By Mahesh Thipparthi
(As TRS completes 11 successful years and enters into the 12th year, Mahesh Thipparthi analyses the importance of a sub-regional party like TRS in our statehood struggle)
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From time immemorial, India has been a loose confederation of states or viceroys ruling under the thumb of one chieftain or other, till 1947. When India became independent under the umbrella of Congress, the party tried its level best not to have any viceroys under the garb of democracy. Its apprehensions were valid to an extent, given some disturbances such as 1947 partition of Pakistan on religious lines and the division of Bengal. However they were signs of insecure mind. Fortunately or unfortunately those fears became the basis for our federal structure. At the same time, weak states and strong center under federal framework also did not do much good to India. Excessive power in the few hands always corrupts the society and it leads to uneven development. That’s exactly what has happened, if you observe the first 20-30 odd years of independent India.
India is a very self-contradicting country. We beat the drums to whole world that we are the largest democracy and on the other hand regional or sub regional aspirations are, often, termed as anti-national. These are typical symptoms of an oligarchic society. Against all odds, emergence of regionalism in the down south starting from Tamilnadu, Kerala and early 80s in AP, later in Karnataka, Orissa have sown the seeds of development in India. And this was replicated in in North of India much later. Perhaps of the same reason, you are seeing some green shoots here and there in states like Bihar.
Cursory glance over the history makes me to conclude that the living standards of Indian people started going up in states that have powerful regional parties. This proves the generally accepted fact that regionalism, has not become a threat to nation as some oligarchic minds believed then, it has indeed became a boon for Indian people. Ironically, same regional parties which fought against the so-called national parties (is there any national party left in India? – I see there are multi-region parties and regional parties), are opposing the sub regionalism.
A canard is being spread from ages, by English speaking intelligentsia, in this country that regional parties do not have national interests. I really doubt if so-called national parties really have one. Allegedly good nuclear deal – to meet the ever increasing demand for electric power- was opposed by so-called national parties, however (coercively or otherwise), regional parties ensured that nuclear pact with USA floated through. This incident and many other indicates that every political party will try to serve its own interest, be it national one or otherwise.
Given this back drop of history, it becomes an imperative for any region to have its own regional party fighting and reminding to the so-called national parties and to the nation, in general, the regional aspirations of the people. If whole this equation has to be seen through the prism of Telangana, it becomes all the more important to have party that works for the aspirations of region and at the same time serving its own interests, for following reasons.
Firstly, these ‘national parties’ (or rather multi-regional parties), did not care for the regional aspirations for a long time. Even the local ‘regional party’ did not work for the benefit of people of Telangana. The same party which came to power on the slogan “Telugu Pride” is showing scant regard for “Telangana Pride”.
Secondly, multi-regional parties have a typical habit of shunning their ideologies to grab the power in Delhi. BJP had put its main plank – Ram mandir in Ayodhya on the back burner to attain the power throne in Delhi. Expecting that BJP will behave differently on Telangana statehood issue is just an utopian dream. Congress, volte-faces on every issue, to wrest control of Delhi, is a routine thing that we observe day-in and day-out.
To conclude, it is existential need of Telangana people to have a TRS party to serve the aspirations and interests of them. Every Telangana person should continue to support TRS till we achieve our collective dream of Telangana state and thereafter to realize our combined goal of prosperous and just Telangana.
P.S: It is rumored that Congress gives Telangana only on a condition of TRS merging with it. This will pave the way for achieving one of our main goals but at the cost of other. We need TRS as much as Telangana