why not retain hyderabad · history; and any division is nothing but artificial. these artificial...

THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY November 5, 1955

Why Not Retain Hyderabad ? Raghu Jagirdar

This is a down to earth and vigorous demand for the retention of the present State of Hyderabad by a Congressman who has no nostalgia fur kababs or Hyderabad culture.

The author is a member of the Rajya Sabha and belongs to Gulbarga , a border bilingual district, which under the new dispensation may go to Karnataka. For the people of his district, however, Mysore is at the back of beyond; it is with Hyderabad that they have their ties which are more than a century old now.

W I T H a l l the pious a sp i ra t ion o f the States Reorganisa t ion Com­

mission fo r the ' emot ional in tegra ­t i o n ' of different language groups, the Commiss ion has u n w i t t i n g l y caused a wave of men ta l d is in tegra­t i o n th roughou t the count ry . E v e r y State has somehow begun to t h i n k in n a r r o w terms. Some have even gone to the extent of accus­i n g the Report of h a v i n g "released po l i t i ca l passions, communa l suspi­cions and p rov inc i a l r iva l r ies a l l over the count ry . "

I t in an i r o n y of fate t h a t a C o m ­mission, w h i c h was empowered to r ed raw the map of I nd i a , should have shown signs of nervousness instead of f o l l o w i n g f i r m principles based on sol id foundat ions in i ts 267-page report . As i f unnerved by the point ­ed finger of a m a r t y r , S r i r a m u l u , at i t s ve ry b i r t h , th i s high-powered Commission seems to have gone as t ray in i ts s t ruggle to escape f r o m the consequences of i ts own creat ion. Otherwise, there w o u l d have been no reason for confusion over i t s o r i g i n a l s tand o f h i g h principles a n d la te r surrender and inevi table re-t reat .

Contradictory Findings Whatever be the other reactions

to the SRC Report , i t has f a i l ed to evoke t h a t enthus iasm t h a t was due to i ts f a r - reach ing recommendat ions w i t h r ega rd to the future map o f I n d i a . Perhaps, even such a map wou ld have been read i ly acceptable as one coming f r o m a high-powered body i f there were no elaborate h i g h -sounding a rguments on the one h a n d a n d unconv inc ing o r cont ra­d i c to ry f indings on the other . No conclusions have been based on any f i r m principles applicable to the whole o f I n d i a . The m a i n t rouble was no t so m u c h over the b u l k of the language areas as over the i r borders, and the c la ims and counter c la ims accompanying them, w h i c h the Commiss ion has le f t unsolved. The border dispute has been a l lowed to rage on fu r ious ly .

W i t h i t s confused t h i n k i n g , the

Commiss ion has on ly presented self-con t r ad i c to ry evidence. The Com­mission at the very outset, whi le dec lar ing i ts s tand aga ins t accept­i n g language or cul ture as the deter­m i n i n g f a c t o r - s i n c e the idea of a federa t ing un i t , organised as the po l i t i ca l expression of a single group, wou ld i nev i t ab ly encourage exclusi-vism'—has i t se l f fa l len prey to the idea of l inguis t ic d iv is ion , w i t h the exception perhaps of B o m b a y State.

So far as the people of Hydera ­bad State are concerned, the SRC's ent i re assessment and conclusions are nei ther based on, nor re la ted to. facts. I t s a t t i tude can in no way be helpful to the hea l thy g r o w t h o f na t i ona l i sm i n th is coun t ry . I t has fa i led to make out a genuine case for d i s in tegra t ion , save by sur­render ing to nauseat ing slogans of bygone days.

The mos t t h a t can be said is t ha t the SRC has helped in sacr i f ic ing a composite State at the a l t a r of l ingu ism, i.e., casteism, though it m i g h t have procla imed i tself against any sor t of appeasement. There could be no meaning today in a t t e m p t i n g t o f ind f a u l t w i t h the o r i g i n of a fo rmer feudal State. Whatever be i ts fo rmer an t i -na t i ona l t inge, now this self-same, much-hated ' h i s to r i ca l accident ' i s f u l f i l ­l i n g a mos t v i t a l need, cons is tant ly w i t h Ind ia ' s present sp i r i t o f na t iona l i sm.

