Kerala, Andhra and Tamil Nadu - news and strategy thread

[ramana]

Please read and think about the implications 9f this. It's possible there is no going back to Middle East as post COVID nature of economy is changing.

https://m.economictimes.com/news/politi ... ssion=true

[vijayk]

Andhra has not been under conquest rule in the recent past like telangana has. That may explain why there is no anger in andhra. Or maybe andhra people are just culturally different than telangana people.

In my fathers village in nizamabad, middle aged women there organize these "ladies trip" every alternative year. I found out after I Iooked at their photo albums and found they have been to ayodhya, rishikesh and all these popular pilgrimage sites around India. They had been to shirdi too but never told me. I live in Mumbai and no women in my building has ever been to ayodhya. I then realized that these people in villages of telangana were more boldly religious than I could have imagined. Does this happen in andhra villages also?

Andhra people mostly Tirupati, Kalahasti, badhrachalam etc. I haven't see much of Ayodhya or Haridwar or Kasi

[Yagnasri]

They do travel but that much. Shirdi people go as the cult of Sai baba is quite wide spread.

I agree that in Telangana where the people suffered a lot under Nizam and Razakars the Hindu identity and awareness is quite good and in AP most of which was under British or under the Hindu princes there is not much security related fear and hardship from Jihadis is not there.

[jaysimha]

Andhra people mostly Tirupati, Kalahasti, badhrachalam etc. I haven't see much of Ayodhya or Haridwar or Kasi

No Sir, I disagree,,

When You visit Kashi, there are so many telugu visitors,
I saw all boards first in Hindi and next in telugu.

Behind Annapoorneshwari temple there is a choultry where they provide mahaprasada. There is huuuge list of contributors from telugu people and still growing.

[vijayk]

Andhra people mostly Tirupati, Kalahasti, badhrachalam etc. I haven't see much of Ayodhya or Haridwar or Kasi

No Sir, I disagree,,

When You visit Kashi, there are so many telugu visitors,
I saw all boards first in Hindi and next in telugu.

Behind Annapoorneshwari temple there is a choultry where they provide mahaprasada. There is huuuge list of contributors from telugu people and still growing.

Good to know. Stand corrected.

We should encourage this further with a high end and economy model of travel that takes advantage of all renovation and great infra being built in Ayodhya, Haridwar, Varanasi .... Hope some good business partners emerge to take lakhs to these places and bhakti yatra

[ramana]

Andhra people mostly Tirupati, Kalahasti, badhrachalam etc. I haven't see much of Ayodhya or Haridwar or Kasi

No Sir, I disagree,,

When You visit Kashi, there are so many telugu visitors,
I saw all boards first in Hindi and next in telugu.

Behind Annapoorneshwari temple there is a choultry where they provide mahaprasada. There is huuuge list of contributors from telugu people and still growing.

Correct. It's eye-opening the amount of Telugu presence from priests to pilgrims. And not just the ghats are but Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple, BHU etc.
And pilgrims are from villages, not these city slickers.

Please do visit and see for yourselves.

There is Vijaynagaram Ghat maintained by the Pusapati family branch there.

[Vayutuvan]

They do travel but that much. Shirdi people go as the cult of Sai baba is quite wide spread.

I agree that in Telangana where the people suffered a lot under Nizam and Razakars the Hindu identity and awareness is quite good and in AP most of which was under British or under the Hindu princes there is not much security related fear and hardship from Jihadis is not there.

From my native place in TS, one brahmana is a priest at mahaakaaLEshwara jyOtirlinga of ujjaini. He performs abhisheka there regularly. I get photos of the same.

