Meeting on Telangana

In a bid to find a way out of the Telangana imbroglio, the Centre on Wednesday convened a meeting in New Delhi on January 5 of 8 recognised political parties in Andhra Pradesh for a discussion on the issue.

P Chidambaram sent an invitation to the leaders of the 8 parties following his December 23 statement in which he had promised to hold wide ranging consultations with all political parties and groups in the state on the issue of separate Telangana state.

The Congress, TDP, Telangana Rashtra Samiti, CPI, CPI(M), Praja Rajyam, BJP and MIM are the recognised parties in Andhra Pradesh.

The Centre's decision comes after detailed discussions in the government and at the highest political level in Congress party in the last few days after political parties were divided on regional lines in Andhra Pradesh and demanded immediate steps on formation of the separate state.

Yesterday, TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao said he was prepared for talks but would not accept setting up of any committee on the issue which, he considered, would be a waste of time.

Parties and leaders from Telangana cited the statement of Chidambaram on December 9 in which he had promised that that the process of forming Telangana state would be initiated.

JAC Welcomes Meet:

The Joint Action Committee of political parties spearheading the campaign for separate Telangana today hailed the Centre's decision to hold a meeting of political parties in Delhi but would like to know its "scope and purpose".

"The decision to hold talks is a step forward. But we would like to know the scope and purpose of the exercise. We can''t give a final assessment until we know that," JAC convener Prof. Kodandaram told reporters.

He was reacting to the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram''s invitation to leaders of 8 recognised parties from Andhra Pradesh in Delhi on Jan 5 to discuss the Telangana imbroglio.

Kodandaram said the JAC would discuss the Centre''s invitation and take a decision. "But we will continue with our agitation," he said.

Congress Dumps Telangana - AGAIN !!

Congress Party for the nth time had dumped Telangana state.

The Central government on Wednesday said it wants to consider “all views” on the demand for a separate Telangana state and “peace and tranquility should be maintained” in the state.

Home Minister P Chidambaram gave a short statement in New Delhi on Wednesday, effectively putting the demand for a separate Telangana state in abeyance. “At a meeting of all political parties on December 7 a consensus emerged on Telangana. The situation has altered now,” he said.

“Centre wants to take all views before coming to a decision. Peace and tranquility should be maintained,” he said.


Congress dumps it on Andhra leaders

The Congress said on Wednesday that Telangana was an old issue and it was for the collective political leadership of Andhra Pradesh to resolve the situation that has arisen due to regional divisions over its proposed statehood.

Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari said it was for the "collective wisdom" of Andhra Pradesh leaders across the political spectrum to "sit down and form appropriate solution."

Answering queries about divisions in its Andhra Pradesh unit on Telangana, Tiwari said that it was an old issue which has been grappled by "generations of leaders of the state."

He refused to comment on the remarks of Home Minister P Chidambaram, made earlier this month, giving principled clearance to the demand for a separate Telangana state.

Faced with deep divisions in its ranks in the state, the Congress has been trying to come out with a compromise formula to bring down political temperatures. The Congress core group met Monday evening while senior leaders met party president Sonia Gandhi Wednesday to evolve an appropriate response.

Congress sources said that the meeting at Sonia Gandhi's residence was attended by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A. K. Antony, Chidambaram, Law Minister Veerapa Moily and Ahmed Patel, political secretary to the Congress president.

Fact Sheet on Telangana:

* Telangana, meaning 'land of Telugus', was part of the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad.

* After the accession of Hyderabad State with India in 1948, Telangana remained a separate state till 1956 when it was merged with Andhra State, carved out of Madras province, to form Andhra Pradesh. It was India's first state formed on linguistic lines.

* Number of districts: 10. Greater Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Medak, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Warangal, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Adilabad and Khammam.

* Geography: Has contiguous area bordering Andhra, Rayalaseema (parts of the existing Andhra Pradesh), Karnataka, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

* Area: 114,800 sq km.

* Population: about 35 million.

* Languages spoken: Telugu and Urdu.

* The region is situated at a high altitude in an upland area. Two major rivers Godavari and Krishna flow through the region but most of the land is arid.

* Greater Hyderabad, located almost at the heart of Telangana, is a major information technology hub and is likely to be the capital of the new state.

* The region sends 119 legislators to the 294-member Andhra Pradesh assembly and also accounts for 17 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats from the state.

Mohan Babu's Irresponsibility Costs Him Dear

Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) activists yesterday attacked the shooting unit of a Telugu movie produced by Lakshmi Prasanna, daughter of noted actor M Mohan Babu at Kompally area here in Hyderabad, police said.

Raising pro-Telangana slogans, the activists forcibly entered the house where shooting was underway and allegedly damaged equipment and threw chairs, they said. Police, however, intervened to avert any major loss to the equipment.


"A group of around 20 Telangana activists forcibly entered the house where the shooting of the movie was going on and stopped the unit from going ahead with shooting," a police officer told PTI.

Mohan Babu and Lakshmi, who have joined the movement for unity of Andhra Pradesh recently toured the districts of coastal Andhra and Raayalaseema regions and visited the hunger-strike camps of anti-Telangana supporters.

Till now, the Telugu Film Industry never got into the separate state issue. With Mohan Babu irresponsibly supporting a United State, he had unnecessarily provoked anger from his own fans - the same way Chiranjeevi did.


