my telugu roots 19

8/3/2019 My Telugu Roots 19

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Telangana State Demand Built on a

Platform of Lies

The separatist leaders of Telangana frequently claim that, since the integrated statesformation, the region has suffered because of exploitation by the people from the

Kosta region. No evidence proves Kosta regions deliberate discrimination against

Nizam Telangana. Saying that, from an economic standpoint, there is no denying that

the Nizam Telangana region is marginally behind the Kosta region. The main reason

for the regions backwardness was the severe beating that the economy took under

Nizams rule. Ever since the formation of the integrated state of Andhra Pradesh, the

Nizam Telangana economy grew at a faster pace than Kosta or Rayalaseema.

However, separatist leaders hide this fact to incite people of one region against the

other. Instead of harnessing the strengths of each region, separatist leaders of

Telangana demand parity in every aspect with the Kosta region, when there are

variations in geographical constitution of these regions making parity across differentsectors an impossible goal to achieve.

The former Vice Chancellor of Kakatiya University, Professor Jayashankar, is often

mentioned as the brains behind the separatist movement. He wrote a paper titled

Telangana Movement The Demand for a Separate State that is often cited by the

Telangana proponents to make their case for a separate state. In this paper, Professor

Jayashankar blatantly distorts facts to further his argument for a separate state. In this

chapter, I will present statistical data questioning the claims of separate state

proponents. For this socio-economic analysis, I primarily focus on education,

irrigation, industries, and financial sector data. I relied on statistical abstracts of

Andhra Pradesh for the data presented in this chapter. When I relied on other sources

of data, I have provided explicit footnotes.

To compare how each region performed since the state formation, I used data for the

1956 and 2001. 1956 was the year when the state was formed, and 2001 was the year

when the last census data was collected. The Indian government publishes a census

every 10 years, and I used the 2001 numbers as the most recent benchmark. Of

course, 2011 census numbers, when they become available, will certainly offer a more

telling story.

In addition, as I present data for each region, where available, I offer a separatecategory for Nizam Telangana, excluding the city of Hyderabad. The capital city,

Hyderabad, with its large population tends to skew the results of our analysis. I,

therefore, tried to provide readers a perspective on how the Nizam Telangana districts

perform economically when we exclude Hyderabad city.

Without further ado, let us jump straight into the analysis that helps us understand

how each region performed over the past 50 years.


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EDUCATION

Let us start our analysis with the school education category, and Table 1

compares how each region performed relative to each other.

SCHOOL EDUCATION* (Table 1)

In 1956, when the integrated state of Andhra Pradesh was formed, for every

100 people in the Nizam Telangana region, 5 were in the school system.

Compare that to 12 in Kosta and 10 in Rayalaseema. By 2001, the situation

changed dramatically, with Telangana having 19 students for every 100 people

in the school system, surpassing Kostas 16 and Rayalaseemas 18.

Next, lets look at another categorygraduate education. Table 2 provides the

relative performance of each region since 1956.


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DEGREE EDUCATION* (Table 2)

Yet again, the Nizam Telangana region that was well behind the Kosta region in

the number of graduate students has raced past the coastal regions. In 1956,

for every 10,000 people, there were 19 degree college students in the Kosta

region, whereas there were 10 in the Telangana region. Today, the situation is

reversed. Telangana boasts of 64 degree students for every 10,000 people,

surpassing Kostas 58..

Professor Jayashankar, in his paper, says, after 47 years (since the state

formation) the literacy rate in Telangana continues to be lowest in the state. To

make his case, Professor Jayashankar presents the 2001 literacy rates.

Table 3 provides the number of literates in each region.


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LITERACY (Table 3)

As you can see, Nizam Telangana (excluding Hyderabad) has a 48% literacy

rate, compared to 56% in Kosta and 53% in Rayalaseema. However, these

numbers do not paint a complete picture. As of 2001, Telangana region had

made significant strides in literacy. Despite initially being behind the other two

regions, Telangana region attained a substantial 778% growth compared to the

~300% growth realized in the Kosta and the Rayalaseema regions.

