By Chetan Sharma:
Consider a story: Once upon a time, not very long ago, there lived deaf and blind Malla in a land called Handar. He had an orphan maid who would satisfy all his needs, got beaten up, starved, molested, & insulted by him, suffered and still kept quiet. Each time she’d try and stand, she’d get beaten up to the ground by Malla. But one day she decided to choose life over pain and went on to pinch Malla till he set her free forever. Now, change the name Malla to the current Seemandhara, the maid to Telangana and Handar is just an anagram for Andhra. That is the story of Telangana. Though quiet late, the maid has finally been constitutionally freed in what can be called another victory of “We the People”.
Before I started researching for this article, I never knew I had since long been completely blinded by the Government propaganda that Telangana being a separate state was “neither viable nor conducive” to national integrity. In fact, I was to write with a similar orientation. But the lost lives of a lot of people, the plight of 3.52 crore people of Telengana region and the ignorance of the remaining 96.4 crore people of the nation compelled me towards this change in opinion. What kind of person could advocate the starvation, alienation, pain and suffering of any part of our nation despite the fact that it was all avoidable and completely unasked for?
Quiet literally, Andhra Pradesh fed on its Telangana region. It snatched everything it could have, but never gave what it should have. The god forsaken region was only allowed 1/9th of the total water consumption, even though it sourced 5/8th of it. All the “temples of modern India” were abandoned immediately after the merger in 1953 and all that remains today are hungry stomachs and decaying bodies. The people of Telangana were deprived of even the slightest hope for a better future, denying them any equality or opportunity in employment, rights, state protection or aids despite the merger according to “The Gentleman’s Pact”.
The political perspective of the disintegration is that it proves to be the ace of spade for Congress. Since they are the ‘current’ ruling party in the center, anticipations of a Congress – Telangana Rashthra Samithi (TRS) for the majority numeration of 60 seats is making the rounds. But another rumor floating around is that TRS leadership is preying for the ‘next’ ruling party in the center and Narendra Modi plans to exploit his window to the south. The break-make politics sure lies in the womb of th upcoming Lok Sabha elections and this could prove to be the game changer for both the front runners.
What late Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru presented as a “matrimonial alliance” has finally come to a divorce. And instead of weighing it in the scale of political gains, I prefer an optimistic vision on liberation and table turning. For now, Telangana has a major share of water bodies, natural deposits, forest area and the mightiest resources of determination & verve, whereas Seemandhar is left with most of the hand rubbing. Andhra, for 53 years, fed on Telangana and called it symbiosis. But now maybe it’s time for the exploited to augment & create a notch for themselves.
I am ecstatic to hear the news that the bill has finally been passed in both houses of the parliament and the people of Telangana will breath in free air. Days of no water, no food, no livelihood etc. are past and now they have been given what every citizen, entity, state or soul has as its birth right – an opportunity; an opportunity to revert to smiles, to undo the tears, to feed their aching stomachs and rejuvenate their barren throats and souls. It is the responsibility of the State to provide for what’s in the best interest of its people and it’s the citizens of a state who are solely to decide their best interest. If ever, be for political or any other selfish reason, that the State chooses to go the other way, the people shall stand, raise voice, point fingers and clinch fist against them. No matter what, democracy shall win in the end, people shall win.