Weekend Politics: Needs and Wants In A Divided State
Many of you would have already noticed the plight of politics in the name of dividing the state of Andhra Pradesh. There is total chaos in all parts of the state. Schools, colleges, universities, businesses are closed. Transportation stalled, vehicles burned and damaged.
The real reason is not the question of justice or injustice to any selected area. The real reason is a selected few control the voice and needs of the majority. And, these selected few voice that their wants are the majority people’s needs.
Even today, even though we are in this so-called digital world, the majority people’s needs are education, health care, safe drinking water, and nutritional food.
Have you ever seen any present political leader fighting this hard and this violently for the real needs of the majority of people? There is a clear line between the needs of people and the wants of people. Majority of the people who have real needs do not raise their voice.
Politicians are fighting for their wants in the disguise of people’s needs. Is this for development or destruction?
If they are truly for the development of the state, why haven’t they ever fought this vigorously before for any development causes?
Would the change and development being promised in the name of dividing the state really benefit the majority of the people? Or would it benefit the selected few as it has always happened?
There is a clear distinction. Everyone has to raise the voice about the needs of the majority and not about the wants of the few.
I agree with you, Its purely based on a few power craving individuals’ selfish motives sugarcoated with selfless reasons making the people scapegoats in the process.
People have to understand this obvious fact.
It saddens my heart to see A.P in such a state. The wants of a few policitians have led the state from peace to turmoil. Well said Vijay. Couldn’t agree more.
Purely a political drama evoking chaos and for their own hidden agendas. Don’t foresee anything beneficial for the common masses by this move.
It’s so interesting to hear your take on this. I read an article on this in the NY Times today, and thought immediately of you, and wondered what the “real” take on it was – I greatly respect your opinion. To me, as a complete outsider, it seems like a way of opening the spillgates to all kinds of further divisivness and balkanization. I can only imagine what would happen if you allowed that to occur in the US – chaos would ensure. And we are not a quarter as diverse as India is. It all seems a bit mad to me.
I don’t agree with you.Krishna and Godavari rivers flowing thru Telangana, still people don’t have drinking water in Villages. Nagarjunasagar water is taking to Hyderabad thru Nalgonda, but not allowing villagers to drink or take that water. What a pitty? That to that water for Andhrities who settled in the suburban areas. Where is the Justice? You should see the people who are suffering with flouride, it’s heart touching. In 50 years, governaments didn’t get funds to allocate the drinking water for them but they can take the water thru their villages to Hyderabad.
Yes….We need Telangana…Watch this video. After watching this you will understand the problem.
What is the problem if state is divided. We are not going to join with Pakistan or Bangaladesh. We will be part of India as another state.
In 1953, Hyderabad was richest state in India, When Andhra state formed from Mandras, they didn’t have the money to pay the employee’s salary. No infrasturcture in Kurnool, that they eyed on Telangana Resources like Water, Coal and Hyderabad.
Video:
http://bharattalkies.com/detail.php?id=9379
Good expression Vijay! The motives of those who perpetrate such actions is truly questionable! “Janta Janardan” is no longer a real word in today’s dictionary!
Nice read. Other states are not far away asking for their demands.
I completely agree with you Indira. I wish political changes didn’t mean riots, loss of lives and property…but sadly, it does.
This is not a question of AP alone, overall our political system is in such an endangered position, it totally appears beyond repair.As long as election votes can be bought by a packet of biryani and toddy, this situation is going to continue!!!
Hi,
We completely agree wih what vijay said.Someone forwareded to us.
I dont know whether the below really works but with a spirit of hope,
http://www.petitiononline.com/1andhra/petition.html
I agree with you completely.It is power hungry people who wants the lime light and hence gain the power.
First, I am happy that you decided to talk about this.
I am sure majority of people understand the reality. That all this drama of dividing the state in the name of development is for the profit and power of some politicians and not really for the needy. Yet we all feel helpless!
Foolish aggressiveness and violence has taken over reason and thought. It did long time ago. There are several examples in our country where dividing the state in the name of development has led to nothing but more corruption and maoist takeover of areas. Yet we, the non-political class, do not know what to do in the current situation!