Already, Chiranjeevi's son, Ram Charan Tej's movies are blocked in the Telangana Region and his cousin, Allu Arjun's movies are stopped too. Now, Mohan Babu had joined the bhajana mandali of Samaikya Andhra. They are people who are in responsible position. Before making any statement, they have to be ready to face repercussions. They cannot cry foul after making idiotic statements.

Even I write a lot in my blog which is purely pro-telangana and I know that I would be getting lot of hate mail from Andhra (which Iam getting). Iam ready to face anything and similarly people like Mohan Babu should also be ready to face the music and cannot cry foul.

Lagadapati fools Andhras

Yesterday Lagadapati Rajgopal, the Member of Parliament from Vijayawada stated that he ended the fast on 19th December itself and that he was just acting since then. He had made a fool of people who have believed in him to fast until death for the sake of United Andhra Pradesh. He had cheated all his constituents and proponents of Samaikya Andhra.


Chiranjeevi, the Leader of Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) who somersaulted from his previous decision of supporting a separate Telangana State visited Lagadapati when he was "undergoing" fast. Even Chiranjeevi was fooled by the irresponsible Member of Parliament who never thought twice in cheating his own people.

Until people blindly support such politicians, people like Lagadapati would be there.

Vijayawada MP surfaces in Hyderabad

In a direct challenge to Telangana Movement, Vijayawada Member of Parliament, Lagadapati Rajagopal surfaces in the Nizams Institute for Medical Sciences (NIMS) here at Hyderabad.

This irresponsible act of the Member of Parliament is going to further deteriorate the prevailing law and order situation in the state and mainly in the capital, Hyderabad.


A multi millionaire industrialist, Lagadapati Rajgopal (sitting Congress MP from Vijayawada) gave a skip to Police yesterday at Vijayawada accusing that he is not receiving proper medical care and wanted to join NIMS in Hyderabad.
He walked down two floors and got onto to a car that was waiting for him. I wonder how can a person who is on fast past 4-5 days can walk down two floors and also concerned about his health.

He said in numerous press conferences that he would be ready to die for a Unified Andhra Pradesh. But, suddenly he got concerned for his health and could able to walk down two floors. That kept me thinking what all he was eating while doing fast.

After the declaration of a separate Telangana State, the focus shifted to the huge violence in Andhra areas that already cost the state hundreds of crores. With Rajgopal surfacing in Hyderabad, the focus is back in Hyderabad.

10 days back, when Rajgopal wanted to start his fast in Hyderabad, the Police spirited him away to Vijayawada to thwart any violence due to his presence in Hyderabad. That time, TRS and BJP politicians forced the government to move him out of Telangana.

Let's see what happens now.


Lagadapati was the person who in his 2004 General Elections Nomination Papers has said that he is a father of two despite the fact that he is father of three children. This has created quite a stir at that time.

There were allegations that Lanco Infratech had cheated United India Insurance and New India Assurance, in its works with the Andhra Pradesh Health, Medical Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority took up the case to probe into the irregularities committed by the two insurance companies to favour the Lanco group.

Why is everyone scared of small states?

An interesting article written by Mr.TVR Shenoy in Rediff. Here is the link to the original article: Why is everyone scared of small states?

"There is a specter haunting the Congress - the specter of Potti Sriramulu."


I wrote that in April 2004 when the Congress struck its devil's bargain with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, agreeing to create Telangana. All that Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and K Chandrasekhar Rao had in common was a mutual dislike of N Chandrababu Naidu .

Back then I thought the Telugu Desam could play on the desire for a united Andhra Pradesh. That was obviously wrong in 2004 but I was right in saying that "it might have been better (for the Congress) had there been more time to consider the repercussions, and to prepare for them."

Actually, it has had plenty of time to think it through. The flames engulfing Andhra Pradesh today -- now threatening to scorch even distant Assam and Bengal - were lit as far back as 1920.


At its Nagpur session, in December 1920, the Congress rewrote its charter under Mahatma Gandhi's guidance. One of the changes was that the Pradesh Congress Committees would henceforth be constituted on a linguistic basis. This made no difference to the administration of the country because the British refused to redraw the map to the Congress' whims. But it meant that delegates found themselves sitting for Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Karnataka , and Malabar rather than Madras. That was the first step.

Sardar Patel, unlike the Mahatma, was no fan of linguistic provinces. When he completed his great work of unifying India he pointedly left intact the multi-lingual states of Madras, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh , and Assam. Another notable addition to that list was Hyderabad, which covered several districts now in Maharashtra and Karnataka.


After the Sardar's death, Potti Sriramulu made himself the flag-bearer of the Telugu cause. He went on a fast to ask that an Andhra state be carved out of Madras. Jawaharlal Nehru offered vague words of support but no action. On October 19, 1952, Sriramulu began a second fast. He died on December 16 while New Delhi dithered.

(Sounds familiar, does it not? Especially with the Congress again milling around in confusion following K Chandrasekhar Rao's first fast.)

The news of Sriramulu's death sparked riots in the Telugu-speaking districts. On December 19, 1952, Nehru hurriedly announced that a new state would be created.

The question of a capital for the new state caused more heat. Madras (as it then was) was claimed by both Tamilians and Telugus. There was talk of both states sharing the city, with Madras becoming a Union territory. This ignored the fact that Andhra would never actually touch Madras. (Once again, doesn't that sound familiar?)


Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, then chief minister of Madras state, scotched the proposal. When asked, Rajaji said he was warding off future trouble. When some spoke of Telugu cultural links to Madras he pointed out the ancient northern limit of Tamil culture lay in Tirupati. Kurnool became the capital of the new state.

(Again, Maharashtra refused to cede Bombay city as its capital or share it with Gujarat when the state of Bombay was divided in 1960. Sadly, common sense was found wanting when Chandigarh was allotted as the common capital of Punjab and Haryana -- a major issue during the time of terrorist troubles and a minor irritant both before and since.)

In 1953, Nehru's ministry thought it could better Sardar Patel's work. Sayed Fazal Ali, K M Panikker, and H N Kunzru were brought together as the States Reorganization Commission. Their recommendations regarding the merger of Andhra and Hyderabad (Telangana) make interesting reading today.

Paragraph 386 of the report says: '...we have come to the conclusions that it will be in the interests of Andhra as well as Telangana, if for the present, the Telangana area is to be constituted into a separate state, which may be known as the Hyderabad state with provision for its unification with Andhra after the general elections likely to be held in or about 1961 if by a two thirds majority the legislature of the residency Hyderabad state expresses itself in favour of such unification.'

Let me simplify the above government-speak. First, Telangana and Andhra would not be merged. Second, unification was to be postponed, for all practical purposes, until the third general election. Third, unification required a two-thirds approval by the Hyderabad (Telangana) assembly.

The Nehru Cabinet ignored the recommendation. A unified Andhra Pradesh was established on November 1, 1956 after Parliament passed the States Reorganization Act.

By 1969 riots were breaking out to create a separate Telangana. The Congress solution was to replace Brahmananda Reddy with a Telangana man, P V Narasimha Rao, in 1971. This in turn incited Coastal Andhra and Raayalaseema. Indira Gandhi was forced to impose President's Rule on the state -- and you know the situation is bad when a Congress prime minister does that to a Congress-ruled state.


Let us sum it up. The Congress sowed the seeds of linguistic states in 1920. Three days of unrest in 1952 led Jawaharlal Nehru to concede Andhra without consulting the government of Madras in any depth; the same prime minister then overruled the State Reorganization Commission and forced the merger of Andhra and Telangana in 1956.

Telangana began agitating against the forcible union as far back as 1969. Finally, in 2004 the Congress joined the TRS to defeat the Telugu Desam, conceding Telangana as the price of the alliance.

(And the Telugu Desam did the same in 2009. Neither the Congress nor the Telugu Desam has the moral authority to oppose the creation of Telangana.)

I am neither a proponent nor an opponent of small states. What depresses me is the prospect that the Congress will make the situation worse through procrastination.

Nehru accepted Andhra on December 19, 1952; it was established on October 1, 1953. The Shah Commission was set up on April 23, 1966 to demarcate the Hindi speaking areas of Punjab; Haryana was created on November 1, 1966. Why is the Congress talking wildly of taking five years to create Telangana?

Again, what is this talk of Hyderabad being a joint capital? Take a look at the map; the city is surrounded by Telangana. The impracticality of joint capitals was understood by Rajaji over Madras (Chennai) in 1953 and by Y B Chavan over Bombay (Mumbai) in 1960. On the other hand, there is a history of bad feeling over Chandigarh. Why should anyone follow the worse example and ignore the better ones?

One final point: There is much moaning and groaning over the Telangana leading to the creation of more states. Why is everyone scared of small states?

Madhya Bharat (not to be confused with Madhya Pradesh), Bhopal, Patiala and East Punjab States Union (distinct from Punjab), Saurashtra, Kutch, Ajmer, Coorg, and Vindhya Pradesh were viable states up to 1956. Nehru forcibly merged them into larger states, creating much bad blood.

Andhra Pradesh is essentially an unworkable proposition today. (Even lawyers in the high court descended to fisticuffs over Telangana!) Why not summon a second States Reorganization Commission to see which proposed states are viable? Or would the Congress prefer to wait until Telangana is replicated elsewhere in India?

AP Assembly pushes Telangana Issue to ext year

Here is an article regarding the Telangana Issue where politicians from outside Telangana are planning to create trouble. It mentions that hundreds of Goondas (hired assassins) from Andhra (by Lagadapati Rajgopal, the MP from Vijayawada) and Factionists from Raayalaseema (by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, MP from Kadapa)were brought to Hyderabad to create trouble. Here is the Original article that appeared on MSN: House pushes T-issue to next year, fear in Hyderabad

The Andhra Pradesh Assembly was adjourned sine die following pandemonium soon after it began for the day's proceedings on Monday amidst slogan shouting by MLAs in favour of unified Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. This means that the resolution on Telangana will get further delayed and can be tabled only in the next session sometime in January end or early February next year.


Speaker N Kiran Kumar Reddy adjourned the House sine die after legislative affairs minister D Prasada Rao moved a motion Under Rule 16 of the Assembly Rules in that regard amidst pandemonium.

The Assembly was originally scheduled to hold the winter session till December 23.

However, with more than 130 MLAs of Andhra and Raalayasemma Region submitting their resignations and with the remaining members disrupting the proceedings, government chose to bring the sessions to an end.

The winter session which began on December 7 had not transacted any business in the five days it sat except for passing a condolence resolution in memory of late chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy.

