Telangana movementFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with Telangana Rebellion.

Map of India with the Telangana region highlighted in red.

The Telangana movement refers to a group of related political activities organized to support the creation of a

new state of Telangana, from the existing state of Andhra Pradesh in South India. The proposed new state

corresponds to the Telugu-speaking portions of the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad.

Contents

 [hide]

1 Background

o 1.1 Merger of Telangana and Andhra

o 1.2 Grievances of Telangana proponents

2 1969 Telangana movement

3 1972 Jai Andhra Movement

4 Six-Point Formula of 1973

5 Movement in 1990–2004

6 2004 to 2009

7 2009 to present

8 Proposed Telangana state formation process

9 Srikrishna Committee report

o 9.1 Reaction to the report

10 See Also

11 References

12 External links

[edit]Background

When India became independent from the British Empire in 1947, the Nizam of Hyderabad  wanted Hyderabad

State to remain independent under the special provisions given to princely states. TheGovernment of

India annexed Hyderabad State on 17 September 1948, in an operation by the Indian Army called Operation

Polo. When India became independent, Telugu-speaking people were distributed in about 22 districts, 9 of

them in the former Nizam's dominions of the princely state of Hyderabad, 12 in the Madras Presidency (Andhra

region), and one in French-controlled Yanam. ACommunist-led peasant revolt started in 1946, which lasted

until 1951.

The Central Government appointed a civil servant, M. K. Vellodi, as First Chief Minister of Hyderabad state on

26 January 1950. He administered the state with the help of bureaucrats from Madras stateand Bombay state.

In 1952, Dr. Burgula Ramakrishna Rao  was elected Chief minister of Hyderabad State in the first democratic

election. During this time there were violent agitations by some Telanganites to send back bureaucrats from

Madras state, and to strictly implement rule by natives of Hyderabad.[1]

Meanwhile, Telugu-speaking areas in the Andhra region were carved out of the erstwhile Madras state by

leaders like Potti Sri Ramulu  to create Andhra State in 1953, with Kurnool as its capital.[2][3][4]

[edit]Merger of Telangana and Andhra

In December 1953, the States Reorganization Commission was appointed to prepare for the creation of states

on linguistic lines.[5] The States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) was not in favour of an immediate merger of

Telangana region with Andhra state, despite their common language.

Paragraph 382 of the States Reorganisation Commission Report (SRC) said "opinion in Andhra is

overwhelmingly in favour of the larger unit; public opinion in Telangana has still to crystallize itself. Important

leaders of public opinion in Andhra themselves seem to appreciate that the unification of Telangana with

Andhra, though desirable, should be based on a voluntary and willing association of the people and that it is

primarily for the people of Telangana to take a decision about their future". The people of Telangana had

several concerns. The region had a less-developed economy than Andhra, but with a larger revenue base

(mostly because it taxed rather than prohibited alcoholic beverages), which people of Telangana feared might

be diverted for use in Andhra. They feared that planned irrigation projects on the Krishna and Godavari rivers

would not benefit Telangana proportionately, even though people of Telangana controlled the headwaters of

the rivers. It was feared that the people of Andhra, who had access to higher standards of education under the

British rule, would have an unfair advantage in seeking government and educational jobs.

The commission proposed that the Telangana region be constituted as a separate state with a provision for

unification with Andhra state, after the 1961 general elections, if a resolution could be passed in the Telangana

state assembly with a two-thirds majority.

The Chief Minister of Hyderabad State, Burgula Ramakrishna Rao , expressed his view that a majority of

Telangana people were against the merger.[6]

Prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru initially was skeptical of merging Telangana with Andhra State, fearing a "tint

of expansionist imperialism" in it.[7] [8] He compared the merger to a matrimonial alliance having "provisions for

divorce" if the partners in the alliance cannot get on well.[9][10]

Following the Gentlemen's agreement, the central government established a unified Andhra Pradesh on

November 1, 1956.[2][11][12] The agreement provided reassurances to Telangana in terms of power-sharing as

well as administrative domicile rules and distribution of expenses of various regions.

