Why is Seemandhra on the boil?

For almost one month now, coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh have been on a boil. With little or no leadership from the political class, the agitation against the proposed division has gained a momentum of its own with people coming on to the roads voluntarily and rallying around the slogan of 'Samaikya Andhra (united Andhra)’.

The sudden unrest is the fallout of the announcement by the Congress Working Committee on July 30 last that Andhra Pradesh would be bifurcated to carve out a new state of Telangana.

Though Seemandhra – a recent expression denoting coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema  - has a population of 5 crore with another estimated 50 lakhs living in Telangana,  their unorganised and leaderless protests have not attracted national attention as the region is far away from the media radar – in contrast to Telangana agitation which has Hyderabad as its centre point.  

Even during the peak of Telangana agitation, the voice of Andhra was barely heard, while political parties of all hues (with the exception of CPM and MIM)), national leaders of opposing persuasions, intellectuals of the left, right and centre, activists from Arvind Kejriwal to Medha Patkar found the resonance from Hyderabad more forceful.

With division a fiat accompli, a sense of loss, betrayal and a sense of being wounded in the whole bargain left the people of Seemandhra clueless and dumb-founded.

Why are the people of Andhra and Rayalaseema so upset? Why are they on the roads? What is their problem if the state is divided?

First, it should be remembered that the road leading to the proposed division of AP was strewn with a minefield of misinformation, bitterness, enmity and dubious arguments, all carefully constructed over more than a decade.

Now, the question is whether the division of the state was based on these premises that the proponents of Telangana have been forcefully putting up all these years. No one – neither the CWC nor the UPA - said that it was not so. There lies the problem.

To begin with, take the elaborate falsifications spread by the Telangana protagonists about the backwardness of their region.

Few people are aware that the long-standing contention that Telangana remained a backward region in united Andhra was proved a barefaced lie by no less than an eminent committee constituted by the Centre. One of the terms of reference of Justice Srikrishna Committee was to “review the developments in the State since its formation and their impact on the progress and development of the different regions of the State”. And what did the committee of experts say after exhaustive study?

"It is a fact that most of the economic and developmental parameters show that Telangana (excluding Hyderabad) is either on par with or a shade lower than coastal Andhra; but once Hyderabad is included, the situation in Telangana is far better. Additionally, the rate of growth of most of the parameters of development has shown robust growth in Telangana. Coastal Andhra has natural advantages and a long history of development in agriculture, but it is the Telangana region which has shown commendable growth in agriculture during the past three-four decades. Thus, on the whole, it would appear that the deprived region is Rayalaseema not Telangana".

But the misrepresentation continues to be paraded everywhere as if it is a gospel truth.

And this is what hurts the Andhra people. They feel distressed as the Centre did not even bother to clarify that the announcement of separate Telangana was nothing to do with this false propaganda.

And then, the pile of allegations, accusations, insinuations and indictments that Seemandhra people had to suffer all through the Telangana movement.

TRS, in its relentless pursuit of regionalism, has projected Andhras as the born-enemies of Telangana, resorted to the most abominable abuse, used even the slightest opportunity to hammer existing prejudices, heaped humiliations, blackmailed politicians, officials, journalists, lawyers, doctors etc. by branding them as anti-Telangana, if they as much as made any feeble protest against innuendos.

“Looters, capitalists, land grabbers” were some of the choicest epithets used on a daily basis. “(Telanganawale) Jago-(Andhrawale) Bhago” is a popular expressed used by TRS to target the so-called Andhra migrants.

“CM Kiran can run a curry point in Hyderabad, we have no problem,” is how TRS chief KCR welcomes the announcement of bifurcation, in an obvious derogatory reference to the ubiquitous and popular food joints introduced in the capital by Andhra and Rayalaseema people.

And almost all other political parties remained mute spectators to this caricature of an entire region and people – caught as they were in a cleft stick of politics of expediency.