[chetak]

Tricolor On Capitol Hill: The Case Of Tharoor Loving Malayali Christian Trumpian And Pavolvian Hinduphobia Of Left-Liberal Jamaat.
Leading The Valiant Secular Charge Was As Usual Our Favorite Ultracrepidarian, Dr
@ShashiTharoor



As soon came to light that the man holding the tricolor was not a Hindu; but a 54 year-old card-carrying Republican, and a pukka Malayalee Christian émigré Vincent Xavier Palathingal our righteous doomsayers scurried for cover.

via@prasannavishy

[OmkarC]

Steadily rising violence against BJP activists & workers in TG, nowhere on par with Bengal of course.. In just the past few weeks, a BJP leader was brutally murdered, increasing open threats of attack by TRS folks & now cops brutally thrashed BJP youth wing folks for the great unpardonable crime of putting up flexies of Swami Vivekananda for his Jayanti celebrations !

In the past, there used to be a token "condemnation" of police atrocities.. Now, BJP state president Bandi Sanjay is doing a great job - he and their entire state level leaders are organizing relentless protests.

Not sure if they will be able to sustain the "fire" until 2023, but this is clearly showing TRS is becoming very jittery about BJP in the long run. Perhaps we can expect a TRS-Congress-MIM Maha-gathbandan in the name of "secularism" in next polls.

[suryag]

Not to take anything away from WB BJP folks, but the TG BJP folks had been kicking butt for a long time until CBN did match fixing. Not for any reason was Baddam Bal Reddy termed Go(lconda)Si(mham) BaBaRe, he passed away though. Same with Bandaru Dattatreya, in a certain sense they managed the annual riots very well.

[Yagnasri]

TG BJP is just growning leaps and bounds in the last 6 months. INC is weakened at the same time. All BJP has to do is the fight and fight hard so that the people are assured that BJP is the only alternative to TRS. In 2023 BJP will win with anti TRS votes which are quite huge.

[vijayk]

How is TN BJP doing?

[Dumal]

How is TN BJP doing?

I don't follow BJP or for that matter any of the political parties in depth. So this is only based on superficial observations.

I think the new local leaders like Murugan, Annamalai and others have been very effective and vocal without making any faux pas that was very common with the earlier crop that consisted of Thamizhisai, Raja, Pon Radhakrishnan et al. The new leaders also seem to be working coherently around a plan that must be accomodating all the real-time changes.

Where the TN BJP is lagging is with the absence of heavy weights and I personally feel the strategy around getting Rajnikanth to get into active politics was for him to provide a temporary platform to get BJP off the ground and running. That is now a non-starter after probably 3 or more years of anticipation. Not sure if there is a plan B.

I also believe BJP is not very comfortable continuing to give power to nobody's like EPS, OPS et al and doing the hand-holding when it comes to governance. The jokers take the credit and not letdown on the loot and mismanagement. But given the Rajni no-show, there may not be another viable alternative for some years to come

So, this coming election may be very tricky for BJP to manoeuvre and come out with some positives. On the ADMK side, there is the threat of confusion due to Sasikala and family getting active and also partisan sabotage by Ramadoss and family's PMK, Vijayakanth and family's DMDK etc. Even though there is no dearth of family politics and sabotage on the DMK side, I think the core group consisting of the Congress, the commies and some of the activist gangs like Thiruma's VCK will stick together with DMK. There are a few other gangs including Kamal's party , the Kongu party, etc and with AIMIM threatening to play, that may find a bit more traction to split votes. Even with minimal anti-incumbency pressures, the current ADMK-BJP combination will struggle this election year unless some miracle happens.

[ramana]

Dumal Can you guesstimate the % voteshares of these groups?

So, this coming election may be very tricky for BJP to manoeuvre and come out with some positives. On the ADMK side, there is the threat of confusion due to Sasikala and family getting active and also partisan sabotage by Ramadoss and family's PMK, Vijayakanth and family's DMDK etc. Even though there is no dearth of family politics and sabotage on the DMK side, I think the core group consisting of the Congress, the commies and some of the activist gangs like Thiruma's VCK will stick together with DMK. There are a few other gangs including Kamal's party , the Kongu party, etc and with AIMIM threatening to play, that may find a bit more traction to split votes. Even with minimal anti-incumbency pressures, the current ADMK-BJP combination will struggle this election year unless some miracle happens.

Thanks, ramana

[Dumal]

Dumal Can you guesstimate the % voteshares of these groups?

