By M.E. Dodge
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
HYDERABAD, India – The Indian government finally announced that it would accept the country’s 50-year old request and make Telangana a state. Leading up to this decision, the people of Hyderabad and nine other surrounding districts endured a turbulent period of limbo.
After issuing the decision, thousands of supporters of Telangana flooded the streets as history was made and news spread that the government had risen to the peoples’ long-standing demands. Men and women of all generations gathered at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences where the leader of the regional Telangana Rashtra Samiti party, K Chandrasekhara Rao, was under observation by doctors.
The Talngana people and supporters celebrated in Hyderabad the announcement of a Telangana state. Photography courtesy of The New York Times.
Rao, a 55-year-old supporter of the initiation of Telangana, began a “fast unto death” 11 days ago as a way to press the demand for Telangana state. During the course of his fasting protest, Rao lost almost half of his original weight and has been suffering from many ailments and complications, although he emerged as a hero for the local masses when he refused to break his fast as his life became gravely in danger due to extreme starvation. In the course of his fast, Rao became known as the “Tiger of Telangana” to supporters of the new state. He swore to starve if India did not reconfigure its political map by carving out a new state anchored by this city, a major technology hub and host to multinationals like Dell and Motorola. The sprawling size of the current state, Andhra Pradesh, wrongly deprived people in the local region, he claimed. His actions sparked a chain reaction of demonstrations on college campuses and plunged Hyderabad into a political crisis. Several universities were shut down, students were jailed and thousands of police and paramilitary officers arrived after a two-day general strike effectively paralyzed the city of four million people.
K Chandrasekara Rao has become a hero. Fotograph courtesy of BBC World News
In the few days since India has recognized Telangana and Rao broken his fast, the country has ceaselessly expressed its excitement. “We are happy,” said Uppu Sudhaker, a Telangana supporter. “All these years, people from other regions have slighted us. Our areas were not properly developed. All our resources were misused. The jobs went to outsiders.” Even as many legislative hurdles must be navigated to create a new Telangana state, the drama underscores that while India represents an ancient civilization, it is a relatively young democracy whose internal political shape is likely to keep evolving.
For more information, please see:
Hindustan Times – Telangana does not mean new states everywhere: Pranab – December 13, 2009
My Bangladesh – Telangana Tiger – December 11, 2009
BBC World News – India’s ‘Tiger of Telangana’ feted – December 13, 2009
