The Telangana episode in AP has reached a flashpoint after nearly 50 years of being on the boil. As much as the Union Government has declared that a separate state of Telangana will be carved out of the state of Andhra Pradesh, it has left many questions unanswered. For instance, by when will this materialise? Where will the state capital be? and so on. Also, given that hundreds of MLAs of the current assembly & also a few MPs have resigned, there is bound to be a long delay before a "consensus" is built around the issue. The CM of AP has categorically stated that no resolution will be placed on the floor of the house without consensus. And, the Union Home Minister has stated that it could take anywhere between 1 - 2 years going by past experiences. Even that is not certain, if we were to look at the way events have unfolded after the Union Government's 'midnight decision'.
Basically, why did the Telangana issue break out? Traditionally, the region is culturally different from the Andhra region. Although the language spoken is Telugu, there are differences in the way it is spoken in the 2 regions. More than all this, resources of the Telangana region have been diverted toward the Andhra region, leading to growth & development in Andhra, especially coastal Andhra at the cost of Telangana's development. Hyderabad is the only place in the Telangana region which has prospered under Andhra's rule. And this, the Andhraites are not willing to part. That is because, crores of rupees (both Government spending & private investment) has gone into the development of Hyderabad. Without a 'decent' return on investment, the investors will not easily give up Hyderabad to Telangana.
All this is fine. But, where does this leave our policy makers? The Union Home Minister is right when he made the statement,"this is what happens when development is ignored in some parts of the state even though the language & culture are predominantly similar". But, who is responsible for ignoring development in the region? If we look at the BIMARU states, they are largely ignored & under developed when compared to some of the "progressive states" such as Gujarat, Tamilnadu, Kerala, Karnataka, & Maharashtra. How can we justify the backwardness of BIMARU states even 60 yrs after 1947? In the same token, how can Telangana's backwardness be justified when the Andhra region is prospering so well? If we observe, for most of these 60 years since independence, Congress (INC) has been in power both @ center & states. All these years, INC has been in power @ the cost of people's ignorance and development. All these 60 years, they've milked the masses to stay in power. And now, when people naturally demand separate statehood in the hope of growth & development, political hurdles are created.
Is it good to have so many states? Well, there are no easy answers to this question. Having said that, the Union Home Minister himself provided one window of reason to look at. That is, with 1/3 rd the population of India, the US has 50 states. So, why can we not have more states for a population of 1.2 billion, if it can usher in a new period of growth, development, & prosperity? At the end of the day, what purpose is served by having an elected government in power if only one region is developing at the cost of other region(s) in the same state? More so, the very values & ethos of Democracy is questionable if it cannot ensure fair, inclusive, & equitable growth & development. Little wonder that the Telangana region is also a breeding ground for Naxalism. Do we want our youth to become Naxals & terrorists by denying them an opportunity to be educated & have gainful employment? By ignoring development & denying opportunities to people, I think we are creating a trojan horse for our own internal peace & security. We have been invaded, plundered, & ruled for more than 1000 years because of our own lack of unity. Now, we are creating a similar situation by repeating the same mistakes. If growth & development is ignored in some parts of the state or country, in my opinion, we are sitting on a potential time bomb.
Political process should aid fair, inclusive, & equitable growth & development. For, is it not reasonable for every one of us to have dreams & aspirations to lead a decent, dignified life? The only way to take the masses forward & serving them to realize their dreams & aspirations is a strong Democratic process with strong & stable Governments at the Center & state. This is achieved by a largely fair & peaceful political process aided by strong institutions and leaders. Politics and power bestowed upon the political class is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end. The end is to serve the public, the people of this Nation, to achieve their dreams & aspirations. Without this attitude of public service, Democracy, Governance, & political process is meaningless. In such a large country like ours, blessed with so much natural resources & human talent, development is still in small pockets...it is yet to percolate into our rural areas. So, we can imagine the scope of efforts required to ensure fair, inclusive, & equitable growth & development. In such a scenario, it is extremely important that our political class & bureaucrats conduct themselves as beacons of hope for the public, & not become opportunistic, power hungry beasts. It is each one of our responsibility in this evolving Democratic process to participate & become those change agents that is necessary to realize the India, that it truly & potentially is. An India to which others look up to with hope, for inspiration & as a model to achieve fair, inclusive, harmonious, & equitable growth and development.
No comments:
Post a Comment