Subregionalism in India: The Case of Telangana

Author(s): Duncan B. Forrester

Source: Pacific Affairs, Vol. 43, No. 1 (Spring, 1970), pp. 5-21
Published by: Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia
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 Subregionalism
inIndia:The
Case ofTelangana
DuncanB. Forrester

T HE MOVEMENT FOR statesin thenon-Hindi

linguistic areasof Indiahas
been closelystudied,and it is now possibleto speak of an acceptedin-
terpretation of the forcesbehindthemovement, thereasonsforits finalsuc-
cess in the i95os, and at leastsome of the consequencesof the resultantre-
organization.'The rootsof the variousparticularmovementsforredrawing
of provincialboundarieslie in regional culturalrenaissanceswhich can
oftenbe traced back to the nineteenthcentury.An enhanced sense of
regionalidentityand a new culturalawarenessquicklymobilizedthe sup-
portof risingcastesand alliancesof castesseekingenhancedstatusand eco-
nomicpower;but theywerealso awarethattheirinfluence in multilinguistic
provincesdominated by an English-educatedelite must necessarilybe
restricted.
Linguisticseparatismcapturedthe imaginationof large sections
of the studentpopulationpartly,perhaps,because of the problemsinvolved
in highereducationthroughthe medium of English,but more markedly
becauseof the desirefora pool of jobs withinthe stateeffectively reserved
forthem.The movementwas strengthened becauseCongresshad attempted
overseveraldecadesto mobilizeit in supportof thenationalstruggle, and it
had also found some, rathermore grudging,supportfrom government
prior to independence.The Congressgovernmentfinally,and somewhat
reluctantly, concededmost linguisticdemandsby i959. The consequences
of thisredrawingof boundariesappear to have been an indigenizationand
democratization of provincialpolitics,which gave a strongimpetusto the
developmentof diverseregionalpoliticalcultures,enhancingthe political
significanceofcasteand ofregionaleducatedelites.
In thispaperI use theterm"region"to referto a culturaland socialarea,
the regionalboundariesin peninsularIndia now in most cases being those
of the major languages? By regionI mean verymuch the same as Lenin

II am gratefulto Mr. N. Ram and the staffof the Hindu libraryfor making much
materialconcerning the Telanganaproblemavailableto me, and to a numberof my colleagues
and students,particularlyK. SivamohanReddi, N. Dilip Uthappa, C. A. Ponnappa,P. N.
Vaithyanathan,and N. AnandaKumar,forhelpfulsuggestions and criticism.
2 Cf. N. M. Srinivas'essay,"The Problemof Indian Unity,"in his Caste in ModernIndia
and OtherEssays (Bombay: Asia PublishingHouse, i962), pp. 98-III; and W. H. Morriss-
Jones,"Language and Regionwithinthe Indian Union,"in PhilipMason (ed.), India and Cey-
lon: Unityand Diversity(London: OxfordUniversity
Press,I967), pp. 5i-66.

5
 PacificAtairs
andStalin(andallthediscussion ofthe"national question" among Marxists
whichflows from theirwritings) meantby"nation": "A nationis a his-
toricallyevolved, stablecommunity of language, territory,economic life,
andpsychological make-up manifestedin a community of culture."3 Na-
tionalor regional frontiers are nowusuallyalso political boundaries in
India.By"subregion" I understand a smaller areawithin a region or"na-
tion"which foreconomic, geographic,historical,andsocialreasons is aware
ofpossessing a distinct identity.Telangana is,as we shallsee shortly, in
manywaysa typical subregion. The significance of suchsubregions and
theirclaimsto separate consideration wererather lostsightofduring the
movement forlinguistic states.But subregionalism and theaccompany-
ingpolitical subcultures arenowincreasingly callingfortheattention of
political
scientistsas phenomena likelytoproveofmounting importance in
Indiaandprobably nottobe explained in thesameterms as regionalism.
Historical and economic factorsproducesubregional problems and en-
courage thegrowth ofcompelling politicalsubcultures whichnotonlydo
notcorrespond butconflict withthelarger unities oflanguage, culture,and
casterepresented bythelinguistic state.Insofar as subregionalism is the
resultof economic imbalances between historically defined subregions, it
maybeconsidered a by-product ofmodernization.
The Andhra Pradesh oftodayis a stateoftwenty districtswhichcor-
responds fairlyaccurately totheareainwhich Telugulanguage andculture
are dominant. The totalpopulation according to the i96i censuswas
35,983,447.The stateis dividedintothreewell-defined subregions: the
Delta,sometimes calledthe Circars, Rayalaseema, and Telangana. For
mostadministrative purposes theDelta and Rayalaseema are treated as
one.The Delta,well-irrigated and fertile, is themostprosperous and
wealthy ofthethree subregions;Rayalaseema is a dry, infertile
area,subject
to frequent droughts andfamine. The ninedistricts whichcomprise Tel-
angana arerelativelybackward economically.4
In terms ofcastethere arenofundamental differences between thethree
subregions-the samecastestendto havea horizontal spreadthroughout
thestate.Kammas andReddisarethetwodominant agricultural al-
castes,
though theKammasare concentrated in theDelta districts, sometimes
knownas KammaRashtra, whiletheReddisareheavily centred in Ray-
alaseema. In Telangana alsotheReddisarepredominant, and thereis a
tendency fortraditional Reddicastetiesandfactional conflicts
todisregard
thesubregional boundaries. Thetwosignificant untouchable castesofMalas
andMadigasaresimilarly spreadthroughout theregion, andmostChris-

8J. Stalin,Marxismand the National and Colonial Question(London: MartinLawrence,

n.d.), p. 8.
4Adilabad, Nizamabad,Medak, Mabhubnagar,Hyderabad,Nalgonda,Khammam,Waran-
gal, Karimnagar.

