Posts Tagged ‘andhra pradesh’
Date: Tuesday, April 17th 2012
Time: 11.00 AM
Venue: Somajiguda Press Club, Hyderabad
Andhra Pradesh was the first linguistic State that came into existence after India achieved independence. The State came into being as a result of collective sacrifices made by scores of our venerable leaders such as Amarajeevi Potti Sriramulu, Burgula Ramakrishna Rao, Konda Venkatapayya, Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu, Suravaram Patap Reddy, Andhra Pitamaha Madapati Hanumanth Rao, Ravi Narayan Reddy, Ayyadevara Kaleswar Rao and many more.
When the dream of a Telugu State was close to fruition, Nehru criticized Telugu’s desire for a linguistic state as bearing a “tint of imperialist expansionism”. A few opportunistic politicians of that era saw an opening to further their feudal politics. They have brought up the demand for a separate Telangana state that will be carved out of erstwhile Nizam ruled Hyderabad State. However, the demand which lacked intellectual honesty, never gained traction.
Right from 1950s, the history of separatist movement is littered with half-truths and falsehoods. Also, ironically almost all the separatist leaders were once integrationists. Some of the prominent flip-floppers are the most respected leaders of the current separatist movement. For example, Konda Laxman Bapuji, the man that was in the forefront of the 1969 separatist movement was originally a staunch integrationist. K.V. Ranga Reddy, Marri Chenna Reddy as well as the current separatist movement leader K. Chandra Shekhar Rao also once strongly stood for integration. There are leaders from Kosta and Rayalaseema who were once integrationists that turned separatists. Former Deputy C.M. B.V. Subbar Reddy and Kakani Venkatratnam fall into that category. This goes on to show the opportunistic nature of the separatist leaders across all regions of the State.
The research material unearthed by Visalandhra Mahasabha shows how the separatist leaders have changed colors and misled people over the past few decades with their false propaganda. Our team came up with an intelligent way of showcasing the hypocrisy of the separatist leaders. They extracted newspaper clips starting from 1950’s as well as quotes of the prominent separatist leaders from the Assembly proceedings. As a result, readers are presented with the original content from the last sixty years, that will take them by surprise.
This book will be an eye opener for anyone that was led to believe that Andhra Pradesh State came into existence against the wishes of people of Nizam Telangana state. VMS offers ample evidence to prove that there was a groundswell support for a united Telugu State across Nizam Telangana, Coastal Andhra, and Rayalaseema in 1950s.
As the separatists make an attempt to revive their movement by feeding false information to the young minds, this book will provide a perspective that is badly needed in the countering the divisive propaganda.
After the book is released, a link to the soft copy of the book will be posted on this website and http://www.visalandhra.org.
I request you to join us and show your solidarity for a United Andhra Pradesh State.
Nalamotu Chakravarthy
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/
In order to not lose the momentum of their movement, TRS is working hard to gin up issue after issue till the Srikrishna Committee finishes its work. According to The Hindu August 20, 2010, KCR said that “…citizens all over the world enjoyed the right to celebrate the freedom of their homeland. But, people of Telangana alone were unlucky on this front. The Independence Day on August 15 was not a matter of celebration for them. On the contrary, they got their real independence from the clutches of Nizam's rule on September 17”.
In my view KCR and his TRS cohorts should grieve on September 17th and not celebrate.
In the modern history of Telugus there are three salient events- 1) Formation of Andhra State 2) Liberation of the Hyderabad State 3) Formation of Andhra Pradesh (Vishalandhra)
In my view all three should be celebrated, by one and all. However, no more government, bank, or school holidays- they wreak economic havoc on common man.
Andhra State was formed on October 1, 1953. The state came into existence, after a struggle that started in 1904 when Young Men's Literary Association was formed in Guntur. This organization transformed into Andhra Mahasabha. Father of the Andhra State movement Konda Venkatappayya fought hard for over three and a half decades for a state that will unite Telugus scattered across different regions. After the death of Amarajeevi Potti Sriramulu, Nehru conceded to the creation of Andhra State.
