Does Telangana deserve to be a Separate State?

Is KCR truly the new Mahatma?

It all started when none of us were born. Telangana was a separate entity and it was ruled by Muslim dynasties, whereas Andhra and Seema were governed by Hindu rulers. The Muslim Asafjahi dynasty established a separate state known as Hyderabad. When the British began their rule in India, Andhra and Seema became a part of the Madras Presidency. However, Telangana was never under the British rule - they had a treaty of subsidiary alliance. This gave Telangana a lot of freedom and liberty in its actions. This freedom went upto the extent where the last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali had his own bank and own currency.
The Hyderabad state was very rich in terms of the wealth the Nizams had and also the wealth which the state generated through taxes. Alcohol, for example, was not banned here (like in Andhra or Seema) but it was taxed, thus generating copious amounts of revenue. The Andhra and Seema regions too were very well developed, but the people led a simple plain life, quite happy with music, art, culture etc. The Nizam supported the same but Hyderabad lived in richness and pomp. The other two regions were less glamorous.
The problem started after India’s independence. Hyderabad was never a part of the British Colonial Rule so it saw no reason why it should be a part of the Indian sub-continent. It declined the offer to be a part of India. But Hyderabad was forcibly amalgamated on September 17th, 1948 after the execution of what is famously known as the Operation Polo. PM Jawaharlal Nehru had a task to reorganize the entire country. He had setup the State Reorganization Committee and had decided to do the same on linguistic lines. But there was another problem - the Hyderabad state didn’t want to merge with the Andhra state. The reasons were many but predominantly the problem was that Andhra was miles ahead in terms of Economic Development. Though Hyderabad had more money, Andhra had more literacy and education. This was because they were under the British rule and they concentrated a lot on irrigation, education and agriculture. This was what even the SRC report had mentioned. Para 386 of States Reorganization Commission Report (SRC) said "After taking all these factors into consideration we have come to the conclusions that it will be in the interests of Andhra as well as Telangana area is to constitute into a separate State, which may be known as the Hyderabad State with provision for its unification with Andhra after the general elections likely to be held in or about 1961 if by a two thirds majority the legislature of the residency Hyderabad State expresses itself in favor of such unification." But the government overruled this, merged the two and brought in an agreement between the two parties. This agreement was called the Gentleman’s Agreement which provided reassurances to the Telangana people as well to Andhra people in terms of power sharing as well as administrative domicile rules and distribution of expenses of various regions. But the agreement was violated. None of the terms mentioned in the agreement were met. Telangana continued to suffer from lack of jobs, poor irrigation facilities, poverty and illiteracy. To overcome the suppression, the separate Telangana movement was launched in the year 1960. But that was when the Congress was at its might. With no strong opposition, the Congress had everything going its way. But the party began lose its sheen when Indira Gandhi imposed emergency and Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. Congress had no strong leader to piggyback upon, and the other parties began to take advantage of this.
In Andhra Pradesh the Congress met its match in the form of the legendary hero N.T.Rama Rao. Telugu Desam Party (TDP) which was started by him was ruling the roost. He had a completely different ideology. He worked on the popular slogan “Telugu vari aatma gauravam” (Self-respect of the Telugu people). The entire state worshipped him and he had an agenda to uplift all the underprivileged, irrespective of which part of the state they belonged to. Even Chandrababu Naidu who succeeded him was against separation of Telangana and the division of the state. This was one of the reasons why the BJP, which was at power in the centre couldn’t split Andhra like Jharkhand, Uttarkhand and Chhattisgarh.
Coming to our present day hero Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao. He joined the TDP and immediately rose to the ranks of Deputy Speaker. Or course, he was not content with that post. He wanted to be a minister, but when Naidu didn’t agree, KCR floated his own party - the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), with the sole agenda of SEPARATING TELANGANA. There were allegations against him that he was playing the Telangana card only to gain political power that he lacked while he was at TDP. But TRS was received well. The party won the Mandal and Zilla Parishad elections within 60 days of its formation. In the year 2004 during the general elections the TRS allied with the Congress. Y.S.Rajashekhara Reddy had attained immense popularity, mainly thanks to the pada yatra he had performed before the elections. Naidu was the Andhra CM for 9 years straight and he thought he’d win the elections on the sympathy wave (remember the car bomb blast in Tirupathi?) but it wasn’t to be. Throughout his campaigning, YSR pointed out that Naidu acted as a CEO of Hyderabad and did nothing for the state. But YSR knew the attack wouldn’t be sufficient to destabilize the TDP rule and dethrone Naidu. So YSR agreed to ally with the TRS, even though their ideologies over the Telangana issue were very different As a result, the grand alliance of Congress and TRS won the elections. The Congress came to power in the state and formed a coalition government at the centre. TRS joined the coalition government in 2004 and was successful in “making a separate Telangana state” a part of the common minimum program (CMP) of the coalition government. However, TRS withdrew support in September 2006 from the Congress led coalition government, citing indecision by the government over the delivery of its electoral promise to create Telangana. Well this was kind of obvious. Congress has never supported the separation of Telangana, its alliance with TRS was just a political strategy by YSR to make sure Congress gains power. TRS won the by-elections though, that too with a record margin, but it could do nothing regarding the Telangana issue.
Cut to 2009. General elections again! This time around, TRS allied with TDP (yet another party which was never pro-separation). But TRS backed out of the alliance in the last minute, thereby creating a huge dent in the prospects of TDP reclaiming power. YSR won the elections again. KCR was fighting a losing battle. He made a bit of a noise time and again to remind people that he was still around. But things weren’t looking up, and he was almost on the verge of political decline. Majority of his TRS members contemplated on switching to Congress. And then the big twist, the big break - YSR died in a chopper crash. The Congress were left in doldrums over who should be the next CM.
Lo and behold - KCR takes advantage of this situation and rises again. He starts the fast-unto-die movement. He was smart, he knew he had to make news, he knew he had to return to power by any means necessary. He triggered an agitation amongst the students, making allegations that their jobs are being snatched away by the people from Andhra n Seema. It was just a big political game.
Now that we know the history of the entire movement, the question that we have in front of us is, ‘is separation the right solution?’ YES and NO.
YES because, Telangana has indeed been neglected and is backward. All its irrigation projects, agriculture, education and employment is courtesy of Andhra. Hyderabad did shine but it’s just a dot in the entire region of Telangana. And the people living in Hyderabad are not just the people from Telangana but also from Andhra and Seema. The people of Telangana have every right to ask for a separate state, considering nothing has been done under the united state. And with a separate state it will be easier to govern and administer the issues at hand.
NO because, separation isn’t the only solution. The state is divided into various constituencies and each constituency has its own representative who sits in the assembly and the parliament. Everyone is given funds equally and according to the Gentleman’s agreement the Telangana region gets more. What matters is the leadership. Also even if a separate state is carved out, there will still be the same leaders for these regions. It is not like there’ll be a separate set of new leaders. It is the fault of the leaders in the Telangana region that it hasn’t developed. But the big issue is this - KCR wants power more than the itch to fix the Telangana region. If he really was so concerned about Telangana, how is it that he did nothing when he was an MP, apart from screaming his guts out for a separate state? Shouldn’t he have done a few development projects for the region?
If Telangana is to be separated, it is because it deserves to be (if there is no solution but separation) and not because Mr. KCR threatened to end his life. Another issue that baffles me is how KCR managed to walk a day after Chidambaram’s notice, looking absolutely fit and merry, cheering his supporters and ‘fans’. Just a day before the doctors had stated that he was on the verge of coma.