6
 in India: The CaseofTelangana
Subregionalism
TABLE I: TELANGANA COMPARED WITH THE REST
OF ANDHRA PRADESH: POPULATION

Population(Lakhs) Density(persq. mile)

andDelta
Rayalaseema 232.71 376
Telangana I27, I2 286
SOURCE: AndhraPradesh,
Handbookof Statistics: 1966-7 (Hyderabad:Bureau
ofEconomics Government
andStatistics, ofAndhraPradesh,i967).

tians in Andhra Pradesh are drawn fromthese two castes.Muslims and

North Indian Marwaris,the tradingand moneylendingcommunities, are
morenumerousin the townsof Telangana, and indeed throughout the old
HyderabadState,thanelsewherein AndhraPradesh.The Telangana village
may be more backwardand traditionalthan the villagesin the Delta,5the
castesystemless modifiedby modernizinginfluences, and landlessagricul-
tural labour-very open to Communistinfluence-morenumerousin the
Delta than in Telangana. But it remainstruethatit is not possibleto dis-
tinguishTelangana sharplyfromthe restof Andhra Pradesh in termsof
caste.The principalcastesin the threesubregionsare the same, although
thereare certainlyinteresting minor differencesin caste configurationbe-
tweenTelangana,Rayalaseema,and theDelta.6
If subregionaldistinctiveness cannotoftenbe tracedto caste,cultural,or
linguisticfactors,it is clear thata historyof divisiongoes farto createsub-
regionalfeelingswithina broad culturalregion.Andhra has a long history
of unity,but in the middle of the eighteenthcenturyit was brokenup.
Most of it came underBritishrule,but Telangana remainedunder Indian
rule as partof the territories of theNizam of Hyderabad.Telangana there-
forehas a separatepoliticalhistory ofsometwocenturies.
The four coastal districts, known as the NorthernCircars,developed
rapidlyunder Britishadministration and benefitedparticularlyfromthe
large-scaleirrigationworks which harnessedthe Krishna and Godavari
riversforagriculture. The Circarsbecame the most prosperouspartof the
Telugu countryand the rice-bowlof Andhra enjoyingthe benefitsof a
stable and enlightenedadministration and developingnot only economi-
cally but sociallyand politicallyat a far fasterrate than the Nizam's Do-
minions.Thus we may agree with the statementin a Communistparty
publication:
It is an undeniable
factofhistorythatitwastheCircardistricts,
fromtheonceunited
Vizag district
to Nellore,especially
thefourdeltadistricts
of Guntur,
Krishna,
West
5 Good studiesof ruralTelangana are S. C. Dube, Indian Village (London: Routledgeand
Kegan Paul, I955); and P. Y. Luke and JohnB. Carmen,VillageChristians and Hindu Culture
(London: Lutterworth Press,i968).
6 See the unsignedarticle,"Telangana and Caste," in the Economicand PoliticalWeekly
(EPW), March8, i969, pp. 455-6.

7
 PacificAflairs
and East Godavaries,whichhad been thehub of socialand politicalactivities.
Whether
it was the so-callednon-brahmin movementin the early twentieth century,or the
languagerenaissance movement ofgrandhicblashaversusgramyabhasha,or themove-
ment of a separateAndhra provinceor for Visalandhra,or the successivenational
movements of the 1920S, 30s, or 40s, or the progressive
student,youth,and women's
movementor in the spreadingof the socialistand communist movement-itis from
thisregionthatthe major contingents came forth....7
The cededdistrictsofRayalaseema werealsoincorporated in theMadras
Presidency,butnaturewaslessamenable in Rayalaseemaandin economic
terms backward
thearearemained ascompared totheCircarcoast.
For twohundred yearsTelangana was separatefromtherestof the
Telugucountry, maintainedin a ratherbackward feudalconditionbythe
NizamsoftheAsafJahidynasty. Thejagirdar systemoflandholding seems
to havestoodin thewayofagricultural development:"Thoughendowed
withfairly goodrainfall
averaging 35.2inches thepoorsoiland
annually,
therugged seemtopresent
country a handicaptointensive de-
agricultural
velopment. the
Besides, agrarian conditionsunder theJagirdar systemin
the olden daysdidnotseem to have provided adequateincentives
to the
anyintensive
ryotto attempt In theearlyyearsofthepresent
cultivation."8
centurytheNizam'sgovernment
constructed
a majorirrigation
scheme
basedontheNizamsagar
dam,thereby
makingNizamabad themostpros-
perousdistrictin Telangana. But local peasantsseemedlackingin initiative,
and many of the profitswere reaped by immigrantfarmersfrom the
Circars.9Thus Telangana backwardnesshas essentiallypoliticalroots:with
betteradministration the considerablewater resourcescould have been
more fullytapped for irrigation.Telangana is stillmainlya dry farming
area, like Rayalaseema,but the reasonfor this in Telangana is long-term
of the area. The rule of the Nizams was
failureto harnessthe potentialities
autocraticand the officiallanguage, both in politicsand education,was
Urdu. The people of Telangana were effectively insulatedfromthe Telugu
renaissanceand both theirlanguage and theirculturecame under strong
Islamic and Urdu influences. Popular participation in politicswas actively
discouraged,and the Indian National Congresswas cautiousabout extend-
ing the nationalstruggleto the princelystates.It was not until I938 thata
HyderabadState Congresswas formed,only to be banned shortlyafterby
the Nizam, and not until i95i was the HyderabadCongressmergedwith
the Indian National Congress.Withinthe HyderabadCongresstherewere
threeProvincialCongressCommittees, one foreach of the threelinguistic
areas of Karnatak, Marathwada,and Telangana. Thus, along with an
7 Why the Ultra-'Left'
Deviation?An Examinationof the Basic Causes of Left Defections
in Special Referenceto Andhra (Calcutta: Communistpartyof India (Marxist), i968), pp.
20-I.
8 CensusofIndia,1961. Vol. II. AndhraPradesh.PartI-A(i) GeneralReport,p. 20.
9 "Unitedby History,DividedbyPassion,"unsignedarticlein Citizen,Vol. I, No. 9, JulyI2,
i969.

8
 in India: The CaseofTelangana
Subregionalism
awarenessof economicand politicalbackwardness vis-a-vis
therestof the
Telugucountry, Telanganadeveloped a feelingof distinctiveness
basedon
politicaland,to someextent,
different culturalexperiences."'
The peopleof Telanganawerelatein becomingpolitically mobilized,
and neitherthemassesnortheelitewereinvolvedin themovement forthe
settingup of AndhraPradesh.This had been initiallyled by Telugu
Brahmins who wereannoyedby thepredominance of Tamil Brahmins in
theadministration and in thelegaland educational systemsof theexisting
MadrasPresidency. ThesesameBrahmins had controlled Congressin the
Andhradistricts, and theAndhraPCC fromits inception in I9I7. Non.
Brahmin feeling was neveras strong in theTelugucountry as in Tamilnad,
butnevertheless Brahmin dominance wasgradually challenged bytherising
non-Brahmin castes,particularlythe Kammas and Reddis,who tended
to supporttheJustice
initially partyand theAndhraMovement, finding
themselves at loggerheadswitheachotheronlyafterthesetting up ofAnd-
hra Pradeshin 1953.11Reddi-Brahmin rivalrywas a feature of Telangana
as well,butitwas expressed in a socialrather thana politicalarena.12None
oftheseeventsseemedto attract or involvethepeopleofTelanganato any
greatextent, norwas anyattempt madeto mobilizethempolitically. They
wereonlymarginally affected by theTelugu renaissance, presumably be-
causetheirratherUrduizedand unliterary Telugu was despisedby the
peopleoftheCircars.'3 Congress, as we haveseen,was veryslowto involve
thepeopleof theprincely statesin thenationalstruggle;hereagain the
peopleof Hyderabadactedmainlyas spectators. The non-Brahmin move-
mentdid not spreadto Telanganaor politicizethe peoplebecausethe
Brahmins had neverbeenas dominant undera MuslimNizam as theybe-
camein neighbouring partsofBritish India.Nor didthehorizontal political
mobilizationof caste,whichhas beenso characteristic of linguisticpolitics,
crosstheHyderabad frontier.TelanganaReddiskeptup marriage and other
traditional
contacts withtheircastefellowsin theCircarsand Rayalaseema,