So, this coming election may be very tricky for BJP to manoeuvre and come out with some positives. On the ADMK side, there is the threat of confusion due to Sasikala and family getting active and also partisan sabotage by Ramadoss and family's PMK, Vijayakanth and family's DMDK etc. Even though there is no dearth of family politics and sabotage on the DMK side, I think the core group consisting of the Congress, the commies and some of the activist gangs like Thiruma's VCK will stick together with DMK. There are a few other gangs including Kamal's party , the Kongu party, etc and with AIMIM threatening to play, that may find a bit more traction to split votes. Even with minimal anti-incumbency pressures, the current ADMK- BJP combination will struggle this election year unless some miracle happens.

Thanks, ramana

Sure, just a simple table of text values is what I can do quickly. The main alliances fared thus over the past 12 years, chronologically (GE and State elections interspersed):

GE'09. SA'11. GE'14. SA'16. GE'19

ADMK+ voteshr 37.7%. 51.8%. 44.2%. 40.8%. 30.1%
ADMK+ wins 12/39. 203/234. 37/39. 136/234 1/39

DMK+ voteshr 42.2%. 39.4%. 26.8%. 38.8%. 51.3%
DMK+ wins. 27/39. 31/234 0/39. 98/234. 38/39

The allies and alliances changed, sometimes dramatically, over these years accounting for the best voteshares when alliances are strong and opposition divided and vice versa. The trajectory for ADMK/BJP alliance has not been great since 2016. And the opposite is true for the DMK/INC/left.

[Najunamar]

Anecdotally, last GE I got strong negative blowback against ADMK+ from rural TN (spoke to a few people) possibly from Sasikala episode. However, my folks in Chennai were finally turning into supportive of BJP and consequently ADMK. Now, I think after all the flood relief efforts and the Pongal freebies (2000 Rs), there seems to be some positive outlook, whether it will continue till election day is the million dollar question...

[RamSuresh]

The allies and alliances changed, sometimes dramatically, over these years accounting for the best voteshares when alliances are strong and opposition divided and vice versa. The trajectory for ADMK/BJP alliance has not been great since 2016. And the opposite is true for the DMK/INC/left.

Another metric is the bye election in 2019.

Out of a total of 22 seats DMK won 13 and ADMK 9. All these were previously held by ADMK. The vote share of ADMK was 39% and DMK 42%. Just a 3% difference. After this, ADMK won 2 seats in October which were previously held by DMK.

The headwinds are clearly on ADMK and it would require a miracle to get re-elected.

[chetak]

Smt Thushara revealed that since inception, many Muslims have taken offence to her idea of running a non-halal restaurant. "Muslims keep saying that it is not correct. Whenever Hindus start any business, Muslims try to intervene", opined Smt Thushara, who has been running the restaurant for a year and a half now.
via OpIndia

The first-ever non-Halal restaurant opens in Kerala, Ernakulam district: Here are the details

The restaurateur said that many customers come to eat at her restaurant without any issue. “So the ones who are okay with the concept of me selling non-halal food are welcome to come here and those who are not can choose not to enter”, said the lady, furthering that there are many who want to eat non-halal food and nobody has the right to force them to eat halal food. “Keeping a non-halal board outside the eatery does not have to be made into such a big issue”, vociferated Smt Tushara.

[Dumal]

The headwinds are clearly on ADMK and it would require a miracle to get re-elected.

I almost wish that there was a Vito Corleone like move that BJP can make to give an offer that DMK can't refuse and the two ally, leaving out INC and the commies et al. That way DMK's rule can be under a short leash as well as giving some breathing space for the Centre. The two were allies last during Vajpayee's full term.

[Vadivel]

The headwinds are clearly on ADMK and it would require a miracle to get re-elected.

I almost wish that there was a Vito Corleone like move that BJP can make to give an offer that DMK can't refuse and the two ally, leaving out INC and the commies et al. That way DMK's rule can be under a short leash as well as giving some breathing space for the Centre. The two were allies last during Vajpayee's full term.