Shocker: Pak Army Officers train Jihad Terrorists

The FBI interrogation of David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani has, for the first time, confirmed what India has always known: "A section of serving Pakistan army officers" are working in collaboration with India-specific jihadi groups like LeT and JeM.
Sources said this was revealed by Headley to his FBI interrogators in what is the first confirmation by an independent probe agency of the involvement of Pakistani army officers in planning and executing terrorist operations against India.
This, sources said, had been conveyed to the Indian side by the FBI team which visited India to share information on Headley’s questioning. While Pakistan has explained away the instances of the involvement of army officials calling them “aberrations”, this has exposed the jihadi infiltration of the Pakistani army and their collaboration with terrorist outfits in anti-India operations.
Sources said the officials identified by Headley were working with Lashkar on ‘Karachi project’ as part of a larger campaign against India. This project involves using jihadi fugitives from India sheltered in Pakistan to draw in vulnerable Indian Muslim youth.
The FBI interrogation of David Coleman Headley has revealed a Lashkar training project involving jihadi fugitives from India. The youth, after they are trained by Pakistani army officials, are sent back to India as part of the gameplan to conceal the Pakistani involvement and pass off the terror in India as a home-grown phenomenon.
During their discussions with FBI, the Indian side told them about their strong suspicion that Headley was present in the Karachi control room from which the Lashkar leadership choreographed the 26/11 terror attacks. The FBI team said this was not borne out by the evidence in their possession but the Indian side has asked the US agency to check a few facts which they have promised to do.
The details of the Karachi project, revealed by FBI, corroborates India’s own findings. Agencies here have established that a number of absconding terrorists — Aamir Raza Khan, Mufti Sufi Patangiya and Rasool Parti and the remnants of Shahid Bilal gang from Hyderabad — have been luring Muslim youth to be trained as jihadis before being sent to India.
The launch of Indian Mujahideen, which tormented India with a wave of bombings, was part of the plan to erase Pakistan’s fingerprints and pass off the attacks as resulting from the disaffection of a section of its own population.
Even 26/11 attackers, armed with fake IDs of a Bangalore engineering college, had planned to mask their nationality. One of them had called up a TV channel introducing the gang as Deccan Mujahideen.