10Anand Rao Thotha (ed.), The TelanganaMovement:An Investigative Focus. Based on

Papers Presentedat the Telangana University and College Teachers' Conventionon May 20,
i969, at Hyderabad.(Hyderabad: publishedby the editor,i969, pp. 9-i0.)
11Selig S. Harrison,India: The Most DangerousDecades (Madras: OxfordUniversity Press,
i960); pp. 2II-3; Eugene F. Irschick, Politicsand Social Conflict
in SouthIndia (Berkeleyand
Los Angeles:University of CaliforniaPress,i969), pp. 38-4I, I76-7, 244-51; Lloyd I. Rudolph
and SusanneH. Rudolph,The Modernityof Tradition(Chicago: University of ChicagoPress,
i967), pp. 78-9; G. N. Sarma, "Aspectsof Andhra Politics" in Iqbal Narain (ed.), State
Politicsin India (Meerut:MeenakshiPrakashan,n.d.), pp. 99-i00; N. M. Srinivas,op. cit.,pp.
26-8.
12 KrishnaP. Mukerjiand SuhariniRamaswamy, Reorganization of Indian States(Bombay:
PopularBookDepot,1955), p. 88.
13 "There is much anthropological wisdomin the Shavian remarkabout two countriesbe-
ing dividedby a commonlanguage."Srinivas,op. cit.,p. 99. Cf. Thotha,op. cit.,p. 9; Mukerji
and Ramaswamy, op. cit.,p. 83; and Sarma,op. cit.,p. 98.

9
 PacificAffairs
buttheTelangana Reddiswerein a backwater as faras castepoliticalac.
tionwasconcerned untiltheintegration ofTelangana withAndhra Pradesh
involvedthemin thefactional politics of theReddi-dominated Andhra
Congress.Eventhen,theydid notforma separate factionor pressure
groupbutgravitated forvarious reasons to oneor otherof thealready
existing
groupings. Nevertheless, as Professor C. vonFiirer-Haimendorf
haspointed out,"theinclusion oftheTelangana districtsofthedismem-
beredHyderabad Statein thegreater Andhra Pradesh hasdefinitelytilted
thescalesin favouroftheReddis, whoin thosedistricts arefarstronger
thantheKammas."'14
The Communists setup theirfirst illegalunitin theTelugu-speaking
partofHyderabad onlyin I940, andforat leastthefirst fiveyearsmostof
theCommunist leadersin Telangana werefrom theDeltadistricts.'5The
Communists proclaimed themselves in favour ofa linguisticstatein which
all theTeluguareaswouldbe unitedand sooncaptured controlof the
Andhra Mahasabha, whichbecame a front organization andadopted more
radicalagrarianandeconomic policies in addition to itsoriginalobjective
ofa united Andhra. Capitalizing onpeasant withtheoppres-
dissatisfaction
siveruleoftheNizamandtheexactions ofthelandlords, andtaking ad-
vantageofthevacillations oftheHyderabad government atthetimeofthe
transferofpowerin India,theCommunists spearheaded an agrarianup-
risingcentred mainly in theTelangana border districts
ofNalgondaand
Warangal butstretching tosomeextent intoMadras. Therevolt lastedfrom
it wasfinally
I945 until supressed in i950. A largesection oftheleadership
wasstilldrawn from theDeltaandatonetime, according toa Communist
partydocument, "a totalof 3,000villages had beenSovietized, and one
millionacresof landhadbeenseizedbythepeasants. Regularguerrilla
squadsnumbered 2,000 members andvillage squadsprovided an estimated
io,ooomore."16 The governmentof India's "police action"of I948 was re-
sistedbytheseCommunist and indeedit tooka considerable
guerrillas,
toquelltherevolt.
timefortheIndianforces In general
onemaysaythatal-
though theCommunists supporteda unitedAndhraincludingTelangana,
theirremarkable in Telangana
success mustbe attributed
nottothisbutto
localandparticular
problemsin thearea.AlthoughtheCommunist party
wasformally oneforthewholeTeluguarea,thesocialbaseofthe
a united
14C. von Firer-Haimendorf, "Caste and Politicsin South Asia," in C. H. Philips (ed.),
Politicsand Societyin India (London: GeorgeAllen and Unwin,i963), p. 62. It is notablethat
a few Kamma groupsin the Circarsat presentsupporta separateTelangana,presumably as a
way of reducingthe politicaldominanceof the Reddisin Andhrapolitics.Nor is it an accident
that the Swatantraparty,led in AndhraPradeshby N. G. Range, a Kamma, also supports
separation.
15 Whythe Ultra-'Left' Deviation?pp. 25, 29; Gene D. Overstreetand MarshallWindmiller,
Communismin India (Berkeleyand Los Angeles: University of CaliforniaPress, i960), pp.
266-7,286, 292, 439.
16 Overstreetand Windmiller, op. cit., p. 300.

