Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
I got up in the morning and there was a note in my mailbox written by APNRI, one of the organizations I was affiliated with in the past. The letter is addressed to the President of India urging President’s rule be imposed in AP. The gist of why they are demanding President’s rule is this:
· Separatists are violating fundamental rights and creating public nuisance via bandhs, million march, strikes etc.
· Police forces hands are tied down by the government hence they have become ineffective in protecting people
· Much of the state government is paralyzed by the strike
· The judiciary is not functioning either
· MLAs, MPs have submitted their resignations to the speakers and are not performing their public duties
· Electricity, Schools, and Buses are all severely hampered by the strike
According to APNRI, the above reasons clearly show that the state machinery has shut down and hence President’s rule is required.
Article 153 of Indian constitution requires that a Governor be appointed by the President of India. Article 154 says: “The executive power of the State shall be vested in the Governor and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with this Constitution.”
India should amend its constitution to make the Governorship either a true democratic executive branch of the state or eliminate it all together.
Today the system of Governors has become a big nuisance for the country. It gets misused by the central governments to create trouble for the democratically elected state governments.
The system of Governors is a big drag on the economy. They take in too much money and provide little to no utility in return. Sarojani Naidu once said about her governorship as being a “bird in a golden cage”. Pattabhi Sitaramayya once said that “he had no public function to perform except making the fortnightly report to the President [source: Mainstream, March 1, 2008].
The Governors played insignificant role when Congress party was the dominant party at the centre and in the states. However, as opposition parties gained strength in India, Governors have become agents of the central government to undemocratically meddle in the state government affairs. Janata Party in 1977 used its Governors to dismiss Congress Governments in 9 States. When Indira Gandhi came back to power she imposed President’s rule in 9 Janata Party ruled States. It is very well known how Governor Ram Lal denied N.T. Ramarao his constitutional right to become the CM despite having a landslide majority.
The system of Governorship is being used by central government to reward their loyal party workers. Former CM Rosaiah was rewarded with a Governor position for being a loyal party worker and for making way to CM Kiran Kumar Reddy. Governorship has also become a good retirement plan for the older generation that served their parties. N.D. Tiwari took that retirement plan to a new level. These retirement plans are a big burden on the tax payers.
Unfortunately, the problem of Governers meddling in State’s affairs is still going on unabated. For example, the rift between former CM Yedyurappa and Bharadwaj and the ongoing public spat between Narendra Modi and Governor Kamla Beniwal which is offering news papers ample fodder.
There are only few instances when the role of Governor is needed. When the State government loses majority-support in the legislature, Governors have a role to play. Even in those cases, their impartiality is often questioned. Even when the government loses confidence, typically the existing CM is asked to run the show till the next elected government is sworn-in. We don’t need a full time Governor to manage such affairs. The Chief Justice of High Court is well equipped to handle uncommon situations such as these.
So, either eliminate the system of Governorship altogether and delegate the duties of Governor to the Chief Justice of High Court or replace it with an elected executive branch.
Now to the issue of President’s rule in our state. Demanding President’s rule is like asking for a pseudo-dictatorship. Despite all its defects, the democratic government that is currently in power is better equipped to maintain law and order and to understand people’s desires than an unelected central government imposed ruler. In fact, during the Jai Andhra movement, when Indira Gandhi removed P.V. Narasimha Rao and imposed President’s rule, the violence actually went up significantly.
I don’t think Congress Party will be inclined to impose President’s rule in the state. TRS is currently in a relatively strong position in the Nizam region and feels that they will fare well if the elections were to be held today. YSR-Congress would love to have elections now to capitalize on YSR’s name before his popularity starts to diminish. Of course Jagan thinks he can also play a victim card.
There is a possibility of imposing the President’s rule for a few months and then restore Congress government back to power. However, I think that scenario is quite unlikely too.
So, it is time for the Chief Minister to step up and do what the constitution requires him to do. Ensure law and order is maintained. Empower police to stop the miscreants that indulge in attacks on people and property. Create an environment where separatists and integrationists freely voice their opinions. Respect people’s right to do “voluntary” bandhs and strikes. However, stop hooligans that “impose” bandhs by shutting down schools, stopping buses and trains, and closing down businesses.
Save Andhra Pradesh!
Nalamotu Chakravarthy
http://www.facebook.com/visalandhra
http://www.facebook.com/people/@/226703252445
http://www.amazon.com/My-Telugu-Roots-Telangana-Bhasmasura/dp/0984238603/
News papers in Andhra Pradesh ran front page stories about Azad’s report to Congress Core Committee. Deccan Chronicle ran a headline that said “Hyderabad is T bottleneck”. Eenadu ran a bit more nuanced headline. Andhra Jyothy assessed that the core committee felt that the conditions in the state are not conducive to a united state. Editor Radhakrishna, while masterfully playing with words to appear unbiased, took the separatists side. In his editorial today, he advocated bifurcation or a mutually agreeable trifurcation of the state. However, he chose to ignore the immorality of the demand for separation. He is part of the mob that believes if majority people want it, they should get it. In many societies stoning to death is an acceptable form of punishment. Just because majority wants it, it doesn’t become right. For the record, I am not convinced majority of the people in the Nizam region desire separation. Even among those that want separation, it is unlikely that they are forming an informed opinion in an environment where freedom of speech is stifled.
Somewhere in between the newspaper lines I read that Azad personally wrote his 45 page report to the core committee. He was so paranoid about the report leaking out that he personally went to the photocopy machine and made copies of the report that was given to the committee members. It is unclear how news papers learnt so much about what is in the report and what transpired in the core committee meeting.
When I speak to integrationists, their typical position is that they would like to see the state united. However, if division becomes inevitable, they prefer to see Hyderabad as a union territory. They argue that people of all regions have contributed to the city’s growth. Then some of the crafty leaders and opinion makers think that separatists want Telangana state to enjoy the fruits of Hyderabad. If Hyderabad is removed from the equation the whole separatist movement will fizzle out. I for one won’t believe that to be the case.
The separatist movement is not based on convictions. The movement is not run for the betterment of peoples’ lives. It is built for political fruits by opportunist politicians. To further their goal, they have spread hatred, and lies among people. People have just followed the leaders like sheep without questioning the veracity of their arguments. If a complete stalemate is reached between the leaders of all regions and the only way out is to declare Hyderabad as union territory, I am certain that KCR and other separatist leaders will accept it. How can I be so sure? If one accepts the premise that the movement is to gain political power, then the opportunity to rule the Telangana state minus Hyderabad is far better than the alternative of not being in power at all.
The proposal being pushed to make Hyderabad as union territory is unwise and is fraught with dangers that will have national implications. It will become a precedent for movements to make other metros into union territories.
Save Andhra Pradesh!
Nalamotu Chakravarthy
http://www.visalandhra.org
http://www.facebook.com/visalandhra
http://www.myteluguroots.com
http://www.facebook.com/people/@/226703252445
http://twitter.com/nalamotu
http://www.amazon.com/My-Telugu-Roots-Telangana-Bhasmasura/dp/0984238603/
I was driving to work today and was about 100 meters from the intersection when my wife shouted BJP flags. She is generally not interested in politics, but her instincts have told her that flags of the nation’s second largest political party on the roads, meant trouble!
That is the sad state of affairs in our state and country. Just like when you see a policeman on the road, you don’t get a sense of assurance; instead, you experience a sense of fear. Similarly, people have gotten to a point, when they see political party flags, it means trouble.
In any event, a bunch of BJP activists randomly walked to a busy intersection at 10:00 AM to do a raasta rokho. They obviously chose the location and time carefully. What must be their criteria? Cause maximum inconvenience to people.
The first thing that crossed my mind is- who are these people that have time at 10:00 AM in the morning to be on the roads to stop traffic? They really have to be jobless. I am willing to bet that 90% of the people who were travelling on the road at that time of the day have to be working. Now, that is the sad state of affairs. About 20 jobless people have made the lives of nearly 2000 miserable. This is the price a civil society pays when good people don’t rise up against evil.