Anti-Nehru politics emerged with the repression of the Telengana movement; many within the Congress

Party extended their hands to leftist causes. Feroze Gandhi  was among them.[13]

[edit]Grievances of Telangana proponents

Telangana is the largest of the three regions of Andhra Pradesh state, covering 41.47% of its total area. It is

inhabited by 40.54% of the state's population and contributes about 76% of the state's revenues, excluding the

contribution of the central government. When the central government's contribution to revenue is included,

Andhra Pradesh's revenue sources come from Telangana: 61.47% (including 37.17% from Hyderabad); from

the central government: 19.86%; from Andhra: 14.71%; and from Rayalaseema: 3.90%.[14]

Proponents of a separate Telangana state cite perceived injustices in the distribution of water, budget

allocations, and jobs. Within the state of Andhra Pradesh, 68.5% of the catchment area of theKrishna River and

69% of the catchment area of the Godavari River are in the Telangana region. Telangana supporters state that

the benefits of irrigation through the canal system under major irrigation projects is accruing substantially,

74.25%, to the Coastal Andhra region, while the share to Telangana is 18.20%. The remaining 7.55% goes to

the Rayalaseema region. The state's expenditure on Telangana's major irrigation projects is 18.20% of the total

expenditure.[citation needed]

The share of education funding for Telangana ranges from 9.86% in government-aided primary schools to

37.85% in government degree colleges. The above numbers include the expenditure in Hyderabad. Budget

allocations to Telangana are generally less than 1/3 of the total Andhra Pradesh budget. There are allegations

that in most years, funds allocated to Telangana were never spent. Telangana proponents cite that only 20% of

the total Government employees, less than 10% of employees in the secretariat, and less than 5% of

department heads in the Andhra Pradesh government are from Telangana; those from other regions make up

the bulk of employment.[15][16][17] Andhra Pradesh was represented by Telangana chief ministers for only 6 1/2

years out of over five decades of its existence, with no chief minister from the region being in power

continuously for more than 2 1/2 years.[15]

Proponents of a separate Telangana state feel that the agreements, plans, and assurances from the legislature

and Lok Sabha over the last fifty years have not been honoured, and as a consequence Telangana has

remained neglected, exploited, and backward. They allege that the experiment to remain as one state has

proven to be a futile exercise and that separation is the best solution.[18][19][20]

[edit]1969 Telangana movement

In the years after the formation of Andhra Pradesh state, people of Telangana expressed dissatisfaction over

how the agreements and guarantees were implemented. Discontent with the 1956 Gentleman's agreement

intensified in January 1969, when the guarantees that had been agreed on were supposed to lapse. Student

agitation for the continuation of the agreement began at Osmania University  in Hyderabad and spread to other

parts of the region. Government employees and opposition members of the state legislative assembly

threatened "direct action" in support of the students.[21] Purushotham Rao was for outright separation, and he

supported the student views. He unveiled a map of Telangana in the state assembly.[22] A memorial called Gun

Park was built nearPublic Gardens, Hyderabad to commemorate students who lost their lives in the struggles of

1969.

Although the Congress faced some dissension within its ranks, its leadership stood against additional linguistic

states. As a result, defectors from the Congress, led by M. Chenna Reddy, founded theTelangana Praja

Samithi political party in 1969. In the May 1971 parliamentary elections, Telangana Praja Samithi won 10 out

the 14 Parliament seats in Telangana.[23][24] Despite these electoral successes, some of the new party leaders

gave up their agitation in September 1971 after realizing that the Prime Minister was not inclined to towards a

separate state of Telangana, and rejoined the safer political haven of the Congress ranks.[25]

During this period, the Government promised to correct what critics saw as a violation of the promises of the

Gentleman's agreement in the areas of jobs, budget allocations, and educational facilities.[26] Prime

Minister Indira Gandhi  was strongly against the division of the state, but on her recommendation, P. V.

Narasimha Rao became the first Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh from Telangana on 30 September 1971.

[27] [4] [5]

In 1972, candidates of the Telangana Praja Samithi party contested all the available seats for the assembly

elections. However, only Thakkalapalli Purushothama Rao  got elected, from Wardhannapetconstituency

in Warangal District.

[edit]1972 Jai Andhra Movement

Under the Mulki rules in force at the time, anyone who had lived in Hyderabad for 15 years was considered a

local, and was thus eligible for certain government posts. When the Supreme Court upheld the Mulki rules at

the end of 1972, the Jai Andhra movement, with the aim of re-forming a separate state of Andhra, was started

in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.[28] P. V. Narasimha Raoresigned as Chief minister of Andhra

Pradesh on 10 January 1973, and President's rule was declared in the state.

[edit]Six-Point Formula of 1973

On 21 September 1973, a political settlement was reached with the Government of India with a Six-Point

Formula. It was agreed upon by the leaders of the two regions to prevent any recurrence of such agitations in

the future.