I0
 in India: The Case of Telangana
Subregionalism
partywasrather in Telanganaand theDelta.In thelatter,
different as Selig
S. Harrisonhas shown,thepartyreliedheavilyon theprosperous Kamma
movement
landlords;in Telanganait was largelyan anti-landlord of the
agrarian
masses.The factthatrelativelyfewofthelargerTelanganaland-
lordswereKammasmayhavehelpedto avoidan opensplitin theAndhra
party,
whichin theDeltawas willingto co-operate withlandlordsto some
extentat least.17The Communistsfaileddramaticallyto establisha strong
andlasting presence
inTelanganaorpermanently topoliticizethemasses.
AfterthepoliceactionHyderabad remained as a separate politicalentity,
and indeedtherewas a certainamountof publicfeelingagainstthe di-
visionof thestateon a linguistic basis:on Junei6, I952, a motionin the
HyderabadLegislative Assembly forthedismemberment of thestatewas
defeated by 79 votesto 63.18Awareof theirbackwardness, the mulkist9
fearedexploitation
atthehandsoftheirfellows in Andhra. Telanganaplayed
no partin theagitationwhichresultedin thesettingup of the stateof
AndhraPradeshin I953, composedof the Telugu districts formerly in
Madras.The nationalleadership of theCongressseemedto flirtwiththe
idea thatHyderabadmightbe retained as a multilingual state,a kindof
bastionagainstlinguistic feelings.In addition,it was suggested thatthe
Urdu traditionin Hyderabadmadeit an ideal centrefromwhichHindi
couldbe propagated throughout theSouth.A largesectionof theMuslims
and manyprofessional peopleand bureaucrats wereagainstdisintegration,
whileall thepolitical
partieswereat leastformally committed to breaking
up thestateamongthesurrounding linguistic
states.
Mostofthedispute was
concerned withthequestionofwhether disintegrationshouldbe immediate
or delayed.20
This was thesituationin Hyderabad to whichtheStatesReorganization
Commission addresseditself.Only Hyderabad, Mysore,and Jammuand
Kashmiramongtheformer princely statesretainedtheirseparate identities,
although"theinternalstructure of theseStatesas also theirrelationship
withtheCentrewerecastintoa newmouldso as to fitthemintothecon-
structure
stitutional of India."21The Commission was facedwitha strong
and organizeddemand,partlyfromAndhrabut echoedin powerful
sectionsof the Telanganacommunity, forimmediateabsorption of the
regioninto AndhraPradesh.It rejectedthe argument thatHyderabad
shouldbe retainedundivided as "a realculturalsynthesis and an intermin-
glingofIndianpeople"which"should. . . be preserved as a modelforother
regionsto imitate."
The backwardness of Telangana,and theotherparts
17 Von Fiirer-Haimendorf, op. cit.,p. 6o.
18 Thotha,op. cit.,p. II; Mukerjiand Ramaswamy, op. cit.,p. 85.
19Inhabitantsof HyderabadState.
20Mukerjiand Ramaswamy, op. cit.,pp. 82-8.
21Report of the StatesReorganizationCommission(Delhi: Government
of India, 1955),
P. 5.

TI
 PacificAffairs
ofHyderabad, couldonlybe solvediftheseareaswereattached to "more
advanced units." ButtheCommission wasimpressed by two factors: while
sentiment inTelangana appeared tobeinfavour ofsplitting up theHyder-
abadState,therewas as yetno consensus on thequestion whether Tel-
anganashouldremainseparate or be incorporated intoAndhraPradesh
and,secondly, in certain quarters thereweredeepfearsthatimmediate
integration wouldnotbe to theadvantage of Telangana, making it vir-
tually
a colony ofAndhra. TheCommission concluded that"theunification
of TelanganawithAndhra,thoughdesirable, shouldbe basedon a
voluntaryandwilling associationofthepeopleandthatitis primarily for
thepeopleofTelangana totakea decision abouttheir future." Theirrecom-
mendation wasthattheTelangana areashouldbe constituted intoa sepa-
ratestate"withprovision foritsunification withAndhra after thegeneral
elections
likely tobe heldin orabouti96i, ifbya two-thirds majority the
legislatureoftheresiduary Hyderabad Stateexpresses itselfin favour of
suchunification."Thisperiod offiveorsixyears couldbeutilized tobring
theadministration of thetwostatesintotuneand to allowopinionin
Telangana tocrystallize.22
Theserecommendations oftheSRC weresetaside,largely as a result of
pressure fromthenational Congress leadership, particularly Mr.Nehru,
andfrom theAndhra districts.
Safeguards on whichthemerger wastobe
basedwereincorporated in the"Gentlemen's Agreement" signedin Delhi
on February 20, i956, by representatives of Telanganaand Andhra.28
Guarantees wereprovided forTelangana forutilization within theareaof
Telangana revenues,theprovision of improved educational facilities,re-
cruitment to thestatepublicservices, theposition oftheUrdulanguage,
andthesaleofagricultural landto outsiders. It wasalsodecided to con-
stitutea regional councilwitha watching briefon theinterests of Tel-
angana. The legalstatus ofthisAgreement is notclear-probably it is no
morethana statement of goodintentions-but it wentfarto alleviate
Telangana's fearsof absorption, and on thisbasistheunitedStateof
Andhra Pradesh cameintoexistence on November I, i956, thereby uniting
alltheTeluguareasinonelinguistic state.
The all-round backwardness ofTelangana as compared withtheDelta
districts
hadbeena majorelement in theSRC'scaution in recommending
a periodin which Telangana wouldbe a separate state. The integration of
Telangana intoAndhra aroused someimmediate problems, andgradually
publicopinion in Telangana becameconvinced thattheirsubregional in-

22 Ibid.,pp. 101-9.
B. Gopala Reddi, N. Sanjeeva Reddi, G. Lathhanna,and Alluri SatyanarayanaRaju
23

signedforAndhra;B. RamakrishaaRao, K. V. Ranga Reddi,Dr. M. ChennaReddi and J. V.

NarasingRao for Telangana. The textof the Agreementmay be foundin Thotha,op. cit.,
AppendixI.

