Opinion Tackling Telangana

But a statutory standing commission may not satisfy the demands of the rioters for Telangana. The government has several unpalatable choices. It could wait till the movement loses its pace. After all,how many buses can you burn and how many shops (of fellow Telangana citizens) can you loot? It could impose President’s Rule and call elections within six months. It is unlikely that in the present atmosphere it could convene the Assembly and put the Telangana demand to a vote,though that is the required first step before anything else can happen. In any case,many MLAs having resigned,the rump of the Assembly is highly unlikely to vote in favour.

Given the complexity of the situation,what is needed is innovation or as they say in business school,some out-of-the-box thinking. My suggestion is that the government examine the case of Belgium as a key to the solution. Belgium is a democratic monarchy. It is deeply divided between the French-speaking Walloons and the Flemish-speaking Flamands. There has been much resentment between the two as the French were richer and bossed over the Flamands. There are French and Flemish parties across the left-right spectrum and each election results in weeks of consultation for coalition formation.

In 1968,Belgium erupted in a series of riots on the question of who had the claim to Brussels city,which is barely inside the northern Flamand region. The only way to settle the issue was to declare that Belgium was a country of two cultures and three regions. The Parliament dissolved itself into a regional assembly to discuss the question pertaining to each region and Brussels had its own group.

The analogy is not perfect. But once you grant Telangana,why not Rayalaseema and so on. The lesson from the example of Belgium is to make Andhra Pradesh into a ‘federal’ state with autonomous parts,which can have their own sub-assemblies. Andhra Pradesh can be declared as a state of three or four autonomous regions. The present Assembly can constitute the separate regional assemblies of Telangana,Rayalaseema etc. But some issue will be common to the whole of Andhra Pradesh as they were and have been up to now.

It is possible in such a sub-state arrangement to be flexible and have separate and concurrent lists of subjects for each group. The leader of each region can be called First Minister as they do in Scotland. This is another example from which India can learn.

The UK,one of most centralised polities in Europe,is now a country of four nations—England,Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland. Only the English do not have their own Assembly sine Parliament serves England as well the rest of the country. It has worked well for ten years and demands for an independent Scotland are on the wane.

The urgent demand for Telangana cannot be met if constitutional procedures are to be respected. A statutory commission is even less likely to give a quick verdict. If we were to explore the Belgium example,it may give everyone some breathing space. The government can say that within the constraints of time and legitimacy this is at least a temporary recognition of the demands for Telangana.