1. Accelerated development of the backward areas of the State, and planned development of the State

capital, with specific resources earmarked for these purposes; and appropriate representation of such

backward areas in the State legislature, along with other experts, should formulate and monitor

development schemes for the areas. The formation at the State level of a Planning Board as well as

Sub-Committees for different backward areas should be the appropriate instrument for achieving this

objective.

2. Institution of uniform arrangements throughout the State enabling adequate preference being given to

local candidates in the matter of admission to educational institutions, and establishment of a new

Central University at Hyderabad to argument the exiting educational facilities should be the basis of

the educational policy of the State.

3. Subject to the requirements of the State as a whole, local candidates should be given preference to

specified extent in the matter of direct recruitment to (i) non-gazetted posts (other than in the

Secretariat. Offices of Heads of Department, other State level offices and institutions and the

Hyderabad City Police) (ii) corresponding posts under the local bodies and (iii) the posts of Tahsildars,

Junior Engineers and Civil Assistant Surgeons. In order to improve their promotion prospects, service

cadres should be organised to the extent possible on appropriate local basis up to specified gazetted

level, first or second, as may be administratively convenient.

4. A high-power administrative tribunal should be constituted to deal with the grievances of services

regarding appointments, seniority, promotion and other allied matters. The decisions of the Tribunal

should ordinarily be binding on the State Government. The constitution of such a tribunal would justify

limits on recourse to judiciary in such matters.

5. In order that implementation of measures based on the above principles does not give rise to litigation

and consequent uncertainty, the Constitution should be suitably amended to the extent necessary

conferring on the President enabling powers in this behalf.

6. The above approach would render the continuance of Mulki Rules and Regional Committee

unnecessary.[29]

[edit]Movement in 1990–2004

In the 1990s, the Bharatiya Janata Party  (BJP), founded in 1980, promised a separate Telangana state if they

came to power.[30] BJP created Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Uttarkhand states in 2000. But the BJP could not

create a separate Telangana state because of opposition from its coalition partner, Telugu Desam Party.

[31] Congress party MLAs from the Telangana region who supported a separate Telangana state formed the

Telangana Congress Legislators Forum.[32][33][34][35][36] A new party called Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), led

by Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao  (KCR), was formed in 2001 with the single-point agenda of creating a

separate Telangana state with Hyderabad as its capital.[37][38][39]

[edit]2004 to 2009

Flag of TRS

For the 2004 Assembly and Parliament elections, the Congress party and the TRS had an electoral alliance in

the Telangana region that promised a separate Telangana State.[40] Congress came to power in the state and

formed a coalition government at the centre. TRS joined the coalition government in 2004 and was successful

in making a separate Telangana state a part of the common minimum programme of the coalition government.

[41] In April 2006, the then Chief MinisterY. S. Rajasekhara Reddy sent a report to Congress against the

formation of the new Telangana state.[42] In September 2006, TRS withdrew support from the Congress-led

coalition government because of their failure to deliver on their promise to create an independent Telangana

state.[43][44][45]

In December 2006, the TRS won the by-election to the Karimnagar parliamentary constituency with a record

margin.[46] The TRS continued to pressure for the creation of a Telangana state in 2008.[47][48][49]

All TRS legislators in Parliament and in the State (4 MPs, 16 MLAs, and 3 MLCs) resigned in the first week of

March 2008 and forced by-elections to increase the pressure on Congress party to take action.[50][51]

By-elections for the 16 MLA seats and the 4 MP seats were held on 29 May 2008. During the election

campaign, the TRS party called the by-election a referendum on a Telangana state. The Congress and TDP

parties said it is not a referendum on Telangana, and said that they were not opposed to the formation of

Telangana state.[52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61] The TRS retained only 7 out of the 16 MLA seats and 2 out of the 4 MP

seats as a result of the by-elections.[62]

In June 2008, Tulla Devender Goud , a politbureau member and Deputy Leader of the Telugu Desam Party,

resigned from the party, saying he would devote his time and energy to the formation of a separate Teelangana

state.[63] In July 2008, Goud and other leaders such as E. Peddi Reddy formed a new party called Nava

Telangana Praja Party (NTPP).[64]

On 9 October 2008, the TDP announced its support for the creation of Telangana.[65]

Konda Laxman Bapuji of the Nava Telangana Party announced that "We solemnly declare statehood for

Telangana on November 2, 2008." [66]

