Telanga History

A dying feudalism is only a part of the problem. After all, feudalism has been a national problem. But in Telangana, it received hammer blows at the hands of the Socialist and Communist struggles of the forties. It received a fillip at the hands of Andhra rulers in the fifties and sixties who pushed the Hyderabad Tenancy Act under the carpet. But now it is on its last legs slowly getting converted into elitist professions and an incipient capitalism. Caste too is a part of the problem, though the Arya Samaj Movement of the thirties and forties tried to resolve it in its own manner. The weakness of the movement was that it was largely an urban movement, failing to effectively penetrate the countryside. Communalism too is a part of the problem, albeit a small part, being basically an urban phenomenon bound up with history and race memory. The basic problem of the Deccan, of which Telangana is a part, was and is total denial of participation to local people in the affairs of the state. It was not always so. Tribal kingdoms and the Kakatiyas Empire were, to the extent possible then, participatory systems, based on the concept of the welfare of people.

Polling begins to elect new President

Polling began on Wednesday in Parliament House and state capitals for electing a new President in a race that appears clearly in favour of UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee, who faces P A Sangma sponsored by some opposition parties.

Brisk polling was witnessed in the early hours with M K Alagiri of DMK, opposition BJD MPs led by B Mahtab and Pratap Singh Bajwa of the Congress among the early voters.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to cast his ballot at 11 a.m.

As many as 4,120 MLAs and 776 MPs with a total vote value of 10.98 lakh votes are eligible to cast their ballot in the 14th Presidential election.

Members of the Rajya Sabha, the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies make up the Electoral College for the Presidential election.

The run-up to the Presidential poll saw its twists and turns with key UPA ally Trinamool Congress first declaring its opposition to Mr. Mukherjee only to take “the painful decision” to back him.

Besides the UPA and its four supporting parties —— SP, BSP, RJD, JD(S) —— NDA members JD(U) and Shiv Sena as also the CPI(M) and Forward Bloc have declared their support for Mr. Mukherjee.

The CPI, RSP, TDP and TRS, which together have about 36,000 votes, are likely to abstain from voting.

There are around 32,000 votes with smaller parties who have no presence in Parliament but have legislators in the states.

Mr. Sangma, a former Lok Sabha Speaker, jumped into the fray playing the tribal card with initial support of the BJD and AIADMK. The BJP and Akali Dal decided to back Sangma, who quit the NCP, the party he founded with Sharad Pawar, to contest the election.

With the support of SP (66,688 vote value), BSP (45,473), JD—U (40,737), Shiv Sena (18,495), JD—S (6,138) and CPI—M and Forward Bloc (around 41,000), Mr. Mukherjee can expect vote share of around 7.5 lakh.

In the electoral arithmetic, Mr. Sangma is expected to be way behind Mr. Mukherjee and is likely to garner around 3.15 lakh vote value.

Electors keen to exercise their franchise have to furnish either their identity card or a letter from the poll authority before being allowed to vote for the 14th Presidential poll.

Each elector has been sent a letter regarding the Presidential poll and they were requested to bring it with them when they come to cast their vote.

However, Rajya Sabha secretariat officers have also been given a directory of members of both the Houses to enable them to establish the identity of the voters.

Elaborate arrangements have been made at Room No. 63 of Parliament House and in Assembly buildings in every state capital, including in Delhi and Puducherry, to enable the electors to cast their vote.

The polling for the election began at 10:00 a.m. and will continue till 5:00 p.m.

The Election Commission has granted permission to 77 MPs to cast their votes in different state capitals, while eight MLAs from seven states have got the nod of the poll authority to vote in Parliament House.

Of this a larger chunk is of Trinamool Congress, whose MPs have been asked by their party chief to vote in state headquarters.

Security arrangements in and around Parliament House and particularly at the venue of the poll have been tightened for a free and fair poll.

In Parliament House, six Polling Officers’ Tables have been set up and members of the electoral college have been distributed in serial order among them.

Six voting compartments —— each covered to enable the electors maintain secrecy while marking their ballot papers —— have been set up. Similar arrangements are in place in state assemblies.

The ballot box placed in the Delhi assembly is expected to be sent to Parliament tomorrow itself after the polling ends.

Ballot boxes from Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan are expected to be brought to Parliament by road while those from other state capitals will be brought here by air transport.

The counting of votes will take place on Sunday from 11:00 AM onwards

Delay in Telangana formation, Gadkari accuses government of inefficiency

 

Slamming the Central Government's inefficiency to form a separate Telangana state, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nitin Gadkari has promised the people of Andhra Pradesh that if his party came in power it would bring a bill in the Parliament to carve out a separate state.
Addressing a public meeting organised at Maktal in Mahabubnagar district on the occasion of flagging off a rally in support of the separate Telangana organised by Andhra Pradesh state unit chief G Kishan Reddy, Gadkari said: "I promise you that after our party comes in power, we will present a bill in the Parliament demanding autonomous status and independence to Telangana state and we will surely form an independent Telangana."
Gadkari further said that the country would take a sigh of relief from corruption and scams, when Congress would be defeated in the coming assembly elections.
"Home Minister Chidambaram had announced about the formation of independent Telangana state but the Congress party, its chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have cheated the people of Telangana," he added.
He also further promised if BJP is voted in power, the party would work towards utilizing the water of Krishna river to give relief to the drought struck Telangana district.
"If water comes in Krishna river and six are constructed on the Godavari river, then around one crore acre of land in the drought hit Telangana district will get a new life," added Gadkari.
Pro-Telangana activists have stepped up their efforts for the four-decade-old demand of a separate state, which is sought to be carved out of the economically less developed parts of Andhra Pradesh.
The struggle gathered momentum last year after the UPA government accepted their demand in principle.
Several protests and shutdowns had brought Andhra Pradesh to a near halt in 2009 and 2010, as pro-Telangana activists persisted with their demand. (ANI)