Samme or strike is a democratic right. RTC bus driver, a school teacher, secretariat employee, or a Singareni worker has a right to go on a strike- as long as they don’t demand pay for the time they didn’t work. There may be some contractual/legal obligations that prevent certain members of workforce to go on a strike, but we don’t need to go into those details. Painting with a broad brush, it is a worker's fundamental right to go on a strike.
However, our society seems to have lost the sense of distinction between fundamental rights and enforcing one’s views on rest of the society. A raasta rokho or rail rokho is not a fundamental right. These activities violate passengers’ right to travel to the destination of choice after paying the fare. People who stop trains and traffic should be arrested and prosecuted.
Similarly a bandh is a fundamental right, if and only if the business closes voluntarily. I was watching a petrol bunk on the day a bandh was called. The business opened early in the morning. Around 10 AM, when they expected hooligans and hafta collectors to show up, the business closed down. From that point on, for the rest of the day, petrol bunk owner played a cat and mouse with those that want him to shutdown his business. This kind of bandh is not a fundamental right, but is outright illegal.
People of our state quietly accept violation of our fundamental rights that happen on a daily basis. They constantly harp about government’s failure to bring things under control. However, they never point the finger at themselves. The responsibility to stand up for our fundamental rights start at the level of individual, then at the colony, then at a ward, then at a constituency, then at a district, then at a state, and then at a nation. Instead, we tend to think it should happen in the exact opposite order. Sure, bring on President’s rule- which is nothing but a dictatorship. When that fails, let’s hand the rule over to the United Nations. Problem solved!
“All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing”- Edmund Burke
Save Andhra Pradesh!
Nalamotu Chakravarthy
http://www.facebook.com/visalandhra
http://www.myteluguroots.com
http://www.facebook.com/people/@/226703252445
http://twitter.com/nalamotu
http://www.amazon.com/My-Telugu-Roots-Telangana-Bhasmasura/dp/0984238603/
On Monday September 19th afternoon, I got an SMS from my kid’s school that they are closing on Tuesday in light of the bandh. I was a little troubled with the SMS and I called up the school and spoke with the head teacher to understand how the decision to shut the school down was arrived at. The teacher said it was a management decision and she had no role in it. I urged her to have a makeup day for the school. She said they were going to do that anyway.
Tuesday evening I got another SMS saying that the school is closed for the rest of the week. This SMS worried me and I wanted to get to the bottom of the issue. My concern was about Glendale management taking such an important decision as shutting down the school for a week without consulting the parents. So, I decided to meet the head mistress.
I went to the school with another parent who is a good friend of ours. We requested the head mistress to help us understand how the decision to close the school down for a week was arrived at. Here are the reasons she gave-
Originally the management planned to keep the school open throughout the week. However, on Monday the 19th, separatist hooligans descended on a nearby Kendriya Vidyalay and asked the principal to close the school. When he refused, they physically assaulted him. Later in the day, Chirec school bus was stopped by separatists. It was stranded for sometime after which it was let go. On top of this, schools have been getting more phone calls than usual from separatist outfits urging them to close the school.
Taking all these factors into consideration, managements of different schools in the neighbourhood consulted each other and decided to close the schools down en-masse for at least a week.
I wished the schools showed a bit more courage, but their plight is understandable. The risk of their buses and their staff becoming targets of separatist attacks is their biggest concern.
My main complaint with the school management was that they haven’t consulted the parents when they took as serious a decision as closing the school down for a week. The head mistress argued that they didn’t have time to take parents into confidence as it was an emergency decision. I urged her to consider having a parents meeting at least now so that we can brainstorm together as a team about how to handle any future bandh calls. The head mistress agreed to a parents meeting and I am hoping it will happen soon.
Now to the question of what can parents do in this situation?
First and foremost, we as parents need to come to a realization that police forces are rarely effective when it comes to people’s movements. With thousands of schools and lakhs of children, there just isn’t enough police force to protect all. This problem is universal and applies to more developed societies too. Take for example, 1992 riots in Los Angeles, or last year’s riots in France, or this year’s riots in UK.
Here is my view on how this problem should be tackled:
- Clearly school buses are an easy target for separatists. On the days when a bandh call is given, instead of sending kids in the school bus, parents should drop off their kids at school.
- Parent groups should identify children that do not have conveyance and have them carpool with families that live close by.
- Lastly and most importantly, parents should volunteer to defend the school staff and children on bandh days. It is not needed for all the parents to be at the school. A small group of 20-30 volunteers is all it takes. This, in my view, is the best way of stopping the separatists from forcibly closing down our kids’ schools.
If you are a parent and your child’s school has been closed down, please consider meeting the school management. Urge them to make parents part of the decision making process. Mobilize other parents to the best of your ability and brainstorm ways in which you can ensure that the schools stay open. Our children have lost too many school days this year. Parents need to take a more active part in ensuring that schools run smoothly. This responsibility cannot be outsourced to the government. After all, this is about your child’s future.
Save Andhra Pradesh!
Nalamotu Chakravarthy
http://www.facebook.com/visalandhra
http://www.myteluguroots.com
http://www.facebook.com/people/@/226703252445
http://twitter.com/nalamotu
http://www.amazon.com/My-Telugu-Roots-Telangana-Bhasmasura/dp/0984238603/
Delhi media continues to show interest in our cause. Here is an article published in the recent edition of “Delhi Talks” magazine.
Here’s the link to article: http://www.delhitalks.in/telangana-not-in-national-interest.html
Now to the second topic of my post- “Way Forward”
Integrationists have been seeing several encouraging signs off-late. Clearly, the separatist movement is on a back foot. Visalandhra Mahasabha firmly believes that division of our state is not going to happen. However, challenges continue to linger. The decade long separatist movement must be brought to a logical closure.
Dr. Yogendra Yadav of Lokniti is an objective researcher and a staunch proponent of a Telangana state. I met him a couple of months ago in his office in Delhi. After an hour and half of animated discussion, his stance remained firmly in favor of division.
Recently CNN-IBN published results of its survey on the issue of separation. The survey was conducted by Dr. Yogendra Yadav’s team. The survey revealed that nearly half of the people in the Nizam region desire separation. We should be glad that the number of people desiring separation is not as high as four and half crores that the separatists claim. However, for those of us who desire that we stay united, 50% is too high a number. It is a grim reminder of the venom that the separatists have managed to spread among the people of Nizam region.
The real challenge in front of all the well-meaning Telugu people is, how can the parties, leaders, and non-political organizations come together to resolve this issue in an amicable fashion. Can you think of a way forward?
Visalandhra Mahasabha is planning to put together a white paper proposing a way-forward and present it to the decision makers. I would like to urge my friends and supporters to think and suggest ways in which the current situation can be defused in a way that all Telugus can co-exist in a united state for generations to come. I request you to keep your responses concise.
As you think of potential solutions, you may want to consider how you can address different dissatisfied groups’ concerns. Some of these constituents are: political parties (congress, tdp, trs), people of the three regions, naxals, government employees, students, businesses to name a few. In addition, one should also focus on areas such as irrigation, education, employment, culture etc.
You are welcome to comment on my blog or send me an email directly. I am looking forward to your input.
Regards,
Save Andhra Pradesh!
Nalamotu Chakravarthy
http://www.facebook.com/visalandhra
http://www.myteluguroots.com
http://www.facebook.com/people/@/226703252445
http://twitter.com/nalamotu
http://www.amazon.com/My-Telugu-Roots-Telangana-Bhasmasura/dp/0984238603/
There has been a lot of interest in the pieces that I posted, especially ‘In Praise of T Agitation’, and ‘Q&A With Parakala Prabhakar’ in Business Standard. When the responses started coming in, I thought that it would be better to write a general response at one go by bunching together the various issues raised, rather than respond to them one by one as they come in.
I would like to thank everyone who took time to read the posts and to all those who spared their valuable time to compose their responses. There were both bouquets and brickbats. It is quite pleasing that many eminent people thought it fit to write. Some wrote as comments in my site itself, some chose to respond by mail, and some others wrote their posts in facebook as well as twitter. Some friends called me up to let me know what they thought of the posts.
I am beholden to all of them.
Some of the responses were vehemently critical. Some of them were full of praise. Some of them were sarcastic. Some chose to be very caustic. Some others tried to run me down rather than engaging with my arguments. Some attacked me personally. A few of them tried to attribute motives to me.
