Discover Telangana

- Vimala Katikaneni

I am obligated to bother you all. I appreciate the efforts of Mahaboobnagar NRI’s and I really admire their genuine concerns. It could be a ’sweet’ effort but I think it has a very limited scope to uplift our village economic productions. Given the present context we must demand for a deeper and more sustainable changes in state policies. I think now all Telangana people and their leaders must take more stronger commitment than just to request everyone to wear khadi on Saturdays, compensations or subsidies for weavers & farmers.

Regarding these issues I want to put some of my thoughts and I believe these below thoughts are worthy enough to consider. These thoughts by all means are not invented by me. Bhagyareddy Varma, the dalit philosopher & activist from Hyderabad who was the first Guru, mentor to Dr.Ambedkar, Gandhi, Thorue, Montessori, Marx, Schumacher, Prof. Kancha Ilayya and many people from varied contexts spelled out these concerns. Me being in mere instrumental position, simply adding my own Telangana life experiences to them. I am requesting you to go through them as they reflect the concerns of a silent supporter in your genuine efforts.

Here are some of my arguments why we / Telanganites need to encourage small local economic centers (cheetivrutti keendraalu ) in each and every village? why we need to study our village economic behaviors and why we demand for the inclusion of local occupational skills as compulsory subject in primary& secondary school curriculum….Later i leave these thoughts for you to ponder on…..and act…..immediately.

Why we need to study village occupations in school?

Just like the modern sciences, our local/village occupations must be given the opportunity to be taught and studied in our schools. There are more than fifty occupational skills like Weaving, pottery, smithing are existing in Telangana. These local occupations are the combination of social, economic, and artistic expression. By including them in our school curriculum, we will be providing a new foundation for the otherwise declining humanities in our higher educational system. But of utmost importance, we can erase the caste hierarchies that are based on occupations. Unlike the present educational system that has rejected the value of local occupations but has retained caste, this idea will allow us to maintain our occupations and gives us the possibility to reject caste. We never paid attention to the fact that given the chance, with such training, educated youth can also freely and voluntarily immersed themselves in work can raise our creative production (and GDP rate ) and re-establish the affluence of our villages (had I given a chance to get such education in my high school, I would have become a very talented weaver by now. I would have even brought many riches to Telangana with my ‘modern’ sensibilities combined with my indigenous skills. I would not need then some NGO’s to ‘uplift’ me. I would have invented very sensible marketing strategies for my goods!! But Unfortunately I did not get that education).

Historically speaking, all the colonialists have dismissed people who live together in peace as “undeveloped”. As a result (in our case ), the peaceful villages of Telangana are losing (have lost ) their self-confidence and entire communities have fallen into the stream of migratory labor. Through this initiative Telanganas younger generation will gain new insights towards local economic behaviors. And Telangana villagers get lot of self confidence to know that their skills are worthy enough to study in schools. It will most likely prosper Telangana both economically & philosophically. Through such initiative gradually we can re-write the means through which the rich grow richer and endless growth that spreads the misery of urban life. Thus By understanding the democratic values of the local productive centers (local occupations ), which still exist today in Telangana through the support of friendship, fraternity, accountability, sensitivity to natural and social surroundings, and love, we can inspire our youth to live them. In this way, we will be capable of establishing hundreds of such little centers of productivity all villages, thus regaining the energies of our villages.
For such an initiative-

Simply we must be open to recognize that the poverty of our villages is radically different from the wretchedness of the urban centers. We must also be ready to recognize the crucial immediacy of understanding the economic behaviors of our villages. It is only through this that we will be able to appropriately solve local problems. Anyone who is seriously interested in the vitality of our villages must be willing to understand the necessity of framing “developmental” policy in terms of local economic attitudes (I can talk extensively about their most sensible attitudes which reflect an advanced sensitivity and consciousness within economic spheres. Local production centers do not corrupt or pollute nature or social ecology. Consequently, their approach can be seen as setting a world standard for a better future ). For real economic progress it is a necessity for our younger generation to study them in school.

Why we / Telanganites need to encourage little local economic centers (sthanika vrutti keendralu ) ?

