rapolu ananda bhaskar on & for telangana since 1995

8/3/2019 RAPOLU ANANDA BHASKAR on & for TELANGANA since 1995

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RAPOLU ANANDA BHASKAR on & for TELANGANA since 1996

RAPOLU ANANDA BHASKAR instrumental in formation of TELANGANA PRAGATHI VEDIKA, coordination of various other outfits by forming TELANGANA IKYA

VEDIKA with himself, Dr K. JAYA SHANKAR, Prof KESHAV RAO JADAV, V. PRAKASH, BELLAIAH NAIK & others 1


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RAPOLU ANANDA BHASKAR in 1997, organized a two-day workshop with about 80 thinkersand activists in Hyderabad.

Seminars on the plight of irrigation, drinking water, and employment were conducted.

About forty meetings in all the divisional headquarters in the region were organized.

The basic purpose was to spread the query:IPPUDU EMI CHEYALI [What to do now]?

The exercise had its concrete role in consolidating the activists andgiving a fillip to the public effort for the region.Now, almost all the political parties are engrossed with this topic in one way or the other.


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RAPOLU ANANDA BHASKAR paper presented in the National Seminar on Regional Imbalances inAugust 1997 at Osmania University, Hyderabad:

TELANGANA: ENLIGHTEN, EQUIP TO EMANCIPATERAPOLU ANANDA BHASKAR

The regional imbalances are rampant even while we, Indians, were entering into the 51st year of Indianindependence, with very weak Center and parochial, powerful regional satraps in States. It had to be noted withheavy heart. The Indian freedom struggle and its leader Mahatma Gandhi with Dharmic path, visionary PrimeMinister Pandit Nhru with humane touch and saviour Sardar Patel with steel-like solidarity, unified us asIndians. They and all of their contemporaries strived to integrate the nation and to achieve emotional unity.

No doubt, India is centuries old idea. Unity is diversity is the basis of India. Pandit Nehru, in his unifying efforts,called upon to tackle the problem of the reorganization of states, dispassionately, and with a view to furtheringthe unity and progress of India. But, ultimately, what happened?Grossly imbalanced regions, throughout the length and breadth of this geographical entity, are keeping some

very happy while others terribly sad. The peoples of British ruled India and erstwhile Princely states wereseverely different in their living, learning, experiences, expectations and least of all, emotions. British ruledIndia tasted social and technological inventions and new cultural values, whereas Princely states were mostlyin isolation and far away from these inventions. The emergence of self-conscious middle class promotednationalist movement in British ruled India while vastly ignorant, uneducated bonded labourers and artisansstruggled to have two square meals a day in Samsthanas and Zamindaris. The basic fact that this vastdifference in their understanding between these peoples will lead to internal colonization was very stronglypointed out by Pandit Nehru. He strongly opposed to the idea of Vishalandhra by integrating British ruledcoastal Andhra and Nizam ruled Telangana.

Before assessing the imbalances, it is useful to verify the distinctiveness of these regions. Before 1748, wholeof this area was under Nizam rule. After 1748, Nizam gave Coastal Andhra and then in 1800, the Rayalaseemato British rulers. Under Madras Presidency, the Christian Missionary culture, English education, canal irrigation,road transport and communication gradually spread into these areas. Subsequently, earning pattern andtrading pattern changed.

Under Nizam, Telangana plight was of medieval. Leaving Nizam, his associates, Zamindaris and theirhenchmen Patel-Patwaris aside, the people on the whole were ignorant and illiterate. Poverty and hunger wereprevalent. With all these pathetic pointers, Telangana would have been Hydraulic society. With the Dindi,Nizam sagar projects already existing, Manjeera valley development Authority, Upper Krishna Project, Lower

Godavari Project were envisaged and those would have heralded Irrigation civilization in Telangana. Nizamstate got international standards in irrigation planning by 1946. This was all done to show the mite of controlover water, to get more revenue as primary function of state was to look after the water supply.

In Telangana, the human development was continuously at its lowest ebb. Between 1911 and 1921 census, itwas recorded that the population of Hyderabad has decreased whereas of a small town like Solapur increased.This shows the pathetic downtrend of social mobility and indicates the very ppor human development.Prolonged ill-health and unemployment will lead to poverty whereas ignorance and illiteracy will result in lesserhuman development.


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Education, the socialization of new generations, necessarily takes place in all societies. Its object is to awakenand develop intellectual and moral states of human being. Education gives freedom, a fulfillment, equality,excellence to each individual and collective self-reliance. That will lead to national cohesion. All this wasnecessarily against the interests of any autocrat. So, Telangana was severely backward in education and onlyUrdu and Parsi were taught, that too in very few schools and upto lower standards. After feeling the necessityof education following continuous agitation by banned Hyderabad Congress and others, Nizam Governmentannounced in 1946, an Educational Programme of 14 years with 50 crore rupees. But that was too late.

In Telangana, external influences in the rural area were almost nil. The communications were very less.Trading was of medieval barter type. The agitations and movements were sometimes not clear in theirmessage and some other times, concerned to elite. The majority of the Telangana people did not see thefreedom struggle and they were under most dreaded oppression during Razakar dominated Nizam regime.

With 1948 Police Action, though Nizam rule came to an end, the Poplular Government was not allowed to formfor four years. During these crucial four years, the outside Military Administrators opened the flood gates tosettlers in the shape of employees besides cultivators. The fearsome attitude of Telangana leaders aboutpossibility of brutality by the friends of erstwhile rulers and the thoroughly parochial and exploitative intentionsof Andhra leaders prompted the formation of Andhra Pradesh in 1956 against the strong and clear statutorydirections of the States Reorganisation Commission.