That would make DMK sink. They are in a pretty comfortable position right now. By default they have chance and they wouldnt like to rock the boat.

i can see much ads and media being pressed on the AIADMK side, so they are fighting back, but the last 20 days just before voting will be crucial.

[RamSuresh]

I almost wish that there was a Vito Corleone like move that BJP can make to give an offer that DMK can't refuse and the two ally, leaving out INC and the commies et al.

BJP will bring 3% to DMK and take away 25% minority votes. Why would DMK take any offer from BJP?

[Aditya_V]

The headwinds are clearly on ADMK and it would require a miracle to get re-elected.

I almost wish that there was a Vito Corleone like move that BJP can make to give an offer that DMK can't refuse and the two ally, leaving out INC and the commies et al. That way DMK's rule can be under a short leash as well as giving some breathing space for the Centre. The two were allies last during Vajpayee's full term.

what next BJP should ally with TMC, ideologically INC DMK TMC CPI M go together. It is better to loose elections than to have anything with DMK.

If you see down the level, DMK cadre is Christians(Chruches in TN are with INC) + Muslim + Rationalists Hindu haters, AIDMK core is more Hindu and identifies with India.

It is because AIDMK a Hindu alternative and TN based is there Hindus + minorities with a more nationalistic view align with AIDMK, the Church Ecosystem is pretty strong in TN and they blacklist anyone working for BJP - thats why when AIDMK is there people think it is best way to defeat DMK.

DMK was working for INC during Vajpayee rule and moved to UPA in 2004 when time came to sabotage.

Long term BJP and for India- AIDMK+ BJP alliance is better even it losses the 2021 election. Stay away from Shasikala clan, they have links to DMK. if AIDMK is keen on Shasikala clan, they better to break away and loose elections on its own.

[Dumal]

what next BJP should ally with TMC, ideologically INC DMK TMC CPI M go together. It is better to loose elections than to have anything with DMK.

If you see down the level, DMK cadre is Christians(Chruches in TN are with INC) + Muslim + Rationalists Hindu haters, AIDMK core is more Hindu and identifies with India.

It is because AIDMK a Hindu alternative and TN based is there Hindus + minorities with a more nationalistic view align with AIDMK, the Church Ecosystem is pretty strong in TN and they blacklist anyone working for BJP - thats why when AIDMK is there people think it is best way to defeat DMK.

DMK was working for INC during Vajpayee rule and moved to UPA in 2004 when time came to sabotage.

Long term BJP and for India- AIDMK+ BJP alliance is better even it losses the 2021 election. Stay away from Shasikala clan, they have links to DMK. if AIDMK is keen on Shasikala clan, they better to break away and loose elections on its own.

Aditya-ji, both DMK and ADMK have had a history of pandering to gain minority vote-banks. This was the case with even JJ in even her last years in power. I am not sure what to make of EPS idiotically allow 100% theatre seating on Vijay's asking, though it was revoked later. I am sure that would have endeared EPS to certain sections.

I think much of the black or white kind of characterisations you have made are over the top generalisations, but that's just my opinion. The problem I see is what does the state and people have to see in ADMK today and in the near future? Does it have and develop strong leaders and is it a platform for the youth and can they win elections without the leadership of JJ like personality? If and when they go out of power, let's assume this year, what will become of ADMK? Is there a single leader there who even BJP will want to take in. Their only value to the state and the nation today is their 100+ MLAs whose term has not expired yet.

FYI, I was, until weeks ago, also very hopeful of a ADMK/BJP alliance to win, but the question is will they win. If they can't win, what is the point of aligning with ADMK? So, to your last paragraph, whether Sasikala/TTVD have a role or not, I think then, it is better to go alone.

[uskumar]

I think it's safe to say that dmk will sweep TN polls this time. it has long history of switching between one party to next in consecutive polls except last time. margins need not even be big. remember in TN, difference between 1st and 2nd party is generally 2 or 3 percent. anything else will result in sweep.

[Dumal]

I almost wish that there was a Vito Corleone like move that BJP can make to give an offer that DMK can't refuse and the two ally, leaving out INC and the commies et al.