Percentages, in some cases, tend to exaggerate the growth rate. Lets look at

the absolute numbers. Between 1951 and 2001, Rayalaseema added 41 new

literates for every 100 people, and Kosta region added 42 additional literates for

every 100 people, whereas Telangana added 43 literates for every 100 people.

There is no denying that Telangana is behind the other regions when it comes

to the literacy rate. However, it is important to note that the legacy of a low

literacy rate in the Telangana region goes back to the Nizams rule, when only 5

in 100 people could read or write.

Clearly, the statistical data on education does not back up the claims of

exploitation being trumpeted by the leaders of the separate Telangana

movement. The key takeaway of this analysis is that the Nizam Telangana

region, in education, is developing at par with the Kosta region, and despite it,

intellectuals such as Professor Jayashankar will continue to find issues by

cherry-picking the data that supports their fanatical agenda.


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IRRIGATIONNow, lets move on to the most controversial irrigation issue. You will see

allegation after allegation by the separatists on how the other regions are

misappropriating the projects while denying Nizam Telangana its rightful access

to its own waters. I will address some of those issues in a bit, but lets first look

at the macro numbers and how the irrigation sector performed since the states

formation.

Table 4 provides the gross area irrigated by region. Clearly, since the formation

of the integrated state of Andhra Pradesh, the irrigation sector has developed

the most in the Nizam Telangana region. While the Telangana region

experienced a net growth of 170% ever since the state formation, Kosta and

Rayalaseema experienced a relatively modest growth of 53% and 64%. Again,

percentages can sometimes be misleading. Therefore, lets look at the net

incremental area brought under irrigation. Since the formation of the state, in

Kosta, about 10 lakh additional hectares of land has been brought under

irrigation, whereas in Telangana, 14 lakh hectares of new area came under

irrigation.

GROSS AREA IRRIGATED IN HECTARES (Table 4)

The question that might cross ones mind when looking at the irrigation data is

whether the improvements in irrigated area translate into increased output in

agriculture, which is money in the farmers pocket.

In a study done by Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University, the Kosta region

recorded 107% growth in agriculture production between 1956 and 1991,

whereas the Nizam Telangana region recorded a 244% growth. Even in terms

of additional tonnage since the state formation, Telangana leads Kosta. Table 5

provides these details.


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AGRICULTURE PRODUCTION ThKHARIF + RABI IN TONNES

(Table 5)

One could argue that the net tonnage produced in Telangana is lower than that

of Kosta. Although that is true, what we are trying to determine is whether the

Telangana region suffered after the integrated state was formed. Growth in

output of 244% makes it amply clear that Telangana grew at a far more rapid

pace than the other regions since the state formation.

The devil is often in the details and the story of irrigation sector growth is

incomplete without looking at the modes of irrigation, and they are canal

irrigation, tank irrigation, tube well, and traditional well irrigation.


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CANAL IRRIGATION

This is one of the most controversial areas concerning regional differences

existing today. Table 6 details how each region performed in this segment.

CANAL IRRIGATION IN HECTARES (Table 6)

In his inflammatory paper, Professor Jayashankar references the canal irrigation

numbers of 2001 showing the Telangana region as having a mere three lakh

hectares under canal irrigation when Kosta has a whopping twelve lakh acres.

The wily professor selects 2001 data to trump up his hate-Andhra agenda.

However, he conveniently forgets to mention the fact that the Kosta region had

eleven lakh hectares under canal irrigation for more than 100 years before the

integrated state of Andhra Pradesh was formed.

Let us now look at some unadulterated facts. The Nizam Telangana region

experienced most growth of 162% in canal irrigation since the formation of the

state. Even in terms of additional area brought under canal irrigation, nearly two

lakh hectares of additional land was brought under canal irrigation in Nizam

Telangana since the state formation, which is more than the combined total of

Kosta and Rayalaseema. Lastly, Nizam Telangana does have a much smaller

area under canal irrigation but that has more to do with geography than

discrimination.


