TELANGANA'S FREEDOM FIGHTERS WON - TURMOIL STILL CONTINUES

The opening day of a two-day strike by the supporters of a new state has brought violence to parts of India's southern Andhra Pradesh state.
Over 100 buses were burnt, and shops and businesses attacked overnight.
The strike was called after the federal government said the demand for a Telangana state would be considered after consultation with all parties.
Earlier the government had announced that it would allow the creation of Telangana irrespective of opposition.
An estimated 35 million people will live in the new state.

The latest uproar and strike call followed federal Home Minister P. Chidambaram's statement on Wednesday evening that all political parties should be consulted before deciding on a new state.

Mr Chidambaran explained the government's change in stance by saying that the situation in Andhra Pradesh had "altered" since he had made an announcement earlier this month on the formation of a Telangana state.
"However, after the statement, the situation in Andhra Pradesh has altered. A large number of political parties are divided on the issue," Mr Chidambaram added.
"There is need to hold wide-ranging consultations with all political parties and groups in the state," he added.
Politicians from Telangana reacted sharply to Mr Chidambaram's statement, saying that the government had put the demand in "cold storage".
Investors fear the protests will hurt Hyderabad, an IT hub of southern India and home to firms like Microsoft, Google and Dell.
Telangana region is spread over 10 northern districts of Andhra Pradesh.
Campaigners say Telangana's economic development has been neglected in favour of the richer and more powerful Andhra region - and that a new state is the only solution.
The last three new states in India were formed in 2000: Chhattisgarh was created out of eastern Madhya Pradesh; Uttarakhand was created out of the hilly areas of northern Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand was carved from Bihar's southern districts.
India currently has 28 states.

THE TELANGANA STORY

What is Telangana?
Today, Telangana is a region comprising 10 of Andhra Pradesh’s 23 districts. Originally, it was a part of the erstwhile Nizam’s princely state of Hyderabad. The region accounts for 119 seats of 294 in the assembly.
When did Telangana merge with Andhra?


In 1948, India put an end to the rule of the Nizams and a Hyderabad state was formed. In 1956, the Telangana part of Hyderabad was merged with then Andhra state (carved out of Madras Presidency in October, 1953). The remaining parts of the Nizam’s empire merged with Karnataka and Maharashtra. Andhra Pradesh became the first linguistically carved state in the country after Gandhian revolutionary Potti Sreeramulu, on a hunger strike over the issue, died on December 16, 1952.



When did the movement for a separate Telangana kick off ?
The first Telangana movement intensified in 1969. There was a distinct difference between Andhra and Telangana regions. Since Andhra was part of a colonial Madras Presidency, education levels and development of this region were better than in feudal Telangana. People from Telangana were against merger with Andhra state as they feared they would lose jobs to them.
Cultural differences, too, remain. Under Nizam’s, and before that, under the Qutb Shahi rule, the culture and langauge in Telangana bore influences of north India. Emphasis on festivals are also different.
What happened in the 1969 agitation?
Primarily a student-driven protest, it turned historical for the number of people who took part in it. Over 350 students were killed in police firing and lathi charge. Osmania University was the movement’s hotbed. Congress leader Marri Channa Reddy, who raised the ‘Jai Telangana’ slogan, diluted the movement by merging his Telangana Praja Samithi Party with Congress — Indira Gandhi made him the chief minister after this. That’s how the movement collapsed: a result of Indira Gandhi’s masterstroke. P V Narasimha Rao, too, was made CM in 1971 because he was from Telangana region.
What’s K Chandrasekhar Rao’s role?
In the 90s, KCR, then a member of the Telugu Desam Party, was hopeful of a ministerial post in the state government but was made deputy speaker after the 1999 elections. He quit TDP in 2001 to champion the cause of a separate Telangana state and founded Telangana Rashtra Samithi. All this while, with faster development in the rest of Andhra, a strong feeling was gaining ground in Telangana that it was being exploited and that the region’s surplus was being transferred to finance development in the rest of the state. In 2004 election, Y S Rajasekhara Reddy joined hands with KCR, promising a separate Telangana. But YSR got cold feet and backtracked, triggering resignations of TRS MLAs. KCR quit his Union ministry post.
What’s the stand of other political parties on Telangana?
Congress continues to flip-flop, while TDP, which was against separate Telangana until 2009 election, is now supporting it. BJP, CPI and PRP support Telangana. CPM’s stand still unclear, but by and large, it is opposed to Telangana.
What’s the Hyderabad angle?
Hyderabad, which is within the Telangana region, is a bone of contention between votaries of Telangana and those against it. The issue of AP capital remains a stumbling block in the creation of Telangana.

THE TELANGANA FREEDOM FIGHTERS- 17 CASAUALITIES UP TO NOW

Hyderabad: Telangana remained on the boil and the 48-hour bandh called by TRS demanding statehood saw five more suicides, forcing the Centre to review its options.
The suicides on Monday took the death toll to 17. Seven others tried to end their lives while activists resorted to arson, destruction of public and private properties and demolition of cell phone towers. Train passengers were the worst hit as TRS activists stopped trains for over six hours at some stations.
The Telangana activists appeared to be in no mood to relent, with the spate of suicides only adding to the pressure on TRS and others to fight till the bitter end. After taking part in a TRS rally, G , 45, hung himself to death at his home in Ande village in Mirdoddi mandal of Medak in the afternoon. He left a suicide note demanding separate Telangana. Another activist Narsing Nayak, 35, hung himself from a tree at Mamidipalli in Sangareddy mandal.
In Nalgonda district alone, three ‘T’ sympathisers committed suicide. TRS activist Satish haung himself at Veeravelli village in Bhongir mandal. “Prior to taking the extreme step, Satish took part in a rally and shouted Jai Telangana slogans,” the grieving parents said. Lingaiah of Nemmikallu in S Atmakuru mandal consumed pesticide at his home. He died later in a hospital. Mallesh of Palaram village in Nadigudem mandal consumed pesticide to end his life. “He died shouting Jai Telangana slogans. We have shifted the body for an autopsy,” a police official said.
A tribal girl, Janabai, 18, poured kerosene and torched herself during a TRS rally at Gauraram village in Gandhari mandal in Nizamabad in the afternoon. She suffered 80 per cent burns as doctors at the Banswada hospital said her survival chances were remote. A TRS activist Raju is battling for his life after he held a high tension electricity wire at Turkapadgam village in Kandi mandal of Medak. “Even as he experienced a powerful shock, Raju kept shouting Jai Telangana,” a relative said. In Karimnagar district four ‘T’ sympathisers attempted suicide.
In Adilabad district TRS activists vandalised the office of Sirpur paper mills at Kagaznagar by smashing the windowpanes and damaging furniture. At Thogutta in Medak, the activists went berserk and damaged the house of Dubbaka MLA Muthyam Reddy. Furniture was burnt, glass windows were broken and other household articles were strewn all over. The activists were lathicharged by the police.