BJP will bring 3% to DMK and take away 25% minority votes. Why would DMK take any offer from BJP?

Of course! It can't make sense by just the numbers here. But perhaps, there are other things that the DMK family and friends might covet... Perhaps Kanimozhi and Dayanidhi might find the going easier... Perhaps someone can get a junior minister role in the center. Etc.

Also, it could be a cover to let go of the standoffish rhetoric by DMK all these years in the opposition and to swim with the development wave that BJP brings about nationwide.

[chetak]

BJP will bring 3% to DMK and take away 25% minority votes. Why would DMK take any offer from BJP?

Of course! It can't make sense by just the numbers here. But perhaps, there are other things that the DMK family and friends might covet... Perhaps Kanimozhi and Dayanidhi might find the going easier... Perhaps someone can get a junior minister role in the center. Etc.

Also, it could be a cover to let go of the standoffish rhetoric by DMK all these years in the opposition and to swim with the development wave that BJP brings about nationwide.

the states with a burgeoning EJ influence and political presence simply do not want any of the national parties as allies or in positions of power in their fiefdoms.

look at how the dravidians have cast out the congis and how AP is following a very similar game plan.

the BIF simply do not want any development except on their terms and under their control.

language and other anti brahmin/north Indian shyte that they push to the forefront are simply to malign, isolate and denigrate the Hindus so that power remains with the slumlords and the corrupt ej dravidians.

all dravidian parties are the same. They have a very real separatist agenda which people simply will not see or even worse choose not to see.

major contours of TN, AP, KAR, KER, SL are all designated eelam territory and the plan is proceeding unimpeded so far. The ltte is very much alive and kicking

the original game plan as well as the erstwhile players remain steadfast but the methodology has been changed by the BIF to incorporate lessons learned from the 1st eelam war.

the considered opposition to the CAA led by the padres has been gamed and they have larger interests in mind knowing fully well the GoI led by the Hindus will anyway accommodate the persecuted xtians from pak, AF and BD

[Dumal]

Agree with the scenarios you are painting. If the BIF ecosystem thrives because of the political system, the "secular" constitutional and judicial cover and the support from the divisive local and regional politicians, isn't the way to defend against them consist of reducing the space for these local political gangs and slowly make them irrelevant to the larger population. And for that, BJP and any similar nationalist party needs to have a stake in the governance over a continuous period. We've seen how BJP coopted opponents in Bihar and succeeded progressively to hold control. But that didn't work in Mah or AP. Similarly they found the opportunity to work with ADMK over the past 4 years. It will be a big setback if the centre has to deal with TN as a INC supported opposition power after this coming election.

[Yagnasri]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA-p_TWMR4I&t=2808s

AP BJP In-charge speaking on EJ activities of YSRC and Jagan.

[chetak]

Agree with the scenarios you are painting. If the BIF ecosystem thrives because of the political system, the "secular" constitutional and judicial cover and the support from the divisive local and regional politicians, isn't the way to defend against them consist of reducing the space for these local political gangs and slowly make them irrelevant to the larger population. And for that, BJP and any similar nationalist party needs to have a stake in the governance over a continuous period. We've seen how BJP coopted opponents in Bihar and succeeded progressively to hold control. But that didn't work in Mah or AP. Similarly they found the opportunity to work with ADMK over the past 4 years. It will be a big setback if the centre has to deal with TN as a INC supported opposition power after this coming election.

Surreptitiously opened the gates... The plague of India since centuries...

and every surreptitious gate opening, the forebearers of the BIF, from one monotheist desert cult or the other were always present, having paid off their treasonous collaborators.

just like what is happening today with woke, sickular and liberal seditious colonialists taking the BIF side

[vinod]

Where can we find data on the gulf returnees in 2020? I read somewhere that out of 25lakhs 60% have returned to kerala. Apparently, the impact on the remittance is minimal, meaning that its the economically from lower rung who have returned most.
Also, the relaxing of rules who can buy property in dubai has meant a lot of them are buying properties there. A big change, not sure of the full impact in upcoming years.

