| GREATER ANDHRA
MOVEMENT (4)
- Devulapalli Ramanuja Rao |
Arguments pro and con: Trips to Delhi
In the months of January and February [1956], there were intense arguments and counter arguments for and against Greater Andhra and Telangana. There were numerous trips to Delhi. Numerous telegrams were sent. Several times it was expected that the decision from Delhi would be delivered on a particular day and several times disappointments also ensued. Both the contending parties gave out a series of declarations stating Delhi circles were favourable to them alone. An uncertain situation arose causing much disgust to many. All the while Greater Andhra conferences were being held in districts and villages. Resolutions aplenty were being sent to Delhi. It was suspected that a misunderstanding was created in the minds of a few elder leaders in Delhi, especially Maulana Azad, that the popular opinion was not in favour of Greater Andhra. In order to allay such misunderstandings a monstrous public meeting was held in the Vivekavardhani Grounds in Gowliguda, in which several thousands of people participated [in support of Greater Andhra]. The meeting was a resounding success. Pandit Vinayaka Rao, Srinivasa Rao Akhlekar, Devulapalli Ramanuja Rao, Gurumurthy, Konda Lakshman [Bapuji], Kotthuri Sitaiah, P. Pulla Reddy, Pandit Narendraji, M.S. Rajalingam, Ahmad Ali Khan, et al spoke in support of Greater Andhra. The same day the communist leaders had taken out a big procession, in which more than two thousand people participated, on the roads of Hyderabad City raising slogans in support of Greater Andhra in all the corners of the city and demanding that Greater Andhra be formed immediately. Sri Ravi Narayana Reddy, Devulapalli Venkateswara Rao, Baddam Yella Reddy, Raj Bahadur Gour, Makhdoom Mohiuddin, V.D. Deshpande et al led the procession. This meeting and the procession had demonstrated that Hyderabad City was in favour of Greater Andhra.
In Parliament
The Parliament session had taken place in January 1956. The problem of states reorganization had come up for discussion in this session. On a comprehensive examination of the debates in the Parliament it was clear that a majority of parliamentarians supported Greater Andhra. However, the speech of Acharya Gogineni Ranganayakulu caused some surprise when he had expressed his opinion in Rajya Sabha that Telangana could remain separate for a few years. Also it was felt that one or two elder leaders in Delhi had come to the view that there was not much insistence on the formation of Greater Andhra in the Andhra region in those days. When this sort of news became known, all political parties in the Andhra region reacted vehemently by sending thousands of telegrams to Delhi in support of Greater Andhra. In the last week of January [1956] Sri S.K. Patil had come to Hyderabad, stayed for 2 days in the Ritz Hotel and gave out three or four statements. These statements were mutually contradictory and created great discontent among the Hyderabad and Andhra political circles. One of the statements of Sri S.K. Patil was to the extent that Greater Andhra should be formed with the acceptance of all parties and circles in Andhra and Telangana. Commenting upon that statement Dr. Channa Reddy had declared that nothing short of a separate Telangana state was acceptable to him [their group].
Deadlock
In the month of January 1956 the All India Congress Working Committee had made a declaration of its decision upon the problem of Bombay. The Congress Working Committee had decided that [in the place of the then Bombay Province] three [new] States of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Bombay were to be carved out. As per this decision, the City of Bombay will not belong to either Maharashtra or Gujarat but would remain a separate State and all other Maharasthrian areas except Bombay would form a Samyukta Maharashtra (United Maharashtra). Vidarbha was also to be merged in Maharashtra. Sri Brijlala Biyani, et al who till then pleaded for a separate Vidarbha State had also supported the Working Committee decision. Once the Working Committee had decided that Vidarbha cannot be kept separate but had to be joined in Maharashtra, it also created a profound belief in the political circles that [on the same analogy] there was no room for a separate Telangana State and Greater Andhra State would certainly be established. However, the decision of the CWC on the City of Bombay led to excessive acts of violence and vandalism in the City of Bombay dealing a serious blow to law and order. Those violent deeds had created a sensation in the entire country even. Further violence erupted in Orissa and Bihar States too. As such a meeting of the Chief Ministers and other top Congress leaders was held to discuss about such state of affairs and also decide other related issues. The top leaders of Congress were anguished about the violence and conflicts regarding the [state] boundary and other problems. In that context the top leaders of the Congress began to think that formation of small states was not desirable but big states are needed and that too bilingual or multilingual states are desirable. In the last week of January 1956 a Chief Ministers meeting took place at Delhi and the Chief Ministers of Bengal and Bihar, Sri B.C. Roy and Srikrishna Sinha who met on that occasion declared that they were agreeable to the merger of Bengal and Bihar into one state. The Congress Working Committee expressed its approval of this statement. This created suspicions as to whether the linguistic states movement would itself receive a setback. However, there was intense resistance to the proposal (of the Chief Ministers) for the merger of Bengal and Bihar from the people of the respective states. However, in that context, important leaders in the country began to give out statements in support of bilingual states. Dr. Burgula Ramakrishna Rao, Chief Minister of Hyderabad, indicated that Andhra and Karnataka could be merged to form one [such bilingual] state. Whereas Sri Bezwada Gopala Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra, suggested that Andhra and Maharashtra together could form into one state. Sri Ayyadevara Kaleshwara Rao expressed his opinion that perhaps the joining together of Andhra and Orissa into one state would be a better option. Channa Reddy talked in favour of merging Andhra, Telangana and Karnataka into one state. Sri Konda Venkata Ranga Reddy advised caution in this matter remarking that nothing could be said immediately on this problem [or proposal for creation of big bilingual or multilingual states] since it required serious and careful consideration. But Sri Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy gave out an unequivocal declaration that formation of Greater Andhra was the first necessity and other matters could be looked into later. Greater Andhra protagonists did not approve of the proposal to create bilingual states and asserted that states have to be formed on linguistic basis. Sri Devulapalli Ramanuja Rao made a lengthy statement in this regard declaring that linguistic provinces have to be carved out on [uni-] linguistic basis. A nice editorial appeared in this regard in the Golkonda Patrika in which the formation of states on linguistic basis was supported and the demand for unilingual provinces was asserted.
