By Bharath Yedma
I got a call from HDFC Bank saying that a money transfer i requested is under review. The person on the other side asked me what is the relationship between me and receiver Abdulla Khan. I did many money transfers through same bank and non of them raised a flag, for obvious reasons this one did. I explained i am paying for a newspaper ad he worked upon for me. Agent said thank you and hung up.
Who is this Abdulla khan? What is the story?
Abdulla Khan is Andhrajyothy reporter in NagarKurnool, Me and other paalamoor NRI’s worked with to place an ad in support of Nagam Janardhan Reddy. We called different news papers and agents in different towns in the district, before we hit on Abdulla. This is costly affair as we all know that, With the financial constraints we have, we were looking for best price.
Many news papers and agents quoted anywhere between 35000 Rs to 65000 Rs. By the time we called Abdulla we were expecting about same answer, One of our members knew him personally, Abdulla told us going by the tariff this would cost 39500 for the size of the ad. We were not sure if we can afford to do it, Because, we need to do Kollapoor ad as well. Understanding our hesitation, Abdulla, asked us what is your budget, We said 30000 Rs, He said, he will do it. Once the ad came up beautifully on a day TDP chief campaigned in the district, We were really really happy, It sent a chilling message. We had to choose andhrajyothy because, that has second highest circulation in Nagar Kurnool. Looking back, I can tell Abdulla let his commission go to support Nagam. Why did he do that? Now, what relationship does he have with me? A relationship that i did not receive by birth but by telangana movement, I am sure HDFC agent would not have understand if i explain him. This discount of 9500 Rs. Abdulla has given for an NRI he didn’t know, is ore than I got from a rich relative who owns a function hall in champapet for a family function.
We have Krishnaveni in NagarKurnool, Her father, A TRS leader, Was offered 5 Lakh rupees for her marriage in exchange to join TDP campaign, she asked her father to not accept that money, She wanted the movement to take new turn, reach great heights with an independent candidate’s win, who defied the arrogance, She defied all odds and hit on the face of same arrogance.
Similarly we have Madhu Kagula in MahabubNagar, who was involved in fighting for Paalamoor Labor rights and fought vehemently for the people who lost lands in Polepally SEZ, to get some what decent compensation. He supports telangana, didn’t like TRS, interestingly he chose to support TRS in this election, because, he thinks TRS have the candidate who worked with them in the movement in last 2 years.
Why i am telling all this now? I wanted all of us to remember the responsibility we all carry, the reach of Abdulla, the determination of krishnaveni, the acceptability of Madhu Kagula, that makes this bridge stronger to last for the generations to come in telangana state that eluded for long. Paalamoor election caused some cracks in our bridge, the bridge to Telangana state. A bridge that took decades of hard work from Prof. Jayashankar, Janardhan Rao, Kaloji and many others. A bridge that gave a much required victory in Nizamabad, defying all odds. Election can get best and worst out of you. Election can be like a Machar(mosquito) in Nana Patekar’s movie. If you don’t use your conscience and don’t stick to your principles, You risk a lot of things. Election can make you things otherwise you would not do.
Political Parties on both sides risked it. One by not discussing it with other stakeholder. Other by selecting a candidate who did not participate in any of the T-movement activities in last 2 years, Not at district level, not at village level. Once, the campaign started they realized what kind of mess they are in. But, it is too late by then and they must win now. Both have Telangana wind of their back to get closer to victory, did their hard work and everything was fine until last few days. BJP faced same situation in Nizamabad, But, their candidate was actively participating in T movement by then and only he resigned from his party and he took the same bridge we are talking about to reach the victory. In Paalamoor, some not all, BJP leaders opened rhetoric that caused some cracks in the bridge. If you select a candidate who participated in the movement and supported wholeheartedly like you did in Nizamabad you don’t need this magical skill that keeps you away from reaching the target in national politics.
Keeping it simple, Doing the right thing no matter what comes in our way keeps you away from feeling bad about it later. I must also admit the obsession of becoming a political leader is killing Telangana, This keeps us limited to one field where there are 99 other fields you can be a leader and work for better Telangana. The negative campaign can only create worst leaders, we have seen it in India, America and in Telangana. Example, Some of our leaders who dream to be CM’s, cannot speak 2 sentences without creating controversy and in 2 days to come back to tell us that’s not what they meant.
Telangana having troubled past, cannot afford this. Paalamoor, Aadilabad and many other towns have troubled past of communal rivalry, any misstep can cause havoc which we cannot afford. Movement cannot afford 12% of population moving away from the cause, the cause that is dear to their hearts, the cause they identify themselves with. We cannot risk it when opposition on average scored 30% of votes. Like many other obstacles we overcome, We will try our best to fix these cracks, We need to step back and analyze, admit the mistakes and fix them.
We must protect the bridge that gets us to Telangana state and works beyond to support each other then only we are doing justice to the sacrifices of many.
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I am compelled to write this after seeing vicious attacks going on in social network websites and emails by pseudo Telangana supporters who wants to widen this crack to attain some temporary satisfaction.
Yours Truly,
Bharath Yedma
Bridge meaning from Wikipedia:
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A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle. Designs of bridges vary depending on the function of the bridge, the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed, the material used to make it and the funds available to build it.