[darshan]

Andhra Pradesh Police Arrest Pastor Who Claimed To Have Kicked Temple Murtis And Created ‘Christ’ Villages
https://swarajyamag.com/news-brief/andh ... t-villages
An Andhra Pradesh pastor, Praveen Chakravarthy, who had claimed to have kicked temple murtis (idols) on their heads and converted an entire village to Christianity has been arrested by the state police under various sections of the Indian Penal Code that could even get him life sentence.

According to A S Santosh, president of Hyderabad-based Legal Rights Protection Forum, Chakravarthy was arrested on Tuesday from his hometown Kakinada following a complaint filed by a Guntur resident, Singam Lakshmi Narayana.

This is the first time that the Andhra Pradesh government has cracked down on a Christian preacher, who has claimed to have desecrated idols and indulged in conversion.
..

[Rony]

A reminder of NTR's broader cultural nationalism

NTR inaugurated the refurbished boulevard on Tank Bund with its awe-inspiring iconography with fanfare on 1 November 1986, the formation day of the linguistic state. He delivered an inspiring speech, detailing the great qualities of the stalwarts standing on Tank Bund. Each one of the statues was unveiled by a prominent personality invited for the occasion.

For example, the statue of Rani Rudrama Devi was formally unveiled by writer Illendula Saraswathi Devi. Sir Arthur Cotton's statue was unveiled by Rev. Bishop B G Prasada Rao and that of Sri Sri (Srirangam Srinivasa Rao) by Justice K Punnaiah, while Pothana's statue was uncovered by Prof Biruduraju Ramaraju.

NTR had roped in the services of film cameramen in Madras such as Marcus Bartley and Jaihind Satyam to help give shape to some of the personalities of the distant past. The historical iconographies created in films through photography in the past were used as the visual reference. An example was Tyagayya, portrayed by Chittoor Nagaiah in a film of the same name from the 1940s. As NTR had, in his films, played historical personalities, such as Sri Krishnadevaraya and Pothuluri Veerabrahmendra Swamy, they were modelled on his portrayal.

For others like Nannaya and Tikkana, literary references were used as clues. There was obviously less of a problem with twentieth-century figures. NTR had requested his long-standing writer-friend Jnanpith awardee C Narayana Reddy to come up with pithy couplets in lilting Telugu. The verses captured the valuable contributions made by these eminent personalities. These were inscribed on the six-feet high pedestal of each nine-feet-tall statue. For example, the writeup on Pothuluri Veerabrahmendra Swamy read thus: 'Aagami kalagnana karta, purogrami samaaja samskartha [Foreteller of times ahead, forward-thinking reformer].'

Evidently, a lot of thought and effort went into the project. An analysis of the figures would show the liberal and democratic spirit behind the selection. The eclectic list included: the early literary trinity Nannaya, Tikkana and Yerrapragada; followed by Pothana of Bhagavatham fame; modern literary and reformist figures like Gurajada Appa Rao, Gurram Jashuva, Veeresalingam Pantulu and Srirangam Srinivasa Rao (Sri Sri); cultural icons who contributed to Telugu devotional poetry such as Annamacharya, Kshetrayya, Ramadasu and Tyagayya; the first Telugu emperor of yore, Salivahana; the founder of modern Kuchipudi, Siddhendra Yogi; progressive medieval writer Vemana; accomplished woman poet Kummari Molla; the celebrated king who presided over the golden period of Telugu literary history, Krishnadevaraya; social reformer Raghupati Venkataratnam Naidu; editor-journalist Mutnuri Krishna Rao; historian Suravaram Pratapa Reddy; national flag designer Pingali Venkayya; Hindu mystic Pothuluri Veerabrahmendra Swamy; philosopher and statesman Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan; rationalist playwright and reformer Tripuraneni Ramaswamy; educationist and scholar C.R. Reddy; iconic revolutionary Alluri Sitarama Raju; modern theatre personality Bellary Raghava; broad-minded medieval minister Brahmanaidu; liberal Muslim ruler of Hyderabad Abul Hasan Tana Shah; the enlightened sixth Nizam Mir Mahabub Ali Khan; the builder of a gigantic irrigation development work in the Godavari Delta, Sir Arthur Cotton; progressive Urdu poet Maqdoom Mohiuddin; and the valorous queen of Kakatiya Dynasty, Rani Rudrama Devi. It showed the heterogeneous, non-sectarian and broad-based approach adopted by NTR to represent the glorious achievements of Telugus.