Now coming to the Hyderabad State, half of the state was made up of Telugu people, while Marathi, Kannada, and others constituted the remaining half. Initially Persian and later on Urdu became the official language of the state, despite Telugu being the most spoken language in the state. Telugu people were not even allowed to speak in their mother tongue in public forums. Telugus tired of discrimination under Nizam formed Andhra Mahasabha. Respectable figures like Madapati Hanumanth Rao, Survaram Pratap Reddy, Raavi Narayana Reddy led this organization. Later on the organization came to be dominated by Communists who have organized the peasants in an armed struggle against Nizam and his feudal lords, who have committed untold atrocities against civilians. Over 4,000 people died in that armed struggle and over 2,000 from the Nalgonda district alone. This movement shook the foundation of Nizam's rule. During this struggle against Nizam, friendly relationships developed between the Nizam Telugu districts and the Madras Telugu districts, which laid the seeds for a future Vishalandhra.
After India's independence from the Britishers, almost all the 600 odd princely states merged with either India or Pakistan, while Nizam toyed with the idea of staying independent. On September 13, 1948 Nehru ordered Operation Polo, which was one of the easiest wars Indian army ever undertook. Andhra Pradesh state came into existence on November 1st 1956 according to the desires of majority of the Telugu people of all the regions. Burugula Ramakrishna Rao sacrificed his CM position for Telugu unity.
Therefore, Andhra State formation on October 1st, Hyderabad State Liberation on September 17th, and formation of Andhra Pradesh on November 1st should be celebrated by all Telugus.
For current day separatists, millions of peasants that suffered under feudal atrocities under Nizam’s rule are not so material. It doesn’t matter that Hyderabad was built for elites, with the blood sucked from the poor farmers who had to endure 26 different kinds of taxes including taxes such as levy- which is what farmers had to pay irrespective of the output on the land, dispute tax to have a dispute settled between two parties, ash tax to cremate loved ones, war tax to finance the British in the 2nd world war. While Nizam ruled from Hyderabad and gave over 80% of the government jobs to Muslims, feudal lords reigned over rural areas running their own fiefdoms and fleecing poor peasants. Janna Reddy Pratap Reddy of Suryapeta owning 1.5 lakh acres of land, Kalluru Deshmukh of Khammam owning one lakh acres, Visunur Deshmukh owning forty thousand acres gives an idea of how dire the situation was. While Nizam derived approximately 8 crore rupees annual revenue, the feudal lords combined revenues were around 10 crore rupees. As a result of this robbing, Nizam became the richest man in the world with 27 palaces in 7 different countries.
However, separatists look at this past very differently.
TRS chief KCR at a public event on June 19th 2007 said “Asaf Jahi rule of Telangana is a golden era”. Responding to those that criticized him for praising Nizam, KCR on November 29, 2007 said that he would praise Nizam’s rule a thousand times. He said that during the Nizam rule, Muslim kings sent pearls to Lord Rama in Bhadrachalam and jewelry to Kanaka Durga in Vijayawada. He said that when there were floods in Musi, Nizam performed prayers according to Hindu rituals. KCR claimed that any development in Telangana was only because of the Nizams. Osmania University, the Medical College, the Nizam Sagar project, and the Nizam Sugar Factory were all results of Nizam’s benevolence.
There are several other intellectuals in the separatist camp that subscribe to this position. Prof. Kodandaram, the head of the JAC, wrote: “Before the merger with Andhra State, Telangana, which was part of the Hyderabad State, was doing well in terms of agricultural and industrial development.”
If Nizam’s rule was a golden era and if the region was doing economically well before Police Action, why does KCR and the separatists want to celebrate September 17th as a “Vimukthi Dinotsavam”? Shouldn’t they be grieving the end of Nizam’s glorious rule?
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/
