By: Soonya
I do see many of Telangana folks get upset and angry with SeemAndhra people, especially the Andhra people for displaying their arrogance or often for the ridicule of the Telangana language and insensitivity to and ignorance of Telangana culture history etc.
This is the refrain I have been hearing on the Mission Telangana site, I am sure it is a reflection of reality in general.
I have a slightly different take on this. The questions that I ask myself are -why are they so arrogant about their language? Why do they think the Telangana dialect and the accents are inferior? Why do T folks feel uncomfortable to talk in their natural accent or dialect?
One thing occurred to me that one can blame their arrogance as something natural to them or if you dig a little deeper you find many of the well-meaning Andhra folks are the way they are because of some of the following.
The early usurpers of power in the newly merged state either consciously or unconsciously perpetrated a regime, which led to the current state of affairs – I limit myself here to the sphere of language and culture only.
They say if you want to control people or organizations, you need to capture the school and the police. Both they have meticulously done over a period of time, and most importantly also ensured that any Telangana politician with spine was denied a ticket for elections and by encouraging lumpen elements or people without a social standing (which often are a complex mix of education, social status, financial status and an upbringing leading to social confidence).
Once they ensured that only pliant, servile, dependent politicians from Telangana exist, the job became much easier for them.
Since we are talking about the sphere of language and culture let us see what they resorted to.
They captured our Schools
They ensured that there is no reference to Telangana history, not even recent history. They ensured that the only history that we all learn – including the SeemAndhra people was a massaged, distorted history often lies as history.
Now how many generations of students have passed through the education portals with this distorted and falsified history?
So in every one’s mind either the Telangana folks or the SeemAndhra folks it was only the history that they were taught.
Common sense is so uncommon, because the ruling elite, when not enlightened and just will not like people be allowed to think independently or to challenge the existing orthodoxy– for the primary aim of all schooling seems to focus on making people compliant.
Once you manage a generation after that it is on autopilot.
It is like making people believe that the caste system is ordained by divinity and once people believe you just have to manage the one and odd mad person who is capable of thinking independently and exercises his/her mind through either coercion or rejection, ridicule! So every one falls in line.
Now once the majority accept the dominant orthodoxy often they would correct the apparently ‘deviants’! So the ruling elite does not have to use coercion at all. That is how most of Telangana people deride their own language and imitate the Krishna-Godavari Brahmanical dialect in any occasion that looks like a formal one. Look at our reporters, our politicians and many of us fell into this trap.
The brain-wash is complete. Mission accomplished!
Now can we blame the SeemAndhra people feeling arrogant? Feeling superior about their Krishna-Godavari Brahmanical language?
Have you seen how the KGBs even ridicule their own dialects? Whether it is Srikakulam language or a Rayalaseema language (with variations from each district)! As much there is ignorance in Telengana, there is in Andhra too. Probably it is much worse.
We have been fed these canards on and on for decades – and like many on this site have alluded to – canards repeated will become ‘truths’.
So what should be done apart from becoming indignant!
I feel that we need to find moderate and sane voices even there. We need to not only de-school our own people, but theirs as well. True conversations can happen only when judgment is suspended, as some wise person postulated.
I do see the wisdom of Prof Jayashankar in engaging, in providing data, in offering arguments with facts so that there is awareness and awareness is needed on both sides.
However, with the rising Telangana movement and the strident tone and tonality led to defensive or offensive stances from SeemAndhra. Even from ordinary people
That’s how I read the comments of SeemAndhra people on this website – asking, “just because your language is humiliated you want a separate state/”
I have argued with many reasonable people from Andhra who become upset at the strident tonality. But there have been both subtle and substantive shifts in the voice of the movement – instead of deriding every Andhra person, it started targeting the ‘powerful’ and the ruling elite.
But the shift has not penetrated into minds of the common Andhra people. It is also a fact that while there is larger aura of the need for a demerged state acknowledged generally, many in Telangana region still need to become more aware about the cause and a deeper understanding as well.
Unfortunately, often it is not two people who speak to each other – often it is their histories speaking! It is true in our personal lives as well. Unless we can catch the average Andhra person’s attention there would be animosity and emotions, and emotional people rarely listen to logic or reason.
If you have noticed, whenever an SeemAndhra person is confronted with facts and data he never answers the substantive issues but would talk about woolly stuff – like kalisi-unte (which is a good thing we are told by our elders) or feel an unknown fear about what all things they would lose – often unarticulated fear. We know how fear mongering leads to irrational behaviors – look at one of our states in western India – thousands have been massacred and unspeakable acts perpetrated on innocent people from minority.
This non-specific fear must be calmly addressed. If the common man from SeemAndhra as well figures out, especially the Andhra region, hopefully they will see through the injustice that has been meted out to Telangana and to their own regions. Like there were people even in Britain who decried the British colonial power.
However, in our indignation and righteous anger we become reactive. And reactivity sometimes leads to regret. My argument therefore is that as much Telangana people have been cheated, exploited and their history is obliterated and a KGB is thrust on people, the SeemAndhra people also fell victim to it to believe in the canards about their so called superiority!