It was quite nice reading all of them. Well, what do you expect to get when you write on something which is agitating the minds of many people and the atmosphere is so very charged. But I must tell you, I am quite used to this kind of situation; quite used to all the three – dooshana bhooshana tiraskaram. I would have been surprised if my views did not evoke strong and adverse responses. That would have meant that they did not have any value. But I would have been disturbed if they did not evoke any favourable responses. Fortunately, there were many favourable responses too.
After reading and rereading all the comments, my commitment to the cause of Visalandhra is more vigorous today. Interestingly, it is not the favourable ones than strengthened my conviction that my argument for a united Andhra Pradesh is unassailable. It is the bunch of adverse comments that did the job. The adverse comments are so shallow and full of insinuations and devoid of logic that they failed to challenge even one element of the string of arguments that I put forward in favour of a united state. When I found well-meaning people indulging in personalised and intemperate comments, I quickly realised that they had no case and their plot was lost. Otherwise why will fairly educated and respectable adults talk about a serious matter in a sarcastic and derogatory fashion and repeat the same old allegations and falsehoods that were completely shot down elsewhere as well as in my writings?
After reading all these comments, today I am more convinced than ever that there is little to say in a serious way in favour of the division of the state. I did not come across even a single fact or an argument that made me review or rethink any of the arguments I had advanced. There is no case to divide the state if you look at the evidence on Telengana’s economic performance; there is no case if you look at the language angle; and there is no case if you examine the so called cultural argument; and absolutely no room for argument if you look at the history of Telugu people. After all these arguments are exposed to be spurious, it finally boiled down to ‘I want it because I have been saying I want it.’ Well-meaning people are saying that they wanted division because they wanted division. Who can argue with them? They say that anybody who wants the state to stay united is saying so because they want to exploit Telangana!!!
This is an old trick. When you don’t have a rational argument to deal with an argument, you start insinuation. You cast aspersions on the person who presents the argument. You question the bona fides of the person. You don’t engage with the argument. You try to engage with the person. Isn’t that a sure sign of a lost argument?
Now let me say something about some of the comments that were made on my posts.
First of all, I would like to make it clear that I do not want this debate to be a personalised one. I am not interested in debating about individuals, their personalities, and their worthiness or otherwise. My idea of a debate is simple: I prefer to respond to the issue raised by a person. Not respond to the individual. I do not like a debate which falls back on ‘Who are you to say?’ ‘Who is he to say?’ ‘What are you?’ ‘Where are you from?’ ‘What were you doing till yesterday?’ You are familiar with the drift I am talking about. I would like to keep the individual aside and deal with the argument. With the idea. With the proposition. And with the formulation. In other words, my concern is with issues. Only issues.
I have to say this because some of the respondents wanted to take this to personal level. Some chose to point out the fact that while I was working for the unity of Andhra Pradesh, my wife supported the demand for Telangana state. The glee in the tone of their comment is too obvious to go unnoticed. They evidently felt that they had scored a point against me.
These people obviously feel that husbands should be able to force their wives to toe their line and assert their masculine authority over them. Their point is if I can’t force my own wife to fall in line, what right have I got to tell others about the merits of my position. I don’t want to go into the details of what this means (‘What a wimp you are if you can’t shut your wife up in the kitchen and make her say yes to whatever you say?’ is just one implication of this); nor do I want to speculate on what it tells about the people who make such comments. Evidently these people are alien to the idea of two individuals having a relationship of mutual respect notwithstanding their disagreement on a particular issue. We can leave comments from this class of people alone and let them have their small thrills in life.
But I can’t resist telling you something that shocked me recently. When I was in Delhi for the Visalandhra Mahasabha’s Media Workshop and Exhibition, a girl who was with a group of people that stood outside the hall to register its protest shouted at me: ‘first make sure your wife agrees with you’. I was shocked to learn that she was a student from Jawaharlal Nehru University. A girl student from JNU wanted a husband to make sure that his wife toed his line! Either something is wrong with the girl student or with the University. Much more interesting is that this group of protesters was led by a ‘revolutionary’ lady with ‘akka’ as a suffix to her name.
Since I referred to Delhi Workshop, I must mention one more incident. On the second day of the workshop and while I was still in Delhi, some persons calling themselves Advocates JAC attacked my house in Hyderabad. They shouted slogans and threw stones. My mother who is eighty year old and my daughter were at home. They were bold and they did not panic.
Who attacks houses and throws stones? Only those who have no argument. Who are intolerant. Who do not want anybody to say anything that they don’t like. And above all those who are afraid that the structure of their argument is so fragile that a it will fall apart and smashed to pieces even if a single voice contests it; even if one individual questions it; even if one organization challenges it.
That day I realised that behind the insinuations, allegations, shrill voices, attacks and stone-throwing, and filthy abuse that we see around these days, there is a weak argument. The argument becomes louder and shrill because it is weak. It has violence as its companion and aide-de-camp because it is not confident about it strength and merit. It does not tolerate any other opinion because it feels threatened. It does not face facts because it fears a collapse.
This incident also strengthened my conviction that my argument was potent enough to make its adversaries panic. It made me confident that they were incapable of challenging it with a counter argument. It became clear to me that if I have to change my position it will not be because of a convincing counter argument, but because of threats of physical and verbal assault.
Some people questioned the authenticity of the data that was the basis of my argument. It was argued that the data were cooked up by the Coastal and Rayalaseema people who were exploiting Telangana. Well, I see no argument here worth a comment. Data don’t become ‘cooked up’ simply because one does not like them. If they really felt so, such people should have come up with an entire body of alternative data. Mere allegations, chest-beating, and insinuations don’t wash. One other person cited some categorization by the Planning Commission in an effort to lend some sanctity to the argument about backwardness of Telangana. I can only say that the person needs some training and help in understanding and interpreting economic data. Any student of economics can tell you that the Planning Commission’s categorization that was cited was in a completely different context and the ‘backwardness argument’ on the basis of that categorization does not stand up to even a rudimentary scrutiny.
Another comment was regarding the position taken by the now wound-up Praja Rajyam Party on Telangana agitation and my stand those days. Everybody in PRP and outside knew my strong views in favour of an integrated Andhra Pradesh. I along with many in the PRP continuously and strongly argued for adopting an integrationist stand. The leadership’s already confused position on the issue became even more confused. And the outcome was the vague ‘Samajika Telangana’ which was neither here nor there. My position then was for integration; and it is for integration today.
One person took the pains to bring out a hyperlink to a report in The Hindu newspaper which quoted me on the issue. I want that person to go back to the report and read it once again. He will find that everywhere I was quoted as saying “we” (meaning the Party) and not “I” (meaning Parakala Prabhakar). As a spokesperson of the party it was my duty to summarize and faithfully state the deliberations and decisions of the Party forums. I am not familiar with the practice of a spokesperson or a functionary saying, “My party’s stand is this but my personal stand is this.” But within the Party forums my position was absolutely clear to everyone. I was never ambivalent on this issue. The person was clever to dig the report out. I only wish that he could have used the same wisdom to read it carefully and understand it. Had he done so the nuance would not have escaped his scholarly attention.
In response to the electoral performance of Telangana Rashtra Samiti and other parties I referred to in my interview to Business Standard, somebody asked me if had deliberately overlooked the performance of Telangana Praja Samithi. No, I did not. I chose to refer only to the recent past. If one wants to bring in TPS saga also into the discourse, one has to explain why there was nothing between the TPS merger with Congress and till the latest spurt of the agitation. And how the leaders of the erstwhile TPS served in important positions in the united Andhra Pradesh also needs to be explained. The same person perhaps felt that BJP’s performance after ‘one vote – two states’ slogan was spectacular, while I described it as ‘pathetic’. I still feel that it was pathetic. If it had swept the polls or even came anywhere near to it in the region, perhaps I would have given some weight to the comment. For this commentator, when Devender Goud and Indra Reddy floundered, it was their credibility deficit and not the weakness of the cause. And when somebody wins handsomely or even scrapes through, it was the strength of the aspiration, but not as a result of the quirk of electoral fortunes. He is obviously used to only peculiar rules of engagement in an argument: Heads I win, Tails you lose!