Given such a long history of manufactured animosity, how can the Centre now take a decision without providing a sense of closure to all the bitterness that was created for nearly a decade? That is the question that rattles Andhra.

Then there is the issue of Hyderabad. Only Telangana has an absolute right over the capital city, aver the T champions. And the Centre seems – from Andhra point of view - to have capitulated to this demand. It is the Seemandhra capitalists with vested interests in Hyderabad who are insisting on equal rights over the city, they allege.

Is it the whole truth?

There has been a huge movement of people, especially during the last 40 years, from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions to Hyderabad in search of education, training, employment, trade and business opportunities. The post-liberalisation period gave further fillip to this trend.  The tectonic shift that happened in the movement of people to the capital can be understood from the fact that under the delimitation of constituencies while Seemandhra lost 12 Assembly constituencies, Greater Hyderabad gained 11 Assembly seats. And this is according 2001 census. During the last 12 years, the migration to Hyderabad only increased multifold.

The flow of capital and entrepreneurial initiatives from Andhra and Rayalaseema can by no means be underestimated. Almost the entire film industry, owned majorly by Andhras, shifted from Madras to Hyderabad – their new capital - in 1970s. A significant number of hotels, hospitals, film studios, educational institutions, IT companies, infrastructure companies, pharma industries and media companies were established by people from Seemandhra.

Besides, as capital of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad became the natural choice – at the expense of Telangana and Seemandhra - for the establishment of very important national institutions and big ticket industry in the government sector. So much so that even the Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), which should ideally be located in the coastal city of Vizag, is in Hyderabad.

“Hyderabad is ours,” the T protagonists keep on chanting. “No options, geeptions for Andhra employees,” provokes KCR in his maverick style. 

It is not merely the sentimental and emotional attachment that has caused anxiety and apprehensions in Andhra on handing over Hyderabad solely to Telangana. Hyderabad is currently the cash cow that makes Andhra Pradesh one of the largest states in the country in terms of GDP. The city rakes in half of the revenue of the state. While the total revenue of the state in 2012-13 is Rs 69,146 crore, nearly half of it – Rs 34,100 crore is accrued from Hyderabad alone.

“..Hyderabad district which is fully urbanized has grown at the cost of all the three regions and is now central to the economies of the three regions in Andhra Pradesh,” Sri Krishna Committee report said.

What will happen to Andhra and Rayalaseema without this lion’s share of state revenue? Would the boys and girls from Andhra continue to have access to national and international institutions based in Hyderabad for both education and employment? Will the big and small businesses owned by Andhra and Rayalaseema be allowed to conduct themselves without fear of blackmail? Without a mega city of their own, what will happen to the present and future generations of Andhra and Rayalaseema? Will their sons and daughters and relatives living in Hyderabad in large numbers – unofficial estimates vary between 30-40 lakh in Greater Hyderabad - from every nook and corner of Seemandhra be safe and sound when the city becomes the sole property of Telangana state?

These are the fears, concerns and worries that have pulled every section of society in Andhra and Rayalaseemar out of slumber and onto the roads. While political parties are desperately trying to catch up with the mood of the people, the Seemandra angst is manifest across the social, cultural and economic barriers.

Many Telangana activists and intellectuals deride that ‘samaikya (unity)’ cannot be a forced affair and that the Samaikyandhra agitation is an ‘artificial’ one. But any keen observer would see that ‘samaikya’ is only a code word in the ongoing agitation for fair treatment in the event of a division. Setting the record straight on accusations of exploitation and reasonable accommodation on Hyderabad are what the people of Andhra and Rayalaseema are looking for. 

An Untouchable by Profession

It is not easy to write the biography of a scientist. The hallowed precincts of scientific research, around which the lives of scientists revolve, offer little scope for any drama. Theirs is a dull, dour and colourless avocation which is of little interest even to the high brow, let alone the common man.