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TANK IRRIGATION

Before the mega irrigation projects, such as the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, the

Krishna-Godavari barrages, and the Sriramsagar project- arrived, tanks were a

major water source for irrigation. Many tanks in our state, except for those near

the twin cities, were developed during the Kakatiya and Vijayanagara rules.

Particularly, the Kakatiya rulers gifted the Nizam Telangana region with an

extensive network of tanks for irrigation purposes. There are at least 38 tanks of

significance documented in the inscriptions from the Kakatiya period.75 By

visiting Warangal and the surrounding areas, one can see the amazing tanks,

such as the Ramappa and Pakala, built by the Kakatiyas nearly 800 years ago

which continue to serve the public to this day.

So, what is the situation of tanks in the state today? It is abysmal!

TANK IRRIGATION IN HECTARES (Table 7)

Looking at Table7, one thing becomes clearthe Telangana region suffered

immensely because of the neglect of tank maintenance. However, one cannot

lose sight of the fact that the Rayalaseema region suffered an even steeper

decline of 66%, compared to Telanganas 40% decline.

Tank irrigation is an excellent mode of irrigation. It is a low technology, low

investment, low maintenance, environmentally friendly method of irrigation, and

our people have effectively used it for many centuries. Failure of tanks is simply

a failure on the governments part. In the past, the local communities effectively

administered tanks. Once the government intervened, the system failed

miserably.

If Telanganas separatist leaders are sincere about helping farmers, they should

focus their efforts on developing tank irrigation in the region. Even if tank

irrigation is restored to 1956 levels, we are looking at being able to provide

water to nearly two lakh hectares of additional land.


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TUBE WELLS AND OTHER WELLS

There has been spectacular growth in these two segmentsin both the Nizam

Telangana and the Rayalaseema regions. Because of lack of access to canal or

tank water, farmers were forced to look into alternate sources of water. Borewell

drilling technology offered farmers the relief they were seeking.

Table 8 and Table 9 provide the details of growth in the tube well and other well

categories..

Based on the macro irrigation data provided thus far, clearly, Nizam Telangana

made significant strides in the agriculture sector. Saying that, one cannot deny

that the Telangana region is agriculturally behind when compared to the Kosta

region. Clearly, more work must be done to improve the agriculture sector in the

Nizam Telangana districts. However, to claim discrimination as the reason for

underdevelopment is wrong. The irrigation sector in the Rayalaseema region,

from where half of all our states CMs came from, is in a far worse situation than

the Telangana region.

TUBE WELL IRRIGATION IN HECTARES (Table 8)

OTHER WELL IRRIGATION IN HECTARES (Table 9)

Now, lets quickly get into some specific controversies surrounding the use of

water resources in the state.


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Andhra Pradesh is a blessed state with many natural resourcesthe primary

one being the rivers. Of the three largest rivers in India, two of them the

Krishna and the Godavariflow through Andhra Pradesh. These two rivers and

their tributaries meander through other states, enter Andhra Pradesh in the

Nizam Telangana region, and pass through Kosta before merging into the Bay

of Bengal.


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Given Indias heavy reliance on agro-economy, water becomes a crucial resource. As onecan expect, every state lays its claim on the river waters. Naturally, this leads to disputesamong the states regarding each states rightful share of the river water. In the 1960s, similardisputes arose among states for both the Krishna and Godavari River waters.

In 1969, the central government appointed a tribunal under the leadership of Supreme Court

Justice Bachawat to resolve the Krishna River water allocation dispute among the states ofMaharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. The Bachawat Tribunal studied river waterallocation methods, both nationally and internationally. The commission particularly studiedthe American model as well as the international models. In the end, Bachawat relied oninternational law in developing a framework for resolving the river water dispute. This is howBachawat summarized his core view: In determining what is equitable utilisation whereexisting and contemplated uses are in conflict, while other factors must be considered andweighed, the most important single factor is the preferred position of the existing use; thus, anexisting use which is beneficial and not wasteful will ordinarily prevail over a contemplateduse."