India and Russia to sign Nuclear Pact

A new civil nuclear pact will be signed between India and Russia today, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has arrived in Russia to hold talks with the country's President Dmitry Medvedev.
The Indo-Russian pact goes deeper than the 123 agreement between India and the US. As per the deal, it will be ensured that there are uninterrupted uranium fuel supplies from Moscow in case of termination of bilateral ties in this field. There will be a total of three defence agreements after summit talks in Kremlin today. Also, the pact with Russia is reportedly a major improvement over the 123 pact with the US.
While the 123 contract stipulates that India have to return already supplied components if the nuclear agreement is terminated, the India-Russia pact relates to reprocessing, nuclear equipments and transfer of technology. Moreover, fuel supply between India and Russia will not be seized in case the agreement is terminated for any reason.
Manmohan Singh will also meet Prime Minister Vladimir Putin after his talks with Medvedev at the Kremlin regarding taking the strategic ties to new heights. According to Singh, 'the Indo-Russia atomic cooperation is a key pillar in bilateral relations.' Even thought the pact is between India and Russia, the bulk of the work consist of construction of nuclear sites in India. The other highlight is the allowance of transfer of enrichment and reprocessing technology and also built-in reprocessing consent rights for all future Russian reactors supplied to India.
India and Russia signed an agreement last year that provides construction of four Russian nuclear plants in Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, apart from five others at yet undecided places. Haripur in West Bengal would in all probability be the other site. At present Russia is building two reactors in Kudankulam.

Pak's border rife with Cancerous Terrorist Cells

US President Barack Obama today stated that there is urgent need for the US and its allies to eliminate the threat of the cancer that is terrorism and violent extremism that has taken roots in the border region of Pakistan.

"We are in Afghanistan to prevent a cancer from once again spreading through that country. But this same cancer has also taken root in the border region of Pakistan. That is why we need a strategy that works on both sides of the border," Obama said at the West Point Military Academy in New York. "In the past, there have been those in Pakistan who have argued that the struggle against extremism is not their fight, and that Pakistan is better off doing little or seeking accommodation with those who use violence," he said.

Of late thousands of innocents have died in Pakistan as a result of the escalating terrorist activities in and around the country. "Public opinion has turned. The Pakistani Army has waged an offensive in Swat and South Waziristan. And there is no doubt that the United States and Pakistan share a common enemy," Obama argued. "We will strengthen Pakistan's capacity to target those groups that threaten our countries, and have made it clear that we cannot tolerate a safe-haven for terrorists whose location is known, and whose intentions are clear," Obama said.

According to Obama, it is imperative that there is a a civilian surge that reinforces positive action, and an effective partnership with Pakistan is a major strategy of his administration. "America is also providing substantial resources to support Pakistan’s democracy and development. We are the largest international supporter for those Pakistanis displaced by the fighting. And going forward, the Pakistani people must know: America will remain a strong supporter of Pakistan's security and prosperity long after the guns have fallen silent, so that the great potential of its people can be unleashed," he added.

Obama clearly stated that Pakistan is a safe haven for al Qaeda leaders and other terrorist groups. "After escaping across the border into Pakistan in 2001 and 2002, al Qaeda's leadership established a safe-haven there," Obama said. "Over the last several years, Taliban has maintained common cause with al Qaeda, as they both seek an overthrow of the Afghan government. Gradually, the Taliban has begun to take control over swaths of Afghanistan, while engaging in increasingly brazen and devastating acts of terrorism against the Pakistani people," the US President said.

Obama said he approved a long-standing request for more troops. "After consultations with our allies, I then announced a strategy recognising the fundamental connection between our war effort in Afghanistan, and the extremist safe-havens in Pakistan. I set a goal that was narrowly defined as disrupting, dismantling, and defeating al Qaeda and its extremist allies, and pledged to better coordinate our military and civilian effort," Obama said, adding since then, the US has made progress on some important objectives.

"High-ranking al Qaeda and Taliban leaders have been killed, and we have stepped up the pressure on al Qaeda world-wide," he said. In Pakistan, that nation's Army has gone on its largest offensive in years. In Afghanistan, we and our allies prevented the Taliban from stopping a presidential election, and – although it was marred by fraud – that election produced a government that is consistent with Afghanistan's laws and Constitution," he said

Now the Delhi-bound Mandor Express derails

In a shocking incident, 15 coaches of the Delhi-bound Mandor Express rolled off the track near the Bans ka Phatak area of Jaipur on Saturday.

As a result 5 people were killed and 20 were seriously injured; according to railway officials the incident took place at about 0130 hours on Saturday and five AC, seven sleeper and three general coaches of the train were driven off the track.

As per the report by CPRO North Western Railway K L Enkhia , the train was traveling between Jodhpur and Delhi got derailed 40 kilometers away from Jaipur. According to Enkhia, one of the five AC coaches was completely overturned. all of the 25 injured have been taken out by GRP personnel shifted to hospitals near Jaipur.

Ashwini Atre, who is the GRP incharge of Jaipur stated that relief and rescue operations are on as GRP personnel are utilizing hydraulic cutters to cut through all of the overturned coaches.

This is the third such incident of a train derailing in November. On Wednesday as many as eight coaches of the Mysore-Ajmer Express derailed near Pune, as a result five passengers were seriously injured. And last week the Gandhidham Bangalore Express derailed at Dombivli near Mumbai. Four of the total 11 coaches which derailed were heavily damaged. 12 passengers were reportedly injured in the incident, however no deaths were reported. Seven of the 12 were seriously injured and were rushed to a hospital.