I sincerely hope that someone among us would find a practical solution for bringing the reality closer to people. I wish there were some sort of magic and suddenly there is a great leader again, like Gandhi! Or maybe
I clearly do not understand the benefits of a divided state. I guess lot of confusion prevails. The politicians do it for money and popularity and the common man suffers.
Agree Completely ! Its a shame that one person or few people are deciding the fate of all people and dividing the state for their personnel benefits. Cant believe this is happening and everyone should raise voice for a united Andhra !
It clearly hurting the feelings and sentiments of andhra people
United we can stand. Divided we fall…..dividing will
bring more questions than answers.
Yes agreed this all looks like political drama.. but it echoes the sentiments of people of telangana from last 50 yrs. u ask why it wasnt this violent earlier. its becuz they shut their mouths off incessently. wonder why there is such an explosion. becuz it burst out after yrs of keeping quiet and bearing it patiently, thinking that all their needs will be heard and taken care of. as someone posted above the problems they are facing which is real and stories have been told for past 1/2 generations(iincluding parents and grandparents)!they cant believe that their saga is coming to an end. and people who are begging for united andhra are the ones who are simply interested in hyderabad since they have invested in few properties n business.. and think they will have backlash inspite of telangana people not expecting them to move out. they just want justice..which they cudnt get when united. so they need funds for seperate state so they can prosper as well.
I dont agree with Seema. All people calling for united Andhra do not hail from Hyd. Even a labourer is part of this call. Poverty exists every where including Andhra region too. Please
walk into any village or town. In this region not everyone is rich. Currently we have enough problems with Karnataka over river waters. Issues like power supply, water restrictions from Dams etc….and Most of all setting up entirely new capital will take toll on the general public of this region. There will be more problems…
they were already seperate states called andhra state(coastal andhra and rayalaseema area with kurnool as capital) and hyderabad state(telangana area).hyderabad state was ruled by nizams while andhra state was ruled by british. after independence,the hyderabad state became prosperous while andhra state was under deficit budget(which had seperated from the madras state(tamil nadu)). it was nehru at the time of formation of andhra pradesh state joined the two states stating that we are two regions speaking the same language. when hyderabad state opposed he told them if in future both of u cant live together or are ditched by other then get sepearated like two good brothers. after 50 yrs then prosperous state of hyderabad has turned into a backward area and andhra state gets both the rivers, govt jobs, etc from telanagana region while the local people suffer. so why the heck does it make a difference now? yes becuz u guys cant exploit any further?
first you lose the madras capital to tamil nadu and now hyderabad capital to telangana. why u guys are so dumb to not form a capital on you own? see thats what i told in the earlier post that u guys just want hyderabad capital and do not want to stay united for the sake of people! there are telugu people still living in madras and people will still live in hyderabad. dont worry about capitals and jobs. the questions is are you able to give respect and justice to people living in your neighbourhood? charity begins at home and justice begins from neighbours.
I don’t agree with seema at all. What is this “you people” she is talking about?? who are this “you people”?? Shame on you for talking like this. We are all Telugu people living in AP and let it remain like that. United we stand, divided we fall.
Seema,
You sound as if, Hyd had all this development 50-60 years back and andhra people are only enjoying it freely. AND THAT IS NOT THE CASE. Since so much development and money was put in Hyd over years(which is in telangana area, hence taking the majority of the telangana budget) may be the rest of the money might have been spent for andhra areas. You are saying all the money should be put in the development of telangana cities and villages only.
Why do you think TDP lost in the elections, because all their effort was put in developing Hyd but not helping the rural people of both the telanaga and andhra areas. Instead of fighting for seperate state, Telangana people should put before people their problems (which they didn’t all these years).
But they want a seperate state since they have Hyd in their area and the river flowing thru their area. So they are thinking kicking out andhras will be best so that they can enjoy everything by themselves (even hyd city built by the hardwork and money of both andhra and telangana people).
Think with unity in heart and mind but not in a selfish way.