Prasada Rao said conducting proceedings in the House was not possible in a surcharged atmosphere and at a time when majority of MLAs have submitted their resignation.

Meanwhile, with reports that goondas and anti-social elements from Andhra and Raayalaseema regions have been hired to create trouble in Hyderabad, the city opened the week with a sense of fear psychosis. A worried Congress government took hundreds of suspects into preventive custody on Sunday and Monday.

Supporters of Telangana too have stepped up pressure saying that they will not tolerate any trouble or protests in Hyderabad. The police have set up roadblocks on way to Hyderabad as anti-Telangana protests, sweeping Coastal Andhra and Raayalaseema, headed for the state capital on Monday.


Both Raayalaseema and parts of Coastal Andhra are known to have well-oiled gangs that could be hired to foment trouble at a short notice.

The TRS has warned it would retaliate if protesters from Andhra and Raayalaseema hold programmes in Hyderabad on Monday. Harish Rao, TRS MLA from Siddipet, said TRS leaders would mobilise their cadres to counter the anti-Telangana protests.

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh Assembly was adjourned sine die following pandemonium soon after it began for the day's proceedings on Monday amidst slogan shouting by MLAs in favour of unified Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.This means that the Telangana resolution cannot be tabled in this session.

Speaker N Kiran Kumar Reddy adjourned the House sine die after legislative affairs minister D Prasada Rao moved a motion Under Rule 16 of the Assembly Rules in that regard amidst pandemonium.

The Assembly was originally scheduled to hold the winter session till December 23.

However, with more than 130 MLAs of Andhra and Raalayasemma Region submitting their resignations and with the remaining members disrupting the proceedings, government chose to bring the sessions to an end.


The winter session which began on December 7 had not transacted any business in the five days it sat except for passing a condolence resolution in memory of late chief minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy.

Prasada Rao said conducting proceedings in the House was not possible in a surcharged atmosphere and at a time when majority of MLAs have submitted their resignation.

Early Monday morning, Congress MP from Vijayawada Lagadapati Rajagopal was arrested at the airport in Hyderabad soon after he landed to launch an indefinite fast to oppose the proposed division of Andhra Pradesh, police said.

Tension prevailed at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad on the city outskirts as Rajagopal's supporters tried to resist the arrest.

Police have taken Rajagopal to an undisclosed location in view of threats by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), student bodies and Congress leaders from Telangana region to stop him from launching any protest in Hyderabad.

The industrialist, whose Lanco Group of companies has huge business interests in Hyderabad, is against the central government's decision to give separate statehood to Telangana region, which comprises 10 districts including Hyderabad.

As tension was mounting in the city following TRS' allegations that Rajagopal was bringing hired goons from Vijayawada to create trouble in Hyderabad, police Sunday night raided several hotels and lodges in the city and arrested several supporters of the MP.


Under state orders to stop protesters from entering the city, police put up barriers on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad National Highway 9 to stop supporters of Rajgopal from heading towards Hyderabad. Rajagopal has been denied police permission to start a fast unto-death from Monday in the city.

The police action added to the fury in Coastal Andhra.

Vijayawada mayor Ratna Bindu and former mayor Mallika Begum, who were arrested, alleged that the "Telangana lobby" was behind the government action.

The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), which had so far been silent, declared that the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) should withdraw its slogan "Telanganawale jaago, Andhrawale bhago". Assaduddin Owaisi, MIM MP from Hyderabad, said the slogan was creating "a fear psychosis" among people living in Hyderabad.

Several ministers, meanwhile, urged Chief Minister Rosaiah to introduce a resolution for a separate Telangana in the Assembly on Monday.

But the Assembly had to be adjourned as pandemonium prevailed.

On Sunday, Coastal and Raayalaseema districts dug in their heels. Several people have gone on fast-unto death, similar to what TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao had undertaken. Two railway stations in Anantapur district were torched and students in hundreds staged protest rallies. Normal life is expected to be affected in Andhra and Raayalaseema where several groups have called or a two-day bandh.

Leaders of political parties rushed to Rosaiah urging him to take steps before he situation takes a turn for the worse. Devineni Uma Maheshwara Rao and Chinnam Kotaiah, TDP MLAs from Mylavaram and Nuzvid in Krishna district, former Viayawada mayor B Anuradha, 20 students and 70 women in Kurnool town sat on a fast-unto-death.


Meanwhile, ministers who had threatened to resign have quietly backtracked and left Rosaiah alone. Telangana ministers, who made similar threats, also took a break.

Sources said it had become known to the Congress central leadership that there were other reasons for the resignation threats by ministers from Coastal Andhra and Raayalaseema. Rosaiah said the party high command had been apprised of the situation and would do the needful.

Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) Chiranjeevi was among those who met Rosaiah and urged him to take immediate steps to prevent the law and order situation in Andhra and Raayalaseema regions from deteriorating.

"Many people have started hunger strikes in Coastal and Raayalaseema areas. I urged the CM to take steps to ensure that law and order situation remains normal," he said.

Andhra and Raayalaseema regions of the state are witnessing protests for the last four days against the government's decision to initiate the process for granting separate statehood to Telangana.