[edit]2009 to present

In February 2009 the state government declared that it had no objection, in principle, to the formation of

separate Telangana and that the time had come to move forward decisively on this issue. To resolve related

issues, the government constituted a joint house committee.[67]

Ahead of the 2009 General Elections in India, all the major parties in Andhra Pradesh supported the formation

of Telangana.[68] The Bharatiya Janata Party  (BJP) again announced that they would create two more states,

Telangana and Gorkhaland, if they won the election.[69] The Congress Party said it was committed to Telangana

statehood,[70] but claimed that Muslim minorities were opposed to the creation of separate state, along with the

majority of the people. Some analysts felt that the "Muslim reluctance card" was deftly played by then Chief

Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who was opposed to the formation of the new state.[71][72]

The Telugu Desam Party promised to work for Telangana statehood. Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) joined

a Mahakutami (or grand alliance) with the TDP and other parties to defeat the Congress party for denying

statehood.[73][74][75]

The Praja Rajyam Party  (PRP), newly founded by film star Chiranjeevi, supported Telangana statehood.[76] The

Nava Telangana Praja Party announced that it would merge with PRP after it concluded that there was not

enough political space for two sub-regional Telangana parties that had Telananga statehood as their main

agenda,[77][78] but later reversed itself and merged with the Telugu Desam Party.[citation needed]

Congress returned to power both at center and state. In AP, Congress won 154 out of 294 MLA seats and 33

out of 42 MP seats. Within Telangana, Congress won 50 out of 119 MLA seats and 12 out of 17 MP seats.[79][80]

On 29 November 2009, TRS president K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) started a fast-unto-death, demanding that

the Congress party introduce a Telangana bill in Parliament. He was arrested by the government of Andhra

Pradesh.[81][82][83][84][85] Student organizations, employee unions, and various organizations joined the movement.

[86][87] [88] General strikes shut down Telangana on 6 and 7 December.[89] Student organizations planned a

massive rally at the state Assembly on 10 December. The government warned that the rally did not have

permission and deployed police troops throughout Telangana. [90] The apparent decline in KCR's health led to a

sense of urgency to the issue.[91] [92]

[edit]Proposed Telangana state formation process

On 9 December 2009, Union Minister of Home Affairs P. Chidambaram announced that the Indian government

would start the process of forming a separate Telangana state, pending the introduction and passage of a

separation resolution in the Andhra Pradesh assembly.[93] KCR ended his 11-day fast, saying from his hospital

bed that this was a "true victory of the people of Telangana."

Pro-Telangana supporters celebrated the central government decision, while those from the Coastal Andhra

and Rayalaseema regions (Andhra region) protested.[94][95] Within a short time of the Home Minister's

declaration, MLAs from the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions submitted their resignations in protest.

[96] By 16 December, at least 147 legislators (including Praja Rajyam FounderChiranjeevi [97] ) and many

Members of Parliament had resigned. 22 Ministers from the State Cabinet, all from Coastal Andhra and

Rayalaseema, submitted their resignations.[98][99] [100]

On 16 December, there was a split in the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) over the Telangana issue, with its

leader Chiranjeevi as well as 16 out of 18 party MLAs (the remaining 2 hailed from Telangana) opposing the

division of Andhra Pradesh, while Telangana leaders in the party were unhappy with the shift in the party's

views.[101][102][103]

On 23 December, the Government of India announced that no action on Telangana will be taken until a

consensus is reached by all parties. The TRS reacted by calling for another general strike on 24 December

2009, an action aimed at stalling the regional economy.

A Joint Action Committee (JAC) was formed with the pro-separation members of the major political parties.

There were reports that members of the JAC had widely divergent approaches on the issue of a separate

Telangana.[104][105][106] Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema region MLAs started withdrawing their resignations

while MLAs and ministers from Telangana started submitting their resignations, and demanded that the Centre

take immediate steps to initiate the process of bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.[107] [108] The Home minister

conducted an all-party meeting on 5 January to elicit views of all parties in the State. On the advice of

Congress party's central leadership, all of the Ministers from Telangana withdrew their resignations.[109] Rallies,

hunger strikes, and suicides continued throughout Telangana to protest against the delay in bifurcating the

State.[110] The all-party Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) started relay hunger strikes and threatened the

resignations of all legislators on 28 January, demanding that the Centre spell out its intentions and create a

timetable for change.[111] Union minister for Home Affairs P Chidambaram announced on 28 January that a

Committee to examine the demand for a separate Telangana would be announced in a week.[112][113] On 3

February the government announced the five-member committee that would look into the issue.[114]

The Telangana Joint Action Committee said the agitations would continue until a Bill was passed in Parliament.