It is to the credit of retired chief income tax commissioner K Chandrahas that he took up this challenging task to come up with a biography of one of the renowned scientists of India that is at once highly readable, informative and edifying.

Dr Y Nayudamma is probably one of the very few scientists from Andhra Pradesh to make it big in the highly conservative, hierarchy-conscious scientific establishment of India. It is through sheer dint of hard work, an affable nature, a progressive outlook and great leadership qualities that he could reach the top in his chosen field.

The title of the book “The People’s Scientist Dr Y Nayudamma” is indeed apt for someone who always strove for employing technology in the service of the common man. His life-long mission was to connect the research laboratory with the industry to benefit the poorest of the poor. As the youngest director of Central Leather Research Institute in Madras, he left no stone unturned to make tanning a dignified industry and tanners a respected lot.

A self-made man and a farmer’s son in the true sense of the term, Nayudamma made his indelible mark both as director of CLRI and later as Director General of the prestigious CSIR. His multi-faceted talent as a scientist, teacher, administrator and manager par excellence was recognized and rewarded by the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as well as his daughter Indira Gandhi.

The book traces the journey of Nayudamma’s life from his village Yalavarru in Guntur district in 1930s to his student days in Varanasi, England and the US subsequently, his tryst with CLRI from a lowly demonstrator to its director in late 50s through late 60s, his elevation as DG-CSIR and the radical changes he had brought to its outdated style of functioning in 70s, his brief stint as VC of JNU and later as head and distinguished scientist of Centre for Development Alternatives in 80s.

The author’s admiration for the outstanding personality of Dr Nayudamma notwithstanding, Chandrahas does not shy away from making a critical and objective assessment of his subject and his contribution. Referring to Nayudamma’s short stint as JNU Vice-Chancellor, the biographer says, “He was gentle, suave, progressive but not pugnacious enough” to set things right.

The committed and enlightened scientist was also not exactly successful in realizing his mission to “give up our un-yielding, non-profitable, individual-oriented researches and concentrate on a few nationally relevant technological tasks”. “He made a virtue of seeking reconciliation when a little confrontation was necessary”, points out Chandrahas.

The elements of drama in the life and personality of Dr Nayudamma were brought to the fore by the author through various anecdotes. His self-deprecating jokes on his rather unconventional name and 6-foot frame, his two-piece western outfit, his tongue-in-cheek self-description as ‘untouchable by profession’ and his second marriage to Dr Pavanabai in unexpected circumstances provide the lighter and human side of the obsessive technocrat-scientist. A rationalist, he cracked jokes on the likes of Satya Sai Baba asking them to produce blades of grass instead of ash, but interestingly would begin his day making notes on his sheaf of papers by first writing ‘Sri’ in Telugu – a traditional practice in Andhra those days.

Dr Nayudamma was a much sought after scientist-administrator across the world given his hands-on experience in managing scientific institutions in a newly independent country. He travelled extensively across the world and with his natural flair for people and relationships, built a formidable circle of friends in the scientific community across the globe.

Madras was his beloved place where he spent most of his working life and to which he returned after his rather uneventful tenure at JNU. From there, he happily engaged himself in teaching and advising on matters of science and technology nationally and internationally. It was during one such trip to the IDRC board meeting at Ottawa, Candada that Dr Nayudamma, an illustrious son of the country, who made a sterling contribution to leather technology in particular and scientific advancement in general, met with sudden death while travelling on the ill-fated Kanishka airplane which was bombed midway by the Khalistan terrorists.

His untimely death in 1985, followed by his wife Pavanabai’s self-immolation on learning the news, was a great loss to the country as he had many more years of active life left.

K Chandrahas’s succinct narration and the thoroughness that he has brought to the book – along with rare pictures and personal notes of Dr Nayudamma - make for valuable reading.

K Chandrahas; Pegasus India Publishers, Flat No. 102/303, Gitanjali, Plot No.108, Srinagar Colony, Hyderabad-500073. Rs 200