How to make People’s Telangana Possible?

How to make People’s Telangana Possible?

Inukonda Thirumali 

In the context of Karnataka election results the political calculations have begun. It is more so in neighboring Telangana. The inferences are the BRS or the Congress who are the winners in Telangana. But we, the people of Telangana - peasants, tenants, laborers, students, unemployed youth, employees, women and industrial workers - the participants in the movement are a matter today. There are our brethren the unorganized friends like watchmen, drivers, rag-pickers, street-dwellers, daily laborers, masons, painters, and venders whose aspirations are not yet met. We have been voting sincerely expecting samajika Telangana but the ruling party did not make such program as part of their governing agenda. 

But the leaders we have elected became very rich possessing modern bunglows, huge lands and roaming in Innova cars. We don’t know why they move with police escorts and gun-men at the cost of the government as if we are goondas and terrorists to harm them. They are promoting their families as leaders of their parties and constituencies. We have no chance of becoming people’s representatives but only their kith and kin thus political justice is eluding us. We didn’t get share of enormous wealth we collectively generated and they established hegemony over the resources. Thus there is no economic justice in sight to us. Democracy has become blessing to the superior castes, capitalists, businessmen, gangsters and miss-appropriators of public wealth as they have access to governing power and the resources. Further there is no security to our personal wealth from goons. Our vacant plots are double-registered. The gangsters are ruling over us with the blessings of the power-holding leaders. On the other hand Telangana has become a curse on us. 

We sincerely voted to Telangana party to bring about change in our lives but all promises remained hyperbole. The Telangana Government just followed the same liberalization policy the Andhra businessmen introduced. The seizer of our lands for irrigation purpose is humbly followed by the present Telangana Government under guidance of the businessmen and contractors. The party leaders became rich with these deals. Further they are ready to spend their ill-gotten money for getting power at national level. Today, we feel, the TRS becomes BRS to run away from us to Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra and so on. Therefore we, the mass of people, wanted the possible future Representatives and political parties and political activists of all brand come forward in pursuance of the samajikaTelangana we visualized. 

 Isn’t Bangaru Telangana resulted in capitalists’ and businessmen Telangana? Is Telangana model of development only to rehabilitate the landowners with lakhs and even crores of rupees as rythubandu? Is it not resulted to irrigate their lands? Is it to bring elected panchayats under upper caste led Village Development Committees? Another serious problem is villages are passing into the control of “hooligan leaders”. Rythubandu denied to the actual cultivators – tenants and small holders. This caused serious differentiation between the actual cultivators and the pattadars.  The Government promoted only the capitalists, businessmen and landlords. Now, we have to work out people’s model, a new planning to replace the liberalization/privatization schema of the country. 

            

Haven’t People Become Others on Their Own Land?

We as caste groups closed our eyes voted for Telangana party till now expecting to integrating us into governance. Till today despite all our support the people’s oriented needs have not attracted the attention of the Government.  Instead of power sharing as expected, the charities were announced for various caste/communities like dalits, B.Cs and Nomads to engage them in debate. In the due course various Bhavans for SCs, Lambadas, Yadavas, and Brahmins are announced to build in Banjara Hills, Jubli Hills areas. As usual ration cards, pensions and loan wavers have been promised and granted in certain cases. These are common sops not satisfied us in a situation of high aspirations. These are rather part of populist measures the poor/castes would be naturally needed. These have been election promises. Whether fulfilled are not but today we are protesting with political maturity to share in power. The dissent is taking the form of protest and the critiques are rallying behind the pretests that would be part of politics to influence the elections. 

We are reminding the political class that Telangana was a massive movement of extensive lower castes’participation. In the Telangana movement the activists imagined that they get due share in political power and governance calling it prajaswamika or samajikanyaya. The Telangana leadership brought in selective leadership in government from all other political streams making the actual fighter the others in their own Telangana.

 The known political parties are taking opportunist positions weighing in terms of electoral successes therefore they did not stand for the politics based on sharing power with people. They have been taking political stands for electoral benefits. Any party/leader may ally/join any other party weighing in terms of their/his electoral success.

What we need today in Telangana?                          

Telangana, since primarily inhabited by the lower classes that live on caste professions, laboring and servicing. They are well organized as caste groups grown to the extent of influencing the elections. Such people understood today the political leadership governing the country/state that has not come from them. The Telanagana subordinate multitudes of social groups have learnt to represent themselves as independent constituents in the Telangana electoral politics. But such organizations have yet to become a political formation of their interests independent of the political masters in power. The political formation may have to take a shape of federation of all including those who are historically excluded and downgraded. There should be proportional representation to all organizations/individuals which are concerned about the region and people such as caste associations, gender groups, and civil /political rights organizations. They should be ready to elect/select a candidate for contesting in the constituencies independently. All organizations must come together at constituency level. This is a federative politics that shall be initiated hoping that would minimize the vast gulf between the leaders and the masses. This would produce today new perceptions of politics and the new leaders too.

Such party should become an agency of social transformation and political empowerment. The communities and classes in this scenario do not assign the responsibility of representation to the outsiders of their caste/class frames. The political parties, so far, have subordinated us and they have dictated our living conditions, under conventional dominations and caste culture. We decide to protect our lands and life lines – streams and cultivating crops. We shall collectively defend our co-dependent culture only that would guarantee our future political rights with equality. The aspired development and cultural modernization is meant for broader human and social interests in contrast to what the authors of globalization, liberalization and privatization are intending. The lands, forests, animals and streams are people’s lifelines we never compromise to externalize from us. The representative institutions, administrative systems have to transform for every body’s betterment. It is for de-gendering, de-casting and to humanizing social life. The political activists and parties are needed as alternative to the existing streams of politics. Telangana a natal home for such communities of people and their communitarian resistances in the form of Armed Struggles earlier or in the form of recent Telangana Struggle repeatedly came up.  Therefore at least now in the 21st century the people’s regional governance must be designed primarily from this point of view.  This political experiment might develop as a solution to the present representative politics built on the basis of castes. The established political parties shall come under the increasing political dynamism coming from below. This is a solution to the ill-effects of globalization and growing inequalities that are heralding the era of new politics. Caste and capitalism stood strong like wall denying democracy to the people below. We therefore intended to achieve “our Telangana”. All aspiring politicians have to come together in most democratic manner to form a United Front of the like minded.