I2
 Subregionalism
in India: The Case of Telangana
terests
werenot beingadequately caredforin the new state.Immediate
problemsarosein connection withtheintegration oftheservices.In general,
at all levelsin Andhrahadbeenbetter
administrators and
qualified lesswell
paid thantheirequivalents in Hyderabad. The new arrangements meant
thatTelanganaadministrators wereput on lowersalaryscalesthanpre-
viously,theirprospects of promotion wereimpaired, and a largepropor-
tionofthemoreimportant positionsin Telanganawerefilledbyoutsiders
.-."non-mulkis."24The government claimedthatthebackwardness of edu-
cationin Telanganamade the fillingof postswithwell-qualified non-
mulkis inevitable, and when steps were taken to expand education it was
also inevitable
thata largenumberof non-mulki teachershad to be im-
portedin thefirst instance. Butdiscontent overthesituation becameso rife
thatin 1959 the centralgovernment feltit necessary to promulgate the
AndhraPradeshPublicEmployment (Requirement as to Residence)Rules,
providing thatfifteen yearscontinuous residence would be requiredfor
appointment to government jobs.The Rules,however, providedloopholes,
and false"mulkicertificates" werenot hardto obtain.Non-mulkis con-
tinuedto floodintogovernment servicein Telangana,and mulkiteachers
and non-gazetted officers in particular becameincreasingly restive.25
This
discontentwasa majorfactor in sparking offthei969 agitation.
In Julyi968, theAndhraPradeshgovernment had passedordersthat
all non-mulkis in postsreserved forTelanganapersonnel shouldrevertto
theCircarsand Rayalaseema, if necessary as supernumeraries,withinthree
months, and thiswas reaffirmed-revealingly-six monthslaterin theAll-
party AccordofJanuary ig,i969.26The immediate resultwasthatthePublic
Employment Ruleswerechallenged in thecourts, and at theendofMarch
theSupremeCourtdeclaredthemdiscriminatory and contrary to theCon-
stitution.27
This judgement spreadconsternation amongTelanganagovern-
mentservants, and theWanchooCommission, setup in Aprilto findsome
24A list of grievancesin thisconnectionis to be foundin an anonymouspamphlet,Inside
Telangana (Hyderabad:Telangana Mahasabha,I958). It is importantto note that since the
early 1930s the Nizam's governmenthad required"mulki certificates" from applicantsfor
government jobs. This was a concessionto popular feelingagainstthe policy of importing
Muslims fromother statesto fill governmentpositionsin Hyderabad.See Sreedhar,"The
Storyof Telangana,"Mainstream, Vol. VII, No. 44 (July5, 1969), pp. 8-9.
25 "On the numberof non-mulkis employedin Telangana thereare divergentviews.Gov-
ernment circlesestimateit to be nearly5,000. But accordingto thefigurescollectedby theTelan-
gana N.G.O.'s Union the figureis nearlyIo,ooo. .. . The TelanganaN.G.O.'s Union has al-
readypublisheda list of I,ooo employeeswho are alleged to possessbogus mulkicertificates."
Thotha,Op. Cit.,p. 47.
26 J. V. NarasingRao, SeparateTelangana: A Suicidal Slogan (Hyderabad:Department of
Information and Publicity, Government of AndhraPradesh,i969), p. 2.
27 In A. V. S. NarasimhaRao & Othersvs. The State of AndhraPradesh& Others.Since
thejudgementis based on Articlei6(3) of the Constitution, and thisis not open to amendment
in view of the SupremeCourt'sdecisionin the Golak Nath case, the only legal safeguards
possiblefor mulkisin government employment would be withina separatestate or union
territory.Hindu, July7, i969.

I3
 PacificAfairs
solution
constitutional totheproblem, couldonlysuggest thatlocalgovern-
mentappointments shouldbe madebytheheadofeachoffice in thedis
tricts.28
Non-gazettedofficers,
therefore, andspearheaded
stillfeltinsecure
muchoftheagitation.
Theinvolvement ofstudents andteachers mustbe seen
in theagitation
against
thebackdrop oftheeducational backwardness ofTelangana andthe
feeling
thattheeducationalsystem oftheareahasnotbeenadequately ex-
pandedandencouraged since1956.Thelegacy oftheNizam'sgovernment
wasa lowlevelofliteracy,
comparatively pooreducational andthe
facilities,
ofUrduas themedium
tradition ofinstruction.29Today17.3percentof
thepopulation
ofTelangana is literate
as against30.8percentintherestof
Andhra.!0Primaryeducationhasexpanded, buttheenrolment hasimproved

TABLE 2: PRIMARY EDUCATION

No.of
No.of pupils % increase
schools% ofstate% increasei966-7% ofstate from
I966-7 total overI956-7(lakhs) total I956-7
Rayalaseema
and
Delta 26,388 70.9 23.8 24.88 79.8 24.7
Telangana io,807 29.1 40.6 6.29 20.2 25.8
SOURCE: Some Facts about Telangana and AndhraPradesh(Madras: Andhra
PatrikaPress,n.d.) p.g.

onlymarginallyas compared withtherestof Andhra. the

Furthermore,
in thenumber
rapidincrease ofinstitutions
hasled to a number
large of
teachers
non-mulki being
brought in.
At theotherendoftheeducational spectrumtherearealsodeeplyfelt
grievances.
The OsmaniaUniversity in Hyderabad hasincreasedin size
andin thenumber ofitsaffiliated butthestategovernment
colleges, has
takenstepsto controlit verycloselyand has beenvindictively par-
initsfinancial
simonious assistance Anamendment
totheuniversity. tothe
OsmaniaUniversity Actin i965 gavethesolerightto nominate or re-
movea vice-chancellor (who is ex officio
to thegovernor chancellor)and
tightened
upgovernment
controlinvarious
other
ways.Almost
immediately
theGovernor
removed
Dr. D. S. Reddifromthevice-chancellorship.
Dr.

28 Rao, op. cit. See also "Improvingthe Crutches,"EPW Nov. I, i969, pp. 1737-8; M.
Pattabhiram, "Recruitment to Servicesin Telangana,"Hindu, Sept. Io, 1969.
29 The mothertonguewas introduced as the mediumof educationin primaryschoolsonly
in 1944.
80Handbook of Statistics, Andhra Pradesh. i966-7. It should be noted that Telangana
literacyfiguresincludethe highliteracyarea of the twincitiesof Hyderabadand Secunderabad.
The ruralliteracyratemay therefore be about 13 per cent.

14
 Subregionalism in India: The CaseofTelangana
Reddiwasa non-mulki, andhisoriginal appointment in
as vice-chancellor
I957 hadbeengreeted withstudent Butintenyears
agitation. hehadcome
to symbolize a Telanganainstitution demanding freedom fromoutside
Before
interference.3' Dr. Reddi'sappealagainst hisremoval wasupheld
bytheSupreme Court, thestaff andstudents oftheuniversity hadrisenin
hissupport,andtheir solidaritywasmerely strengthened whenthegovern-
ment's vindictiveparsimony landedtheuniversity in a financialcrisisin
whichteachers couldnotbe paidtheir fullsalariesandimportant develop-
ments werehalted.32 Students andteachers in theuniversity andcolleges
ofTelangana in i969 wereunited bytheconviction thatthegovernment of
AndhraPradesh was determined to victimizeand humiliate them.The
newVice-Chancellor himself (Dr. R. Satyanarayana) gavehisblessings to
theagitation.
A furtherfactorleading todiscontent wasthemigration offarmers from
theDeltatoTelangana, where theybought landcheaply, developed it,and
prospered.The flowofpopulation fromtheDeltato Telangana is quite
Theimportant
significant23 newvineyards around thetwincities ofHyder'
abadandSecunderabad, forinstance, arealmostentirely ownedbynon-
mulkis.Immigrant farmers wereattracted to Telangana partly bytherel-
ativecheapnessofland,andalsobythefactthatagricultural wageratesare
markedly lowerin Telangana. It hasbeensuggested thata contributory
causeoftheunrest in thisconnection wasthefactthatmanyoftheimmi-
grantswereKammas, whocouldnoteasilybe accommodated withina
Reddi-dominated castehierarchy. Butlarge-scalemigration andchangein
landownership ofthissortinvolve majorsocialtensions no matter what
theimmigrant group.Andthesituation wascertainly complicated bythe
factthattheTelangana landlords, oppressed forcenturies bytheNizams,
andharassed aroundthetimeof thePoliceActionbyfanatical Muslim
RazakarsandCommunist guerrillas,hadfeltthatatlastthey hadcomeinto
theirownunder a Reddi-dominated Congress government-only todiscover
thattheirlandswerebeingbought and unexpected profitsbeingreaped
from them bymoreenterprising Theresentment
outsiders. oftheTelangana
landedgentry against non-mulki competition on theirown homeground
hasmadethem very sympathetic totheseparatistmovement.
Non-mulkis from theDeltahavealsoentered tradeandmoneylending
andhavebecome veryinfluential in thebusiness lifeofthetwincities, as
wellas in variousruralareas.This has poseda challenge notonlyto
Telangana businessmen butalsototheMarwari andGujarati communities