Some tried to strip me of a title which I never possessed. They said that I was not an intellectual. Well, I never laid claim to the coveted title of ‘intellectual’. I am a normal citizen, a simple Telugu person, born into a politically and socially conscious family. I am fortunate to have gone to some reasonably good schools, colleges and universities. That’s all. No more. I do not suffer from the delusions that I am an intellectual.
But I speak my mind out. Candidly. Fearlessly. I take positions after a careful sifting of evidence. But I am also constantly on the lookout for any fact or insight that would call for a rethink or a review of my position. On this issue, I must tell you, I have not come across even a shred of evidence to support the demand for dividing the state. I must tell you that I do not consider anyone who disagrees with me as my enemy or a traitor or an unworthy person or a person with ulterior motives. I don’t level charges or attribute mala fide intentions to anybody who takes a position at variance with the position that I take.
I am open for a debate. Anywhere. Anytime. I am not the kind of person who can be cowed down by sarcasm. Nobody can browbeat me. None can intimidate me. Let nobody labour under the illusion that they can pass some caustic remarks and make some cheap personal comments to prevent me from championing the Visalandhra cause and from challenging the falsehoods propagated by the separatists. I am aware that only those who have no argument resort to this kind of innuendo. Innuendo makes a lot of noise. But it cannot be a substitute for an argument.
Therefore, if somebody is prepared to leave this clutter behind and ready for a genuine and honest debate, I am ready. And Visalanddhra Mahasabha is ready.
Let me add this here: I don’t buy the argument that ‘those who demand separate Telangana state are the only ones who are the well-wishers of Telangana.’ I have seen this trick. I don’t fall into the trap. I believe that all those who support the separate Telangana state are not necessarily the well-wishers of Telangana. And all those who are in favour of Visalandhra are not against the interests of Telangana. In fact those who are championing the cause of Visalandhra are the real well-wishers of Telangana. And Coastal region. And Rayalaseema. They are the well-wishers of all Telugu people.
Lakhs and lakhs of people from all the regions of Andhra Pradesh, all the districts of Andhra Pradesh, and all the villages of Andhra Pradesh want the State to stay united.
I have seen through the cynical efforts to portray the current situation as a conflict between ‘Telangana people’ on the one side and the rest of the State on the other.
I will lay bare the trickery of this diabolical game and expose the cynical sleight of hand behind it.
Watch this space (http://www.parakala.org).
Political myopia, folly, and sheer mischief have undermined counter-insurgency gains in many theatres across India, making a mockery of the tremendous sacrifices Security Forces (SFs) must accept to secure even limited successes. Unfortunately, there is no indication that the political leadership in this country has learned anything from the past, or that its wilful blindness and disruptive opportunism are yielding to any greater sagacity or concern for the national interest.
The situation in Andhra Pradesh, with particular regard to the Telangana region, is an immediate case in point. Over the past years, the Andhra Pradesh Police has struggled against great odds, and at great cost in blood, to bring a rampaging Maoist movement under control.
The Telangana region has always been at the heart of the Maoist insurrection, but by 2005, each one of Andhra Pradesh’s 23 Districts was in the Maoist-affected category. The situation had been substantially worsened by the ill-advised deal between the Congress Party and the Maoists in the run-up to the 2004 elections, and the ‘ceasefire’ that the new Congress regime unilaterally announced in one of its first moves after its electoral victory. Despite significant and further Maoist consolidation, however, the Andhra Pradesh Police were able to fight back after the breakdown of the so-called ‘peace process’ in early 2005, and by 2007, almost the entire State had been cleared of the Maoist menace.
Fatalities in Maoist related violence provide an index of the astonishing turnaround that was achieved in this short while. According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, in 2005, there were 320 Maoist related fatalities (132 civilians, 21 SF personnel, 167 Maoists); 2010 saw just 33 such fatalities (17 civilians, 16 Maoists). To date, there have been just 4 fatalities in 2011 (2 civilians and 2 Maoists). There have been no SF fatalities since 2009.
|
Year
|
Civilians
|
SF Personnel
|
Extremists
|
Total
|
|
2004
|
42
|
3
|
43
|
88
|
|
2005
|
132
|
21
|
167
|
320
|
|
2006
|
18
|
7
|
122
|
147
|
|
2007
|
24
|
4
|
45
|
73
|
|
2008
|
28
|
1
|
37
|
66
|
|
2009
|
10
|
0
|
18
|
28
|
|
2010
|
17
|
0
|
16
|
33
|
|
2011
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
4
|
|
Total*
|
273
|
36
|
450
|
759
|
|
|
||||
| *Data till July 10, 2011 |
The Maoists made a concerted attempt to regroup in the Nalamalla Forest area in Central Andhra, and in the Telangana region, in 2010, but their attempts were quickly neutralised with the arrest or killing of their leadership cadres, forcing them out of the State once again.
A residual problem of sporadic violence, essentially by armed groups located across the border, principally in Odisha and Chhattisgarh, persists in eight border Districts of Andhra Pradesh. However, even this has been substantially handled with effective coordination with SFs in these States, and in Joint Operations. Today, the Maoist operational capabilities in Andhra are minimal.
The Maoists have also been increasingly aware that the improving social and economic profile of populations in the region no longer lends itself to their patterns of mobilisation and recruitment. The socio-economic transformation of the Telangana region has been elaborately documented by the Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee, which has debunked the entire ‘separatist’ argument on grounds of economic neglect and backwardness. It is not the intention, here, to review the Srikrishna Report. However, the extensive indices of human and economic development compiled, demonstrate the most dramatic improvements in the Telangana region, and force the Committee to the conclusion that, “In recent years… the shares of Telangana for many common development parameters are in league with the share of population / area, often being higher… Additionally, the rate of growth of most of the parameters of development has shown robust growth in Telangana… Thus, on the whole, it would appear that the deprived region is Rayalaseema not Telangana.”
The Srikrishna Report has, of course, been accused of bias and political prejudice by the votaries of a separate Telangana, which is why the Maoist perspective becomes the more significant. Indeed, in their Social Investigation of North Telangana: Case Study of Warangal, probably drafted towards the end of 2001 or early 2002, the Maoists concede that a wide range of social, political and economic transformations in the region have made recruitment difficult, and popular cooperation with the Police far more frequent, undermining the very possibility of effective Maoist mobilization. The tone of much of this document verges on the comical, as there is constant lamentation over precisely these improvements, and the impact they have had on the ‘revolutionary potential’ in what was, for decades, the Maoist heartland. A few samples are instructive:
Now the governments are starting "Akshara deepika", Malli badiki", "Chaduvula panduga" (education programmes), education for child labourers, thievish audio visual educations, bridge schools to educate the peasantry and make them buy their goods. It is only to transform the people as "market being". Earlier, farmers never had anything to eat when they go to the market. They used to go without even brushing their teeth. Now they go to the hotels. They also have to watch the imperialist's TV. So they have to go by bus…
Telephones are also brought along with this. The middle class is opposing the blasting of the (telephone) exchanges. The increased communication network facilitated the enemy to receive our information soon…
The roads in remote rural areas of the district have become tar roads… There is almost no village without RTC buses in the summer season… Two wheelers have become a common feature in majority of the villages in the district ranging from scooter to spider, Hero Honda, Bajaj, Chetak, Kavasaki… In addition to these each mandal (administrative block) has at least 40 tractors, each village has 4 to 5 jeeps. Six seater autos, Matadors and Tata Sumos are in big number… Now if a squad member goes to the village for food and it is exposed, the police from the nearby station can encircle us within one hour. We are unable to identify who leaked the information. Information can also be sent through phones…
Twenty years back, apart from the district collectorate in Warangal district there were two RDO (Rural Development Officer) offices in Mulugu and Mehaboobabad… Now there are revenue offices to each mandal and agriculture and education departments, now the Janagama, Narsampeta and Warangal Revenue Divisions are established. There are 6 RDO offices in the district. Administration is decentralised and bureaucrats (employed section) and administrative departments (political and ruling class) have developed in a big way…
The women are gaining political consciousness by knowing the bourgeois political society mainly through the TV. Because of the schools, participating in development activities taken up by the various organisations, they are increasingly coming out of the houses. Number of girl students is increased. The number of those who go around the offices also increased to 5 or 10 in each village…
The impact of cricketisation and gutka (a mild stimulant containing areca nut and tobacco) is high. Due to the imperialist culture 40 per cent of our youth are away from our activities. In 1980s there was no Television even radio was seen only in middle class families. Now cassette recorders and decks become a normal feature… Cricket, volleyball, carom board, chess, ball badminton and kabaddi are played. Every village has cricket and volleyball.
