TDF and Activities

1. Deprivation to TelanganaCase for Separate StatehoodSubmitted toCommittee for Consultations on the Situation in Andhra Pradesh (CCSAP)ByWorking Group forPreparation of Memorandum to CCSAPConstituted by Telangana Development Forum (TDF) India7th May 2010, Hyderabad

2. TDF and Activities • TDF believes that separate statehood for Telangana is the only solution for the restoring identity of the region and development of its people • Began in New Jersey, USA in 1999; TDF-India formed in 2007; Has over 4000 members in the world • Activities of TDF in Telangana • Exposing the discriminatory treatment meted to Telangana and support ongoing struggle • Regular Teleconferences with political leaders and intellectuals • Distribute literature, banners and stickers to create awareness on injustice done to Telangana • Conducting events like 10K run, Telangana Nights, Human Chains, Save Earth campaigns, Lectures • Assisted Lawyers in fighting cases; Assisted students in getting bails who were illegally arrested • Reported to Human Rights Commission on the Police excesses in university campuses • TDF –USA has requested Video Conference with the members of Srikrishna Committee • Activities of TDF in the World • Protested in front of the UNO against visit of Sonia Gandhi in 2007; against visits of CBN and YSR • Protested in front of Parliament of UK in London, all over the world; Hunger Strikes • Celebrate spirit of Telangana • Conducting cultural events that symbolize the spirit of Telangana like Bathukamma, Bonalu, Dasara, Kite festival , Dhoom-Dhaam; Conducting Pravasi Telangana Divas [PTD] every year • Development Activities • Scholarships to needy rural students; Facilitate NRIs adopting their native villages for improvement in hygiene, education, health etc., • Assisted stranded Telangana people in Gulf countries

3. Telangana Movement • Expectation of 3.5 Crore people: Achieve separate statehood for Telangana within legal confines of Indian Constitution • A truly democratic, people’s and mass movement • Decisive electoral outcome: 1969, 2004, 2009 • Protests, Huge public gatherings, Public Rallies, Civil disobedience, Hunger Strikes; unique events like human chains, vanta varpu, dhoom dham; Ballads spread political message • Touching every village, every town, every city; Involved children, youth, old, women from all classes • The most widespread and politically-aware movement since Indian Independence Movement • A legitimate movement • India is an evolving democracy – not a static one • States will change shape in an evolving democracy • Such stiff resistance to creation of new states is unheard of in mature democracies • 9 Committees formed so far and yet there is no decision on voice of 3.5 Crore people • Indian Constitution allows creation of new states • Article 3 suggests decision to be taken by Indian Parliament; not State Assembly – for obvious reasons • Nehru’s “Tryst with Destiny” Speech • …A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.

4. Indian Democracy failed Telangana • Merged two historically, culturally, politically and economically distinct regions into one state • Many apprehensions expressed by leaders like Burgula Ramakrishna Rao, Fazal Ali and Nehru • Gentlemen’s Agreement acted as a Contract for Marriage of ‘unequals’ • 1969 People’s Movement came out as a result of betrayals, broken promises, and consistent neglect • Ruthlessly suppressed; 370 killed, thousands injured, nearly 70,000 incarcerated • Now, Telanganas are disillusioned and disenchanted: all legitimate routes closed for people of Telangana • Electoral, legal, legislative routes failed • Current delay of formation of Telangana resulted in 270+ suicides • Negative characterization of this movement • Described as Naxal, extremist, or separatist movement • What was valid for Andhras out of Madras State is denied to Telanganas • Political machination of the bullies suppressing the weak, and buckling of Indian leaders to those pressures is the only reason why Telangana is not formed • Andhras acting like jilted lover: Tu Haan Kar Ya Na Kar Tu hain meri Kiran

