My take on agitations - Afterword

Let me make a couple of confessions. First of all this whole thing that I have titled as "My take on agitations" is actually rooted in cowardice. It should simply have read "My take on the Separate Telangana Agitation". This is not a justification for my cowardice, but the whole atmosphere which is so vitiated makes one think twice while doing these things. But every thing that I have written in my blog is accurate and authentic. The content is genuine. But to the reader it will be obvious that never have I mentioned where I stand. It is all as if a researcher is viewing this situation by standing at a vantage where he is personally not involved. That in a sense is true of me as well. But I live here in this area and therefore I must have a view. I am from Telangana. My father, my grandfather et al are from Telangana. Yet I do not somehow subscribe to the view that a separate Telangana is an answer to the problems raised by being in a united Andhra Pradesh. Those of you who may have read that lengthy piece would know what the problems are and how much they are rooted in the struggle for power between various castes. To me this is untenable. The whole articulation of the Telangana question is for me very flawed. At its most innocent it is a knee jerk reaction and its most diabolic (which is unfortunately the dominant paradigm) it is a strategy for the capturing of power. To me that is a serious indication at fractures not just in Andhra Pradesh but possibly those that can at a later juncture manifest in the Indian State itself. This is neither tea pot whimsy nor is it the fear of a paranoid person. There are many challenges facing the country today and at the base of it all is the one that emerges out of caste fissures. The Telangana movement too is caste based today and whatever comes out of if it has consequences for the whole country and in my opinion not pleasant ones at all. The other challenge that is important is what it means in terms of challenges of and to governance. Looking at the small picture, it is easy to say that small states facilitate better governance. What is being missed in the small picture is that these small states are not independent republics and therefore more number of states should be seen in the context of what it means for federalism and nationalism. My gut feeling is that it is not such a wonderful thing. I am aware that my views will possibly distance me from some friends (and very good ones at that) and win me some new enemies, but what are convictions for when they are not expressed, fear not withstanding. In the next few days I will deal with what could be the implications for Indian Nationalism both from the caste and small states points view. At the moment I am relieved that I have made my confessions.