This, precisely, is what makes the separatist movement in Telangana integral to Maoist designs in the region. The only possibility of the recovery of Maoist influence and dominance in Andhra Pradesh is envisaged through the Telangana agitation. Significantly, a detailed plan to encourage such separatism was drawn up in the Fourth North Telangana Special Zonal Committee Meeting of the People's War Group (PWG, now CPI-Maoist) in 1997, where it was concluded that, "when it comes to separate Telangana issue, it cannot be entrusted to others" and that "It is not proper to say that only constitutional means would be adopted." Indeed, in the PWG's State Conference in 1995, a resolution had already been passed to start an agitation for the formation of a separate Telangana. What we are seeing in the Telangana region today is a slow and systematic unfolding of the Maoist plan for a sundering of the State, through various proxies, in order to restore their own disruptive dominance.
All the formations currently spearheading the separatist movement, including the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and the Telangana Praja Front (TPF), have a large representation of ex-Maoist cadres and leaders, and have synchronised their campaigns with various Maoist directives on the issue.
The observations of the Sri Krishna Report in this regard, in its 'secret' Chapter 8, are significant:
- With the bifurcation of the state and Hyderabad in Telangana region, incidents of agitations, dharnas and even violence, are expected. This may result in flight of capital, stagnant growth and disincentive for entrepreneurs, leading to slow down of economic activity.
- The Maoists are also likely to gain by the creation of a new state. The new state is likely to be soft towards them initially, given that they have over the years supported the struggle for the formation of Telangana. By the time the state realizes the Maoist menace, it may be too late for the state to handle them with a bifurcated police force contributing to a weaker response to the problem. The CPI (Maoist) will also use political boundaries of state and districts, to their advantage. It is not without reason that most of the Maoist zones, sub- zones etc., straddle state and district boundaries.
- Telangana is also contiguous with other highly affected Maoist areas viz., Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra States. As such it is likely that the Maoists will extend their activities from these neighbouring states to Telangana, especially the districts of Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, Khammam, parts of Nizamabad and Medak in north Telangana and Mahboobnagar and Nalgonda in south Telangana. It is important to note that it is not entirely a coincidence that the increased spread of Maoist violence in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, has been after the creation of these states. Increase in poverty which is a natural corollary to a slowdown in economic activity, will drive more people into the arms of the CPI ( Maoist). This may again lead to a vicious cycle of Naxalism, leading to less of economic activity and greater impoverishment, which may provide fillip to left wing extremism.
- An important development that has to be noted is that after K. Chandra Shekar Rao gave up his fasting protest on 30.11.2009, Gaddar organized wide spread protests and later the top leadership of Maoists including Kishanji @ Mallojula Koteshwar have organized various protests programs through students of Osmania University and other universities of Telangana. Thus, while the student's involvement in the Telangana agitation became very intense due to the encouragement of the local committees of the Maoists, Telangana Rashtra Samithi was also forced to utilize simmering sentiment in the students. When the intensity of the agitation by TRS started ebbing down, Gaddar floated a new front called Telangana Praja Front (TPF) on the instructions of the underground cadre of the Maoists to sustain agitation for a very prolonged duration. This front, which is totally Maoist backed and motivated, tried to project itself as an alternate to KCR and TRS. Thus, the Maoists are trying to make a come back through the Telangana agitation. The impact of possible growth of Maoist/ Naxal influence in Telangana has to be evaluated in the right perspective keeping in mind that a large number of important and sensitive industries are located in and around Hyderabad.
It is unfortunately the case that the Centre’s policies and pronouncements, and especially the December 9, 2010, announcement of an imminent division of Andhra Pradesh by Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, have inflamed the agitators further. The resignation of Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Telangana region since July 4, 2011, can only worsen the situation. The problem has been aggravated significantly by the succession war within the Congress Party after the death of Chief Minister YSR Reddy in a helicopter accident in September 2009, and the claims of his son, Jagan Reddy, with his breakaway YSR Party.
All parties and groups opposed to state division have been intimidated by the threat of a violent backlash to maintain their silence. Some political formations have opportunistically changed their positions, sensing some electoral advantage in the Telangana region by shifting from an integrationist to a separatist position.
There is a grave and imminent danger of a Maoist revival in the Telangana region if a separate State is created there. Indeed, the increasing chaos of the Telangana agitation has already created new spaces for Maoist revival and consolidation, though the operation of armed cadres is still being effectively contained by the Police. The rising apprehensions and potential backlash in the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions can only widen such spaces. The Maoist leadership and cadres from this State have played – and continue to play – a historically pivotal role in the armed insurrection across all affected areas of the country. A Maoist revival in Andhra Pradesh will not only wipe out hard-won gains in Telangana and in the wider State; it would have disastrous consequences for the Maoist ‘red corridor’ States, and for the internal security situation in India at large.
Ajai Sahni is Editor SAIR; Executive Director, Institute for Conflict Management & SATP. Courtesy: the South Asia Intelligence Review of the South Asia Terrorism Portal.
URL to the article: http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?277672
Six months of our efforts to educate the national media on the intricacies of the separatist movement are paying off. Here is an article in the higly-respected national journal "Governance Now"
————————————————————–
Even as the Telangana legislators put in their resignations and life in Andhra Pradesh comes to a standstill because a 48-hour bandh, both aimed at pressurising the union government to grant statehood to the region, a group of professionals claiming to draw inspiration from the Andhra Mahasabha – which planted the idea of a linguistic state that led to formation of today’s Andhra Pradesh – has launched a counter offensive.
United under the banner of Visalandhra Mahasabha, this group is holding a two-day workshop in New Delhi to highlight pitfalls of dividing the state.
Economist and secretary of Visalandhra Mahasabha, Parakala Prabhakar, provides facts and figures about the development indices of all the three regions of Andhra Pradesh – Coastal Andhra, Rayalseema and Telangana – to argue that there is little basis to say that Telangana is discriminated against or is neglected. On the contrary, Telangana has witnessed rapid growth after 1956 when all the three regions united to form Andhra Pradesh in terms of education, health facilities, irrigation, power consumption and even per capita income, he asserts. Going by these indices, Rayalseema appears to be the one falling behind.
The demand for statehood has little to do with economic, political or cultural regions. It is aimed more at political end, Prabhakar says.
The idea of a united Andhra Pradesh finds support of veteran journalists Kuldip Nayar and Sanjaya Baru too. Nayar says the demand for statehood is political in nature and reflects a sense of alienation which could be solved through various political and administrative decisions, while warning that conceding the demand will not only open a pandora’s box, it would endanger unity of the country too.
Baru advises to focus on the “strength of unity”, rather than the “weakness of division” to drive home the point that dividing the Godavari and Krishna basins will weaken the state and harm the cause of the Telugu-speaking people.
——————————————————————————————-
Dear Supporters,
Visalandhra Mahasabha is an organization committed towards a united Andhra Pradesh. It is a group of intellectuals, professionals, educationists and other socially conscious patriots from all the regions of AP – Nizam Telangana, Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema.
The separatist agitation in the State of Andhra Pradesh and the demand for separate Telangana is fraught with not only violence and vandalism based on claims of vicitimization of Telangana people, but also fundamentally based on falsehood and distortion of facts and figures. The demand for Telanga is completely unjust.
In this context, Visalandhara Mahasabha is attempting to showcase the hitherto unknown truths in social, economic, political, cultural and hitorical domains through a Media Workshop and Exhibition On The Unjust Demand for Telangana.
We hope that this endeavor of ours helps you in arriving at a balanced view of the scenario based on facts rather than conjectures and wrong propaganda.
