the latter promised statehood for Telangana. KCRs party outperformed in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections. However, the demand for Telangana didn't materialize. So he quit Congress and formed an alliance with Telugu Desam Party. In the 2009 elections, he was defeated by the YSR Reddy-led Congress party. But after a few months, an incident evoked the demand for a leader in Andhra. Andhra Pradesha CM, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy isn't with us anymore.He left for Chittoor in the morning and died along the way in a helicopter crash.A month after YSR Reddy's death, the Supreme Court passed a judgement declaring Hyderabad as a free zone for police recruitment. This meant that people from Andhra could get recruited in the Hyderabad police department. This concerned the people of Telangana as people from Andhra are well educated and had higher chances of securing jobs in the Hyderabad police department. This judgement marked a tipping point for the Telangana movement. In 2009, KCR started a fast unto death. Due to the rising tensions and KCRs deteriorating health, the center had to accept Telangana's demand. It became India's 29th state, with KCR as its first CM. Hyderabad was declared the capital of both states until 2024, after which Amravati will become the capital of Andhra Pradesh. Despite the formation of a separate state, several issues remain. For example, how government employees would be split between the states. But the key issue is the battle over water. And its likely that India will face water scarcity as an aftereffect of climate change. If we consider economic development, though its not been long, initial estimates suggest that Telangana has benefitted immensely from the split. D. Narasimha Reddy, a former Professor from Hyderabad Central University, suggested that the split could reverse the inequality i.e. Andhra Pradesh might have to suffer due to the split. He blames Andhra Pradesha's policies. Rather than addressing the crisis of agriculture and infrastructure, the policies prioritize building a grand capital city, which was eventually canceled by the next government. However, Andhra Pradesh is fortunate because it has multiple growth centers. Meanwhile, Telangana's growth is centered on Hyderabad. And this would be a challenge for Telangana: the development of its farmers over industrial development in Hyderabad. As we ' ve learned from the history of India, one privileged community replaces another one, but the commoners plight remains unaddressed.