Telangana Ki Daaredi

If you know the language or follow Telugu films, you obviously know the inspiration behind the title of this post. For those who wonder what it means...this title is based on the recent blockbuster Telugu film Attarintiki Daaredi  starring Pawan Kalyan. I have used the same format, replacing the word ’Attarintiki’  with ’Telangana’ - the new state proposed to be carved out of Andhra Pradesh (AP).

But Telugu is a tricky language, the word Daaredi in the context of my blog could give the title two different meanings...

Which way to Telangana?

Or

Is there a way out for Telangana?

Similarly, the questions surrounding and supporting the creation of Telangana are quite tricky. They sound logical when viewed from one side and extremely illogical from another angle. Most people I know are oscillating between both the angles or are plainly indifferent. To be honest, I was indifferent too, but the more I think about the reasons why Telangana is being created I see no reason why I shouldn't speak my mind, that too when I come from that region.,  Through this blog post I would like to highlight some of those points.

Why Telangana?

These are the most common reasons attributed to creation of Telangana by the media, politicians as well as the common man on the street.

1. Economics

Andhra people are looting Telangana

If the above statement is true, then I wonder what most students-engineers from AP are doing in USA. Are they looting USA or contributing to their economy? I wonder how one can loot a region by seeking employment there.

Let me paraphrase the same question:

Andhra politicians are looting Telangana

Sounds more like a case of sour grapes. Tell me which state has politicians that don't loot their people. Only difference here - the loot is being diverted to another region. It sounds more like a case of two robbers fighting over who gets the bigger share. Maybe this is a real issue, but not for the common man.

One more way to pose the same question:

Andhra entrepreneurs are looting Telangana

If that holds true, then blame Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page and Sergey Brin too for opening Microsoft, Facebook and Google offices in Hyderabad. Same question holds true for every MNC in operation today. How does one loot a region by creating employment there? I have no clue.

2. Culture

Andhra people have destroyed-suppressed Telangana culture

The key things that define the culture of a place are clothes, food, music, literature, architecture and above all cinema.

To be honest, it pains me a lot every time I see  an Irani cafe being replaced by a Coffee Day or a single screen theatre that makes way for a mall cum multiplex, or the neighbourhood kirana shop being replaced by a Big Bazaar outlet. Even the roadside mirchi bandi guy near my place has been replaced by another roadside Chinese food stall.

Culture today as we know it is an assimilation of various influences, thanks to wide availability of choices right from choice of food to choice of TV channels, etc. It is unfair to say that one culture has suppressed another, if at all the blame has to be placed the guilty parties are many, why single out Andhra region, you would be better off blaming liberalisation. Also this isn't an issue that is unique to Telangana region alone.

I somehow can't avoid bringing an example every time I talk about a topic. Just consider who they crowned as Miss America recently. It is an Indian origin Telugu girl - Nina Davuluri. Her family migrated to USA in early 80's, hardly 30 years ago, yet she is considered American enough to be crowned Miss America. When America can be such an inclusive society I wonder why Telangana has an issue with Andhra settlers, most of whom moved there in the 50's, almost 60 years ago. They are now as much a part and parcel of the culture of Telangana as anyone else is.

There is also talk of Telangana people being ridiculed by the Telugu film industry. This reminds me of Sardars and black people being made fun of in Bollywood and Hollywood respectively. Yet, that does not stop those communities from producing achievers and world leaders. Mixing entertainment with politics is a concoction that wouldn't solve any real world problems.

3. Grandfather’s Dream

I asked a few youngsters why they are supporting the cause for a separate Telangana state and the most often heard reason is this - it was my grandfather’s dream.

We are now in 2013. Most of us don't dream of government jobs as our only means of employment anymore and it is the private sector that is driving the economy. Things weren't the same in the 60s during my grandfather’s time. All they had to depend on were government jobs and it was justified that people were struggling for a separate state. It now seems irrelevant and outdated as a concept, because the playground is much bigger now and the goal posts have moved since our grandfather’s times.

Now consider this:

What baffles my mind is, what one could not achieve by living together for decades, how does one plan to achieve by separating.??

When an Attarintiki Daaredi released, it is the eyeballs of people from both regions that made it such a huge success. How can one eye be better than the other? Drawing lines between them according to me is a great crime. That is why I use the line ’Telangana Ki Daaredi’ as the title for my post, for I really don't know the way to Telangana today, I don't recognise it anymore and neither do I see a way out of this mess for Telangana.

Ideally I could end my post here but I will add a wee bit more info for you to dwell upon. This might probably explain why passions run so high today and how this whole situation got created in the first place. This has got something to do with eyeballs again.

 Boys and Girls !

When  I was in my school,my school teacher conducted a racism exercise.She separated her class of cheerful kids into two categories - Boys and Girls. On the first day she announced that Boys were superior in intelligence compared to Girls. Hence they were given special privileges over the Girls. Within minutes all boys started acting superior and aggressive while all girls started feeling inferior and went into a shell. On the third day she reversed the tables and announced that she made a mistake and said Girls were better than Boys. The girls who were low until then started feeling superior and Boys were down. She finally revealed the truth that none was superior over the other much to the cheers and relief of all the kids. 

What this shows us is the startling nature of humans. Once someone points out that one is superior or inferior to others, our behaviour changes. 

Something similar is happening right now in AP. Instead of a class teacher we have politicians manipulating public perceptions and leading them to believe that they are the oppressed ones. Left alone, this Telangana agitation would have died a silent death if not for the vested interests of a few political parties and individuals.

The people, what can they do, they are as gullible as the kids in that classroom. Sadly, this isn't an experiment inside a classroom but an agitation that only seems to get worse with time. Hope good sense prevails and an amicable solution is arrived at soon. :)

Cheers..!!

Maganti Rajashekar.