Focal Point I t cannot be denied tha t of a l l

places in Ind i a , H y d e r a b a d stands out as the focal point in every sphere. N o t only i s i t I n d i a in m i n i a t u r e in a l l aspects, bu t also the meet ing place of the South and N o r t h . W h a t the s i tua t ion demand­ed was no t i ts n o m i n a l re tent ion In a t runca ted f o r m , but the effort to matte o ther States, wherever pos­sible, f o l l ow such a composite pat­t e rn or t r a d i t i o n . To deprive an ex i s t ing State of such a character m a y mean dep r iv ing the coun t ry of a heri tage.

A l l the t a l k o f d i s in t eg ra t ion by a

cer ta in type of people means no­t h i n g more than inherent suspicion of one another, and t h a t too, s t r an ­gely enough, af ter I n d i a has become free. The SRC w o u l d have done the r i g h t t h i n g i f i t had suggested the f o r m a t i o n or adopt ion of a foo l ­proof "one State t w o languages" or "one language t w o States" f o r m u l a so as to serve as a safety device against the dangers of fascistic f ana t i c i sm. This migh t have to some extent enabled those in the South to fight the g r o w i n g menace of l i ngu i sm.

A po l i t i c i an m a y f ind in the SRC recommendat ions new avenues for an adventur i s t future, bu t those people in this State w h o have roots in the soil or the common f o l k in the countryside are s imply perplexed and per turbed over the Commission 's proposals for the d i s in tegra t ion of language areas. W h a t such dis­in tegra ted areas are to achieve w h i c h they could no t hope to achieve by con t inu ing in the present set-up, is diff icul t to unders tand. H o w these areas w i l l fare i n a new at­mosphere a n d new set-up has re­ceived no considerat ion a t a l l . Dis­in t eg ra t ion m a y a t the most satisfy for the t ime being ei ther the fanat ic or self-centred f r inge . Where this f ana t i c i sm w i l l lead I n d i a to. is a p rob lem w o r t h ponder ing over.

In respect o f Hyderabad , the Com­miss ion seems to have lost i t s direc­t i on and fai led to take the r i g h t a n d logica l course, w h i c h i t has i t se l f advocated fo r b i l i ngua l B o m ­bay or w i t h regard to the question o f r e t a i n i n g K a r n a t a k B i d a r in the nine Telengana d i s t r i c t s of H y d e r a ­bad. The problem of Hyderabad is no t so simple as to be disposed of off-hand. The Commiss ion has not cared to go deep i n t o the ma t t e r or t r i e d to k n o w the feelings and wishes of the people in the count ry­side.

Border State A f t e r a l l , Hyde rabad happens to

be a sor t of border State; hence it is no t jus t a u n i l i n g u a l or b i l i n g u a l en t i t y . I t has even a t r i l i n g u a l

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November 5, I955

aspect. I t s t e r r i t o r y in spread over t h e K a r n a t a k d i s t r i c t s o f B i d a r , G u l b a r g a a n d Ra ichur , the M a r a t h ­w a d a d i s t r i c t s o f Nanded a n d Os-m a n a b a d a n d the Te lengana d i s t r i c t s o f Mahboobnagar , N izamabad , A d i l a -b a d a n d also the H y d e r a b a d dis­t r i c t . There are over 508 thousand Te lugu , 338 thousand M a r a t h i , 833 thousand U r d u a n d 261 thousand K a n n a d a b i l i n g u a l speakers,

The ex ten t o f b i l n g u i s m in the whole Sta te is 14.2 per cent; i t ranges f r o m 13 to 18 in M a r a t h w a d a , 13 to 21 in Telengana a n d 17 to 22 per t e n t i n K a r n a t a k ; a n d i n H y d e ­r a b a d d i s t r i c t , i t i s 20 per cent. At least a popula t ion of 2,653,118 are b i l i n g u a l w h o speak another I n d i a n language besides t h e i r mothe r -tongue. Thus b i l l n g u l s m i s f a i r l y extensive. T h e census records show t h a t in these d i s t r i c t s one out o f every four is bi l l ingual .