However, several pro-Telangana commentators, during the peak of the separatist agitation, saw in the Tank Bund statues 'regional hegemony', a thinly veiled expression for alleged Andhra domination. One objection was that the Telangana region did not get adequate representation. Though proportional regional representation was not the goal, out of the thirty-three personalities, seven were from the Telangana region, sixteen from coastal Andhra, six from the Rayalaseema region, and four were born outside the erstwhile united AP.

Another criticism was that the project helped mainly to consolidate the TDP's identity and inscribe NTR's image within it. Critics said the facial features of some of the statues looked suspiciously like NTR's. Santosh Kumar Sakhinala, an art researcher, alleged that the visual symbolism of the Tank Bund statues involved 'a form of occupationist intervention in the city', by suppressing 'the syncretic Islamic historical identity of Hyderabad by projecting a new hegemonic Telugu history'.

The argument of these scholars appears to be that the 'Islamic historical identity' of Hyderabad should be frozen for all times to come despite the city having emerged as the capital of Telugu-speaking people, with their distinct culture and long history. The subsequent destruction of several of these statues on Tank Bund by highly charged Telangana activists was certainly not an effort to restore this 'Islamic historical identity'.

It was more an assertion of the Telangana ownership of Hyderabad. The act of defilement, however, was explained away by the apologists as a legitimate expression of the long-suppressed anger of the people at the continuing injustice done to the region.

None of the stalwarts on the Tank Bund at the receiving end of the separatist ire would have had any inkling of these latter-day rumblings. Nor could they, by any stretch of the imagination, be accused of partaking in the alleged discrimination since regional identities were not formed in the way they came to be perceived in modern times.

In any case, NTR took his mission as one of bringing a sense of community among the Telugu-speaking people. He wanted the Tank Bund iconography to serve as a reminder of past glory and its continuity in the present. 'There is no future for people who forget their past,' NTR said on unveiling the statues. He called the icons 'inspiring symbols' that showed the way for a 'society devoid of caste, class and religious discrimination'.

In conceiving the project, NTR directed his efforts towards broader cultural nationalism and not the narrow confines of linguistic chauvinism. He wanted to draw inspiration not merely from Telugu-speaking people but anyone who was related to Telugu or contributed to its glory. That was the reason non-residents and even non-Telugu speakers found a place on Tank Bund. But ironically an affirmation of regional identity was later subverted by a counter-assertion of sub-regional identity.

(Excerpt from 'Maverick Messiah – A Political Biography of N T Rama Rao' By Ramesh Kandula, Published by Penguin eBury Press)

[Cyrano]

Telangana state formation was a naked a power grab by Telangana elite who want to perpetuate the feudal system that existed for centuries. The oppressors and oppressed live to die in their own feudal "heritage". Congress played dirty politics and divided AP, then got shafted by the cunning, amoral TRS which is basically KCR's family. New AP is another family + caste disaster story.

Both TS & AP are hurtling towards economic and cultural bankruptcy through marginalisation of Hindu majority.

The only way to set them right is to get BJP to power.

[Yagnasri]

Both states are totally free items for everyone and everything. No need to work. No need to pay taxes or charges. Open looting by politicos, employees, business people and goons. Open EJ activities in AP and Jihadi activities of MIM in TS.

That is the situation of Telugu people.

[Kaivalya]

^^^

Sir - TN, KL are not too much different in terms of the malaise you mention. Grassroot changes are our only hope. Entire political space is full of rubbish or worse in my opinion. I know it is not any consolation, FWIW telugu people are not alone...