I feel ashamed to say I am from AP and from telangana area. Where people are fighting for things and there’s no unity. Atleast Mumbai was better they wanted all the marathi people in one state.
yes i do wish for unified andhra pradesh. but also prosperity for telangana region. i dont agree with all u said since they are all ur imagination. i havent said anything of TDP or kicking out. It would be a dream come true if all the regions prospered equally since we live in the same state. Since that is not the case, will have to wait and watch what happens in the coming days. It wont make a difference to me if telangana happens or not but wanted to nail out the issues behind the scenario.
p.s. let me tell u deepika i was never proud of telugu people. becuz everywhere there was no unity even though we spoke the same language. the first questions were which region r u from? what is ur caste? why do we need to ask our own people these questions. didnt they think of unity at that time? they very proudly tell u they are from west godavari or east or whatever, as if its a different state.when they had such seperatist feelings then why r they covering it up now? just becuz the whole country is laughing. learn from tamil and kerala people. if they see their people when they go out of state, they stick like gum. they wont ask u differentiating questions. as far as politics is concerned, the worst states are bihar and andhra pradesh.its time to learn our mistakes and let go.ciao!
Yes poverty and problems exist everywhere. The 3 main regions of Andhra, telangana, rayalaseema, gave and took from each other over the decades. Andhra was able to rise because of people from all areas. Yes there was inequality, as there exists in all walks of life, all over the state and country. Infact one could say an incredible amount of money was channeled to develop Hyderabad. People should fight for their basic rights or education, health and employment. no guarantees that a new state will make the satte of affairs any better, atleast not if you look at recent history
And BTW Seema, the prosperity of the HYD state was based on nizams wealth, it was not an indication of individual peoples wealth. It was infact telangana that benefitted by unification. Highest investments and development in recent times happened in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts. Godavari waters have been diverted and utilized by telangana. As I said before there was a lot of give and take. Division of the state will effect all regions adversely. We can no longer bargain for many things effectively including fnds from central govt, water from neighbouring states..
Aparna,
Where do you think Nizam’s wealth came from ? I suggest that you learn about that first.
I am from Telangana, but I have family from Andhra too. My father was a Telangana freedom fighter who even went to jail in 1969 fighting for Telangana and the way people who fought for Telangana at that time were treated cannot even be mentioned on a respectable site. I agree that all politicians are taking advantage of the crisis going on in AP now, but you cannot simply ignore the plight of Telangana people. As always, I am sure T people will be suppressed this time too. BTW, I am not going to gain anything out of a separate T state. My family will be divided and it will be very painful, but if we thought just about our own selfish needs, there will be no humanity left in this world.
All the people who feel it is a shame to ask for a separate state and who dont understand it at all, I request they do their own research instead of taking opinions from others.
Did you all see how easily we got deviated from the real issue? The real issue is providing basic needs and giving proper share of wealth, water and work. We get only what we ask for. Rather than asking for the actual needs, we are now debating about staying together and getting separated.
This is exactly how career politicians exploit all others. Bait and switch. If all the time, energy, and resources, which were spent on agitations and destroying properties all over the state, were actually directed towards improving the actual conditions, half the problems would have been already solved.
We all have to ask about solving the real problems. If the process of solving that problem mandates dividing some parts into a separate state, it should be done. But not the other way around.
Ask our representatives these questions:
1.Why are you not working to solve the real issues, right now?
2.Why are you not working to bring proper share of water to our lands, right now?
3.Why are you not working to get the needed jobs to our region, right now?
4.Why are you not working to give good education to our children, right now?
5.Why are you not working to give better health care facilities to us, right now?
6.Why are you not working for us, right now?
Vijay,
People have been asking politicians these questions and the response they get is that they are just being suppressed in favour of needs of other regions and all they get are empty promises. While I understand that these politicians keep quiet when the needs of Telangana are ignored in favour of other regions, just to save their careeers, there is some truth to it. People of Telangana are powerless and I know that this applies to some extent to the politicians from Telangana. I do have a document(I wish I had a link) with some statistics for the basic facilities we have in AP where you can clearly see the disparities. It is very unfair. It hurts that people don’t try to understand other’s needs and put their ego first in judging others.
One more thing – It is really foolish to think that people from other regions will be kicked out of Hyderabad if a separate Telangana state forms. Is there any city in India that you are not allowed to live just because you don’t belong to that particular place ?
Please mean it when you comment. Seema..goes name calling, saying “why u guys are so dumb to not form a capital ” (December 15, 2009 @ 11:11 am )and then goes on saying “yes i do wish for unified Andhra Pradesh. but also prosperity for telangana region.” December 15, 2009 @ 3:14 pm ).
