What is Telangana?

The Sri Krishna Committee report has been submitted. The Indian Home Minister has called for a meeting of representatives of eight recognized political parties from Andhra Pradesh to discuss the contents of the report. Of these eight parties the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have decided to not attend the meet. Some parties have been saying that they will send only one representative instead of the two that have been asked for by the Union Government. The situation is very intriguing, akin to one rider trying to ride two horses or one sailor trying to sail to boats, at the same time. It looks like political parties do not want to miss out on opportunities, after all what is opportunism if you don't maximize opportunities. As I said in a previous post all political parties except the TRS have two factions one representing United Andhra Pradesh and the other representing the cause of a Separate Telangana State. I still cannot figure out how a party stands for two opposing causes at the same time. It is like having the cake and eating it too or maybe they stand for this also and that also. This is reflective of politics that is careerist and not based in the desire to serve people. Politics is the best way to amass wealth without being accountable to the people or to the income tax department. But all this does not seem to answer the question as to what Telangana is.

The question is no conundrum. In fact, it is pretty straight forward once we understand that it means different things to different people. So here is what it is.

The hope of the hopeless.

Don't let the phraseology above mislead you into thinking that I am mocking someone. I am not. I am expressing my sympathies for the hopeless. The hopeless are those who do not have a hope. So who are they? These are students who have degrees but no education and therefore do not have prospects of any kind of decent employment. I am sad to say that the a few days ago I attested certificates of post-graduates who were settling for jobs as police constables. These people cannot even dream of jobs in the private sector. But the opportunities of employment in the government sector are next to nil since years and years of giving salaries to non-working people has depleted most of the governments' money. And the unproductive are still there taking salaries and later pension. But the unemployed now believe that with the formation of the Telangana state opportunities of employment in the government sector will once again come to the fore. After all, the TRS leadership has been saying that for sometime now. So jobs for the unemployed or perhaps jobs for the otherwise unemployable.

The greenfield

An opportunity where everyone starts at the same time. A brand new race, where there are no historical disadvantages. Time to get into the most sought after and enriching career of all; politics. The last one year is the preparation time that all aspiring politicians who seek to run the race have used to build muscle in the right places to push the others out of the race and become winners by planting their flags. New state, new opportunities to find new riches. The people who see it this way are the ones who talk about a social justice Telangana.

Restoration of lost glory

The traditional upper castes of Telangana mainly the Reddys and to a certain extent the Velamas have bemoaned the fact that the more progressive and capitalist Kammas from coastal Andhra have snatched their traditional feudal advantage and the power that accrued with it. So here is an opportunity to drive out the usurpers and re-establish the golden past.

Easy money

There are functionaries of various Telangana outfits who have used and continue to use the Telangana label to exclude people from the 'original sons of the soil' category and then extort monies out of them and give permissions to the settlers to continue with their businesses in Hyderabad. Any crime committed will go down as a fight for a free and fair Telangana of the original sons of the soil.

Clean slate

A new Telangana means a new state and a new everything. Ideal opportunity to become part of the mainstream again by expunging all the inconvenient police records etc. Like taking a dip in the Ganga and cleansing all past sins.

This is not any fanciful cynicism on my part. It is what the situation is. In my university in the last few days there have been instances when interviews were conducted for admission into the Ph.D programme some students have accused teachers of colluding to get in students from Coastal Andhra, when no such thing was happening. Therefore right now Telangana is the glorious situation when there is no administration and therefore anyone can do anything through extortion. Towards the end of the first paragraph of this post I had talked about new political careers based in opportunism. So while Telangana means different things to different people ultimately it boils down to the opportunism of politicians and political parties. In this game the common people will give their support this way or that but ultimately nothing will happen to change the position that they are in. It is all like in a company where a management changes but means very little to the employees. I continue to bemoan the fact that politics are run by the unenlightened who will only ultimately destroy the integrity of the country. I can only hope that despite all this, maybe God has something positive for the people of this region and the country as a whole. Amen.

P.S. No proof reading done. As usual request to overlook mistakes of grammar and spelling.