The venue and other details are as follows…
|
Workshop-1: July 5th 11.00 AM – 1.00 PM · Kuldip Nayar- Sr. Journalist · Sitaram Yechury- MP & CPM Politburo Member Workshop-2: July 6th 3.00 PM – 5.00 PM · K.P.S. Gill- IPS (Retd.) · G. Sanjeeva Reddy- MP & President INTUC |
Exhibition 5th and 6th July 2011, - 11.00 AM to 5.00 PM Venue Constitution Club, Speaker Hall, Rafi Marg, New Delhi. |
Yours Sincerely,
Nalamotu Chakravarthy
http://www.facebook.com/visalandhra
http://www.myteluguroots.com
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http://www.amazon.com/My-Telugu-Roots-Telangana-Bhasmasura/dp/0984238603/
Andhra State was the first linguistic state that came into existence after India’s independence. When Nizam of Hyderabad in 1947 started toying with the idea of becoming an independent nation, Nehru ordered Indian military into Hyderabad state and merged the territory into Republic of India.
Hyderabad state was then made up of Kannada, Marathi and Telugu speaking regions. To decide how Indian states should be constituted, Nehru appointed the States Reorganization Commission. The commission recommended the merger of Telugu speaking Nizam region with the Andhra state, but recommended a waiting period of 5 years before the merger, to allay some of the concerns expressed by a handful of Congress party leaders. However, there was a strong desire among the Telugu people of all regions to unite. When a resolution for merger was placed in the Hyderabad assembly, 2/3rd of the legislators from Nizam ruled Telugu region favoured an immediate merger. Eventually, after a good bit of deliberation, Nehru’s government agreed to constitute all non-Hindi speaking states of India along linguistic lines.
Breaking the national model of linguistic states to allay the political movements started by leaders like KCR would open a pandora’s box for similar movements across several linguistic states of India. This could potentially be a destabilizing force on the nation. Succumbing to the demand for division of Andhra Pradesh will add fuel to the movements for Bodoland out of Assam, Kongu Nadu out of Tamilnadu, Tulu Nadu out of Karnataka, Vidarbha out of Maharashtra, Gorkhaland out of West Bengal.
The announcement made by Home Minister Chidambaram on December 9th 2009 to divide Andhra Pradesh was done in haste. Unlike creation of states like Chattisgarh or Uttarakhand, division of Andhra Pradesh is complex and convoluted.
Capital city Hyderabad is a major source of state revenue. According to a clarification given in the State Assembly in 2008 by the then Finance Minister Rosaiah, 37% of the state’s revenues come from Hyderabad alone. Andhra Pradesh state budget is well over one lakh crore rupees. In a divided state, Hyderabad city would fall in the Nizam Telangana region. As a result, Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema will claim a stake in Hyderabad’s revenues. They will argue that they too have contributed to the growth of the capital. An amicable solution to this thorny problem is almost impossible.
If Andhra Pradesh state is divided, there will be a bitter battle among Rayalaseema, Coastal Andhra and Uttara Andhra regions to have the state capital in their own regions. Rayalaseema will insist on having Kurnool as the capital, whereas Coastal Andhra will insist on having Vijayawada or Guntur as the capital, while Uttara Andhra will insist on making the port city of Vizag as the capital of the newly minted state. This battle for capital will no doubt turn into an intractable mess and may lead to violent movements for further division of the state into Rayalaseema, Uttara Andhra, and Coastal Andhra.
Hyderabad city has millions of Telugu people that came from all parts of the state. Vitriol used by leaders like KCR, with statements such as “Tongues will be cut if anybody demands UT status for Hyderabad”, or threats of “civil war” or slogans such as “Telangana wale jago, Andhra wale bhago”, or TRS party MP Vijaya Shanthi openly saying, “whoever enters the Telangana region (for campaigning) will be axed” have instilled fear among the populace. Assaults on prominent leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan and IAS officer Vijayanand and many more have caused millions of people from Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema to question their personal security in a Telangana state.
There are several other intractable issues on the economic front. For example, two of the major power and irrigation projects in the state, Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam are situated right on the border of Nizam Telangana and Coastal Andhra. Add to this mix the disputes that will arise over allocation of river waters to the newly formed states. Problems such as these make the division of Andhra Pradesh a non-trivial matter.
It is clear that the Maoists are in favour of dividing the Andhra Pradesh state. In fact, it can be argued that they are the ones who sowed the seeds for the current separatist movement. Years before KCR dreamt of starting the movement for a separate state, the Naxal’s North Telangana Special Zonal Committee (NTSZC) in 1997 has passed a resolution favouring the formation of Telangana state. During this session detailed strategies about how to build the movement for a separate state have been schemed. Not surprisingly, many of these tactics are currently being employed by the separatists. On January 3rd 2011, KCR, while welcoming former Naxal Sambasivudu into his paty’s fold, promised to endorse and implement the Naxal agenda after the formation of Telangana state. A divided Andhra Pradesh state will strengthen the Naxal movement. A smaller weaker Telangana state could potentially turn into another Maoist hotbed like Chattisgarh and plays into Naxals dream of creating a Maoist corridor of Telangana, Bastar (Chattisgarh), South Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal. This is a matter of grave national security.
For too long, Congress, BJP, TDP and other smaller parties used the issue of Telangana for their short term political gains. Andhra Pradesh today is reaping the follies of these myopic positions. The time has come for all political parties to put the interests of nation ahead of their political expediencies. The time has come for the central and state governments to unequivocally stand against not only the division of Andhra Pradesh state but also against division of all linguistic states. Our country has more important priorities at this juncture. If our leaders intend to achieve the double-digit GDP growth and if they are serious about competing with other emerging economies like China, the separatist movements such as the one in Andhra Pradesh should have been nipped in the bud, and it is still not too late.
Save Andhra Pradesh!
Nalamotu Chakravarthy
http://www.facebook.com/visalandhra
http://www.myteluguroots.com
http://www.facebook.com/people/@/226703252445
http://twitter.com/nalamotu
http://www.amazon.com/My-Telugu-Roots-Telangana-Bhasmasura/dp/0984238603/
457. LETTER TO S. RADHAKRISHNAN
SEGAON, WARDHA,
December 23, 1938
DEAR SIR RADHAKRISHNAN,
As you know I have always aimed at a redistribution of Provinces on a linguistic basis. The cue was taken from the Andhra movement. I should therefore be more than glad if Andhra could have its status as a Province recognized even now.
Yours sincerely,
M. K. GANDHI
Source: The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vol.74, 9 Sept. 1938 to 29 January 1939, p.344
Courtesy: Prof. Murali
Please "Like" our facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/visalandhra
————————————————————————————————————————
Please watch the very first video presentation of Visalandhra Mahasabha.
As I watched the video, I got goosebumps and I had to fight back tears. The only time this has happened to me in the past was when Ghazal garu sang his famous patriotic telugu song "Oyi Teluguvada" in New Jersey. That audio is also on youtube, but nothing like listening to him singing live.
Ghazal garu, we need your artistic voice by our side in our fight against separatism.
Please watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Lc7RdE5rso
Save Andhra Pradesh!
Nalamotu Chakravarthy
http://www.myteluguroots.com
http://www.facebook.com/people/@/226703252445
http://twitter.com/nalamotu
http://www.amazon.com/My-Telugu-Roots-Telangana-Bhasmasura/dp/0984238603/
Dear All,
Please join us tomorrow (Sunday the 13th) at 10:30 AM near the Ambedkar statue. This is your opportunity to protest against the desecration of the great Telugu idols. We will march from Ambedkar statue to tank bund. You will also get to meet the Visalandhra Mahasabha team. Our organization is much bigger than the few that have been identified in the note. Join hands with us and stand up for what you believe in.
Looking forward to a strong showing tomorrow.
Save Andhra Pradesh!
Nalamotu Chakravarthy
http://www.myteluguroots.com
http://www.facebook.com/people/@/226703252445
http://twitter.com/nalamotu
http://www.amazon.com/My-Telugu-Roots-Telangana-Bhasmasura/dp/0984238603/
Visalandhra Mahasabha is formed by us who are dedicated to the cause of unity of Telugu people. We seek to celebrate our glorious history, our ancient language and our rich culture. We feel that it is our sacred duty to preserve the unity of our State.
