WE ANDHRAS CUTTING AT OUR VERY ROOTS: THE CONSEQUENCE OF TELANGANA SEPARATISM

Komatireddy Venkata Reddy, a Telangana Minister from Nalgonda district, commented that they are not demanding bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh but only restoration of pre-merger (pre-Nov 1956) status when Telangana was a separate State.

Simply because a person is a minister he has no right to talk nonsense. Let KomtiRddy show a single day when Telangana was a separate State and then it can be conceded possibly. Or if he wants the status quo ante before 1 November 1956, then let him convince and bring the Marathwada and Karnataka (Gulbarga, Bidar, Raichur etc.) people also to his forum and demand the restoration of the Old Hyderabad State (with its three linguistic regions) and perhaps that can be conceded possibly. But to mislead and misguide people by making a lie to be represented as truth, he is committing not only political but moral crime also.

However, such restoration will never be possible. Marathis and Kannadigas are not like our Telugus forgetting our roots and fighting bitterly among ourselves. They love and respect their language and unity very much and even if some separatists be there, they will be of miniscule proportion. So anybody suggesting separation of those areas from Maharashtra or Karnataka, I think, will not be tolerated. So the restoration of old Hyderabad State is an impossibility. Of course, what the present separate Telanganaites insist is that Fazal Ali Commission recommendations should be implemented NOW! But that would be an absurdity. I don't know why these stupid persons are bent upon cutting at their very roots and destroying Annapurna Andhra Pradesh!
The CPI has more knowledge of history but less acumen politically and is more opportunist than steadfast and persevering. Regrettably its opportunism always harms itself. It supported tooth and nail Indira Gandi and the 20-point formula during Emergency. Consequently all its SC supporters (at that time they were in considerable numbers) thought if Indiramma and her 20-points and her emergency are so good, why not join that party itself. And so CPI lost one of its main bases! It allied with NTR and again lost much of its clout later with TDP becoming stronger. Now they join hands with separatists and lose their base in other sections also because naturally they would find KCR and his party more consistent separatists than CPI!

The movement led by the Hyderabad State Congress and supported by CPI after some vacillation after 15 August 1947 (till September 1948) was called the JOIN INDIAN UNION Movement. It was also called, alternatively, Merger with Indian Union movement. Nizam himself declared his independence after 15 August 1947 and refused to join either India or Pakistan. Jinnah was not enamoured of Nizam, perhaps hated him too (since when Jinnah came to Hyderabad in the 1920's Nizam did not allow him to hold a meeting in Hyderabad and he had to make do with a meeting or get together in Secunderabad, which was Cantonment area under the British), and so he did not do much to rescue him in his hours of crisis. Anyway, the Police Action was, if not planned, executed only after Jinnah's death. CPI was never enamoured of 17 September till recently. Because the Police Action was as damaging to them as to the Nizam. In fact the real motive of the police action seems to have been to avert the fall of Nizam to communists and other rebels and stop any radical revolution in Telangana and other areas and suppress communist rebellion. That's why, and of course also due to some adventurist policies of the then undivided CPI, their armed struggle went on up to late 1950 or early 1951. Whereas Nizam although defeated and surrendered was honored with the title Raj Pramukh of a 'B' grade State, which Hyderabad was at that time. So you find CPM never crying much in praise of 17 September though it may also have changed its policy a bit recently.