Congress Game Plan

The top Congress leadership in New Delhi had given a go ahead for the formation of a Separate Telangana State which will bifurcate (or trifurcate) Andhra Pradesh state. Lot of politicians and Andhrites have accused the Congress of annr Founcing it suddenly without taking everyone into consideration. I discussed this in my previous post Politicians Ditching Telangana Again?.

When a party like Congress which is more than 100 years old takes a decision, they take that decision after due deliberations, getting reports from State Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, etc. If we analyze the history of Congress party, they might have very very rarely taken back a decision.


The point here is our Future Prime Minister, Mr.Rahul Gandhi is all for smaller states. He has understood that smaller states only be easily developed than states that are bigger than more than 100 countries. That's one main reason why he was supporting a separate Bundelkhand state to be carved our of Uttar Pradesh. If they start directly with Bundelkhand, people would criticize that Congress is doing this only for the sake of Rahul Gandhi. That's one reason they wanted to start this process with a Congress rules state like Andhra Pradesh. Also, Uttar Pradesh has around 80 MP seats and Congress has very less number of MP seats from UP. So, if they trifurcate UP, it is an easy gain for Congress.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Ms.Mayawati understood this clearly and she only came forward to trifurcate the state to snatch the points away from Congress.

Formation of Telangana is just like a pawn in the larger political game that Congress has just started. They are going to split lot of states where Congress is weaker.

It is better Andhra politicians understand this game plan and get used to living in a state whose capital is NOT Hyderabad !!

Politicians Ditching Telangana Again ??

Looks like all major political parties are trying to push blame onto each other. In a spate of madness, more than 90 MLA's from Andhra and Raayalaseema resigned while almost 5 MP's from the region also resigned cutting across party lines.

Now, Chief Minister Rosaiah says that the resolution on forming a Telangana state would be tabled in the Assembly only after consultations. Now.....looking at the background of Congress Party, every one knows that they would take ages for taking a decision. They are good at postponing decisions. Mr.Rosaiah says that he has to talk to leaders from other areas too. What are these politicians thinking of themselves ?? One day, they say they would give Telangana and the next day, they say that they have to talk to the people from other areas.

How many more times the people of Telangana are cheated ?? Congress Party is proving that it is one of the most irresponsible political parties in the history of the nation. Have they not thought of all these things before taking a decision on Telangana ??

All the MLA's and MP's from Congress have said that they would abide by the decision of the High Command. Now, they are crying foul by saying that the High command took a "Unilateral" decision. Andhra politicians are proving that they are untrustworthy and cunning.

The amount of violence that is taking place in the Andhra and Raayalaseema areas in one day had crossed the amount of violence that happened in Telangana for 12 days.

Now, TDP CEO, Chandrababu Naidu blames Congress for a "unilateral" decision. Is he not a party to the decision ?? He said many times that TDP would support a separate Telangana state if the Government proposes a bill. Now, why is he backtracking ??

All the top politicians of all the major parties are from Andhra and Raayalaseema areas and now, they are just taking the Telanganites for a ride.

These politicians need to be taught a Royal lesson. They all need to be defeated when they context next time in elections. We need to vote to only those parties which have passed a resolution in the favour of Telangana.

It is Telangana NOW or NEVER.

Political Turmoil in Andhra Pradesh

Politicians are Politicians.

First they said that they would abide by what their High Command decides. Now, after their high command decided to form a separate Telangana State, the politicians from Andhra and Raayalaseema, known for their cunningness are saying that the High Command took a "Unilateral Decision".

Till now, around 60 Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Andhra and Raalayaseema Regions cutting across Congress Party, Telugu Desam Party and Praja Rajyam Party have quit against the formation of Telangana State. Congress Government has only a 10 seat majority and now, it has put the Government into a Minority position.

Almost 27 Members of Parliament (MP) are planning to resign putting the Central Government into a Minority.

Congress President, Sonia Gandhi had called all the Congress MP's for a meeting to her residence at 4.15PM today.

End of the day, it would be clear if both the State and Central Governments stay!!

There is a rumour that Government Advisor, KVP Rama Chandra Rao and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy are behind this plan.

Congress Agrees for Telangana

It is a great day in the history of Telangana. KCR's Fast onto death has it's effect on the Congress party high command.

Central Government agrees for the creation of a separate Telangana State. Celebrations throughout Telangana regions including Hyderabad. The process of the formation of Telangana would start shortly after placing a bill in the State Assembly and then in the Parliament.

Tomorrow's "Chalo Assembly" has been converted into a Victory Parade. Now, the most important things have to be sorted out. Some politicians are demanding that Hyderabad made a separate state / Union Territory but we should not allow such things to happen.


Anyways, it is not the right time for such things. First of all, we got Telangana State.

As India got its Independence midnight, similarly, Telangana got its Independence midnight.

It is 1AM on 10th December 2009. Let me kick the bed with fresh hopes and thoughts for a Economically Developed Telangana.

Other News on Telangana Agitation

Other related developments on Telangana agitation:

* Industrialists from the Charlapalli Industrial Area (in Hyderabad) took out a rally in support of a separate Telangana State. They alleged that the loss that Telangana suffered due to the merger with Andhra can never be gained and atleast now, the Government should pave way for a separate state.

* Tension prevailed at Nizams Institute for Medical Sciences here at Hyderabad when Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo, Chandra Babu Naidu visited KCR to express his solidarity. TDP Party is seen as a party which fights for a united state. They have changed their stance recently but doubts persist.

* Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders conducted a "sit in" opposite the Hyderabad Collectorate demanding the creation of Telangana immediately. BJP leader Mr. Venkaiah Naidu raised the issue of Telangana in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) yesterday while another leader, Ms.Sushma Swaraj raised the issue in the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament). They demanded that the Government bring out a Bill for a separate state.

* Yesterday, police shamelessly Lathi Charged (caned) pro-Telangana students who have sit in for a relay hunger strike in the Osmania University Campus. The Police also attacked the journalists who were covering this incident. This created a tense situation and the Government had promptly transferred the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Mr.Stephen Ravindra.

* The group of ministers from Telangana has heightened the pitch of their confrontation with the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, by threatening to quit their posts in support of the ongoing agitation.

The ‘pressure group’ that includes the home minister, Ms P. Sabita Indra Reddy, Mr K. Venkata Reddy (IT), Ms K. Sunitha Lakshmareddy (minor irrigation), Mr D. Sridhar Babu (higher education), Mrs D.K. Aruna (small industries) and Mr B. Sudarshan Reddy (medical education) has been vigorously opposing the Chief Minister’s strategy on Telangana.

On Monday, the gulf between the group and the Chief Minister widened after police caned students in Osmania University.

There were also heated discussions between ministers from other regions and the pressure group at the informal cabinet meeting held on Sunday.

Other Telangana ministers such as Mr Ponnala Lakshmaiah, Dr J. Geetha Reddy, Mr D. Nagender, Mr Mukesh Goud, Mr D. Rajanarasimha and Mr R. Venkata Reddy have sought to distance themselves from the pressure group.

These ministers had earlier turned down the proposal to go to Congress chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, as a delegation to persuade her to resolve the Telangana issue.

Government Wasting Time to take a decision on Telangana

Yesterday (7th December), Andhra Pradesh Government suddenly called for an All Party Meeting late in the night to discuss regarding separate Telangana state. All the parties have conveyed what they have been saying in the Press.


Political parties including Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam Party (PRP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)and Communist Party of India (CPI) have expressed that they would support any Bill that the Government puts forward in the Assembly regarding splitting of the state. These parties have made their stance clear since many months.

But the Government only said that it will take a decision only on Party High command's directive. People of Telangana were expecting something concrete out of this hurriedly arranged meeting and the Government only said that it is helpless. If the Government says it cant take a decision and only it's party high command which sits in New Delhi can take a decision, then what is the purpose of its functioning ??


It would be better that the Chief Minister, Mr.K.Rosaiah tenders his resignation and let's his party high command rule. It is a shame that the hope and aspirations of 4 crore Telangana people lie at the mercy of Congress Party Chief, Sonia Gandhi who hardly knows the ground situation.

Maybe it is time that we don't vote to such parties where the decision making power will not be with the state's Chief Minister but with their party high command.

History of Telangana

The issue of a separate statehood for the Telangana region in the state of Andhra Pradesh has suddenly arisen from the ashes with the fast onto death "satyagraha" by the President of Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Mr. K Chandra Sekhar Rao (popularly known as KCR) reaching 9th day today.


His Son, K.Taraka Rama Rao (named after our famous former Chief Minister, N T Rama Rao) says that his father's health is critical but stable.

Why had KCR suddenly started the indefinite fast onto death ?

Till now, the only person who was against the formation of Telangana state was our former chief minister, Mr.Y.S.Rajasekhar Reddy. He recently died in a helicopter crash in the Nallamala forest. With the elimination of YSR, the chances of getting a separate state has increased. This is one main reason why KCR had started the fast.

From the beginning, YSR was against Telangana as he felt that his powers would be limited only to a very small area of the state. He would lose his bargaining power in the Congress Party.
He cultivated a group of Telangana legislators in his own party who are against the formation of Telangana for their own personal reasons. He used these legislators in fighting against those who were strongly supporting Telangana in his party.
Congress had fought elections in alliance with TRS on several occasions and even going to the extent of supporting a separate state in their manifesto. But Congress ditched TRS and also the people of Telangana and never took the issue forward.

How many districts are there in Telangana ?

Here is a list of the districts that form Telangana:
* Adilabad
* Nizamabad
* Karimnagar
* Warangal
* Khammam
* Medak
* Hyderabad
* Ranga Reddy
* Nalgonda
* Mahaboobnagar

Hyderabad City is completely surrounded by the Ranga Reddy District and the nearest border to Andhra is around 150 Kilometers away.

How many districts are there in Andhra?

Here is a list of the districts that form Andhra:


* Srikakulam
* Vizianagaram
* Vishakhapatnam
* East Godavari
* West Godavari
* Krishna
* Guntur
* Prakasam
* Nellore

How many districts are there in Raayalaseema?

Here is a list of the districts that form Raayalaseema:


* Kurnool
* Ananthapur
* Kadapa
* Chittoor

Entire Andhra Pradesh is as big as England and all the three regions of of the state namely, Telangana, Andhra and Raayalaseema are backward. It is more than 50 years since Andhra State and Hyderabad State were merged to form Andhra Pradesh and all the three regions are backward. Is the merger worth ??

Is it not better if we split to out original areas and see how we can develop all the three regions ? The experimentation of a combined state flopped and why not try another experiment by splitting up ??