We draw our inspiration from the founders and leaders of Andhra Mahasabha. They were the pioneers who worked for the unity of Telugu people. They planted the seeds of the idea of a linguistic State for the Telugu people in the beginning of the last century itself. They wanted the Telugu people, then scattered across different political units, to come and live together under one administrative entity. As a result of the great sacrifices of the Andhra Mahasabha leaders from the Circar, Ceded, and the Nizam regions, our State came into existence. Our goal is to revive the noble spirit of Andhra Mahasabha. Under the aegis of Visalandhra Mahasabha, we dedicate ourselves to strive for preserving the geographic unity and integrity of our great State that came into existence after a protracted struggle against the British, the Nizam rulers, as well as the Indian government.
Visalandhra Mahasabha is firmly opposed to the division of Andhra Pradesh.
We are immensely troubled by the separatist agitation that has been raging in our state for the past 10 years. We are of the firm belief that the separatist agitation is built on blatant lies, false propaganda, and agit-prop techniques. They are adopting Fascist methods to silence the voices of unity. They are resorting to verbal abuse, intimidation, and even physical violence. Unfortunately, a credible and sustained campaign against separatist agitation has not been built in the last 10 years. The falsehoods and canards spread by the separatists are not being effectively contested and exposed. All these months and years, the separatist argument went unchallenged.
Justice Srikrishna Committee’s (SKC’s) comprehensive and well-researched report rubbished the various false claims made by the separatists. After a year-long rigorous study, the committee dispelled the myths and falsehoods, the separatists have been consistently spreading, about the Nizam region’s backwardness, underdevelopment, and its discrimination and exploitation by Circar and Ceded regions since the formation of the State of Andhra Pradesh.
The separatists have lost their argument. Today, their lies stand exposed. But they continue their agitation. Without an argument. Without a basis. And without a reason.
Separatists want the people to believe that “if you love the Nizam region, you must demand the division of the State”. That is the conceptual trap that the separatists have successfully laid during the last ten years. Visalandhra Mahasabha feels that love for Nizam region and demand for a separate State are not one and the same. These two need to be decoupled in the minds of the people. Advocates of Unity are not the enemies of Nizam region. On the contrary, it is the separatists, who are, indeed, its enemies. This message needs to be taken to the people.
Visalandhra Mahasabha feels that the immediate task, however, is to bring the findings of SKC report to the attention of the top leadership of various political parties in the Country. It is important to expose the falsehoods spread by the separatists, who sowed the seeds of suspicion, hatred and division, in the minds of Telugu people. Over the next few months, we will conduct a sustained campaign. We will make sure that the argument for United Andhra Pradesh is heard by all the important political and media personalities who will play a key role in deciding the fate of our beloved State.
We want you to be part of this noble endeavour. Please ‘Like’ our facebook page and become a ‘Supporter’ of Visalandhra Mahasabha. Do bring in at least ten more people to join our movement for Unity. Give power to the voice of Visalandhra Mahasabha. Help, preserve, the Unity of our State.
Sincerely,
* Dr. Parakala Prabhakar (Ph.D., from London School of Economics, Political Economist, and Policy Consultant)
* Challagulla Narasimha Rao (Eminent Political Aanalyst, author of over 30 books, and 500 articles in various news papers and magazines)
* Prof. Atlury Murali (Ph.D., from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Professor of History, University of Hyderabad)
* Prof. C M K Reddy (DSc(Hon) FRCS(Glas) FRCS(Ire) General & Vascular Surgeon. President, Tamil Nadu Medical Practitioners' Association (TAMPA), All India Telugu Federation (AITF))
* Sunkara Venkateswar Rao (Founder of Bachao Hyderabad organization, Founder of Sri Guru Peetham Spiritual Trust)
* Kumar Chowdhary Yadav (Founder, Samaikyandhra Samithi Party)
* Dr. Syed Faheem (Dentist by profession, started United Andhra Pradesh facebook group that attracted over 30,000 members)
* Nalamotu Chakravarthy (Management Consultant, MBA from Columbia University, General Secretary Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Indians, author of the book “My Telugu Roots”)
February 17th will go down as one of the ignominious days in our state’s history. Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) is one of the most respected leaders, not just in our state, but in the entire nation. He is known for his honesty and integrity. He has given up a comfortable life as an IAS officer with the goal of cleansing our political system. He has fought relentlessly against corruption and for the fundamental rights of citizens.
It is very unfortunate that the legislators that are responsible for making the laws of the land were the chief provocateurs for a physical assault on JP on the premises of Andhra Pradesh State Assembly on February 17th, 2011. To make matters worse, leaders like KTR, who were educated in the West, instead of championing individuals’ fundamental right of expression, were seen inciting their followers to physically assault JP with the use of filthiest possible language.
For too long, we have hoped for our leaders to stand up and fight for us. Unfortunately, they have failed us. Our elected leaders were mute spectators to the events in the Assembly, just like they have been mute spectators for the last ten years. Ours is a country that is home to leaders like Mahatma Gandhi who took on one of the most powerful countries in the world- The British Empire. Our state is home to fearless fighters like Alluri Sitaramaraju. Our great leaders fought against injustice purely based on a conviction that they were right. That courage and conviction is lost among our leadership today.
The demand for a separate state is not just, but is grounded in prejudice. The allegations of discrimination and under development that have been made by separatists for nearly a decade have been thoroughly refuted by the Srikrishna Committee. In a debate, the first person or group to indulge in physical violence is the one who lost the argument. That is what has happened in the case of separatists’ assault on JP. JP has brought out truth much before Srikrishna Committee did. He boldly came out and said that the separatist allegations did not hold water. He bravely went on TV and aired his views with solid documentary evidence to support his position. Truth is a little too much for the separatists to digest.
I have always had reservations about JP and Loksatta’s position that division of the state is neither good nor bad [I am paraphrasing]. I wished he and his party had taken a clear position on the issue of separation. To my greatest disappointment, Loksatta continued to be ambiguous on this issue. However, I have not run into integrationists who hold personal animosity towards JP. However, for separatists- those that agree with them are their friends and those that don’t should be silenced, even if it means assaulting them physically. This is the kind of culture you see in dictatorial and autocratic societies.
There is one cause that is more important than our state and dare I say even our nation, and that is the protection of fundamental rights of individuals. Whether we survive as a free nation or go the tyrannical way of much of the world is dependent on three simple tenets: life, liberty, and property. In the hierarchy of fundamental rights, protection of life is of the highest order. There is not a single justifiable reason to physically attack another person, other than for self-defence, unless such force is authorized by the law of the land. Unprovoked assault on JP is an assault on person’s fundamental right to life. On February 17th, 2011 our society has taken one step back from being a free society and took one step forward towards a tyrannical society.
Some may question, that there are innocent people being physically assaulted everyday in our nation with no recourse to justice. Similarly, isn’t the JP incident just a drop in the bucket? No it is not. JP is a nationally recognized leader. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress Party Presdient Sonia Gandhi, and many national figures know JP personally. He is a people’s representative and a member of the legislative assembly. If a man of that stature is attacked physically, where is the guarantee for the life of a common man? Separatists have succeeded in sending an unequivocal message to those that disagree with their agenda. There are no limits to how far separatists are willing to go to stifle the voices of those that disagree with them.
Save Andhra Pradesh!
Nalamotu Chakravarthy
http://www.myteluguroots.com
http://www.facebook.com/people/@/226703252445
http://twitter.com/nalamotu
http://www.amazon.com/My-Telugu-Roots-Telangana-Bhasmasura/dp/0984238603/
Today is a day of celebration. We have been vindicated. I won't say anything further. Just read what Justice Srikrishna has to say:
2.15.01
One of the major arguments for a separate state of Telangana has been that since the formation of the state of AP, this region has been neglected and even discriminated against, resulting in economic and social hardship.
Compared with coastal Andhra, it is alleged that Telangana has low per capita income, lower access to employment, lower business opportunities and low access to education and so on. It is also alleged that most of the higher level economic opportunities are appropriated by those belonging to coastal Andhra.