Giant corporations from all over the world have already entered into our county and slowly into Telangana. As our friend Sujatha Surepally already explained, not just Polepally but all our villages are going to die. Even if we console ourselves saying ‘death’ is evitable and life changes everyday etc..etc… We all know deep in our hearts that there is a question that still needs to be addressed- the question of “choice”. As true lovers of our place, our country, we must think of the better ‘choices’. Because of the individual centered ‘political groups’ and their lack of awareness we are all forced to go along with few ‘ignorant’ political leaders and fallow their damaging policies like SEZ act etc. Many economists all across the world agreed that those corporations and businesses which establish enormous factories for the sake of producing small needles still lack the power to erase unemployment. But our leaders don’t know this fact. Or they simply ignore the fact that the small but creative village economic centers (cheetivruttulu ) are the true measure of progress because they respect all humans as workers, unlike the great factories which have replaced human beings and creativity with machines and mass production. Countries like India fortunately lagging behind in this “destructive” development race. We can avoid such man made disasters by making wise choices NOW. Take for example our village economic behaviors.

Telangana is the land of “panimantulu / cheetivruttikaarulu” who produce enormous goods in many creative ways. There are more than fifty ‘cheetivruttlu’ in Telangana villages. Local production centers (cheetivrittulu ) emphasize a plurality of production sites and give lot of scope for many to work. One center of local productivity functions as the support for several smaller centers, which in turn support still more centers. Take for example the creation of a saree. Broadly speaking, the thread is first produced by the silk makers, then spooled in another center, then sent to another center to be dyed before it is finally woven into fabric. Unlike factories which operate under the assumption that labor is a commodity to be easily purchased or mercilessly rejected, the local production centers recognize the value of labor and respect the human being as a worker. Local occupations value cooperation rather than capital. This is the reason that local productive centers work for the distribution of wealth rather than the growth of wealth.

With this simple but clear understanding of our own skills and their strengths in the village production centers (vrutti keendraalu ) we realize that The hallow promises like “employment generation” at present being propagated by all developmentalists ) is nothing but robbing our villagers occupations, lands and the village life itself and reducing every individual into a slave to the corporations.

Yesterday I heard in my village bus, a young girl (looks like a computer graduate ) was talking about “job termination” in tears. A villager (her father!? ) next to her was consoling her, “never mind we still have field, I didn’t sell it, you can be your own master”.. At once I felt that for a better advanced society we, Telanganites don’t need to invent alternatives, they already exist in our villages (India )..Well known economist Prof. Schumacher says, “Revert the idea of ‘mass production’ into production by masses”. It occurred to me suddenly that our village occupations simply follow this principle. Is it not the best way for employment generation then!? I wonder !

As hard working, open minded people we Telanganites need to go forward without loosing our sensibilities. We not only recognize that world is changing but we also take part in it to insure a better future for all of us in Telangana. Instead of just talking about compensations for suicides & murders and begging crores of rupees just to kill the remaining village economic behaviors ,why don’t we Telanganites demand for small ‘creative economic centers (CEC ) / (chetivruttula kendraalu ) in each and every village? If they are really concerned about employment generation, then isn’t it the responsibility of the government to provide all the market facilities (moulika sadupaayaalu ) free of cost to our own countryside people? If it is the question of ‘capitol investment’ then let the government encourage outside country people to ‘invest’ their money in buying our village goods directly from our villager centers and selling it in their countries. If government wants to improve economic standards then they can advertise about the innumerable (valuable ) food stuff and other village goods around the globe. They can establish creative goods “parks” in other developed countries to gain foreign currency. A recent report tells that 60% of GDP rate actually depends on small & medium business firms.

I lived in a few “developed” countries for quite sometime. In my experience I saw many people in western countries pay double the amount for the goods made by hands (besides agricultural products ). There is lot of market every where for our village products including all food items from which we can raise the standard of living of the people. When there is a lot of scope to rejuvenate ourselves, to overcome dependency, then the question arises why our ‘leaders’ are interested only to “invite” big corporations to sell their “junk” here? Why they are interested in converting all Indians into spineless dependent workers to “big” countries? Why we all became “human resources”? Isn’t this very word demeaning our human dignity!!

With a simple observation we all understand that, it is not the lack of talent but lack of appreciation measures from consumers (i.e.. educated middle class ), lack of infrastructure, lack of encouraging market policies from government, insensitivity of civil societies& their middle class imitative life styles are the reasons for present plights of skilled workers in our villages. If we have better approach to overcome these above stumbling blocks, just imagine what will happen! Certainly it stops forceful migration. It boosts local economy and rejuvenates the local skills.