5. Discrimination • Discrimination happens when two ‘unequal’ cultures, races, groups vie for the same set of resources and opportunities • When majority or privileged work for self-interest, the minority or the underprivileged lose out • Lyndon Johnson, said on Blacks being liberated in USA: You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him, bring him up to the starting line of a race and then say, "you are free to compete with all the others," and still justly believe that you have been completely fair. • Low opinion: an essential ingredient for all discriminations • Whites discriminated against Blacks based on superiority of genes, culture and intelligence • Men discriminate against Women based on superiority in physical and mental strength • Andhras discriminated against Telangana based on superiority in language, culture and habits • Universal characterization of Telanganas as lazy, drunkards, illiterate, bastardized by Muslim rule, unsophisticated, uncouth, and culturally inferior; ridicule of Telangana language, culture, and its history • More than 25,000 movies show Telangana people as villains, buffoons, or workers, never a protagonist • Case of discrimination not just backwardness • Telangana problem is falsely defined purely as a problem of backwardness when it is a case of exploitation by privileged and majority of the underprivileged and minority • Backwardness is an outcome of sustained and continuous discrimination • Widespread discrimination based in deep-rooted prejudices cannot be addressed through measures like accords, agreements, packages, aids, etc.

6. Irrigation • Extract of Justice Fazal Ali commission’s report wherein viewpoint of Vishalandhra is expressed • “…if one independent political jurisdiction, namely, that of Telangana, can be eliminated, the formulation and implementation of plans in the eastern areas in these two great river basins will be greatly expedited.“ • Neglect of Telangana in irrigation projects • Projects proposed in erstwhile Hyderabad have been abandoned after merger • Till 1965, no major irrigation projects were taken up in Telangana in order to divert surplus funds to Andhra projects • Flourosis affected areas of Nalgonda have been denied irrigation and drinking water supply • Pulichintala and Polavaram projects were taken up without additional ayacut being developed • Projects of Nizamsagar and Ghanpur being denied irrigation releases from Singur project on Manjira river and diverting waters to Hyderabad for drinking water supply

7. Power Generation • List of projects identified but not taken up in Telangana • At Kuntala, Pranahita, Inchampally, Singareddy, Dindi, Shankarpalli, Karimnagar totaling 4617 MW • List of projects taken up and completed in Seemandhra • Vizayawada (1,2,3), Rayalaseema (1, 2), Vijjeswaram (1,2), NTPC (Simhadri, Talcher Kaniha), NLC, Madras, Kaiga, Jegurupadu, Kakinada, Kondapalli, Peddapuram, Vemagiri, Gautami, Konaseema totaling 4666 MW • Example of neglect of projects in Telangana: • Installation of EHV Substations and Transmission lines in Mahbubnagar (Palamoor) for Lift Irrigation schemes received only 16.47 Crores out of total planned 159.72 Crores • To give waters to Seemandhra, Srisailam water is not allowed to generate power during Nov-Jan imposing unofficial power cuts in Telangana, thereby depriving farmers of Telangana region to irrigate their crops who depend on bore wells.

8. Revenue & Expenditure • Telangana which had surplus in revenue account lost out on expenditure consistently in the merged state • Between 1956-68, the relative share of Telangana in total revenue was higher (42%) than its share in total expenditure (37%)of the state leading to surplus on revenue account at Rs 64 crores; and that of Andhra deficit • After the abolition of Telangana Regional Committee in 1973 GoAP has stopped providing statistics on revenue and expenditure based on region as unit • Same trend of revenues being higher than expenditure in Telangana is continued even now • In the recent four years (2003-07) Telangana exhibited surplus of revenue over expenditure in two years • State has been receiving considerable transfers in the name of backwardness but which are not spent for backward regions of Telangana • Under Finance Commission transfers to states, 25% devolution is based on population and 75% is based on criteria like backwardness • Therefore, financial resources for Telangana should be higher than the state average • Telangana has faced denial of development in terms of capital investment, infrastructure, social sector, irrigation, power generation education and employment. • Irreversible damage has been done to Telangana and development of other regions has taken place at the cost of Telangana.

