The Telangana society is fittingly jubilant at the moment, since it ultimately achieved its demand of the last six decades and came out of the clutches of exploitation, discrimination, betrayal and deception that went on in the name of a united state. The long and sad tale of Telangana appears to be coming to an end. However, even in this celebratory mood, most Telanganites conduct themselves in a restrained fashion, for more than one reason.
If anybody cares to calculate the loss suffered by two generations in public employment and diversion of rightful waters and funds, it would run into trillions of rupees.
Added to the violation of agreements and constitutional provisions, there was the heavy repression of Telangana youth whenever they protested and asked for their fair share.
In 1969, Telangana witnessed the first massive protests against the violation of safeguards and 370 students and youth were shot down by police in that movement spread over a little less than a year. Then there was another round of promises and betrayals from the Six Point Formula (1973) to the Presidential Order (1975) to G.O. 610 (1985).
Ten years after the last betrayal the demand was raised again and culminated in the formation of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi in 2001. However, the saga of betrayals did not end. The electoral alliance between the Congress and the TRS, inclusion of Telangana in Congress election manifesto 2004, Common Minimum Program of the UPA, Presidential Address, and even the Union government's announcement of December 9, 2009 were all betrayed. Between 2009 and 2013, at least 1,100 students and youth have committed suicide feeling utter helplessness at the deceptive behaviour of state and Central powers that be. Thus today's sense of achievement is tinged with a drop of tear and blood.
Further, the CWC resolution does not evoke much jubilation since it has at least three riders, which may turn counterproductive to Telangana's cause in the near and distant future. The first one is the ambiguity on the definite time frame with regard to the process of formation of a Telangana state. Once bitten by the December 9 debacle, an ordinary Telangana person is shy and not ready to gulp this promise without testing it.
There is another clause of retaining Hyderabad as common capital for ten years. This kind of arrangement was not made in the history for any state. Even when the new states had smaller towns than many in coastal Andhra or Rayalaseema, the capitals were set up there. And also there is no clarity on the future administration of the city when it hosts the governments of two states. Many observers wonder whether will be a dirty game plan to separate Hyderabad from Telangana to make it a Union Territory.
Equally important is the question of treating the Polavaram irrigation project as a national project. The proposed project on the Godavari is highly disputed and has been consistently opposed by the Telangana movement for the last 15 years. Displacing 300 villages and 300,000 tribals, the project is untenable on geographical, environmental, technical and ethical grounds. It is a project conceived to steal waters from Telangana's share and if only it is finalized with central funds before the state demerger, will it give fait accomplis right over the Godavari waters to the residuary state.
There is no doubt that the genuine concerns of people of coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, in terms of water resources, employment, access to Hyderabad state have to be addressed and settled amicably, but the Congress Working Committee resolution puts the cart before the horse, making announcements first and postponing the negotiations to a later date.
(About the Writer: N Venugopal is a senior journalist who has written more than two hundred published articles, half a dozen books and made hundreds of public speeches on Telangana. He is the editor of Veekshanam, a Hyderabad-based Telugu monthly journal of political economy and society.)
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