So who is the enemy?
In my view primarily there are three among many others.
1. The crass, self-centered elite ruling class (some other space, some other time I will attempt to decode their character) both SA politicos, and pliant crumbs seeking spine-less and drooling Telangana politicos
2. The average Telangana person’s innocence, ignorance and pliability
3. The average SeemAndhra (both literate and illiterate) – his ignorance, gullibility
We need to fight all the three enemies. While the Telangana movement is targeting the first two, the third one is left out.
I believe even if a third of the 3rd category is addressed we would have succeeded. I have no definitive answers or solutions to offer at this moment except trying to find and explore.
If you see the SeemAndhra controlled media also plays a very vicious and dangerous role in publishing different versions in different regions. Thus feeding the non-specific fears in SeemAndhra region and making it that much more difficult.
In this struggle the moot question of who blinks first.
The enemy wants you to blink first – make you angry, so that in your reactivity you would make a mistake. And he can latch on to that mistake and go to the world tom-tomming and saying – see this what these people are.
Hubris – the last stage of downfall
Hubris is the last stage of downfall. Many mighty have fallen. See Ramalinga Raju a stalwart in IT and who was a primary force to make Hyderabad a name in IT scene and rose to great heights – and what has happened? He took a mighty fall!
Look at Rajat Gupta, one of the sons of the soil that Indians should be proud about – a rags to riches story, like a story of a film – hubris got to him. He blinked – what was a small crossing of line brought him down all that he built for decades.
Look at any great guy who had fallen in history – the same story.
The question is should we blink? Or are we made of nerves of steel and determination made of sterner stuff?
What would you think was the lives of blacks in US in 60′s? But with constant struggles they came a long way – even a black could become president of US of A.
However, they have still a long way to go though.
How many years did Mandela and ANC had to struggle till the moment arrived?
I believe the enemy is softened – with money, comforts, power and pelf. Cannot hold on for long. Let us not guess how long. Suffice to say long enough.
Another story
Here is a small story that I was told.
Post cessation of hostilities and Americans were trounced in the Vietnam War, there were to be discussions on compensation for the damage US caused to the Vietnamese.
Obviously these could not be conducted on American soil or in Hanoi.
They agreed to meet at a neutral place – what better than the first colonizers of Vietnam – France was to be the place.
Here is the twist in the tale.
The American diplomats booked rooms in a hotel.
The Vietnamese negotiators rented a set of villas and moved with their families.
Who do you think got away with what they wanted?
Obviously the Vietnamese got away with almost everything they wanted, is what I was told!
David and Goliath?
While the Andhra JAC keeps appearing before televisions from time to time, does it have the same determination and the team of committed people like TJAC?
The guy who has nothing to lose will bet everything.
Keep watching – they will make a mistake – they will blink – one day – may be not tomorrow, but definitely one day.
So the question is, should we blink?
Like I said earlier, every problem throws an opportunity.
Meanwhile the SeemAndhra folks will keep their taunting, if not in public – behind our backs.
For they too are victims of history – a story full of lies.
They may resort to every cheap trick in the book.
Look at the crass attempts from their film industry in the recent past even while the movement is at its peak.
They will get baser and baser. But if we can keep up our dignity, if nothing, we will be building a new culture, a better one at that. I would thank these morons for strengthening my resolve and pointing me towards an opportunity.
Well let them stoop to an abyss and meet their nemesis. That defines them.
Meanwhile they will try to provoke you – through their cronies and all the power at their disposal. They will try to make you angry.
I thought I should share another small story here about a Sufi saint .
A Sufi saint and his young disciples were going around and an arrogant mischief monger, good for nothing scum – abused the saint about his mother (you can imagine what he would have said).
To the provocation the Sufi saint laughed and said ‘naadaan’ and continued walking.
The young disciples were upset with the shmuck who insulted their guru and were upset with the guru for not reacting to it. One brave disciple found fault with the guru, to which the guru replied..
My son, I can only call him a naadan for he does not even know how to abuse me – when I was a kid, if some one abused my mother I would get angry, and when I was a teenager if someone abused my sister I would be angry, when I got married if some one abused my wife I would be angry and when I had children if some one abused my daughter I would be angry – I am old now and he wants to do something to my mother who is resting in her grave – what can I do except pity or laugh at him?
On a different note, you know why India did not go the Pakistan’s way? There was a strong civil society – battle hardened – idealistic. The Pakistan folks got a country without struggling much. No institutions of any strength – and you know how it has been doddering through the decades.
We need to build the soft-infrastructure – informed people, thinking people, questioning people, articulate people and decent people. And enough diversity – so that none can hijack the movement or mortgage it or when the state happens none grows in the image of the SeemAndhra pettubadidarlu that every one in Telangana hates. A tough challenge awaits us ahead.
Persistence pays
I always remind myself of the story of King Richard and his inspiration from the spider which kept trying, till it succeeded. When justice is on your side, and you have been wronged, even some from the enemy camp can sense it. We need to keep trying.
And whatever the circumstances never let the core within us, which is dignified, and gives our dignity, should ever be compromised.
Nor is this a time to despair or to blink!