Indian states consist of different linguistic, religious and cultural groups existing along with unequal level of regional development within a state. In certain context, these diversities and become the grounds for generation of regional consciousness within a state. Those having such consciousness underline that within the existing administrative arrangement, their region is not given fair treatment by the state government, central government or other regions within their state. And solution to their grievances can be found if their region becomes a separate state from the state in which such region exists. Such new state would enjoy autonomy to take decisions and run administration. The basis for separate statehood demands were largely shifted to better governance and greater participation, administrative convenience, economic viability in the developmental needs of sub regions. In this article, we shall discuss Movement for Telangana State.
The movements for restructuring power relations among administrative units in an area within one or more states are also regional movements as they address regional grievances.
These movements generally assume three forms:
Statehood Movements: Statehood movements seek separate state consisting of a region from one or more existing states.
Autonomy Movements: Autonomy movements, like statehood movements also want administrative autonomy to run their affairs. Unlike the statehood movements, they do not want a separate state of out an existing state.
Secessionist Movements: Secessionist movements, unlike the statehood and autonomy movements seek to secede from the Union of India and get a sovereign state.
It is important to note that while Indian constitution has provisions for creation of separate states and autonomy within the states, it does not permit secession. Generally, movements for statehood become more frequent and intense in the times of elections, political competition, and factionalism within the parties. The parties have been supportive to such demands when they were in opposition but have been opposed them when in power.
Constitutional Provisions:
One of special features of the Union of India is that the union is indestructible but the power conferred on Parliament includes the power to form a new state or union territory by uniting a part of any State or Union territory to other State or Union territory. The identity of States can be altered or even expunged by the Parliament.
Under Article 3 of the Constitution a new state can be formed or established in the following ways:
- by separation of territory from any state, or
- by uniting two or more states, or
- by uniting any part of a state, or
- by uniting any territory to a part of any state.
In Mangal Singh v. Union of India AIR 1967 SC 944 case the court held that no state can be formed, admitted or set up by law under Article 4 by Parliament which does not have effective legislative, executive or judicial organs. Thus before creating such State the legislative, executive, and judicial organs for that state should be set up.
Reasons for the Rise of Separate Statehood Movements:
The factors of grievance are related to language, culture, customs, religion, historical background, and level of development. The advocates of new states allege that their regions are discriminated or remain neglected on the grounds of such factors. It is important to note that though the multiple factors become the reasons for generation of movements for separate states, some of these factors are more important in some movements than the other factors. In some movements, language is more determining factor than others; in some it is development, in some it is ethnicity and in some it is religion. The relative effectiveness of these factors has varied according to different phases of movements and different regions.
Except movement for creation of Telangana and Jharkhand, demand for other states such as Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand or Harit Pradesh generally lacked popular mobilization. They were largely voiced by professional politicians through seminars, on the floor of house, passing resolution, etc.
Movement for Telangana State:
Telangana was created as India’s 29th state on 2nd June 2014. It was the end result of a decade long movement to bring about a new state based more on cultural factors rather than on a linguistic basis. Prior to becoming a separate, the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh had an identity which was different from the other two regions of Andhra Pradesh, Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra.
During the regime of Hyderabad Nizam, Telangana was part of Hyderabad state and Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra were part of Madras Presidency. The Congress and the Communist Party of India had demanded formation of a state Andhra consisting Telangana, and Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra regions, on the basis of a common language spoken in these regions. In 1953 Potti Sreeramulu started indefinite fast for supporting his cause of states reorganisation. His death on 56th day of fast resulted in widespread violence and the government was forced to constitute a State Reorganisation Commission.
The State Reorganisation Commission, which submitted its report in 1955, found that Telangana and other regions Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra were not homogenous. It recommended creation of separate state of Telangana for five years, and formation after the expiry of the five years of a state of a single state of Telugu-speaking regions consisting of other two regions – Rayalaseema along with Telangana Coastal Andhra regions. But much before the expiry of five years of formation of Telangana state, the state of Andhra Pradesh was created in 1956 on the basis of f common language – the Telugu, consisting of Telangana, Rayalaseema and Andhra regions.
The formation of Andhra Pradesh was received with the apprehension in the Telangana region that Andhra region would be placed in dominant position in the new state due to its superior economic position and higher literacy rate than those in Telangana region. An agitation took place against the formation of the Andhra Pradesh State.
With the purpose of safeguarding the interests of Telangana region within the new state, an agreement was signed between the Congress leaders of Telangana and Andhra and Rayalaseema regions in 1956. It was known as the Gentleman’s Agreement. This Agreement had two important assurances:
- A regional committee would be constituted to look into the regional grievances and recommend measures to resolve them; and
- If chief minister of Andhra Pradesh belonged to one region, the deputy chief minister would belong to the other regions.
Within a few years of the signing of the Gentleman’s agreement, there was resentment in the Telangana region that the promises made in the agreement were not fulfilled. The leaders of the region alleged that Telangana had become an internal colony; teachers, bureaucrats, students, lawyers, businessmen belonged to the Andhra regions; Telangana remained a backward region within Andhra Pradesh.
The agitation began in Telangana region as people protested the failure to implement the Gentlemen’s Agreement and other safeguards properly. Over 300 people killed in police firing.