The unemployment we see in our own country is not nearly as terrible as the unemployment that exists in the so-called developed economies. There, the large-scale centralized industries have erased both the livelihoods and the creativity of the worker. It is only due to the persistence of our local productive skills that our poverty is different from their wretchedness, a wretchedness that is found equally in the poor slums and the rich ghettos of our big cities. Contemporary middle class values, informed by the idea of “economic development”, obstruct our vision and keep us from recognizing the true misery of unlimited pollution, the “use and throw” lifestyle, and the unemployed poor who are forced to survive on garbage piles of the rich. Moreover, these same middle class values have labeled those who live in small villages, work in local production centers (vritti keendraalu), and harmoniously co-exist with nature as “backward”. They have dismissed people who live together in peace as “undeveloped.” As a result, the peaceful villages of Telangana are losing their self-confidence, losing their ‘will’ to live and entire communities have fallen into the stream of migratory labor or committing suicides.

Given the genuine market support, these small but efficient local productive centers will bring better future for all. Moreover such initiation stops violence- There needs to put a full stop to the murders and suicides of our villagers. People need work in order to sustain in the social fabric. Work gives them dignity, honor & independence. That is why we must immediately recognize the importance of our local creative productive skills. The local productive centers (cheetivruttulu) operate on a decentralized economic model, whose productions are infinitely creative even within limited facilities, and nurture a profound respect for human labor. By calling these centers “cottage industries” we have reduced them to little more than museum pieces. This idea is a complete dismissal of the local collective consciousness and reflects an agenda to incorporate the local centers into a capital intensive industrial paradigm.

Yesterday I went to “lepakshi” “handicrafts” shop just to face the same old experience. I literally begged the ‘employee’ (sales woman) to show me some Narayanpet sarees. She was as usually so…..reluctant to show me (the consumer!) the things & shouted at me!! This is how government abuses the idea of co-operatives. Government by taking the proprietorship from village workers and pricing the goods on their own will and making the goods as museum pieces and rejecting village workers as share & stake holders….with all its bureaucratic insensitivity is actually killing the village production centers. I interviewed many ‘consumers’ about their interest in those goods, many told me “we love them-absolutely….time to time we go inside just to see them….” “Those shops have daunting appearance” “they are only for rich foreign people-now we can not even effort to buy our own Narayanpet sarees”. ”I dream to touch them…”

Many people don’t even know that there are all varied varieties and prices. If we observe the government conducted exhibitions and melas, we immediately notice not only some kind of reckless attitude but also can see many stalls from somewhere else sell their stuff under the banner of AP handicrafts. Many of my generation “educated” people don’t even know what kind of skills exist in our village Telangana. Many weavers cum sales men in a recent hand loom exhibition told me that they had to lose almost a day because they had to sit in the meeting hall just to listen the bureaucrats’ worthless speeches-For no reason they lost one day sales!!

The need of the hour-

The need of the hour is a rigorous and thorough study of our Village economic systems, systems which are based in friendship, consensus, and freedom. We must create our own developmental policies in terms of the village occupational’ economic attitudes and work within the potentiality of their natural surroundings. The skilled workers of Telangana have silently allowed their values to be labeled “backward” and as a result have opened the door to the problems they face today. By accepting the charge that they are weak, they have lost their self-confidence and embraced the suicidal act of seeking “work” in the concrete jungles.

By studying them, the students of the local productive centers can teach the ‘new age’ generation that their “economism” centered attitudes is not only destroying nature but the local consciousness as well. It is high time now to us / the educated to break our rigidness & should be ready to accept the failures in the grand road project called “development” (collapse-a word in this paradigm). We must be open to learn & re-live the economic behaviors that are still there in our villages.

Immediate steps to be taken are:

• Establishing small sthanika cheetivruttula keendraalu in each and every village, with villagers as share / stake holders.
• Government must facilitate ‘infrastructure’ for free of cost in each and every village.
• As a facilitator government must take the responsibility of advertising these products through electronic & print media around the globe.
• Copy right policies: To stop the imitation and exploitation of local creativity by industrial opportunists, cheetivruttikaarulu must obtain copyright protections and broadcast their voices through the popular media.
• Training period: A strict policy for at least one semester compulsory’ student apprenticeship’ with village skilled worker as part of their coursework in the new upcoming business schools, fashion designing school or interior decoration & architectural engineering schools.
• Trial period: Local workers must also double their activity and reinvigorate their creative talents through their interactions with students. Trial and training periods thus compensates both villagers & collage students requirements.
• Incorporating ‘cheetivruttulu’ in the school curriculum as a compulsory subject. Student must be given a chance to choose any ‘one’ vrutti pani such as weaving or smithing etc in high school.

