Opinion Second coming of Telangana

The demand for a separate state in Andhra Pradesh took a violent form in 1969,under M. Chenna Reddy,who later joined the Congress and took over the reins of Andhra as chief minister in 1978. In 1969,only the Swatantra Party supported the cause of Telangana raised by the Telangana Praja Samithi. Former CMs from the Telangana region,T. Anjaiah and J.V. Rao,never vociferously espoused the cause of a separate state during their tenures. The intellectual giant of Telangana,P.V. Narasimha Rao,never articulated the need for a separate Telangana. However,under him,the highways to Karimnagar and the gauge conversion to Nanded via Nizamabad were expedited. He silently focused on the development of Telangana.

Hyderabad,on account of the untiring efforts of various leaders,received huge investments,to begin with from the Centre. Research facilities like the Defence Research and Development Laboratory,Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory and the Defence Electronics Research Laboratory,Central PSUs like the Electronics Corporation of India Limited,National Mineral Development Corporation,Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited,Hindustan Aeronautics Limited,scientific establishments like ISRO,the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research,National Geophysical Research Institute were established in Hyderabad. Institutions like IIIT,the Indian School of Business and Maulana Azad Urdu University came up under N. Chandrababu Naidu,and the IT boom got a fillip. The credit for creating world-class sports infrastructure in Hyderabad or a new-age airport goes to him. Hence,even non-Congress governments focused on Hyderabad and made it what it is today.

The agitation today has attained emotional overtones. The grievances listed by the separatist Telangana forces include the lack of job opportunities,exploitation of their natural resources — particularly coal,the alleged grabbing of lucrative business opportunities in Hyderabad by Seemandhra entrepreneurs,lampooning of the Telangana dialect in movies,the misuse of river waters,the influx of settlers in Telangana districts etc.

It is worthwhile to examine these perceived grievances. For example,job opportunities are Hyderabad-centric,with the IT and pharma sectors taking the lead. After the liberalisation of the 1990s,the government stopped being the largest employer. Since the 1960s,all regions of Andhra have have had equal educational opportunities,and those who picked up the requisite skills grabbed the jobs.

The coal for the thermal power plants in Vijaywada and Visakhapatnam comes from Odisha,while the power goes to Hyderabad. Many farmers of coastal Andhra and Telangana are migrating to Kenya and Ethiopia,where the governments are welcoming them — since the opportunities in a globalised world lie elsewhere. Therefore,the settlers issue is superfluous.

The water of the rivers Krishna and Godavari flow into the Bay of Bengal. Naturally,the deltas were formed in the coastal areas,and these will always benefit from excess flood water. The fight is about the flow in the lean season. In so far as the mocking of the Telangana dialect in films is concerned,the movies are produced for the box office. Chennai Express does not reflect life in Tamil Nadu; it is tailored to the box office and no mala fide intent can be attributed to it.

Hence,there is a lack of clarity in the articulation of the perceived grievances. The entrepreneurs of Andhra,with head offices in Hyderabad,competed at the all-India level and won projects,particularly roads,power plants,airport modernisation. The wealth acquired elsewhere was invested in Hyderabad; no one looted Hyderabad.

The landed gentry of Telangana procured properties in Hyderabad as a safety measure. Today,they are reaping massive gains in the city. They had come to Hyderabad on account of push factors in Telangana. Meanwhile,people from coastal Andhra,equipped with an English education,came to Hyderabad because of pull factors — particularly,employment in the clerical cadres. Both groups prospered with the rise of Hyderabad.

The crux of the problem now is who will rule Hyderabad,and not who will rule Telangana or Andhra. The larger issue is winning the next election. As Groucho Marx said,“Politics is the art of looking for trouble,finding it everywhere,diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.” The second coming of the Telangana agitation is precisely this.

The writer,a member of the IAS,served in Hyderabad for nine years