Formation of Andhra State:

The great Gandhian, Amarajeevi Potti Sri Ramulu went on a fast onto death in Madras(presently Chennai) demanding a separate state for Telugus to be carved out of Madras State where Tamil is spoken.

In an effort to unify the Telugu people, and preserve the unique culture of Telugu people, he attempted to force the government to listen to public demands for the unification of Andhra based on linguistic lines. He went on a lengthy fast, and only stopped when Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru promised to support unification.

However, there was no movement on the issue for a long time. He started fasting again for attaining statehood for Andhra in Maharshi Bulusu Sambamurthy’s house in Madras on 19 October 1952. It started off without fanfare but steadily caught people’s imagination despite the disavowal of the fast by the Andhra Congress committee.

The government of the day however did not make a clear statement about the formation of a new state despite several strikes and demonstrations by Telugu people. On the midnight of 15 December (i.e. early 16 December 1952), Potti Sreeramulu died and laid down his life trying to achieve his objective.

In his death procession, people shouted slogans praising his sacrifice. When the procession reached Mount Road, thousands of people joined and raised slogans hailing Sriramulu. Later, they went into a frenzy and resorted to destruction of public property.

The news spread like wildfire and created an uproar among the people in far off places like Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Eluru, Guntur, Tenali, Ongole and Nellore. Seven people were killed in police firing in Anakapalle and Vijayawada. The popular agitation continued for three to four days disrupting normal life in Madras and Andhra regions. On 19 December, the Prime minister of the country Jawaharlal Nehru made an announcement about formation of a separate state.

On 1 October 1953, the state of Andhra was established with Kurnool as capital carving it out from Madras State. However, the Telangana region existed prior as a separate state before merging with Andhra state. On November 1, 1956, Telangana was merged with Andhra and as a result Andhra Pradesh was formed with Hyderabad as its capital, against the States Reorganization Commission Report (SRC).


Kerala and Karnataka states were formed the same day in 1956, followed by Gujarat and Maharashtra in 1960. The formation of linguistic states is the single most important event in the history of South Indian languages, as it provided an opportunity for these languages to develop independently, each of them having a state to support.

While Sri Potti Sriramulu has done a great sacrifice to achieve Andhra state from Madras Presidency, its noteworthy for the readers to understand that at that time, Telangana existed as a separate state and his efforts were mislead to the layman's understanding that he sacrificed his life for the formation of the present Andhra Pradesh.

Andhra Pradesh is formed based on linguistic base and that is when Hyderabad State (Burgula Ramakrisha Rao, Chief Minister for Hyderabad State from 17 September 1948 till merged in Andhra Pradesh) is merged.

Potti Sriramulu fasted in the heart of Madras (Chennai) city for over 58 days for an Andhra state with Madras as the capital. He described "Andhra without Madras as a dead body without a head. The reasons as to why the Rajaji government, Union government led by Nehru or police did not intervene to force feed or shift him to a hospital remain unclear.

History of Telangana:

The meaning of Telangana literally means "Land of Telugus". The Telugu language originated in Telangana.

Telangana region was mentioned in the Mahabharata as the Telinga Kingdom which said to be inhabited by the tribe known as Telavana and said to have fought on the Pandava side in the great war of Mahabharata. It is also evident from the fact that there is Pandavula Guhalu in warangal district(wherein Pandavas spent their life in exile (Lakkha Gruham)).

And, in Treta yuga, it is believed that Lord Sri Rama along with his consort Sita Devi and brother Lakshmana, spent their life in exile at Parnashala on the banks of Godavari river which is about 25 km from Bhadrachalam in Khammam District of Telangana.


India became independent from the British Empire in 1947. The Nizam of Hyderabad wanted to retain his independence, but the Indian Government amalgamated his state of Hyderabad by force on September 17, 1948 after the successful execution of Operation Polo by the Indian Army. When India became independent, the Telugu-speaking people (although Urdu is spoken in some parts of Telangana districts) were distributed in about 22 districts; 9 of them in the Telangana region of Nizam's Dominions (Hyderabad State), 12 in the Madras Presidency and one in French-controlled Yanam.

Social conditions then immediately after independence were drastically opposite in Telangana and the Costal andhra districts and to a some extent, when compared to Rayalaseema.

Being under Tyrannical,feudalistic,oppressive and religiously discriminative regime and years long of brutal oppression and cultural abuses by the Nizam and also due to constant fighting in the latter years of the Nizam rule, education, awareness and lingo(accent in some parts, especially Hyderabad) to an extent were seriously effected.Only after Telangana's Liberation, people felt they were safe after years living as second grade citizens under Nizam.

Where as in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema being under British rule enjoyed freedom to some extent than the Telangana people.They were educated and were generally more aware of whatsoever in the society.Under the British, they benefited by the development which the British had done to the region by laying roads , promoting education by the universities and colleges, reservoirs like Cotton Barrage, Prakasam Barrage and also are the language and cultural development by the likes of Charles Philip Brown, Campbell, Galletti, and reformers like Veereshalingam Panthulu etc.

They enjoyed religious freedom and cultural freedom except political freedom. The poor Telangana Telugus suffered a lot from cultural, linguistic and religious and political freedom, where Urdu was taught forcefully at schools( though they are very few schools as such), Islam was the state religion and Muslims were considered as masters over the other religions, religious freedom was almost nil, worst form of feudalism being prominent in Nizam state and literally no efforts in social and cultural reformation as in Rest of India.