Now, the 41 years of Andhra Pradesh created much deeper wounds and widened the gulf between both theregions. Leave the emotional integration of Coastal and Telangana people aside, there is not even workingrelationship. There is neither the material density nor the moral density between them as per sociologicalparameters. With blatant intrusion of settlers, the internal colonization was rampant in Telangana. There wasnot even a single legilstor of Telangana origin from Coastal Andhra whereas there are number of leaders ofCoastal origin from Telanagana. Out of 41 years of rule, for only 3 years 8 months were by Chief Ministers of

Telangana origin.

All the major irrigation projects of 1946 were shelved. Much lesser size projects were envisaged which weregravely neglected. Fund diversion was so blatant. During 7th Five Year Plan, 48 percent of the funds allotted toSri Ram Sagar project were diverted to Coastal area projects. Even the Ayacut under tanks was alsodecreased. The Telangana tanks capacity fell from 28 TMC to 15 TMC. Even Drinking Water is a severeproblem in various districts and fluorine in drinking water is spoiling generations to generations in Nalgonda likedistricts. The economically rich and viable Telanagna diplated to have-not position.

Hyderabad, the state capital, population which dcreased between 1911 and 1921, increased fro 12 lakhs in

1961 to 43 lakhs in 1991. The real estate of Twin Cities is now leading to Corporate estatism in the hands ofCoastal dealers.

Telangana is still heavily illiterate with only 32 percent literacy. Schools, Junior and Degree colleges were veryless in number. There are only 94 degree colleges in Telangana excluding Hyderabad whereas there are 207Degree Colleges in Coastal Andhra. There are only 339 Junior Colleges in Telanagna whereas 513 JuniorColleges were there in coastal area.


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This shows severe deficiency in human development. The people could not take initiative to think about what isgood for them, when there is less economic development and very poor human development. Then, somebodyelse is to think for them. When Government is to be run by parochial leaders, the non-governmental and non-political organisations role will be vital as watch dogs and for social upliftment and human development of theregion. After separation from Nizam state, five districts of Marathwada got all round development strategies bythe freedom fighters turned social activists like Govindrao Shroff with the support of the industrial groups likeKirloskars. Even such activity was not present in the Telanaga region. So, there was no comprehension ofexact situation. This will either keep people non-responsive to some extent and make them emotional andirrational. This is the clear sign of backwardness. The Telangana people were largely silent following the defeatof the purpose of 1969 movement whereas Coastal Andhra people could strengthen their hold after 1972agitation over all of Andhra Pradesh. The acceptance of dramatronics by the maitinee idol - turned - politicianand getting pleased with the doling of Rs: 2 kg rice is the latest example of the backwardness of Telangana.

However, with the Mandal Parishaths, empowering of local administration with Panchayathiraj reforms,Telangana got activated and ready to think at least at some level about what is good for them.

In these circumstances, to remove the regional imbalances, what are developmental alternatives available?

ENLIGHTEN: As the first step, the people at large shall be enlightened with the diluted form of message aboutthe injustices done to them. Through that, we feeling had to be reinforced. Claiming the regional identity shallbe treated by them as the self-respect.

For this, there is only one route. That shall be rational route. That is to deal with their highest and mostmomentous concerns. It shall not at all through provocative means. Those highlights must be local, nearer totheir mileu and nearer to their heart. Here to remind, Rudiyard Kiplings saying is optUnless they please, they are not heard at all.

EQUIP: The neglected peole shall be equipped mentally and physically. The possibilities shall be presented tothem. Data in simpler form, that too through artistic form will be of great help to equip mentally. For instance,take the popular literature like Bhagavatha, Maha Bharath and Ramayana and folklore. The audiences knew allthose stories. The form and style, they were told in. They knew in general what to expect. So, they couldconcentrate on how well it was done. The illiterate masses are deft at calculations of everyday life. Besidesmentally equipping with the statistics and issues, they shall be provided with the scope of benefit physicallypossible, which are local and bothers them.

If these two stages are rationally crossed, it is possible to emancipate them.

It is possible to attain development with peoples involvement.

Once, the large section of people are concerned about specific situation,no ruler, how much mighty he could be, can ignore.

If the peoples concern is to have the foundation of reason and proper understanding, emotionalupsurge will not die down so easily and the leaders of any alternative proposal cannot mortgage theirinterests.


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AGENDA FOR TELANGANA: 2005 2015

Demand for restoration of statehood to the erstwhile HYDERABAD state that isTELANGANA, is very deep and caught the imagination of the newer and youngergeneration of the land.

The perennial deprival of waters for drinking and irrigation,health, education and employmentAnd the discouraging environment for entrepreneurshipAnd denials of peace and human rights and creating havocwith the alibi of leftwing extremismAre to reach the unpardonable condition.

In 1997, a two-day workshop with about 80 thinkers and activists held in Hyderabad.Seminars on the plight of irrigation, drinking water, and employment were conducted.About forty meetings in all the divisional headquarters in the region were organized.

The basic purpose was to spread the query:IPPUDU EMI CHEYALI [What to do now]?The exercise had its concrete role in consolidating the activists and giving a fillip to thepublic effort for the region.Now, almost all the political parties are engrossed with this topic in one way or the other.

In this backdrop, it is intended to initiate series of debate beginning with two-day workshop,To evaluate the plight of the region, with the help of various parametersAnd prompting to evolve AGENDA for TELANGANA for the coming ten years.

The initiative isTo have its catalytic role in encouraging the people at large and the activists in particularTo bring certain developmental issues and infrastructure creating for usage of waterTo the top of the mind factor of the society of this land,Besides enlarging the awareness of the factual situation.

This will in turn sensitize, pressurize and achieve the goals to be set for 2015.

RAPOLU ANANDA BHASKAR [April 2005]


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rapolu ananda bhaskar on & for telangana since 1995

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