9. Employment • Telangana people lost near about 2.5 lakhs public employment opportunities during the 53 years of combined State when the domicile rules, called Mulki Rules, were flouted • 1956-1968: 22,000 in violation of Mulki Rules • 1975-1985: 58,962 in violation of Presidential Order 1975 • Telangana is marginalized in public and private employment • Due to insignificant representation in the Secretariat and discrimination by Heads of Departments, injustice is meted out to Telangana in all development programs • Most of the private industries in Telangana are run by Seemandhra people and they continuously hire and promote their kith and kin over local population • Out of 4.98 lakhs working in Telangana about 40% are from Andhra Region, nearly 1.99 lakhs in violation of Presidential Order • In Andhra Region, out of 6.80 lakh workers, not even 1% employees are from Telangana. • Whenever the violations were taken to the notice of the state government, it was not serious about rectification of such violations but went on with strategy of delay by appointing series of committees • Hyderabad is converted into Free Zone to place Seemandhra people into Telangana region against Presidential Order

10. Education • Lower Literacy due to neglect coming from discriminatory policies and attitudes • Dropout rate (Classed I-V) is the highest in Telangana taking up 62.90% of the total while only 23.69% dropout in Andhra and 13.41% in Rayalaseema. • Number of Teachers in Government and Aided Degree Colleges is low taking up only 29.50% against an entitlement of 40.69% while there are 47.50% in Andhra and 23% in Rayalaseema • Grants given to Private Aided Degree Colleges in Telangana is low at 24.75% while Andhra rakes in 60.40% • Discrimination in Per Capita Block Grant to Telangana Universities • When compared with other regions, relatively high percentage of school-going children in Telangana are attending private schools • Education institutions located in Hyderabad fall into quota of Telangana but actually enroll many non-Telangana students. • Telangana loses out from its share of seats in Engineering and Medical colleges • Quality of education in Telangana suffers because of discrimination in financial allocations in higher education • Telangana share in state level universities should be 40.69% but it is restricted to only 36%

11. Economic Growth: Myth and reality • High Growth in Ranga Reddy, Medak, and Nalgonda districts in Telangana is because of proximity to Hyderabad. • Growth in Adilabad, Khammam, Karimnagar in Telangana is because of high contribution of mining and quarrying • Agricultural growth in North Telangana districts is because of high level of irrigation under groundwater sources borne privately • Higher contribution of manufacturing and service sectors should be seen in the light of ownership, employment • Distribution of gains from growth of Visakhapatnam entirely belongs to Coastal people whereas that from Hyderabad and Telangana is not so due to positive net migration. There is unequal share of employment and income between Telangana and Non Telangana populations. • Though X Plan growth rate for Telangana is higher (9.3) than the state average, per capita income in 5 districts continue to be below state average • North Telangana region had positive net migration especially in the vicinity of irrigation projects which started after state formation. This was because of availability of resources like land, assured water and cheap labour • Per 100 population of out migrants from South Coast 4.1 is into Telangana region excluding Hyderabad • Therefore concluding that Telangana is developed because it shows high growth rate is more a myth than a reality.

12. Agricultural Growth: quality and sustainability • The discrimination meted to Telangana region in public irrigation has denied it the opportunity to use its resources optimally and to release its production forces • ratio of irrigated to rain fed increased thrice in Telangana by 2006 • % of NIA under canals is mere 13 % for Telangana - just the same as in 1956-57, that under wells (tube + dug) is 75 by 2007-08 • tank irrigation decreased from 4.47 lakh hectares in 1955-56 to 2.54 lakh hectares in 2005-06 (share of Telangana in tank irrigation reduced from 45% in 1956-57 to 28% by 2007-08) • private investment on irrigation is high for Telangana at 5.08 while it is 4.79 for coastal Andhra and 2.07 for Rayalaseema during 1956-2007, • heavy dependence on ground water given low scope for recharge due to low rainfall and low levels of surface irrigation – not conducive for sustainability • The Techno-Economic Survey of AP conducted by National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) stated that, “the scope for large scale exploitation of ground water is absent in Telangana” • Area under cultivable wastes, fallows and current fallows has increased in Telangana; it increased from 16% to 21% between 1960-61 and 2008-09 • The good agricultural performance in North Telengana is occasional, not steady and due to shift in cropping pattern to high value crops and irrigation sources which came to be to a large extent from ground water with private investment. • Distribution of gains from irrigation and hence agricultural growth has gone more in favour of migrant population in comparison to local population • There is inefficiency in resource use paving way for heavy costs in the form of suicides • The crop insurance scheme has not benefited Telangana farmers

