Sharing Hyderabad

During the last five decades the subject of a separate Telangana, like King Charles’ head, has been appearing, disappearing and reappearing. One recalls the States Reorganisation Commission recommendation (1956) for a separate Hyderabad state, consisting of the Telugu-speaking areas of old Hyderabad, after the Marathi-speaking areas and the Kannada-speaking areas had been transferred to Maharashtra and Karnataka, respectively. At that time there was a surge of Telugu nationalism which was taken note of by the government by merging the Telugu-speaking districts of Hyderabad with Andhra Pradesh, a departure from the commission’s recommendation. After the euphoria over a vishal Andhra Pradesh had subsided, the movement for a separate Telangana started in the 1960s.

Leaders like M. Chenna Reddy and K. Laxman Bapuji hit the headlines for years. Things became critical in the ’70s and Central rule was imposed. Meanwhile, the city of Hyderabad grew at a galloping pace and attained the status of a metro. It was the centre of IT and pharmaceutical industries.

Much of Hyderabad’s prosperity was no doubt due to the steady flow of remittances from the rich coastal districts like Vijayawada, Guntur and Rajamundry. This is not realised by the supporters of Telangana. During the supremacy of N.T. Rama Rao (NTR) and Chandrababu Naidu, the Telangana movement remained moribund. It was revived around 2001 after K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) quit the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and floated the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). KCR turned to the Congress under Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy and both espoused Telangana for the elections in 2004. They trounced the TDP in 2004. But clearly, in his heart, YSR was anti-Telangana, and convinced the Congress high command. KCR, along with his ministers, resigned from the government and resumed his agitation for Telangana.

Then TRS and TDP jointly went to the parliamentary elections in early 2009 with Telangana as their election slogan. Significantly, in the parliamentary elections, the people of Telangana region had almost given a verdict in favour of a separate Telangana when they decisively voted for the United Progressive Alliance against a combine of several parties which promised Telangana. KCR and his TRS had been reduced to political insignificance. The authorities took the right step in arresting KCR. But, thereafter, sympathy snowballed and the Centre lost its nerve. This, perhaps, explains the midnight statement from the Centre conceding Telangana. Inevitably, there have been violent reactions from both coastal Andhra and backward Rayalaseema regions.

The Centre has to be ready to take charge of the state and fight a massive law and order problem before stable conditions return. Much will depend on the future of Hyderabad.

There is a fear that if Hyderabad is delinked from their state, many of them might prefer to close their operation in this city and migrate to, say, Visakhapatnam, Rajamundry, Vijayawada and Kurnool. This will hit Hyderabad hard.

Needless to mention, if the principle of Hyderabad being a joint capital for both states is accepted, part of the opposition in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema to the creation of Telangana should disappear. Dislocation will be minimal. The fear amongst industrialists and businessmen based in Hyderabad about the newly-formed state giving preference to local workers or harassing outsiders will lose much ground.

An altogether new factor is the rough stand taken by Rayalaseema asking for a third state for itself if Andhra Pradesh is to be split into two.

On a long-term basis, there is no doubt that making Hyderabad the common capital of both Andhra Pradesh and the new state of Telangana would assuage hurt feelings and apprehensions and, thus, help the return to normalcy.

Nitish Sengupta, an academic and author, is a
former Member of Parliament and a former secretary to the Government of India