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Marked by Ashes of Rebellion

By: Vijayshree

I had been closely following the fortunes of TRS, as if it were my own and so, I feel I have a right to question it, when, I find, it to be, deviating, from the path. I remember quite well, the by-elections held in 2006, for 16 seats, of which TRS lost half of them to Congress and TDP. I almost broke down in tears seeing the results. Everyone in my office gloated that, ‘Your Telangana will never happen, now that TRS is buried’. The next morning the English daily-‘The Hindu’ carried a cartoon in its centre spread, showing KCR fencing with both TDP and Congress at the same time and having, his nose cut off, in the process. I shot off an angry letter to the paper, saying, ‘He is all, we have and you are insulting people of Telangana by insulting him’.

However much I admire KCR, I know he is not infallible and that he needs, to be guided correctly, many a time. Jayshanker Sir was the person who chose him, for the role, to lead a party which would fight for Telangana both politically and on the streets. If there is any person worth idolizing, for me, it is Jayshanker sir. I do not know how often, I wish he was still alive, but it is like asking a bit too much, from a mortal person.

He set a path for us and for TRS and when I feel TRS, deviating even slightly from the path, I get concerned that if it is not corrected, then it might meander away completely from it. If KCR has said, he has any high command, then, it is Telangana and the people of Telangana.

But sadly, I feel KCR is being let down by these people or the reverse. They either criticize when not warranted or praise him to the heavens, when not really required. Both are bad for him and for us. We must not forget our inherent ability to question, when we know he is doing something wrong.

And I feel he was, when he was not setting his priorities correctly, Building Skyscrapers around Hussain Sagar and turning Yadagirigutta into a Vatican is definitely not a priority. We must understand that there is virtually a nonexistent opposition. People who were active at the time of movement are silent now, leaving it open, for people who have no right to comment, having a field day, talking endlessly.

So it is upon us to question; to make TRS government accountable to us, to exercise that right as the only High Command to KCR. There are so many, old Nizam era companies which have been shut down by CBN’s policy of hatred of all things-Telangana. Are we asking the government, about its plans to re-open them? There is literally a mafia raj in the interiors of Telangana. Sand mining, Stone quarrying, seed, pesticide, forest poaching, Contractors, you name it, there is a mafia for it. There are no signs, of TRS taking upon, their might. I understand that TRS is entangled with a lot of issues, created by the apathy of the Central Government and the envy of CBN, but it should know what its priorities are.

I’ve lived for some years, in the deep pockets of Telangana, when Naxalism was at its peak; even now, I travel every year to its interiors, to see what is happening and also, to have my fill, of its fast vanishing but breath taking beauty. Its incomparable beauty fills me with that passion for Telangana, and it did the same to a lot of others, closely involved with Telangana. So trust us to be emotional, impulsive and fickle, when it comes to our deeply entwined passion.

I’ve seen how difficult, it is for our youth, to find a job and even if they do, to keep it. One thing, in which we differ from the rest of the people, is- our race is marked by the ashes of rebellion. I’ve seen it, personally. Whether they are from Nalgonda, or Karimnagar or Mahbubanagar, everyone is marked by those ashes. Like the ‘Aurelenio Buendia’s’ of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s, ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’, there is an invisible mark on us. I can immediately recognize it in the youth, in boys, half, my age and know, we have to treat them differently. Take this mark of rebellion into consideration, while creating work opportunities for them. They will have high levels of patience, but when tested to its limit, volcanoes burst forth. They slog like anything without questioning, but one day when they feel cheated, their ashes of rebellion come calling. They will starve, rather than let go of their pride.

TRS should know better, and work, keeping our distinctive traits in mind. No one must not try erase them, because, it is impossible to do so. It takes only an equal amount of passion, to nurture this trait and channelize it, in the right direction. If not, there will be another rebellion and this time, TRS will be at the receiving end. I hope TRS is grounded and listens to this earth, for it is so closely linked to our blood, that the earth tells you more secrets than the skies can ever do. It only takes an open mind and careful listening, to bring out these secrets.

If I am talking like this it is only because, I can see what most people are blind to and I can hear what most people are deaf to, I can feel the spirit of Telangana, for it, flows in all of us. The spirit of Telangana is not that of Kakathiyas but that of Sammakka in Medaram. It is the spirit of rebellion, so we must handle it with care. We are not docile Deer’s but wounded and just out of cages- Tigers. The festival of Kakatiyas might be celebrated and given the place of pride, but in our heart, the spirit of Medaram reigns and No one dare, to forget that. The spirit which will take on the high and mighty, even if it, knows death and defeat, are, a sure outcome of it.

Jayashanker sir, has set a lot of ideals for us, and led his life as an example of it, he also chose Professor Kodandaram to lead the T-JAC. T-JAC had promised to be a watchdog, for protection of the interests of Telangana. But the humble, Professor has chosen to stay away from his role and so double should be our resolve, to fill that role of a watchdog. To correct the path of TRS when it meanders from the path set by us or when it forgets its priorities and goes chasing another country, as it’s ideal.

I do not understand this craze, to always want to be another country; CBN wants it, for his state to be a Singapore or Japan. But he is an anti-thesis of Telangana and why are we bothered about where and how they build their capital, as long as their administration gets moving out of Hyderabad, quickly. Why this mad race to compete with them in wanting to be another country? What’s next, shall we aim to be a super power like USA, start stock piling on- Nuclear arms?

Why in the God’s name are we following USA as our role model, we fought for our state in the spirit of Cuba and Venezuela. Why is a ‘Che Guavera’ or, ‘Chavez’ of Venezuela not our role model anymore? They were leaders who moulded their country, in the shape of their own minds and also, taking into account the marks of ashes of rebellion, which is peculiar to the people of Latin American countries and Africa, just like Telangana.

If we go for a mindless capitalistic mantra of development, nothing much will come of it, excepting for the booming of guns, in answer to it. So tread, carefully TRS and the people of Telangana; we are six months into our formation, it is for us to decide, how, we monitor the progress, of our dictates- of how Telangana should be. We would be insulting our own distinctive mark, if we do not question, when needed, do not correct any deviations from the path, set by us and worst still, let others who have no business with Telangana, do it.
(Dignifying the exit-my final post)

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