13. Adivasi and Human Rights • Adivasis in Telangana face innumerable problems, the primary among them being land alienation mostly in the hands of non tribals belonging to Andhra region. • The districts of Adilabad, Warangal and Khammam listed under Schedule V of the constitution along the Godavari River have attracted migration of non tribals from Andhra region. • Inspite of Land Transfer Regulation Act (LTR) (1959) and Regulation of 1 of 1970 tribal lands are alienated to non tribals from Andhra region mostly by way of innumerable forms of violations often assisted by state officials who also belong to Andhra region • Haimendorf writes that when he revisited Utnoor in Adilabad district in 1976 and 1977, he found massive encroachment of outsiders on tribal lands. Firstly it was Marathas, Hutkaas, Mahars, Lambadas and Muslims from Maharashtra. In course of time, the immigrant non tribals’ lands have passed into the hands of immigrant non-tribals mostly from four central coastal Andhra districts • Concubinage or marital alliance is another predominant form to circumvent law by which large areas of fertile lands were purchased by settler non tribals from Andhra area and registered in the names of tribal women whom they kept falsely as their mistresses • Construction of Polavaram is bound to have a death blow to the very existence of the Koya tribe which largely inhabits the area • Grave human rights violations whenever the people asked for their rights as simple as drinking water, irrigation water, hike in bus fares tuition fares • From1968 to 2009 around 2,700 people were killed in encounter killings in addition to more than 900 custodial deaths and about 47 people have disappeared in the state so far falling into the category of “Missing”.

14. Social Justice and Empowerment • Scheduled Tribes population 9% in Telangana; Muslims is 12.5%; SCs 16% and 85% is socially economically disadvantaged sections • Formation of Telangana state would thus strengthen the forces of social inclusion and secularism • During Nizam Rule, SC/ST/BC and Minorities enjoyed lands, jobs and power • SC/ST/BC and Minorities lost out after Merger with Andhras in 1956 • Lands belonging to these communities were grabbed and bought at throw away prices under threat and coercion • Loss of prominence of Urdu language led to loss of jobs for Telangana people competing with Telugu and English educated Andhras under British • Andhras who obtained 18% marks in Hindi were considered eligible while Telangana people lost out because of lack of competence in English • While Muslims were 40% in government jobs before merger, only 3% remained in the new state of AP • Allotted lands to Telangana SC/STs and Minorities around Hyderabad were taken back by the government and surrendered to big companies and affluent few from Andhra • State-level coaching institution for SCs at Hyderabad has 90% of candidates belong to Seemandhra

15. Conclusion • There is substantial evidence to the discrimination and deprivation on any front which acted as a deterrent to the cohesiveness of state of Andhra Pradesh unified in the name of one language • Resource exploitation has been the crux of issue all through • Financial resources the key to command over physical resources have been exploited to the advantage of the Andhra region • Political power has made to violate the logic of economics • power of Andhra leadership has paved way to economic irrationality which also acted as deterrent to economic growth • development process in Andhra Pradesh is socially not inclusive by geographical region, class, social category and by gender • Self respect is not an empty slogan but backed by hundreds of instances of violation, injustice, and humiliation • This Working Group earnestly requests the esteemed CCSAP headed by Justice Sri Krishna to make realize Statehood for Telangana • Suggestions to the Committee