31 See RobertC. Shaw, "StudentPoliticsand StudentLeadershipin an Indian University:

The Case of Osmania,"in PhilipG. Altbach(ed.), Turmoiland Transition:HigherEducation
and StudentPoliticsin India (Bombay:Lalvani,I968), pp. 177-8o.
32 WeekendReview,Vol. II, No. i8 (April i6, I968), pp. i8-I9.
88 See Censusof India, 1961, citednote8 above,pp. 432-8.

I5
 Pacificflairs
whichusedto dominatecommerce andbusinessin Hyderabad State.It is
notable
thatseveral
prominent leaders
separatist arenon-Telugus, andthere
aremanyreports thattheseparatist financed
was liberally
agitation with
Marwarimoney. Whilethiscannot itis quiteclearthatan
besubstantiated,
agitation
so longdrawn-out musthavehadconsider-
andso well-organized
ablefinancial
backing.84
Atleasta section oftheTelangana Muslims alsosupported theagitation,
probably becausetheir greater numbers andhigher statusintheoldHyder-
abaddistricts wouldensure greater security, andperhaps lesscompetition,
forthem ina separate Telangana.
It is truethattheleadership oftheagitation hasincluded a number of
unsuccessful politicalleaders, butit is naiveto suggest, as someobservers
have,thattheagitation canbe attributed solely to theactivities ofa small
cliqueofdisappointed andfrustrated men.Personal ambitions mayhave
playedtheirpart,and thereis certainly an impression abroadthatTel-
anganaleaders havenotreceived theirdueshareofpolitical powerandin-
fluence in theunitedAndhraPradesh. Butagainstthisit mustalsobe
remembered thatmulki leadershavefarlessexperience ofdemocratic pol-
iticsthantheir colleagues from therestofthestate. Theyseeminmany cases
tohavebeenineffective in defending theinterests ofTelangana andsome-
timeshavetriedto advance theirowncareers in Andhra politicswithout
paying sufficient
attention to thegrievances ofthesubregion fromwhich
they come.
Thereis,then,an imbalance in political development as between Tel-
anganaandtherestofthestate, buttheeconomic imbalance andthefeeling
thattoolittle hasbeendonetosetitright, is theprimary background tothe
agitation. Irrigationis, of course,thekeyto agricultural prosperity and,
as we haveseen,goesfarto explain theeconomic progress ofthecoastal
areas.A number ofmajorschemes, notably thePochampad andNagarjuna
Sagarprojects, havebeenputinhand,butthere isa feelingamong educated
peoplethatTelangana hasnotderived a fairshareofthebenefits ofthese
schemes. Table3 shows howlargea proportion ofthebenefits ofgovernment
irrigation hasgonetotheother ofthestate.
parts
Industrialization hasproceeded in Telangana, buthasbeenhighly cons
centrated around thetwincitiesandhasscarcely touched muchoftherest
ofthearea.Telangana hascertainly advanced economically sinceintegra.'
tion;thequestion is whether theareahasadvanced fastenough tobring it
intoa competitive position withtherestofAndhra and whether thede-
velopment gapbetween Telangana andtherestofthestateis narrowing or
growing wider. The advocates ofa separate Andhra arguethatthegapis
34 See Elkay, "Telangana AnotherAspect,"Frontier(Calcutta) Vol. II, No. ii (June2I,
i969) pp. io-ii. There have been rumoursthatthe Birla family,whichhas extensivebusiness
interests
in Hyderabad,contributed
largeamountsto the agitation.

i6
 Subregionalism
in India: The CaseofTelangana
TABLE 3: AREA IRRIGATED BY SOURCES OF IRRIGATION (Lakh hectares)
Circarsand % ofA.P. % ofA.P. Andhra
Rayalaseema total Telangana total Pradesh
Governmentcanals IO.7 88.4 I.4 ii.6 I2. I
Privatecanals 0. I 50 .0 . I 50.0 0.2
Tanks 6.9 58.o 5.0 42.0 II.9
Wells 3.0 66.7 I-5 33.3 4.5
Othersources o.8 72.7 0.3 27.3 I.I
Total 2I.5 72. I 8.3 27.9 29.8
ofStatistics:
Source: Handbook Andhra
Pradesh,
1966-7.

widening,and theysuggestthatthe developmentof the otherareas is di-

rectlyat the expenseof Telangana because it has revenuesurpluseswhich,
they argue, are being utilized outside.The Gentlemen'sAgreementhad
stipulatedthatgeneralgovernmentexpenditureshould be dividedbetween
Andhra and Telangana in a proportionof two to one. The so-called"Telb
angana Surpluses"representthe surplusof revenueover expenditurere-
sultingpartlyfromthe higherland revenueand partlyfromthe high yield
fromexcisein an area whichhas not enforcedprohibition. These surpluses
wereto be spentexclusively on the development of theTelangana area. The
calculationof thesesurpluses,the differencebetweenwhat ought to have
been spentand what actuallywas spenton Telangana,is verymuch in dis-
pute. What is agreedis thatthe annual Telangana Surplusis a verylarge
sum, and that since integrationa considerableamount of this moneyhas
been spentoutsideTelangana. Two commissionswere set up in i969, one
by thestategovernment and the otherby the Centre,to determinethe Tel-
angana Surpluses,and the governmentof Andhra Pradesh and the Tel-
angana Regional Committeedisagreeon how these should be calculated.
We are not hereconcernedwiththe detailsof thiscontroversy; it is enough
to notethatall are agreedthatTelangana has been unfairlytreated.Indeed,
it would be trueto say thatTelangana has been cheatedof severalcroresof
rupeeseach year.35Such a positionadds forceto the separatists'contention
that Telangana would have progressedfasterin isolationfrom Andhra
Pradesh.Imbalancein economicdevelopmentis surelythe greatestsingle
cause for the i969 troubles.And the fact that developmenthas markedly
sloweddown in thelastthreeyearsas a resultof theso-called"plan holiday"
adds fuelto theflames.36
The agitationproperbegan as a students'strikein Hyderabadat theend
of December i968 but rapidlyspread to the otherTelangana towns and
35 On this complexquestionsee C. H. HanumanthaRao, "Budgetary Surplusesof Telan-
gana," EPW, Oct. i8, i969, pp. i665-76; T. V. S. ChelapathiRao, Are TelanganaSurpluses
CorrectlyComputed?(Vijayawada,n.d.). A croreis tenmillionrupees.
36"Andhra:Will It Remain?"EPW, Feb. i5, i969, p. 345.

