To millions of Telugus across the globe, the reality is
slowly dawning.
The fact that United Andhra Pradesh will be spoken of in the
past tense shortly is a truth they will have to sense, absorb and digest.
If there is anything that the Telugus have mulled over,
grappled with, violently disagreed on and now slowly and stoically
accepting, it is the story of the state’s bifurcation.
The inevitability of the bifurcation is being embraced.
Depending on where you hail from, your views could be
divergent or possibly convergent!
For someone hailing from, let us say, the coastal part of
Andhra Pradesh, this is sheer emotional turmoil and betrayal. How could a state
that they assiduously built, bought homes in, fulfilled their career and
familial aspirations in suddenly not be a part of their lives? How could they
be suddenly cast away as outsiders in their own state?
For someone hailing from the Telangana belt, and an active believer
in the separation, it is a pyrrhic victory. The promised land of freedom has
been tantalizingly close for years and many politicians of many hues have only
been paying lip service to their combined aspirations.
The reality is that there is a common ground. Between the black and the white views there
are several shades of grey.
There is a good, bad and the ugly part to this story.
The Good – why this
decision makes sense..
Andhra Pradesh is a LARGE state. At 2.75 lakh Square
Kilometers, it is the fourth largest state in the country and is punching below
its weight in economic development.
In the last few years, AP slipped from being India’s third
largest economy to being the fourth largest, falling behind its much smaller
neighbor Tamil Nadu.
It has the lowest literacy among the four southern states at
67.7%. Shockingly, it is lower than the Indian average. The only states having
literacy levels lower than AP are Rajasthan, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh and
Jharkhand.
Whether it is urbanization, industrialization, exports or
agricultural output, AP has lagged behind in the last decade.
After YSR’s death and Chidambaram’s announcement, the
state’s bifurcation became a case of “when” rather than “if”, and a paralyzed
state of affairs meant that there was an exodus of investment and jobs from
Hyderabad. It was imperative that a decision were taken so that Hyderabad would
not be a ghost capital having superb infrastructure but no jobs.
Most importantly, the development of AP is skewed. Out of
the state’s GDP of $ 126 Billion, Hyderabad has a GDP of $ 74 Billion (Planning
commission data), effectively 61% of the wealth is with 10% of the state’s
population. There cannot be a greater
case for more inclusive growth!
The two states, if formed would still be among the 10
largest states in the country. It would
address the skewed growth of both the regions too and it would throw up a lot
more government jobs.
So, a bifurcation of the state – for administrative,
geopolitical, inclusive development was a necessity. That is the Good part of
the bifurcation.
The Bad – creating
nomads out of Telugus
A human being’s ultimate goal is to settle down in a place
one calls his home in surroundings that make living peaceful and harmonious.
Telugus are no different.
In the last 100 years, Telugus residing in Non Nizam
territory have become, for want of a better work “Capital Nomads”. In the pre independence era, Coastal Andhra
Pradesh was part of the Madras Presidency. All Telugus seeking Govt Jobs,
prosperity, careers moved to the then Madras and played a major role in
building the city.
Some of the famous Chennai based brand names of pre independence India
like Amrutanjan, Chandamama (established in lates 1940’s), the Hindu ( two of
the founders were Telugus), Vijaya Studios were started by the Telugus who made
Chennai their home. They contributed to Cricket – think Vizzy Trophy, think
Raman Subba Row, Cinema – NT Rama Rao, SP Balasubramaniam and many many more.
1956 - the state of Andhra Pradesh got formed, and the
Telugus realized that they had a state that they can call their own, with Hyderabad
as its capital. People from across the state thronged Hyderabad. An interesting
fact is that the paucity of educational institutions in the Nizam ruled
Hyderabad state meant that teachers had to be imported from the British ruled
Andhra. The administration also needed an influx of officials from the British
ruled Coastal Andhra. The influx of
Telugus from across the state was therefore a win-win for the city and the
people.
Slowly but steadily, the city of Hyderabad got built and
with Chandrababu Naidu at the helm of
affairs, it gained global standing. A significant contribution to this growth
came from citizens who had made Hyderabad their home and invested their
lifetime worth of savings here.
Because, they felt it was their home.
Now, the same people are being told again – this is NOT your
home, go back!
What mistake have the Telugus from the Seemandhra belt done to become Nomads? Over and over again?
Why should their search for a place called home keep
changing?
The Ugly – what is
completely wrong about the bifurcation
The Ugly is that one man, for his gains, spread hatred
amongst people who speak the same language in different dialects. A brother has
been pitted against a brother.
The Ugly is that the state of Telangana is being formed by
poisoning the minds. Come to think of it- Hyderabad where people from across
the state have invested in, is part of Telangana – how can anyone accuse that
the Telangana region has been treated unfairly.
The Ugly is that, a state which could have been in the
forefront of India’s economic revival because of its intellectual prowess, is
today standing on its knees, not knowing where to go and what the future holds.
The Ugly is that, the Telugu community which was coming out
of the Madrasi shadow after a lot of , will have to search for a new identity
again.
The Ugly is that, the net gainer in this game will neither
be Telangana or Seemandhra – it will be a Bangalore or a Chennai as investors
seek safer havens.
The Ugly is that the new state of Telangana, when formed
will be a land locked state with limited industrial opportunities and will have
to contend with political extremism and linguistic intolerance.
The Ugly is that the weak kneed Centre broke up a state
seeking short term political gains rather than proving a permanent solution.
To borrow from
Khushwant Singh’s “A Train to Pakistan” , the
bifurcation is a Sketchy ” line drawn by a crumbling empire”
and many a Telugu will be forced to cross the line again.