Everyone who commented for unified state…did not say that they like to plunge a particular region into proverty or prosperity. Every electorate has their peoples representative in State Assembly and in National parliament. Democracy is govt of people, by the people and for the people. That why these represenatative should put forward the needs about people in their constituency….but not go on bifurcating the state.
T..If suppression is the case in this 21st century….put forward to media like tv, news papers , you tube etc., pin point when and how disparities are happening. Please note if it happens in Assembly it should be caught on live telecast. Without clarity everything would end up just as mere accusation.
Creating more chaos and problems is never a solution for solving any problem.
….in peace..
Usha,
I know you mean well but if you are still stuck with ‘Democracy is govt of people, by the people and for the people’ in India with the kind of politics we have, I have to end my discussion here. You can take it in whatever sense you like.
T…If you don’t believe in democracy itself…then how do think it will work once a separate state is formed.
The same leaders, elected by same people will at once start representing their people…????
I have an interesting sidelight to this. I sometimes write about the Indian Stock Markets – and try and relate it to the news of the day or some subject that common people (not stock market freaks) can relate to. Here is what i wrote on Dec 10. http://riteriterite.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/flavours-from-the-land-of-the-krishna-and-the-godavari/
Do let me know what you think..
I am usually looking for Indira’s amazing recipes at this site, surprised to see so much discussion on politics. I am not from AP, but thought this might interest everyone. I came to know of this party from my collegemate, whom I know is doing lot of good through 5th pillar organization. http://india.5thpillar.org/. Dr. JP in AP has started a party to involve the young and good people who really wish for the better life for everyone. Get involved and take action on your desire for better India/ better state. http://www.loksatta.org/
I was watching this discussion from a distance. The frustration I experience seeing the state of our politics and the state of my poeple is unimaginable. I am from Telangana but never thought of myself as from TelAngana or Andhra. I merely belonged to AP where we all spoke one language-Telugu. When two tamilians meet they will converse in tamil. When two Telugu poeple meet they will speak in english.
Telangana was ruled as a fuedal society,the reddy doras subjugated everybody and it was this which led to the naxalite movement. Before that it was still backward because the nizams were ruling- they were fabulously wealthy but at the expense of the common man. They filled their pockets and their coffers but the common man suffered. To say that it was because of the andhra poeple that telangana was not developing is unfair. All of us living in telangana might have ancesters who had migrated from andhra. Where do you draw the line about who is a localite and who is an usurper?? We had CM’s from telangana and even a prime minister from telangana before. What difference did it make to the development of the region? How does creating a new state lead to its development? It will only create another set of corrupt politicians scrambling for power.
It is time for poeple to wake up and stop blaming others for their failures. If one region is not developing, ask what the so called poeple’s representatives are doing? Has anyone visited Rayalseema lately? How can you call it developed? All those poeple in telangana need to visit Cuddapah and Kurnool- no water, crops or industries. The whole country is in the same state, ruled by a bunch of powerhungry idiots. The reality is that nobody cares if we in telangana/andhra develop or not. Because the issue has never been about its people-its only power that matters.
Himabindu,
Your comments have shown the problem in a true perspective.
I am from Mahabubnagar. I hate the bad people in power who grab everything they can for their kin. Unfairness to Telangana is true like many places in Andhra, Rayalseema and India. These selfish people are everywhere and unfortunately due to more backwardness in Telangana they were exploited by the leaders of other areas. It is sad that some of the Andhra, Rayalseema leaders were so strong but didn’t rule like statesmen but acted and continue to do so as looters. In my view the people of Telangana (me too) should show change among us to be aware, educated self sufficient etc., A separate state or a lottery of funds will not solve our problems – we should make people change to respect each other, work hard. There so many weak links within us and we look to put total onus on others – that itself is destructive. Andhras or others are people like us are good and bad, even more we share a language and quite some culture due to that. Like so many Indians seek jobs across the globe they are influence or other means taking jobs. We claim we will not ask anyone to leave or such crap but why so much intolerance against same countrymen as if we are all perfect. I hate to see shivsainik news, every theif will have a justification that doesn’t make it right. In this generation of countries forming unions we are so narrow, we do nothing only blame others is sad. Last not but least I can’t imagine this leaders who couldn’t fight in the state can fight at the national level.
It’s like saying I will not compete in state level games due to politics but will be champion at the national level – as if it is perfect there.