In 1969, a group of young intellectuals formed Telangana Praja Samiti (TPS) to mobilise support for creation of Telangana state. Initially, the TPS was an apolitical organization. But after some time of its formation, it was joined by politicians such as Chenna Reddy and Konda Lakhsman. They launched “Jai Telangana’” movement for separate statehood to Telangana. The agitation intensified and turned violent with students in the forefront of the struggle and about 300 of them were killed in violence and police firing that ensued. Following several rounds of talks with leaders of the two regions, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi came up with an eight-point plan on April 12, 1969. Telangana leaders rejected the plan and protests continued under the aegis of TPS. The TPS contested 1971 Parliamentary election with creation of Telangana state as its principal goal. In this election, it won 10 out the 14 constituencies falling in the Telangana region. After the election, the TPS merged with the Congress, and the issue of Telangana went into background, though the central University was established in Hyderabad.
In 1972, Jai Andhra movement started in Andhra-Rayalaseema regions as a counter to Telangana struggle. On September 21, 1973, a political settlement was reached with the Centre and a 6-point formula put in place to placate people of the two regions.
In 1985, employees from Telangana region cried foul over appointments in government departments and complained about ‘injustice’ done to people of the region. The then Telugu Desam Party government, headed by N T Rama Rao, brought out a Government Order to safeguard the interests of Telangana people in government employment. According to the Government Order people from Telangana region were to be given jobs in certain positions. Till 1999, there was no demand from any quarters for division of the state on regional lines.
Although the TDP government led by Chandrababu Naidu was opposed to creation of a separate state of Telangana, it appointed one-man commission headed by J.M. Girglani to look into the implementation of the Government Order by N. T. Rao Government. The Girglani commission observed that in violation of the Government Order, people from Andhra region were appointed in the positions meant for the people of Telangana region.
In 1999, Congress demanded creation of Telangana state. Congress was then smarting under crushing defeats in successive elections to the state Assembly and Parliament with the ruling Telugu Desam Party in an unassailable position.
In 2001, Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao, who was seething over denial of Cabinet berth in the Chandrababu Naidu government, walked out of TDP and launched Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) on 27 April, 2001. It contested 2004 Lok Sabha and assembly elections in alliance with the Congress on the promise to create the state of Telangana. The TRS-Congress alliance formed the government in 2004 following its victory with chief minister from the Congress. At the centre’s level, since the TRS was a partner in the UPA alliance, creation of Telangana was included in its manifesto. And the UPA government appointed a sub-committee consisting of Pranab Mukherjee and Sharad Pawar to look into the demand for Telangana state. Protesting delay in carving out the separate state, TRS quit the coalition governments in the state and at the Centre in December 2006 and continued an independent fight.
The movement was further revived in 2007 after the exit of the TRS from the UPA alliance. The students, teachers and non-teaching employees of Osmania University played leading role in the movement. TRS launched an indefinite hunger-strike on 29 November, 2009 demanding creation of Telangana. The Centre budged and came out with an announcement on 9 December, 2009 that it was “initiating the process for formation of Telangana state”. But the Centre announced on 23 December, 2009 that it was putting Telangana issue on hold. This fanned protests across Telangana with some students ending their lives for a separate state. The Telangana issue dominated the 2009 Lok Sabha election with TRS supporting and the Congress opposing it.
The UPA government constituted a five-member Committee on 3 February, 2010, headed by former judge Srikrishna, to look into statehood demand and submit the report by 31 December 2010. The committee stated in its report that efforts must be made to bring about equitable development to the three regions of the state of Andhra Pradesh, and it recommended a united Andhra Pradesh.
Telangana region witnessed a series of agitations like the Million March, Chalo Assembly and Sakalajanula Samme (general strike) in 2011-12 while MLAs belonging to different parties quit from the House.
Against the background of demand for several years, the Union Cabinet of the UPA government cleared on 7 February 2014 a bill for division of Andhra Pradesh into two states – Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, which was later passed by the both houses of Parliament. And on June 2, 2014, finally the state of Telangana was created. The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill was passed. Hyderabad was suggested as a common capital. It will remain so for not more than ten years after which it will be the capital of Telangana alone, and Andhra Pradesh would get a new capital.
In April 2014, General Elections, TRS emerged victorious by winning 63 of the 119 seats and forming the government. Sri K Chandrashekar Rao was sworn in as the First Chief Minister of Telangana. The Telangana state was inaugurated formally on 2 June 2014.
Conclusion:
Statehood movement is a collective action for creation of a separate state from out of a single or more states. An autonomy movement is different from a statehood movement in the sense that it does not aim to get a separate state out of the existing state but autonomy within the state. A separate state can be created according to Article 3 of the Constitution.
Movement for Telangana State, a mass movement grew over the decades, with thousands of individuals and numerous organisations pushing for self-governance in Telangana. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) emerged as the major group calling for separate statehood after years of rallies, political talks, and a nationwide movement. Since its formation, Telangana has made significant progress in various sectors, transforming itself into a flourishing hub of technology, innovation, and economic growth. Hyderabad, the capital city, has emerged as a global IT destination, attracting investments and multinational corporations. The state has made remarkable progress in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, aerospace, and renewable energy. Also, the Government’s initiatives in irrigation, healthcare, education, and welfare programs have been helpful for the people of Telangana as well.