By agreeing to initiate the process for the formation of a separate state for Telengana,Congress has put an end to a long justified struggle of the Telengana people.Though states were originally formed on linguistic basis,if development of a particular region was hindered,there is nothing wrong in acceding to the demand.This should not be looked as narrow parochialism.This is a legitimate demand of the Telengana people.When newer districts are created with in the state for administrative convenience and development,creating a new state for the welfare and development of those people is a just demand.AP will be the first South Indian state to be split in to two. Already many new states like Haryana(1966 out of punjab),Uthrakhand(out of UP and Himachal in 2000),Jarkhand(out of Bihar in 2000),Chattisgarh(out of MP in 2000) were created from bigger states in North India.
AP was the first Indian state to be formed on linguistic basis after independence,carving out portions of former Madras presidency and part of the former Hyderabad Nizam's territory .Rest of the Hyderabad Nizam's territory were annexed to Karnataka and Maharashtra.The Telengana districts were underdeveloped and literacy rate was poor compared to the erstwhile Madras Presidency areas in the Andhra region.The Telengana struggle has a horay past.P.Sundarayya, one of the founders of CPI started the first Telengana peasants struggle against the Hyderabad Nizams.I would say he is the real pioneer of the Telengana people's struggle.Right from the start, people of Telengana expressed apprehension over being sidelined by the literate Andhra region people in all spheres like education,jobs and development.And they were right.Even after 62 years of indeppendence,the Telengana people had an axe to grind.The Osmania University was the hub of Telengana supporters,right from the start.M.Chenna Reddy started the first pro Telengana struggle politically by floating a party. Finally he merged his party with Congress and became the Chief minister.Later on to appease the people of Telengana, Mrs.Indira Gandhi made P.V.Narasimha Rao of Telengana region as the CM.KCR left TDP to float TRS . TRS fought last elections with Congress on the plea that congress would agree to form a separate Telengana state.But after assuming power Congress put its plans,in cold storage. KRS had to quit the ministry and revive his Telegana struggle.This time he got support from all fronts.But what is intriguing is how did YSR manage to hold on keeping the Telengana struggle under his fold over one full term and for the rest of the time he was the CM.Was there a political game behind the current struggle to unseat or weaken the current Andhra CM?
AP was the first Indian state to be formed on linguistic basis after independence,carving out portions of former Madras presidency and part of the former Hyderabad Nizam's territory .Rest of the Hyderabad Nizam's territory were annexed to Karnataka and Maharashtra.The Telengana districts were underdeveloped and literacy rate was poor compared to the erstwhile Madras Presidency areas in the Andhra region.The Telengana struggle has a horay past.P.Sundarayya, one of the founders of CPI started the first Telengana peasants struggle against the Hyderabad Nizams.I would say he is the real pioneer of the Telengana people's struggle.Right from the start, people of Telengana expressed apprehension over being sidelined by the literate Andhra region people in all spheres like education,jobs and development.And they were right.Even after 62 years of indeppendence,the Telengana people had an axe to grind.The Osmania University was the hub of Telengana supporters,right from the start.M.Chenna Reddy started the first pro Telengana struggle politically by floating a party. Finally he merged his party with Congress and became the Chief minister.Later on to appease the people of Telengana, Mrs.Indira Gandhi made P.V.Narasimha Rao of Telengana region as the CM.KCR left TDP to float TRS . TRS fought last elections with Congress on the plea that congress would agree to form a separate Telengana state.But after assuming power Congress put its plans,in cold storage. KRS had to quit the ministry and revive his Telegana struggle.This time he got support from all fronts.But what is intriguing is how did YSR manage to hold on keeping the Telengana struggle under his fold over one full term and for the rest of the time he was the CM.Was there a political game behind the current struggle to unseat or weaken the current Andhra CM?
One hopes Hyderabad would not become a bone of contention between Telengana and Andhra people.Both sides should be accomodative,arrive at compromises and settle issues amicably.The creation of Telengana will be a shot in the arm for those who demand creation of a separate state for coorgs in Karnataka,Mithilanchal in Bihar , Sourashtra in Gujarat and Gorkha land out of West Bengal.Similarly there is a demand to create Bhojpur out of Eastern UP. It is mandatory for the State governments concerned to give recommendation to create new states out of existing territories of a state.This would also serve as an eye opener to those State government's that turn a deaf ear to the continous demands and aspirations of people of the backward districts in their state.
The population of bigger Indian states are larger than many small nations.Bifurcating bigger states would increase the ratio between the administrator and the people.That would ensure better service .Above all,I think a new state would ensure, an exclusive budgetary allocation for the development of that region.It would help the region's chances of getting equitable central assistance.Supporters of smaller states also cite examples of poor development of bigger states like MP,UP and Bihar after Independence compared to many smaller states.However resorting to violence for the creation of new states is something that is not acceptable.Demands for new statehood should be above petty politics and should be looked upon objectively by all concerned.
If there is no disparity in development between regions within a state,demands for separate statehood would not crop at all.Even if such demands arise for petty political end ,people would shun such movements, if it is not justifiable.The state governments concerned should ensure equitable distribution of developmental programmes across the state. When allocating funds for developmental activities with in the state there should be no overriding political considerations.
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