In other words, Bachawat determined that the existing projects on the Krishna River shouldbe given preference over the planned projects.

Bachawat then attempted to determine the quantity of available water in the River Krishna.After reviewing the data available from 1894 to 1969, the tribunal determined, based on 75%dependability, that the river has 2,060 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of water. After fouryears of further study, Bachawat awarded 560 TMC of Krishna River water to Maharashtra,700 TMC to Karnataka, and 800 TMC to Andhra Pradesh.

Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh have 26.81%, 43.74%, and 29.45% of theKrishna River catchment areas in their states. Maharashtra and Karnataka protested that thetribunals award was unfairly beneficial to Andhra Pradesh despite it having a smaller share ofthe catchment area and requested reconsideration.

Bachawat, while admitting that Andhra Pradesh received a larger share of the river water

when compared to its catchment area, ruled against Maharashtras and Karnatakas claims.He relied on the protection of existing uses principle in his ruling. This principle guaranteedwater to existing projects such as the Nagarjun Sagar and Krishna Delta system.

Of the 800 TMC given to our state, Bachawat went ahead and recommended how much ofthe Krishna River water each project in Andhra Pradesh should get, details of which areprovided in Table 10.


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BACHAWAT TRIBUNAL KRISHNA RIVER WATER

AWARD (Table 10)


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According to the Bachawat award, Kosta gets 366 TMC, Rayalaseema 122 TMC, and NizamTelangana gets 260 TMC of water from the River Krishna. Readers might have noticed thatthe water allocation does not add up to 800 TMCthe remaining water is retained as aprovision for evaporation.

After settling the Krishna River dispute, the central government asked Bachawat to offer asimilar solution to the Godavari River dispute among Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, andAndhra Pradesh. After another extensive study, the Bachawat Tribunal, in its final award in1980, allocated 1,472.7 TMC of Godavari River water to Andhra Pradesh. Out of the 1,472TMC available to our state, today, we are only using 514 TMC, and the rest flows into theocean.

Interestingly, the Godavari River receives nearly 600 TMC of water almost at the tail end ofthe river. Even if Nizam Telangana manages to tap the Godavari River fully at higher altitudesof its region, it will not affect the Kosta farmer significantly.

With that primer on the Krishna and Godavari Rivers, lets quickly jump into some of theclaims made by the Telangana state proponents.

Professor Jayashankar writes in his paper: Bachawat Tribunal allocated 811 TMC ft. of waterto Andhra Pradesh. The allocation of water among different regions of the state, however, hasbeen the prerogative of the state government. If catchment area is taken as the principalcriterion for allocation of waters between different regions of the state, as is normally donebetween different states of the country, Telangana should get 68.5% of the 811 TMC ft. Ifcultivable area, rainfall, subsoil levels of water, backwardness, etc., also are taken intoaccount Telangana region would be entitled to not less than 70% of the total quantum ofwater allocated to the state.

Professor Jayashankars statement is an outrageous distortion. He must know that Bachawat,after extensive study, awarded water to each state based on the protection of existing usesprinciple. As a result, existing projects on Krishna and Godavari are protected. Based on this

principle, despite having a smaller catchment area, Bachawat allocated a larger share ofKrishna River water to the Andhra Pradesh State.

Professor Jayashankar, in his hate-Kosta propaganda paper, further wrote: PrakasamBarrage which is meant exclusively for the benefit of Coastal Andhra is getting two timesmore water than what is legally allocated to it. Therefore, it is able to irrigate more than 12lakh acres of land for the first crop and more than half of it for the second cropall water-intensive wet crops.

