It is not good to hold a state and a people to ransom. This is precisely what the central government is doing in the case of Andhra Pradesh. The state, especially the region asking for separation, Telangana, has been on the boil since late 2009. The government set up the Srikrishna committee to “fact find” and suggest a set of solutions with their pros and cons to help resolve the issue.
After extensive research on various dimensions of the problem, with special focus on the economic, social, water sharing and employment issues, and the development of Hyderabad, the committee concluded that a united Andhra Pradesh would better serve the interests of the people. The committee arrived at this conclusion not because it was against the division per se or the idea of smaller states; the specific facts of Andhra Pradesh led it to this conclusion. However, it felt that if peace continued to evade the state, the Centre should initiate bifurcation and carve out Telangana as a separate state.
The committee recognised that public sentiment for separation in Telangana was high, and that in absolute terms Telangana remained behind Coastal Andhra, although robust catch-up was underway. It also found that of the three regions, Rayalaseema remained the most underdeveloped. The story of Andhra Pradesh is not simply that of Telangana and Coastal Andhra, but of three, nay, four distinct parts — Telangana, Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema and the area now known as Greater Hyderabad which covers Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Rangareddy district. The adivasis of the state, who feel neglected by all dispensations, have put forward a demand for a separate tribal state — Manya Seema. When looked at closely, the issue turns out to be far more complex than may appear to a casual observer.
Since the 1990s, Greater Hyderabad has been the driver of growth in the state. Prosperous Coastal Andhra people took greater advantage of the opportunities offered and made impressive fortunes in the city. However, a city does not make the state. The state’s 84 lakh-strong population is also sustained by its land, for which water is crucial. The people strongly desire upward mobility and see government jobs as the most secure and lucrative employment, hence the heartache over who gets government jobs. Education leads to government jobs and greater participation in the state and national economies so there is a huge demand for education, more so in the drier parts of the state, i.e. Telangana and Rayalaseema. Understandably, newly educated Dalit and Other Backward Class students, desirous of future employment, form the mainstay of the agitation in Osmania University.
The 1975 decision to divide the state into six zones for educational and employment purposes led to its own dynamics and complications. Zone six, which consisted of Hyderabad, became a much sought-after destination for residence, education and employment by citizens from across the state. The Telangana people felt the lion’s share of employment in zone six should go to them since Hyderabad lies within Telangana; others felt that being the state capital it should remain open to all citizens. As a result, residence in the city for a specified period granted individuals eligibility to study and work in the zone. The middle class from across the state thronged the city to ensure good-quality education and government jobs for their children. Natives from all three regions feel they have a stake in Hyderabad.
The zone system led to some anomalies. Many couples in government jobs started residing in separate zones, leading to geographical splitting of families. In such cases, families would retain two residences to ensure their children were educated in the “desired zones”. Many natives of Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema are legal residents of Hyderabad. Their visibility and higher socio-economic profile irk the Telanganites.
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Repatriation of Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema employees not qualified to work in Telangana zones has always been a major demand and bone of contention. The government, though tardy on this count for several decades, has moved in the past few years to rectify this grievance and very few employees now remain to be repatriated. The grievances of the people of Telangana are now more likely to be about the larger number of higher-level (unreserved) posts occupied by people in Coastal Andhra. It is a moot point as to how long it will take to resolve this disparity with the growth of education in Telangana, enabling greater competitiveness of its natives. Andhra Pradesh has achieved a good spread of educational institutions in all its regions; improving the quality of education in Telangana, Rayalaseema and North Coastal Andhra will redress the gaps much more effectively than carving up the state.
The water issue in the state is of a difficult nature, with the Krishna and Godavari rivers flowing from the plateau region of Telangana towards Coastal Andhra. Irrigation for Telangana is expensive, hence the grouse that the region has to spend a lot on private tube well irrigation. The projects that the late chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy had initiated have yet to come to fruition. While the area under irrigation has grown multifold in Telangana, Coastal Andhra will soon face saturation and declining yields.
After the 2009 statement by the central government that it would take steps towards the initiation of the Telangana state and the setting up of the committee, the sentiment in the region reached fever pitch. The Centre’s tardiness has sustained the emotional involvement in the demand for a separate state.
Respecting the sentiments of the people of Telangana and recognising their demand for a fairer share in development, the Srikrishna committee suggested a model of regional autonomy that would allow all three regions of the state greater control over employment, water resources, educational development and many other aspects of governance. Why did the government not even make an attempt to try out the suggested solution? It would have been fair to the people of the state, and especially to Telangana, if the central government had immediately moved to discuss the modalities of regional autonomy and initiated the process, with the caveat that if the model did not work after a fair attempt, the state would be bifurcated.
Such a serious matter, the division of India’s first linguistic state, which according to recent economic report cards is catching up on growth and development parameters with its other southern brethren, should not be left to calculations of electoral gains and political expediency. In not making such momentous decisions on the basis of principle, the Indian state reveals itself to be weak and myopic, doing the country’s socio-economic fabric great harm.