I7
 PacificAflairs
finallyto mostofthedistricts.87 A fewdistricts,notably Khammam and
Adilabad, remained relatively
unaffected.
The students shareda common
beliefthatTelangana hadnotbeengetting a fairdeal,buttobeginwiththey
weredividedbetween theseparatists and moremoderate elements.As
happens so often,theagitation quicklyspreadto theurbanmob,andat
leastcertain incidents
seemto havebeencalculated-with somesuccess-
to terrifyimmigrant Andhras intoreturning to theDelta.38 Morethan
5000people,including some2000 students, werearrested and nearly 40
werekilledin policefirings in thefirstwaveofagitation. The armywas
calledin;theuniversity,
thecolleges,andschools
wereclosed indefinitely.
AttheendofFebruary i969, a students'
conventionwasinaugurated in
Hyderabad by Dr. R. Satyanarayana, soonto becomevice-chancellor of
Osmania University.Theconvention demonstrated
clearly thatvirtually
the
wholeacademic community wassympathetic totheagitation, andthatthe
studentshadpowerful politicalandfinancialbacking. The initiative
was
nowclearly takenbytheseparatist group,whosetup a broader organiza-
tion,
theTelangana PrajaSamithi,topresstheir
demands. Withtheappoint-
ment ofChenna Reddias chairman oftheSamithi,theagitationtooka new
violentturn.39
Weekafterweektheagitation
draggedon.The extremists
gainedthe
of K. V. RangaReddi,former
opensupport minister
deputy-chief of
Andhra andotherleaders.40
Pradesh, All theTelanganaministers
in the
Andhra cabinetresigned,althoughmost of them were integrationists and
argued that it would be easier for them to combat separatistdemands if
theywere freefromthe responsibilities of office.4'Apart fromeconomic
measuresand strictadherenceto the termsof the Gentlemen'sAgreement,
the Telangana moderatesdemandedthe resignationof the Chief Minister,
BrahmanandaReddi, and the impositionof President'sRule.42Reddi sub-
mittedhis resignationto the CongressHigh Command but immediately
secureda vote of confidencefromthe legislatureCongresspartyon July
6, I969.43 The resignation
was leftin suspense,and thePrimeMinister,Mrs.
Gandhi, flewto Hyderabad to investigatethe situation.On her returnto

87 "Uncertainty in Telangana," Citizen,May 24, i969, p. 23. The spark that set offthe
agitationappearedto have been a veryminorconflictbetweena non-mulkilandlordand his
mulkilabourers.The landlordis said to have broughtin rowdiesfromthe Delta to intimidate
his workers,and the incidentwas well publicized.
38 See D. Sanjivayya'sstatement:
"I am pained and distressedto learnthatAndhraresidents
have startedleaving the twin citiesout of fear and feelingthereis no securityfor them."
Hindu,June25, i969.
39 Elkay, op cit. Dr. Clenna Reddi, formerlya Union minister,had been disqualifiedby
theSupremeCourtin i968 fromholdinganyelectiveoffice forsix years.
40 "The TelanganaImbroglio,"Citizen,April 12, i969, pp. 26-7.
41Hindu, July3, i969.
42Hindu, June23, i969.
43Hindu, July7, i969.

i8
 Subregionalism
in India: The Case of Telangana
New Delhi sheproduced an eight-point program to dealwiththeproblems
of Telanganain the context of a unitedAndhra.She recommended the
settingup ofa committee to determinetheTelanganaSurpluses and devise
waysofmakinggoodto Telanganamoneythathad beenincorrectly spent
outsidethesubregion and theestablishment of high-powered development
and plan implementation committees forTelangana.The ChiefMinister
wouldconsider thepossibilityoffurther delegation ofpowerto Telangana
authoritiesandpossibilities ofreservingjobsformulkis. The PrimeMinister
herselfwouldkeepa watchonprogress.44
The Telanganaagitation gradually becameinvolvedwiththenational
politicalcrisis.The Centrewas unwilling to imposePresident's Rule in a
Congress state,and Brahmananda Reddi'sgradualemergence as a leading
supporter of the PrimeMinisteragainstthepartybossesmade his con-
tinuance as chiefminister inevitable.Prompt stepsweretakento implement
at leastsomeof thePrimeMinister's proposals.45 In Augusttheagitation
beganto weaken,partlybecausefundswererunningout,partlybecause
studentsand NGOs werelosingconfidence in the separatistleadership,
partly becausethegathering stormat theCentredistracted theattention of
manyleadersfromsubregional issues.46
By Octoberit had virtually petered
out,leavingthe TelanganaSamithileadershipdiscredited and no final
resolution oftheunderlying problem.
With the sole,and not verysignificant, exceptionof Swatantra, no
politicalpartywas willingopenlyto supporta separateTelangana.Most
Congressleadersin Telanganain 1956 had beenin favourof a separate
state,butwithintegration theTelanganaCongresswas infected withthe
factionalism oftheReddi-dominated AndhraCongress and developed some
further factionsof its own. The TelanganaCongressleaders,therefore,
couldgiveno unitedlead,and muchof theirenergywas diverted to ma-
noeuvring withinthe largerorganization. The separateHyderabadPra-
deshCongress Committee had beenabolished in I957, and as a resultallo-
cationofpartytickets andoffices was no longerdomestic toTelangana.The
present agitation led toa splitwithinCongress and thesetting up ofa rebel
TelanganaCongressCommittee withKonda LaxmanBapuji as president
on Junei, i969. The rebelCongress enjoyedconsiderable support, includ-
ing thatofmanyTelanganaMLAs. As in manycasesduringthestruggle
44Implementation of the PrimeMinister'sPlan for Telangana (Hyderabad:Government of
AndhraPradesh,I969).
45 For example,in JulyI969 a Telangana man, Mr. J. V. NarasingaRao, was appointed
deputy-chiefminister,and anotherfour state ministersfromTelangana joined the cabinet.
Hindu, Julyi9 and 24, i969.
46 "The Tide Turns in Telangana," Citizen,Vol. i, no. io (July 26, i969), p. 22,
"Time for Peace in Telangana," Citizen,Vol. i, no. I2 (Aug. 23, i969), "DecliningDe-
mand for Reddy to Go," Citizen,Vol. i, no. 15 (Oct. ii, i969); "Separatists'New Hope,"
EPW, Nov. 22, i969, pp. i804-5, "Openingin Telangana",EPW, Sept. 23, 1969, "Is Telan-
gana Over,EPW,Oct. 25, i969. p. i697.