A Happy Ending
In the month of January [1956] some important figures in the Central Government had arrived in Hyderabad city. Dr. Kailas Nath Katju, Minister of Defense, Sri Lal Bahadur Shastri, Minister for Railways, Dr. Syed Mahmood, a minister in Ministry of External Affairs were prominent among such who came to Hyderabad. All these were met by the delegates of Greater Andhra Mahasabha, Sri Ahmad Ali Khan, Kotthuri Sitaiah, Pulla Reddy, Devulapalli Ramanuja Rao, Erram Satyanarayana, Pandit Narendraji, Sardarullah Khan, Dharanidhar Sanghi, Abid Ali Khan, et al on behalf of the Greater Andhra Mahasabha and the need for immediate formation of Greater Andhra was apprised to them. Sri [Burgula] Ramakrishna Rao led the Greater Andhra movement whereas Sri K.V. Ranga Reddy was the leader of the separate Telangana movement. In the second week of February [1956], the All India Congress national sessions were held at Amritsar. Delegates from both groups [Greater Andhra and separate Telangana] went to participate in this session. In consonance with the decision of the top leaders of Congress, the idea that big states have to be formed in the country began to gradually gain strength in Congress circles. So the Hyderabad leaders were called to Delhi and the need for creation of bigger states was explained to them. It was considered proper to merge Telangana with Andhra region with due safeguards. It was also decided that people of Telangana would be given safeguards in regard to public employment and the plans for development of education and public health and also a regional council would be created to protect such safeguards. Important among such safeguards were also incorporated in the [to-be-enacted] bill in the Parliament. None were opposed to safeguards at any time. Greater Andhra protagonists had from the beginning opined that Greater Andhra should be formed with sufficient safeguards to Telangana. Also, the need for such safeguards to Telangana had been asserted in the report submitted to the Fazal Ali Commission on behalf of Greater Andhra Mahasabha. However, before and even after the publication of the Report of the Fazal Ali Commission, Sri Channa Reddy had stated that the matter of safeguards was not that important nor was there that need for such safeguards. Finally this matter ended in a happy note. Andhra leaders had declared that they were ready to give a ‘blank cheque’ to Telangana in this regard. So it was only remaining for the declaration of Greater Andhra to be made. That declaration was finally made the symbol of the noble Indian culture and the beloved leader not only of the people of India but of the entire world, our Premier Sri Jawaharlal Nehru, while presiding over the annual celebrations of Bharat Sevak Samaj at Nizamabad town in the first week of March 1956. That declaration was welcomed and totally supported by all circles in Hyderabad as well as Andhra states. The elderly leader, Sri Konda Venkata Ranga Reddy had appealed to all the people of the Hyderabad State to obey the decision of the Government of India so declared by Sri Nehru. In this way, the artificial gulf that existed for one hundred and fifty years dividing the Telugu people was closed and Greater Andhra arrived.
A most brilliant chapter
The period 1946 to 1956 was a most brilliant phase in the political history of Hyderabad State. An anti-democratic Medieval despotic monarchy was in power in Hyderabad State before 1946. For the overthrow of such Government and establishment of democratic rule popular movements were actively striving long before 1946. Ever since 1946 the Congress movement here [at Hyderabad] had began to intensively work for the ideal of responsible government. The Police Action took place in 1948. Later the movement for division of Hyderabad State ensued. Elections were held in 1953 and responsible government was established. The movement for division of Hyderabad State then got strengthened more and more. Greater Andhra, United Maharashtra and United Karnataka movements have begun, intensified and successfully concluded in 1956. Thus in the one decade from 1946 to 1956 a most brilliant history, which did not happen in centuries before, had been constructed. This is an unparalleled chapter in the entire history of Andhra country.
[Note: The Andhra State Assembly and the Hyderabad State Assembly had decided, on the day of Durmukhi Ugadi {Telugu New Year’s Day of the traditional year Durmukhi}, to name the new state comprising of Andhra and Telangana as ANDHRA PRADESH.] [END]
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Continued from Law animated World, 30 November 2010 issue; emphases in bold ours. - IMS.
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