The professor yet again twists the facts to suit his purpose. The Praskasam Barrage is thelast stop where the Krishna River waters can be tapped. Once past this point, the waters flowinto the Bay of Bengal. In the years when there is surplus water, it flows from higher altitudesdown to the Krishna Barrage. This surplus water is channeled to farmers instead of going to

waste in the ocean. This is what Professor Jayashankar claims is an unfair use of Krishnawater. I guess the professor prefers that the river water go to waste in the ocean, rather thanbeing used for farming in Kosta.


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Now, lets look at another claim of Professor Jayashankar: Nagarjuna Sagar meant to benefit

Andhra and Telangana regions equally is modified in such a way that 75% of the benefit is

accruing to Coastal Andhra reducing the share of Telangana region to just 25%.

Consequently, an area of more than 15 lakh acres is getting irrigation facilities for the first

crop and more than half of it for the second crop in the coastal districtsagain, all water-intensive wet crops. But the Telangana area gets this facility hardly for 5 lakh acres.

Professor Jayashankar does not provide sources for his claims. Here are some real facts. I

took advantage of the recently passed Right to Information Act and formally requested the A.

P. State Irrigation Department to provide data for Nagarjuna Sagar Dam water utilization for

the last 10 years. Table 11 shows the annual outflows from the right and left canals of the

Nagarjuna Sagar Dam.

NAGARJUNA SAGAR DAM CANAL OUTFLOWS (Table 11)

Let me remind readers that the right canal water was awarded exclusively to the

Kosta region, whereas 75% of the left canal water was allocated to the Nizam

Telangana districts and the remaining 25% to the Kosta districts.

Not surprisingly, the numbers once again disprove Jayashankars claim

that the Telangana region only gets 25% of the water, when it in fact gets well

over 40%. The left canal water is mostly used in the Telangana region, and the

West Godavari district, which is at the tail end of the canal, rarely gets its 25%


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share of water from the left canal.

The surplus water from Nagarjuna Sagar flows down to the Krishna Barrage.

During drought years 20002005, the Kosta region did not get any Krishna

River water from the Nizam Telangana area.

Not every claim made by the proponents of Telangana is false. For example, concerns about

Rajolibanda water allocated to Telangana being misappropriated are valid. Worries about

projects such as Singur being diverted to citys drinking water purposes instead of irrigation is

an important issue to consider. Concerns regarding sky-high investments being made into the

Polavaram Project with questionable returns are worth serious consideration. Our leaders

must sort out these issues through a democratic process, and demanding separation is not

the solution.

If the separatist leaders are serious about helping the farmers of Nizam Telangana, they

should:

1) Fight for effective use of the entire 366 TMC of Krishna wate allocated to the Nizam

Telangana region. Just eliminating seepage in the canals and removing silt from the

reservoirs could dramatically improve canal water utility.

2) Similarly, productively use every drop of Godavari water awarded to the region.

3) Develop tank irrigation and at least restore it to a state where it was a few hundred years

ago.

4) Fight against neighboring states illegally tapping water.

These simple non-controversial initiatives would dramatically improve the agriculture sector in

Nizam Telangana and are relatively easy to accomplish. Instead, our separatist leaders

obsess over neighboring Kosta regions prosperity and neglect to look into ways to develop

our own districts.

INDUSTRIES

Professor Jayashankar wrote, No major industry worth its name has been setup in any

districts of Telangana region as compared to the establishment of several industries in

Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Kakinada, Nellore, Tirupati, and Cuddapah.

Lets look at Table 12 showing the factory employment data by region and see if the

profiessor is yet again making up facts to push forward his separatist agenda.


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FACTORY EMPLOYEES (Table 12)

Between 1981 and 2001, Kosta registered a net loss in the number of factoryemployees. To the contrary, the Telangana region, excluding the city of

Hyderabad, registered a growth of 153% by creating over three lakh new jobs

between 1981 and 2001. Pre-1981 data for factory employment was

unavailable.

Professor Jayashankar whines and moans about all the industries that have

closed but never mentions all the new industries that came up in the Telangana

region partially because of the subsidies the government offered.