'9
 PacificAffairs
states,
forlinguistic Congress foundit couldnotholdtogether in faceof
strong loyalties
separatist which conflictedwiththedeclarednational policy
oftheparty.Thenational Congress cameoutfirmly against
separation be-
foretheconflictbetween thePrimeMinister andtheSyndicate hadcome
intotheopen.Thereafter
clearly boththerebelTelangana Congress and
thevarious factions within theAndhraCongress werecaught up bythe
ofadvancing
possibilities their bybacking
interests thewinning sideinthe
centralstruggle.
The twomainwingsoftheCommunist party arenotnowverystrong
in Telangana-the CPI (M) hasfourandtheCPI (R) fiveseatsfrom Tel-
anganaconstituencies in theAndhraPradesh Assembly.
Legislative The
Communists are clearly hampered by a lackof theory to explainsub-
regionalism,andtheirineptness in handling thissituationcontrastswith
theshrewd manipulation ofthemovements states
forlinguistic whichhad
contributedto theirstrength in manyofthelinguistic states-and to their
weakness in theHindiheartland.47 Therewas a general feeling in Tel-
anganathattheCommunists had shownscantregardto thedistinctive
problems oftheareauntiltheagitation forcedthemto do somerethink-
ing.48Bothbranches oftheparty haveconsistentlyopposed bifurcation of
thestateandtreattheproblem as purely oneof subregional imbalance,
theagitation
interpreting as a reactionary movement oflandlords andbig
businessmen.49Indeed, it is a serious toa bifurcated
distraction party, both
wingsof whichin AndhraPradeshare faction-ridden, at a timewhen
Naxalitesareattempting to re-establisha revolutionarypeasantmovement
in somepartsofTelangana, particularlyNalgonda District.50
Bywayofconclusion, onemaynotefirst thatthetroublesinTelangana
seemtobe symptomatic ofa newforce ofsubregionalismin manypartsof
India.Competent observers areawarethatthisagitation couldwellspark
movements
offseparatist inRayalaseema, Vidharba,Marathwada, andvari.
ousotherplaces."'The growth of subregionallocalismwas obscured by
thestruggleforlinguistic states anddidnotbecome obviousandchalleng-
inguntilthenewlinguistic states became settledandtheirboundaries fixed.
Subregionalconflictofthissortcancutacross thecasteandfactional con-
which
flicts havebeenfound ofIndianstatepolitics,
tobe characteristic and
whichIndianMarxists
alsotheclassconflicts arealways hopefullyclaiming
Subregionalism
todiscover. may,therefore, be yetanotherindication ofthe

47 Harrison,op. cit.,pp. I8I, 220-6, 243-4.

48 Thotha,op. cit.,p. 17.
49Raj Bahadur Gour, Telangana Tangle: The CommunistApproach (New Delhi: CPI,
1969), p. 7.
EPW,Dec. 7, 1968,pp. I866-7.
50 "SweetSmellof Revolution,"
51RomeshThapar, "Lessons fromTelangana," EPW, June2I, 1969, pp. 991-2; B. V.
Borkar,"Danger of Telangana in ProsperousMaharashtra"and Anon, "AvertingNew Telan-
gana in BackwardRayalaseema,"Citizen,Vol. i, No. iS (Nov. 22, 1969), pp. I6-I9, 26-17.

20
 Subregionalism
in India: The Case of Telangana
decliningpoliticalinfluence of caste.Variousscholarshave detectedthe
beginning of thebreakdown of castepoliticalsolidarityand have attribW
utedit to thesuccessful riseof a caste,creating a situation in whichin-
dividualmobility becomes possibleandvoters andpoliticians gradually cease
to take theirpoliticalcues fromcastefactors.52 Subregional conflictcan
breakdown castepoliticalsolidarity in a different way and forcestate
politicsto concernitselfnot so muchwithbalancingthe claimsof sig-
nificant castegroupsas withbalancingtheclaimsof variousareaswithin
thestatetoequality oftreatment, particularlyineconomic development.
It is,therefore, probably correctto viewthiskindofsubregional conflict
as one aspectof thegrowingpainsof modernization. Certainly thereare
reactionary and traditional forcesat work,and disgruntled politicians
mayattempt to capitalizeon thesituation, butnevertheless it representsa
distinctively
modernstyleof politicsbothin itsaimsand objectives and in
thealignments ofgroupsand forces whichit arouses.Thiskindofagitation
maybe supported or ledbythosewholongfora restoration ofthepast,but
itsessentialdriveis in thedirection of a balancedand equitablemodern-
ization.
The agitation ranits courseovera periodof ninemonthsat immense
costin humanlivesand damageto property. It can well be arguedthat
theunderlying problems shouldhave beenidentified and dealtwithfar
earlier, and it is a real failureon thepartof Telanganaleadersand the
TelanganaRegionalCommittee thattheydid notdrawattention forcefully
enoughto thegathering storm.The directand immediate involvement of
thecentralgovernment as thearbitrator in an essentially
intrastatedispute
is notable,as is thedelayedpolicyresponse on thepartofthecentral govern-
ment.On theotherhand,theeventualpetering out of theagitation may
be attributed, in partat least,to thefactthatthenew measures proposed
bytheCentrehadbegunto"bite,"andthatseparatists werebeingisolatedas
theirfollowers becamegradually reconciled to thepossibility
ofa future for
TelanganawithinAndhraPradesh.The tragedy of Telanganais thatso
littlewas doneto identify or dealwiththelegitimate grievances ofthearea
forso manyyears.The consequence, we mayhope,maybe a new sen-
sitivitytosimilar situationsdeveloping inotherstates.
MadrasChristian College,December 1969

52 Rudolphand Rudolph,op.
cit.,pp. 88-103; R. L. Hardgrave,The Nadars of Tamilnad
(Berkeleyand Los Angeles:Universityof CaliforniaPress,1969).

21