TELANGANA- THE REAL STORY

Telangana, the 29^th baby of Mother India has received the due date from our doctors (UPA-II). For the past decade, protests and violent movements were all that came to our mind when we say Telangana. But the history runs deep to almost 57 years, back to 1956 when the state of Andhra Pradesh was created.

Post independence, the Nizam of Hyderabad was unwilling to join the Indian union and wanted to remain as an independent nation. Hence the Indian government annexed the state of Hyderabad through Operation POLO. Lots of drama took place in the following decade as the people of Telangana refused to become part of Andhra Pradesh (yes back then itself).

But the Union Government (Congress, then too) went on as planned and created Andhra Pradesh including the states of Telengana. Several movements arose between 1956 & 2009 but none turned fruitful until this time.

I don’t want to go Vijaykanth on you by giving the Statistic details of Telangana but to be brief; it occupies 42% of the landmass, holds the majority of Rivers Krishna & Godavari and is mineral rich. Above all it has Hyderabad (along with its briyani).

People of Telengana were always locking horns with Seema- Andhra (Coastal Andhra & Rayalaseema) over their treatment in terms of employment opportunity, lack of spending which was supposedly theirs. Ever since Independence, Chief Ministers from Telengana have ruled the state for only 10 years. Also the employment in Government Jobs is also proportionately low.

Now that bifurcation is complete, the new government in Telengana should ensure that justice is delivered for which the state was divided in the first place. It will be a hard time for the people of Andhra Pradesh to come in terms to what had happened to their state.

The biggest problem is that other states will start claiming new states too ( Vidharba in Maharashtra, Bodoland, Gorkhaland, four new states from UP & MP). Most activists see this as a political move by the UPA-II keeping in view the general elections next year. It will take us a year to see whether or not this gamble has paid off.

Though I felt bad about the bifurcation, the happy faces in Telangana clearly indicate that justice is finally in their reach. Let the odds be in their favor.