Andhra Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation (APIDC) is a government

organization investing in industries across the entire state of Andhra Pradesh.Table 13 shows the number of units that APIDC financed by region as of August

2008. Yet again, Nizam Telanganas share of industrial units, financed by

APIDC, outnumbers Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra combined, by a

handsome margin.

A. P. INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION UNITS BY

REGION AS OF 31-08-2008 (Table 13)


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Andhra Pradesh State Financial Corporation is another government entity

promoting small and medium scale industries in the state by providing loans to

entrepreneurs. Table 14 shows how they disbursed funds by each region in

2008.

STATE FINANCIAL CORPORATION DISBURSEMENTS

BY REGION (Table 14)

Nizam Telangana, excluding Hyderabad, received more funds than the Kosta

and Rayalaseema regions combined. Not bad for a region that is being

discriminated against- dont you think Professor Jayashankar?

FINANCES

The most comical statistic offered by Professor Jayashankar is regarding

finance. In a bizarre claim, he on one hand says that the Telangana region is

underdeveloped and, at the same time, says that the Telangana region

contributes 75% of sales tax receipts and 55% of excise collections to the state

exchequer. How could people of an economically backward region purchase so

many goods that they would contribute a lions share of the sales tax to the state

exchequer? Sales taxes are generated when people purchase goods or

services. If people are not earning as much, they will not have the purchasing

power. As a result, common sense dictates that tax revenues should be low.

Table 15 details the total land, excise, and sales revenue collection (current +

arrears) in lakhs of rupees by region.


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LAND, EXCISE, AND SALES REVENUE COLLECTION IN LAKHS

(Table 15)

Here is how Professor Jayashankar arrives at the 75% tax figure. He includes

the revenue collected in the capital city of Hyderabad in the Telangana bucket.

Why is that devious? It is devious because many corporations from across the

three regions of the state are headquartered in Hyderabad and tend to register

their tax payments from the capital city. In addition, Hyderabad, with its

wealthier population, contributes significantly to the sales tax. So, what happens

if we exclude the city of Hyderabad from the Telangana region? Tax collection

drops steeply.

Doesnt Vice Chancellor Jayashankar, the brains behind the Telangana

movement, know something this basic? Of course, he does. In his quest to incite

the Telangana people against other regions, he probably believes that hiding

the truth is a necessary evil.

STANDARD OF LIVING

All things said and done, the bottom-line indicator of economic well being is

peoples standard of living. Economists widely agree per capita GDP is a

reasonable proxy to gauge peoples economic well being. Table 16 shows how

each region stacks up in this category.

People living in the Telangana region, excluding the capital city of Hyderabad,

have a per capita GDP of Rs. 23,940. It is about 10% less than that of their

Kosta counterparts. As usual, the situation in Rayalaseema is worse than that of

Nizam Telangana.


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PER CAPITA GDP IN RUPEES (Table 16)

Unfortunately, I was unable to find GDP numbers from 1956, when the state

was formed, as that would provide a more compelling story. Irrespective of it, is

a 10% difference in per capita GDP that outrageous a difference, especially

given the history of the regions backwardness, which is a legacy of Nizams

rule?

In conclusion, across all the economic sectors that we have looked at, the

common theme we find is that the Telangana region marginally falls behind the

Kosta region. However, that by in itself, is an incomplete story. We need to look

at how these three regions performed relative to each other since the integrated

state of Andhra Pradesh was formed. It then becomes amply clear that, in

almost all the economic sectors, Nizam Telangana grew at a much faster pace

than the Kosta region. Similarly, in almost all the economic sectors,

Rayalaseema falls well behind the Nizam Telangana region.

The backwardness of Telangana is a legacy of Nizams atrocious rule. Insteadof highlighting this fact, so-called intellectuals such as Jayashankar and

demagogues such as KCR sing the praises of Nizam and take glee in

demonizing their own people.

my telugu roots 19

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