At the outset, some or all such allegations appear true when absolute amounts, numbers and percentages are reviewed. Yet, when a study of rate of change, growth rate and shares in the state economy is evaluated, nothing unusual emerges. Telangana excluding Hyderabad, currently has a share of 36% in state population and 41% in state land mass. Any development parameter that is consistent with these shares can be considered on par or at parity with the population / share of land mass. Indeed, one finds that at a reference point in the past, such as the census 1961 or 1956 or 1974 since when factual data are available, the shares for Telangana were far too low (refer to Figure 2.44). In recent years, however the shares of Telangana for many common development parameters are in league with the share of population / area, often being higher.
There are a few crucial indicators on which Telangana is lagging behind, and they appear to have occurred due to structural causes of the economy and also due to concentration of economic activity in Hyderabad district/urban agglomeration.
2.15.02
Overall, in spite of 50 plus years of policy protected planning and execution, one finds regional variations in the economic development of AP. The rate of growth in the development parameters summed up below is found to be robust both in Telangana (even after excluding Hyderabad) and coastal Andhra. Disturbing, however, are the growing levels of inequity within Telangana and Rayalaseema, and within the deprived population groups. Contrastingly, the evidence suggests that the inequity in income has, in fact, declined in coastal Andhra. It is essential, therefore, to take a note of inequity differentials between the haves and have-nots in Telangana, especially amongst the SCs, STs and minorities. Such deepening inequity in Telangana can not only sustain the separatist agitation but it can also carry it further and increase its intensity. The masses, therefore, can be easily used as tools of agitation by motivated groups and even political parties.
We have been vindicated by Justice Srikrishna. The time to fight for Telugu Unity with all our strength has come.
Save Andhra Pradesh!
Nalamotu Chakravarthy
http://www.myteluguroots.com
http://www.facebook.com/people/@/226703252445
http://twitter.com/nalamotu
http://www.amazon.com/My-Telugu-Roots-Telangana-Bhasmasura/dp/0984238603/
Few of you have asked for video clips of the state formation day celebrations in the U.S. Here are the links to TV9 coverage of the NJ and CA events.
New Jersey:
Part1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK2DCOLm2k4
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KcS_sm0yac
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUlNWi7UlGs
California:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbVnr2fjITY
Save Andhra Pradesh!
Nalamotu Chakravarthy
http://www.myteluguroots.com
http://www.facebook.com/people/@/226703252445
http://twitter.com/nalamotu
http://www.amazon.com/My-Telugu-Roots-Telangana-Bhasmasura/dp/0984238603/
I would like to wish you all a Very Happy New Year.
Year 2010 has been quite productive in terms of accomplishments. Along with the help of my fellow integrationist friends, we have:
• Submitted a solid report to the Srikrishna Committee arguing against the division of the state. The statistical evidence we presented to the committee was comprehensive and compelling. We are already seeing snippets of our arguments in the SKC report that is being leaked to the media.
• Presented our case in the electronic media on many telugu TV channels.
• Written editorials in leading telugu news papers in support of the integrationist message and countering the false propaganda of separatists.
• Released the Telugu version of my book My Telugu Roots in A.P., titled Mana Telugu Talli and extensively distributed the books to leaders and media organizations.
• Conducted state formation day celebrations in six cities across the United States. I hope these events acted as an inspiration for those living in our state.
• Lobbied leaders across the party lines to fight harder for the integrationist cause.
Though we’ve accomplished a great deal in 2010, I have to admit that our efforts lag behind the activities being conducted by the separatists. Integrationist message has not gone into the masses. Integrationist leaders in our state have failed to build a unity platform. If you are an integrationist living in Andhra Pradesh, there is no credible organization that you can associate with. In the Nizam region, separatists are continuing to push their message of hate and are succeeding in poisoning people’s minds.
I hope 2011 will be a year when the integrationist message of unity and peace will prevail. I am absolutely confident that Srikrishna Committee will not find evidence of discrimination against any of the three regions. This should give the Central Government maneuvering room to back-off from their original stance in support of division. Therefore, our singular focus in the New Year should be all about getting the truth out into masses that corruption, under development, and poverty are not a result of discrimination but are a result of bad governance.
On the personal front, I am relocating to India this month with my family. Moving back to India for our children’s education and to be close to our parents has been our plan for many years. Saying that, I did contemplate quitting work and dedicating my time to the integrationist cause for a year or two. However, all the activities we conducted this year made me realize that raising funds is a significant challenge. I therefore decided to continue to work out of India, as it will enable me to support the Samaikyandhra efforts for 2011- at least initially.
I would like to take this opportunity to solicit your advice on what we can do in 2011 to fight against separatism. I am particularly interested in your ideas about ways in which we can influence the people of Nizam region. If you prefer to meet me in person in Hyderabad, please shoot me a note.
2011 is going to be a crucial year. Don’t leave it up to political leaders, the fate of our culture, our history, and our heritage, which are second to none. Let us all do our bit and fight the separatist propaganda machine in our own small ways. Let us make Rudramadevi, Krishnadevarayalu, Venkatappayya, Potti Sriramulu, Ravi Narayan Reddy, Burugula and many more of our ancestors proud with our FEARLESS commitment to the cause of unity.
Save Andhra Pradesh!
Nalamotu Chakravarthy
http://www.myteluguroots.com
http://www.facebook.com/people/@/226703252445
http://twitter.com/nalamotu
http://www.amazon.com/My-Telugu-Roots-Telangana-Bhasmasura/dp/0984238603/
Loksatta leader Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan recently speaking to journalists outside the A.P. state assembly alleged that under the guise of movements some people are extorting crores of rupees from industrialists and businessmen [Source]
Looks like JP's criticism has struck KCR's son KTR personally. Reacting to JP's comments, KTR said that if JP has guts he should present evidence of the extortion on the floor of the assembly. KTR asking for evidence is a fair game. Though it is highly unlikely that businessmen would be stupid enough to come out in the open and admit being extorted. If they are that brave, they would not have yielded to the extortionists in the first place.
Since KTR asked for evidence, here is one recent incident. I will quote a news article from The Hindu, December 14th 2009 verbatim:
"The Telangana Recognised School Managements' Association (TRSMA) have raised a banner of revolt against the TRSV, the frontal organisation of Telangana Rashtra Samithi for allegedly resorting to forcible extortions and threatening the school managements in Telangana region in general and Karimnagar district in particular.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, TRSMA State associate president K. Anantha Reddy, district president Y. Shekhar Rao have said that the district TRSV leaders led by its leader Siddam Venu visited the Manair High School in Karimnagar on Friday evening and attacked the school staff and abused the correspondent with filthy language…"
For your kind information KTR, the above described incident did not even happen in Hyderabad. If the situation is this bad Karimnagar, we all can imagine how bad the problem is in Hyderabad.
If KTR stopped at asking for evidence of extortion, this debate would've been a fair one to have. KTR seems to have acquired his father's loose tongue. KTR went on to say that JP will not even be able to go about freely in Hyderabad if he continues to talk irresponsibly. If this isn't bad enough, the OU JAC threatened that if JP makes such inappropriate comments again, he will be driven out to Seemandhra. [Source]
It is very sad indeed to see the kind of leadership that is running the separatist movement. Some of the leaders do not even have a basic understanding of fundamental rights that the constitution provides to the citizens of India. These leaders and groups have no qualms in resorting to goondaism to achieve their ends. Yes, threatening a free citizen of India that he will be driven out of Hyderabad is nothing but goondaism.
A number of leaders that are involved in the current separatist movement are descendants of feudal lords of the erstwhile Nizam era. Their forefathers lived like kings while putting the masses through untold misery via vetti and extortions. It appears that "dhorala samskruthi" is still rampant in some of these leaders.
Dear KTR, Hyderabad state has been freed several decades ago and is an integral part of India. Indian constitution allows all Indians to come and live in Hyderabad and to exercise their fundamental right to freedom, which includes freedom of speech and expression. Looks like you and your fellow TRS goons don't get it. It is about time you and your feudal descendant friends realize that Hyderabad is not your Jagir!
Save Andhra Pradesh!
Nalamotu Chakravarthy
http://www.myteluguroots.com
http://www.facebook.com/people/@/226703252445
http://twitter.com/nalamotu
http://www.amazon.com/My-Telugu-Roots-Telangana-Bhasmasura/dp/0984238603/