I wish my friends will take lead in this direction.

Appeal to all Telangana supporters …

As a constant observer, I clearly see a turning point in the overall idea of making future Telangana. In many ways I feel happy to see my fellow Telanganites slowly but steadily shedding their development ethos and inclining towards people’s aspirations in a more profound way. Every one of us now started questioning oneself of believing the so called development mantra. I found (in last 5 years) very few people in our movement took note of my fears in using the word “development” itself. Everybody used it without thinking of its consequences. Now that other political parties (CPM, TDP etc) thought to use the issues like land, privatization of education etc as weapons against vote politics, these issues are coming into public debate. The debate itself in many ways is good. Yet it is discouraging for me to know that those issues are being hijacked from Telangana people’s struggle and my people’s aspirations are being vulgarized by mis-representation.

Telangana movement wants to find solutions in localizing the grand issues. Telangana demands to recognize the ‘fragmented reality’ of localness (local means a fragmented reality). Whereas the opposite forces try to pull this fragmented reality (local) out of its roots and preach ‘the local’ that being global is actually humane / mundane value. Ruling party is now working hard to ‘convert’ local fragmented realities through their “reformist” ideas into the hallow development discourse. As you know, this is also evident in ‘lefty’ party like CPM in Bengal who would not hesitate to join stubborn development forces but feel dangerous to accept most democratic local aspirations. Now left & right are all only interested in speaking of far goals in unknown theoretical / magic world. But they attract people with weak heart. They are trying to block the third way, the Telangana way….

As I quoted sometime back “colonized peoples” have three choices in response to colonization-

1. Become good subjects, accepting the premises of the development without much question,
2. Become bad subjects always revolting against the parameters of the colonizing world,
3. Or become non-subjects acting and thinking in ways far removed from those of the developed world.

The third option keeps the local movement not to fall into some grand narratives and prevent it to become a prey to violent political power struggle. This third option is actually Telangana movement’s inherent character. In order to maintain its unique voice amongst mainstream political parties, Telangana parties must nurture this third aspect. They must think locally and act accordingly (but not globally). Telangana (movement) will sustain if only it retains this third option. In order to nurture the third option, Telangana leadership should be very careful in its language / concepts. It seems to me that all Telangana political parties (after shaking hands with every body) still have a scope to maintain uniqueness in their assertions, if only their stand firmly rooted in local realities. For example, in this context of weavers & farmers suicides, Telangana leaders must take these issues into their future Telangana agenda. Such as: moulika sadupaayaalu (infrastructure) for little creative production centers (cheetivrutti keendraalu) in each and every village and a new sate policy for the introduction of local / village occupational studies as part of the school curriculum etc. (but when they assert for the above policy they must be willing to demand that such study must be the compulsory part of the main curriculum, not like optional vocational course). I am sure it will trigger a lot of discussion and appreciation from all varied communities & groups.

With this assertion Telangana leaders can relate themselves with local aspirations by stating that our local / village occupations must be given the opportunity to be taught and studied in our schools, we can not only boost the confidence in local occupations but also can pave a path to re-boost our local economies in long run. Moreover, politically at this point this assertion as a powerful campaign will help Telangana leaders to gain confidence from all villagers. It is like addressing weavers’ suicides indirectly. It means much more than that. It means also addressing the issues of caste oppression / social hierarchies. All Telangana leaders must recognize that In order to attain real progress in Telangana, they must keep the village, rather than mere economics, at the center of their assessment and policy development. Only in this way can they realistically assess the positive and negative aspects of economic development and create appropriate policies. Telangana leaders must stand now in the premise of village.

So far, Telangana leaders are only talking from the premise of urban elite aspirations. They succeeded in bringing all middle class people to subscribe the idea of separate state & its benefits. But they failed to address the villagers issues (village issues like water, they did succeeded to draw every body’s attention). As of now Telangana leaders’ present task is not only to gather all the varied voices for separate statehood, but should take a strong commitment to uplift the village economics. They must announce their commitment in clear action plans. Of course no need to say, they must implement them in future Telangana whatever they say now. So it is important to weigh each word what they say and act.

PS: I am open to take any kind of healthy criticism. Not only my experiences probed me to write this but the unbearable agony that is hovering around our villages made me to take your valuable time, I hope everyone will understand this. Now for everybody Telangana is not only a question but an ultimate answer.