[115] On 3 February, the JAC organized what is claimed[weasel words] to be the longest human chain in India, a

distance of 500 kilometres (310 mi) from north to south in Telangana.[116][verification needed]

The Jamaat -e-Islami Hind  Islamic organisation supported a separate Telangana state with the slogan "Justice

for Telangana and Telangana for Justice".[117][118][119] The Jamaat, with its student wingStudents Islamic

Organisation of India, organised a rally at Nizam College  grounds on 7 February 2010.

On 12 February, the central government announced Terms of Reference[120] to the Srikrishna Committee, with a

deadline of 31 December 2010. Telangana-JAC rejected the terms of reference saying that it "undid" the Union

home minister's statement of December 9 in New Delhi.[121]

All ten TRS MLAs, one TDP MLA, and one BJP MLA insisted that the speaker of Assembly accept their

resignations. The rest of the Telangana MLAs withdrew their resignations.[122][123]

On 16 February, Congress legislators from the Telangana region resigned from the Joint Action Committee due

to "unilateral actions by KCR.".[124]"

The SKC compiled information which indicates that between 30 November 2009 and 27 February 2010, 313

Telangana people committed suicide over the delay in the formation of Telangana state.[125][126][127][128]

The Srikrishna Committee solicited suggestions and views from political parties, social organisations, and other

stakeholders on 21 February. The committee received over 60,000 petitions by the deadline of 10 April. The

committee began personal interactions with the various stakeholders, including the political parties, starting on

16 April. [129][130][131] The committee met with the leaders of TRS,[132] PRP, CPI, [133] MIM, [134] TDP,[135] [136] [137] and

various organizations from thoughout Andhra Pradesh.[138]

On 6 July, Telangana congress legislators and ministers met with the Srikrishna committee and made

arguments in favor of the formation of Telangana state.[139]

All the Telangana MLAs who resigned in protest in February were re-elected in by-elections on 27 July 2010

with huge majorities. Congress and TDP candidates who decided to contest the elections, ignoring the appeal

of JAC,[140][141] lost their deposits by obtaining less than one-sixth of the votes in many constituencies. TDP

candidates lost their deposits in all constituencies.[142][143][144]

In a report submitted to the Srikrishna Committee, ministers from Seema-Andhra region stated that those

seeking a separate Telangana are anti-national.[145] They said that all the districts of Telangana were well-

developed between 1992 and the present. This statement evoked strong protests in Telangana and demands

for the dismissal of those ministers.[146] In a report dated 9 August, the central government declared 13 districts

in AP are backward, and 9 out of 10 Telangana districts are backward.[147][148]

On 16 December 2010, two weeks before the deadline for the submission of the Srikrishna report, TRS

organized a public meeting in Warangal. It was estimated that 1.2 to 1.5 million people[149]attended this

meeting. News reports said that even more would have attended, but they were stranded on the roads due to

traffic jams reaching 20 kilometres (12 mi) along roads leading to Warangal city.[150] – [151] Telangana Rashtra

Samithi president K. Chandrasekhar Rao appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh  to note that the people

of Telangana were losing patience. Hea demanded that the Centre introduce the Bill on Telangana in the next

session of Parliament.[152][153][154][155]

The Srikrishna committee on Telangana submitted its report in two volumes to the Home Ministry of India on 30

December 2010. The home Ministry announced that it would hold talks with all eight recognized political parties

of Andhra Pradesh on 6 January 2011 and make the report public on the same day.[156]

[edit]Srikrishna Committee report

In an all-party meeting on 6 January 2011, which was boycotted by the TRS, BJP and TDP, the Home ministry

made the 505-page Srikrishna committee report public. Section 9-3 (page 440) of the report[157] discusses six

solutions.[158][159]

1. Status quo: the committee favours this option the least.

2. Bifurcation of the State into Seemandhra and Telangana, with Hyderabad as a Union Territory, and

the two states developing their own capitals in due course. The committee found this option not

practicable.

3. Bifurcation of State into Rayala-Telangana and coastal Andhra regions, with Hyderabad being an

integral part of Rayala-Telangana. The committee believes that this option may not offer a resolution

which would be acceptable to people of all three regions.

4. Bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh into Seemandhra and Telangana, with an enlarged Hyderabad

Metropolis as a separate Union Territory. This Union Territory would have geographical linkage and

contiguity via Nalgonda district in the south-east to district Guntur in coastal Andhra and via

Mahboobnagar district in the south to Kurnool district in Rayalaseema. While there are some positives

to this option, the committee felt it may be difficult to reach a political consensus in making this

solution acceptable to all.

5. Bifurcation of the State into Telangana and Seemandhra as per existing boundaries, with Hyderabad

as the capital of Telangana and Seemandhra to have a new capital. The Committee felt that this is the

second best option. The Committee is of the view that given the long history of the demand for a

separate Telangana, the highly-charged emotions, and the likelihood of continued agitation if the

demand is not met, consideration has to be given to this option. The committee felt that the continuing

demand for a separate Telangana has some merit and is not entirely unjustified. Separation is

recommended only in case it is unavoidable and if this decision can be reached amicably amongst all

the three regions.

6. Keeping the State united by simultaneously providing certain definite constitutional and statutory

measures for socio-economic development and political empowerment of Telangana region through

the creation of a statutorily-empowered Telangana Regional Council. The Committee considers that

unity is in the best interest of all three regions of the state as internal partitions would not be

conducive to providing sustainable solutions to the issues at hand. The Committee discussed all

aspects of this option and while it acknowledges that there will be difficulties in its implementation, it

found it to be the most workable option in the circumstances, and in the best interest of the social and

economic welfare of the people of all three regions. The Committee expects that the initial reaction to

this option will be total rejection by some political leaders, other groups and organizations, and a

majority of the people from Telangana region, since their long-standing demand for a separate

Telangana would not be met.

[edit]Reaction to the report

Telangana leaders say the best option from the Sri Krishna committee report is option 5, which calls for the

formation of separate Telangana state with Hyderabad as its capital. They plan to pressure the Central

government to zero in on option 5 as the only workable option.[160][161][162][163]

Criticism of the Sri Krishna Committee report includes that it compared regions (Seema-Andhra vs Telangana)

not people (Seema-Andhrites vs Telanganites). The state government did not or could not provide all the data

the committee asked for. [164][165].

The Telangana JAC steering committee, comprising experts from different fields[6] [7] , studied the Sri Krishana

Committee report and came to the conclusion that the report was a " bunch of lies".[166] which ofcourse are not

considered by any political leaders or experts from Seema-Andhra and Hyderabad. [167] [168][169]. However MIM

party was disappointed because their demand of maintaining the status quo(Option 1) or bifurcate as Rayala-

Telanagana (Option 3) is rejected by SKC.[170]

Economist and former Planning Commission member C.H. Hanumantha Rao said that the Srikrishna

Committee's recommendations are at variance with its own analysis. He said the committee did not study the

reasons for the failures of earlier protections, and how future protections will do justice to Telangana. He also

said that even while the committee's own analysis and data supports the formation of an independent

Telangana, it only recommended this as the second-best option. [171]

Protests in Telangana continue in the form of strikes, hunger strikes, suicides, giving petitions and roses to

public officials and the boycotting of public events.[172][173][174] [175][176][177][178][179][180] The state government's

RacchaBanda program (which promises Social benefits for everyone) in Telangana has been obstructed by

separate state proponents and had to be conducted by using police force by making preventative arrests and

other measures; In some areas, the program had to be cancelled due to uncontrollable protests. Telangana

proponents boycotted this program saying it was meant to dilute the pro-Telangana agitation.[181][182][183][184][185][186]

A movie called Jai Bolo Telangana based on the Telangana movement got censor clearance only after protests

by Telangana supporters.[187][188][189]

A petition was filed pleading to declare the Committee Report as 'invalid' since it did not make public the

contents of the 8th chapter of its report, which deals with the law and order situation. The Attorney General of

India arguing the case said that the Report was only a committee submitting its advice and the Union

government was not obliged to act on its recommendation.[190][191]

A Telangana lecturers forum organised by the JAC will be taking a tour of all ten districts of Telangana to

create awareness of the need for introduction of a Telangana bill and to prepare people for an upcoming non-

cooperation movement.[192][193][194] The Telangana political JAC declared the launch of a non-cooperation

movement though out Telangana, including the state capital at Hyderabad, starting on February 17. As per the

proposed action plan, it requests government employees not to work; people not to pay taxes or utility bills;

people not to buy tickets while using public transport; to organize rallies; to block traffic on highways; and other

measures.[195] [196][197] [198]