[Vayutuvan]

Telangana state formation was a naked a power grab by Telangana elite who want to perpetuate the feudal system that existed for centuries. The oppressors and oppressed live to die in their own feudal "heritage".

I have to disagree. I lived through the first agitation by TPS (Telangana Praja Samiti - paara gurtu kE mana vOTu and then jai aandhra and anti-Hindi agitations while in East Godavari. It was a double whammy as my dad was a professor of Hindi from Telangana. It is not as much a power grab as to get out from the under the thumb of RE magnates like Rajagopal (Lagadapati) and Sambasivarao.

There is a lot of blame to go around on all sides.

[Vayutuvan]

by suppressing 'the syncretic Islamic historical identity of Hyderabad by projecting a new hegemonic Telugu history'.

It was there and was quite apparent to anybody who came of age in Telangana region during in 1962-72. Telangana yaasa was mocked in Hyderabad itself. Telangana rural folks were made to feel that their culture is something to be ashamed about.

It is highly counterproductive on top of being divisive to use rhetorical language of the following variety

naked a power grab by Telangana elite who want to perpetuate the feudal system that existed for centuries. The oppressors and oppressed live to die in their own feudal "heritage"

[ramana]

VT Have you seen a Telugu movie Mana Kurrale on YouTube?

[Cyrano]

Vayutuvan,
Thanks to its feudal past, Nizam exploitation, resource poor arid geography and tribal belts, Telangana region has had stunted economic growth for decades. Illiteracy, superstition and caste oppression we(a)re rampant. Decades of Naxal movement further plunged the region into lack of public sector and private sector investment. If you take out Hyderabad, which benefited from the set up of many PSUs like HAL, IDPL, DRDL, research institutions like CCMB, ICIRSAT, CIEFL and a bunch of universities, Airport, SCR Rail hub etc. the rest of Telangana has been and remained very backward.

Cultural development is unfortunately the prerogative of prosperous, stable and somewhat equitable societies. Vibrant literature, music, poetry, sculpture, performing arts all need this substrate to flourish. Telangana was short served on all of those factors. Its easy to blame Andhra regions domination in these areas, but it had this substrate for ages.

NTR brought a revival of Telugu cultural identity, but as things were, Andhra has historically a lot more to bring to the table than Telangana, but to think it was done to snuff out what little cultural artefacts existed in Telangana is unfair.

Jai Andhra was never a hugely popular movement, and Andhra region never made it a big issue about the disproportionate concentration of development in Hyderabad. They were busy in their farming led mercantile lifestyle and enjoyed their relative prosperity wrt Telangana. Yes, the Telangana "poor people's yaasa" was mocked, just like Tamil influenced yaasa of prosperous and filmi Madrasi telugus was, for some period. Despite making films and TV programmes in Hyd for decades, the cultural sphere did not really adopt Telangana yaasa, nor its unique vocabulary with several Urdu influences, or its somewhat uneven grammar. I don't even know if there is a formalised version of Telangana Telugu language. Written and formal Telugu is distinctly in Andhra style in Telangana, its the case even now. However artists like Gaddar, Babu Mohan and more recently Vijay Devarakonda we(a)re liked and loved all over. Telangana painters like Thota Vaikuntham, Laxma Goud, Kandi Narasimhulu, B Nagesh Goud etc have had some success but I'm not sure how widely popular they are.

What has TRS Govt done so far in these cultural spheres? ZERO ! They don't even have the balls to let Brathukamma festival dances and potharaju celebrations to take place in the old city. Despite IT and service economy filling the coffers without any real effort from the TRS govt, which smartly renames centre funded schemes and passes them off as its own, TRS party has no achievements to speak of, least of all in preserving and nurturing Telangana's cultural traditions. I've not seen significant efforts from the public either, or the emergence of hugely popular Telangana artists, but I may be wrong on the last one. If you have some good info on it, please do share.

[Cyrano]

Of course, yesteryear stalwarts like B Narsing Rao, Dr C Narayana Reddy and Kaloji must be remembered as well, but where are their successors ?