Introduction : YS Rajashekar Reddy, the incumbent chief minister of Andhra Pradesh campaigning for second phase of the polls to Lok Sabha and Assembly in April 2009, brazenly declared in Rayalaseema and parts of Coastal Andhra that the people there must vote for him if they wished to protect their interests and retain control over Telangana and Hyderabad. They were free to vote for his opponents if they wished the settlers to become foreigners in Hyderabad. However uncouth this kind of negative campaigning may sound to an observer, it is actually nothing when compared to the legal and constitutional violations directed by successive state administrations, at certain regions within the state of AP. Monopolising and diverting river waters is but one instance of such deliberate discriminatory intervention with irreversible implications to regional imbalances. It has been an old policy of the central and state governments to exercise discrimination in the allocation of resources and opportunities against certain regions while continuing to milk them dry for political as well as material gains. It is these unjust practices that have led to the movement for separate statehood for Telangana. In its 60 years as a nation state India has seen many such upheavals. Of these the issue of sub regionalism or demand for division in Andhra Pradesh has perhaps been ignored for the longest period.
Localisms of state or intra-state interests are a significant component of today’s contentious electoral politics. For long there has existed in AP the problem of sub regional resistance, generated by all kinds of inequity. Instead of reparation and redressal of the problems, erstwhile rulers and in independent India, the state has aggravated the situation by direct and indirect repression of such resistance. Today, the problem of sub regionalism is compounded by a) its abuse by forces in power and b) its co-option by transient separatist forces. This has been most noticeable in the period following the creation of the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC), in the early ‘50s.
The nature of the demand for a separate Telangana has undergone a radical shift in the last four decades. From being the demand for justice by the people of an oppressed region, it has turned into a potential tool for oppressors wanting to renew and perpetuate the exploitation of the vulnerable masses. But once out of power, the same oppressive forces have chorused the demand for separate state. We have witnessed this trend particularly during the past two general elections (2004 and 2009). The ruling party Congress-I and the main opposition party Telugu Desam, have by turns acted in a similar manner with regard to the demand for separation.
Andhra Pradesh also has the dubious merit of ruling parties espousing a separatist demand. It becomes imperative here to distinguish people’s aspirations for just opportunities and established political parties seeking to dominate the people, under the pretext of uplifting them. Civil society is yet to create the intellectual tools and action plans that can distinguish people’s politics from power politics.
The demand for a separate state was not random. It has a rationale based upon the needs and hopes of an oppressed people, of minorities, women, adivasis and dalits as distinct identities and as a collective community that has been subjected to long drawn injustices.
In order to fully comprehend the spirit of Telangana and the various dimensions of its demand for statehood one must revisit the undocumented history of the region and its struggles. Additionally one must fully appreciate the burden of mixed compulsions as the region was always an amalgamation of claims by diverse identities. Telangana has embodied the polemics of nationality, linguistic basis of states, regionalism and model miniature India for the nationalists, bourgeoisie, linguistic chauvinists, communal and communist forces.
Of late there has been a rise in the assertive expression of the Telangana identity in the cultural realm. Another dominant feature has been the lack of connectivity between cultural movements and political activism on the one hand and between civil society and the political establishment on the other. The last decade has also seen the emergence of apolitical groups that have popularised the cause of separate Telangana.
Among others who have drawn public attention to Telangana through peaceful means have been artists, professionals, writers, teachers and concerned citizens. They have done this by creating icons of regional identity and culture trough celebration of Telangana festivals like Bathukamma. These cultural movements have made steady progress not only in the region but across the globe, independent of the outcome of electoral processes. The diaspora in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Europe and Gulf reflect the movement’s search for articulation of its cultural identity.
Simultaneously the separate state movement has generated an upsurge of reading material in the form of booklets, pamphlets and books that examine the different aspects of the movement. Recent literature, both fiction and non-fiction, has enriched the Telangana debate with fresh insights and diverse perspectives.
One drawback is that most of the available material in print about Telangana can be accessed only by readers of Telugu. The other problem is that it is mostly about Telangana’s past (the struggles, the sacrifices, the deceit of the coastal rulers), discrimination of the region in budgetary allocations or projects or the need to defeat anti-Telangana forces in the ensuing polls. Very few works are focused on the history of 1969 movement.
Each aspect of the separate state movement – economic, socio-cultural, and political – merits detailed study . This book offers a kind of exposition and preliminary background on these aspects to the non Telugu reader. It consists of original papers and reprints on a handful of issues related to the complex problem of sub regionalism in modern Indian politics. Many more such studies are required before widespread public awareness may be created and any substantial transformation occurs in the life of the region. In selecting the pieces the editors have aimed at focusing on the themes of politics of separate Telangana, nature of identity politics and identity issues in art forms.
Some of the essays look at the basic premise of identity politics and sub-regionalism in the context of Telangana, the social structure of regional politics and the current political scenario of Andhra Pradesh with the rise of new political parties vis-à-vis the demand for a separate Telangana.
Duncan B Forrester, N Venugopal and M Bharath Bhushan explore issues of regional discrimination, identity and its construction, articulation in the form of movements and role of political parties. Dean McHenry Jr examines the role that electoral politics and ballot boxes can play in achieving a separate state with special focus on the AP poll results of TRS in 2004 general election, 2005 civic elections, 2006 by-elections and 2006 Panchayatraj elections. Naresh Kumar writes about the continuing influence of cinema stars in Telugu politics and their response to separate Telangana through a detailed study of Chiranajeevi’s entry into politics and subsequent campaign for the 2009 general elections.
Literature, cinema and art offer a reflection of a land, its people and their struggles and social contradictions. Cultural expression is a medium for the assertion of contesting and conflicting identities. Regional identity and its articulation in the cultural sphere are to be seen in the articles by Radhika Rajamani and SV Srinivas. The former presents a brief sketch of the Nature-Man-Spirit complex in the works of Telangana artists while SV Srinivas deals with cinema being a means of representing contesting identities.
Two Telugu short stories, Golla Ramavva by P V Narasimha Rao and Bhoomi by Allam Rajayya, written in 1940s and ‘70s respectively reveal the struggle for land, livelihood and liberation from the oppressive systems of the despotic Nizam in the pre-independence era and the unjust state in independent India. The rationale for selecting these two stories out of hundreds of others is that they underscore the unchanging condition of the region and the tenacity of the region’s struggle at two points of time in contemporary history. That they are authored by prominent personalities from the same district, Karimnagar, is a coincidence. Golla Ramavva is written by late PV Narsimha Rao, the former Prime Minister of India, during his early years as freedom fighter and Bhoomi is by Allam Rajayya, a popular contemporary Telugu novelist and short story writer.
The editors acknowledge the limitation of the scope of the book as it has confined itself to writings prior to and run up to the general elections of 2009. It is their earnest hope that their attempt will facilitate fresh discourse on Telangana and lead other observers and experts to produce further studies and in depth analysis on the issue.
- The Book is priced Rs 250 in India, for copies you may write to narry62@yahoo.com or to AdEd Value at www.adedvalue.com
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