The New Telangana State

The imminent formation of the new state of Telangana promises to address and fulfil the long cherished hopes and aspirations of over 35 million people. The merger of the former Hyderabad state with the Indian union in 1948 marked the end of feudalism and opened up a vista of opportunities for development for the people of Telangana. But not much time was a­llowed for social change and transformation in Telangana before it was merged with the Andhra region to constitute the state of Andhra Pradesh in 1956. Telangana’s merger with the more resourceful, educated, skilled and politically dominant Seemandhra, far from releasing local initiative and enterprise, gave rise to new tensions and universal discontent among the people of Telangana consisting largely of weaker or disadvantaged sections, e g, scheduled castes (SCs), scheduled tribes (STs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and minorities, who constitute nearly 90% of the total population.

With the creation of Telangana, there would be high expectations from the common people for their economic betterment and for opportunities to participate in shaping their destinies. Nothing short of a new social framework that a­llows inclusive and participatory development would be able to meet these a­spirations. This is desirable as well as workable. A sociopolitical arrangement that allows the common people to share political power and responsibilities at various levels would enable them to a­rticulate their real problems and explore workable solutions in keeping with local resource endowments. Such an arrangement would also enable them to see the possibilities and limitations of development with the available resources and can elicit constructive effort from them, ensuring stability and social harmony.