By Amar Nath K
The day of March has arrived and started on a sad note. Shaken by the oppressive police, a graduate student in Khammam committed suicide. Another attempted the same at Basheerbagh press club. The arrests continued unabated, mainly in the outskirts and in the districts. Within the city, the police strategised more on barricading and cordoning off areas around Tank Bund, Secretariat and Assembly. All roads in these areas were blocked, ending up disconnecting Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
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I failed to find a route through the Masab Tank road, the Taj Banjara road or the Khairatabad’s track area towards Tank Bund. Police were on guard everywhere. I have never in my life seen such a deserted Hyderabad. See the Khairatabad junction here. I ended up on Necklace road through the by lanes and then drove around the lake to lower tank bund road. At the Mosque there, the Muslim youth helped us park and trek up the tank bund.
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It was around 2.00 PM and by then thousands made their way. By then the barricades were broken and the main entrance to lower tank bund road from Liberty was wide open. So people from liberty took the road. While others on NTR Gardens, Necklace road side canoed over Hussain Sagar! Well, if the state government took up foiling this March on a war-footing by randomly arresting or harassing people from participating, it clearly lost the war.
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The importance of today’s Million March for Telangana movement:
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It was clear the politicians were trying to distance themselves from the Million March. They tried to even ‘postpone’ it. But the pressure of the non-political civil society groups within the TJAC made this March inevitable. Today’s turnout at tank bund is a eye-opener for all political parties. Without any mobilization from the parties, like for Telangana garjana in Warangal, around 1 lakh gathered at Tank Bund. This is despite the unofficial curfew, the traffic blockades, the arrests and the detentions of TJAC leadership. For anyone who has doubts about the depth of the movement, todays’ turnout and the uncompromising will behind it should provide the answer. The unwilling politicians too attended, to save their face. People’s will prevailed.
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The creative expressions at the March:
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As the telangana movement has time and again shown, there is no dearth of creativity in expressing the ideas and aspirations of the movement.
Firstly, there were the masks. Scores of people turned out in Masks of Gandhi, Ambedkar and even Professor Kodandram. When news flew that the professor may be arrested in the morning, the masks of his face were prepared and worn to mock at the police about the impending arrest. Of course, when the real arrest happened, the agitators found no fun in it and flew into a rage and even dismantled some statues on the bund, dragged them across the road and threw them into Hussain Sagar.
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Secondly, the dhoom-dhaam and the songs raised the pitch as they usually do. Accompanied by a stereo in a four wheeler which managed to squeeze in, the songs, especially Gaddar’s raised the tempo. The youth danced to the beats and a festive atmosphere ensued.
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Meanwhile, women played bathukamma and sung. Some carried bonalu. Kids came in with attires of Gandhi, Nehru, Patel etc and played short skits encouraging the movement. Youth rallied around, some with their hands chained, some with their mouths covered symbolically. My friend Madhav carried a huge Indian flag around getting an odd compliment from one of the policemen! All organizations and groups which came with their banners rallied to and fro, sloganeering about Telangana, between the two ends of lower tank bund. The 2 ends were guarded by police and paramilitary forces. As was the adjoining Telugu Thalli flyover.
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The Armed forces:
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The paramilitary forces stood and watched as thousands poured in overcoming barricades in different parts of city. And I was told they gave up only at 1 PM before which they tried stopping by arresting people. But very soon they must have realised they can not arrest 100,000 people. However, they were the guys who saved the 2 MPs present, Madhu Yashki and K Keshava Rao, from being manhandled by the irate mob for not doing enough for Telangana movement. Even the media faced the ire of the public for all their recent dramas about NBA guidelines and the biased reporting. Some of their cameras were snatched and thrown into Hussain Sagar.
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The agitators were prepared for the scorching sun too. Some came in with caps and most of them arranged for their water packets. Somewhere between 3.00 PM and 4.00 PM Mr. KCR came in and settled at Pothana’s statue with his followers. Gaddar made his exit. Emotions were running high by then and one law student attempted suicide too. May be, it is this mood of the agitators that made the politicians cautious today. None who came there tried to address, appeal or instruct the public at large. Maybe, the Professor could have been different if he were allowed to attend the March. At last, the pledge for Telangana was taken. A pledge that, in its essence, says we would put up an uncompromising fight for Telangana’s demerger. Come what may.
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While the dusk set in, we stepped down the tank bund. Discussed the day’s events among us friends over some cool drinks while the neighbourhood residents cheered the agitators on the Bund from their balconies and terraces. If not for the political leadership within the movement, Tank Bund would have been Tahrir Square within an indefinite sit-in. The cheering neighbours would have joined, the folks who were arrested would have joined too and the numbers would have swelled into millions. The Govt. must be feeling lucky that the dusk has set in and rescued them. They must be feeling lucky that the agitators didn’t head towards the secretariat or Assembly. But then as I walked the half mile back to the Mosque recollecting the day’s frenzy, I felt the March has now only begun and it is now unstoppable.
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