Under these antipathetic and violent conditions ,the people were defensive and were Ignorant when compared to the outside world. ( Though after Operation Polo, Muslims of Nizam state suffered violent backlash of religious violence when many of the innocent Muslim families were killed or went missing. Most of the events took place in Marathi speaking areas and in a couple of Kannada speaking areas of the Nizam rule. In the Marathi speaking areas the revolt was led by AryaSamaj, a Hindu reformist organization. In Telangana, this was led by Communists and so didn't witness such violent backlash.)


Meanwhile Telugu speaking areas were carved out of erstwhile Madras state by popular agitation by the then leaders like Potti Sri Ramulu etc.

Merger of Telangana and Andhra

In December 1953, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru appointed the States Reorganization Commission to prepare for the creation of states on linguistic lines. This was headed by Justice Fazal Ali and the commission itself was also known as the Fazal Ali Commission. The efforts of this commission was overseen by Govind Ballabh Pant, who served as Home Minister from December 1954. The commission created a report in 1955 recommending the reorganization of India's states.


The States Reorganization Commission (SRC) was not in favour of merging the Telangana region with the then Andhra state. Para 382 of States Reorganization Commission Report (SRC) said "..opinion in Andhra is overwhelmingly in favour of the larger unit, public opinion in Telangana has still to crystallize itself. Important leaders of public opinion in Andhra themselves seem to appreciate that the unification of Telangana with Andhra, though desirable, should be based on a voluntary and willing association of the people and that it is primarily for the people of Telangana to take a decision about their future...".

The concerns of Telanganas were manifold. The region had a less developed economy than Andhra, but with a larger revenue base (mostly because it taxed rather than prohibited alcoholic beverages), which Telanganas feared might be diverted for use in Andhra. They also feared that planned dam projects on the Krishna and Godavari rivers would not benefit Telangana proportionately even though Telanganas controlled the headwaters of the rivers. Telanganas feared too that the people of Andhra would have the advantage in jobs, particularly in government and education.


Para 386 of States Reorganization Commission Report (SRC) said "After taking all these factors into consideration we have come to the conclusions that it will be in the interests of Andhra as well as Telangana area is to constitute into a separate State, which may be known as the Hyderabad State with provision for its unification with Andhra after the general elections likely to be held in or about 1961 if by a two thirds majority the legislature of the residency Hyderabad State expresses itself in favor of such unification."

However, the Congress party was strong in Andhra than in Telangana because the Nizam who ruled till then did not allow Congress activities in Telangana. The strong Congress lobby in Andhra lobbied with central congress leadership for the merger. So, the central government decided to ignore the SRC recommendations and established unified Andhra Pradesh on November 1, 1956. However, a "Gentleman's agreement" provided reassurances to the Telangana people as well to Andhra people in terms of power sharing as well as administrative domicile rules and distribution of expenses of various regions.


At the time of merging parts of Hyderabad State, with Andhra, and forming Andhra Pradesh state, Hyderabad State had an excess revenue due to alcohol excise duty, and The Indian government confiscated enormous wealth accumulated by Nizams provided the resources in creation of larger state.

Separate Telangana state movement:

In the following years after the formation of Andhra Pradesh state, however, the Telangana people had a number of complaints about how the agreements and guarantees were implemented. Discontent with the 1956 Gentleman's agreement intensified in January 1969 when the guarantees that had been agreed on were supposed to lapse.

Student agitation for the continuation of the agreement began at Osmania University in Hyderabad and spread to other parts of the region. Government employees and opposition members of the state legislative assembly swiftly threatened "direct action" in support of the students. This movement, also known as Jai Telangana movement, led to widespread violence and deaths of hundreds of people and students of this Telangana region. Approximately 360 students gave their lives in this movement.


Although the Congress faced dissension within its ranks, its leadership stood against additional linguistic states, which were regarded as "anti-national." As a result, defectors from the Congress, led by M. Chenna Reddy, founded the Telangana People's Association (Telangana Praja Samithi). Despite electoral successes, however, some of the new party leaders gave up their agitation in September 1971 and, much to the disgust of many separatists, rejoined the safer political haven of the Congress ranks.

Geography, Culture & Identity of Telangana:

Of the three regions of the state, Telangana has the largest area, with 1,14,800 km2.The Telangana plateau is composed of Archean Gneissic rocks and drained by Godavari and Krishna rivers. The entire region is divided into two main regions namely ghats and peneplains. The surface is dotted with low depressions.


Centuries of independent existence has given Telangana its own distinctive culture and identity. The Telugu language spoken here has evolved into a new dialect with a liberal mixture of words from Urdu. Festivals: Eid al-Adha (Bakr Eid), Dassera, Eid-ul-Fitr and Ugadi are prominent festivals in Telangana. The region celebrates distinctive festivals like Bathukamma, and Bonalu. The other festivals, such as, Deepawali, Holi, Moharram and Vinayaka chaturthi are also celebrated with equal enthusiasm as in northern India. The national festival Sankranti is also celebrated in the beginning of harvest season on 14 January every year.

Note: Please find the recommendations of the SRC in Image formats on the right. This proves that despite opposition from Telangana people, Hyderabad State (Telangana) is forcefully merged along with Andhra State to form Andhra Pradesh.

Resources: Wikipedia