I n s t ead o f t r y i n g t o k n o w the r e a l needs and aspira t ions of the people, the Commiss ion has o n l y re­l i e f on the evidence o f ce r ta in busy-bodies a n d i n v a r i a b l y on t h a t t ime-w o r n s logan o f d i s in t eg ra t ion . T h a t s logan m i g h t have served a t the beg inn ing as a sor t of a r g u m e n t to c a r r y on an a g i t a t i o n . B u t t oday a f t e r the miserable experience f o l ­l o w i n g police act ion, t h a n k s to the behaviour o f the ne ighbour ing I n -guis t ic enthusiasts, t h a t s logan has los t i t s g l a m o u r and ac tua l ly yie lded place to a sort of fear a n d appre­hension. The recent M u l k i move­m e n t o r the r i s i n g i n d i g n a t i o n aga ins t people of the a d j o i n i n g language areas is too fresh to need m e n t i o n here.

Tha Commiss ion , In i ts verd ic t , Bays t h a t "publ ic sent iment b o t h t r t t h : n and w i t h o u t the State, i s o v e r w h e l m i n g a n d ins is tent on the need fo r the d i s in t eg ra t ion of the State ." H o w it a r r i v e d at such a conclus.on is d i f f icu l t to unders tand . In ths f i r s t place, " the publ ic sent i ­m e n t " p reva i l i ng " w i t h o u t " has no meaning , since i t has n o t h i n g a t s take and i ts demand m a y be op­posed to local wishes and interests . As f a r as sent iment " w i t h i n " i s con­cerned, i t has no v a l i d sanct ion . E n l i g h t e n e d opinion feels t h a t the s!ogan of d i smemberment w a s so le ly m e a n t to get r i d o f the N izam ' s ru le .

To s t ' ck to t he s logan even a f t e r the emergence of a democra t ic set­up on the p a r t of po l i t i ca l leaders is nothing bu t an a t t emnt to save themselves f r o m being dubbed as i n ­consis tent by the i r p o l i t i c a l oppo­nents . Moreover , in the past, w h e n

t h i s s logan w a s raised, the ques t ion o f r eo rgan i sa t ion o f States was n o t before the people, a n d any decision f o r the wholesale l i q u i d a t i o n o f the State w i t h o u t a clear ve rd ic t of t he people on th i s specific issue w o u l d n o t be d e m o s r a t e .

Free Association" The Commiss ion has preferred to

m a k e sweeping r e m a r k s t h a t the three "areas were subs tan t ia l ly u n i t ­ed o n l y under the au thor ty o f the A s a f J ah i dynas ty . The u n i t y was n o t baaed on a free associat ion of the people." W h a t a discovery to m a k e about Hyde rabad , a s i f I t cou ld no t be applied w i t h greater force to other par ts of I n d i a ! Where a n d when was t h a t "free associa­t i o n " ever t h o u g h t ox before the advent o f the B r i t i s h ? W h e n i s th / . t State w h i c h has no t been "sub­s t a n t i a l l y un i t ed under the autho­r i t y " of some power or the other, no t to speak of UP or even the SRC's composite b i l i n g u a l Bombay o f G u j a r a t a n d M a h a r a s h t r a ?

T h a t a t t e m p t to dub Hyderabad as an a r t i f i c i a l u n i t i s s imply i r r a ­t i o n a l . I n fact , every s t a t e i s an a r t i f i c i a l un i t , i n c l u d i n g the States proposed by the C o m m i s s o n . I n d i a is one, h a v i n g the same cu l tu re a n d h i s to ry ; and a n y d iv i s ion i s n o t h i n g bu t a r t i f i c i a l . These a r t i f i c i a l "sub­s t a n t i a l l y u n i t e d " areas in the Dec-can came together af ter the a r r i v a l o f A l l a u d d i n o r the se t t l i ng d o w n of the Bahamanis , l ong before the advent of the Mughala or the Asaf -Jahis . Wha teve r m a y be the rea­sons, A u r a n g a b a d , Golkonda , B i d a r and Gu lba rga have somehow l ived a common or " subs tan t i a l ly u n i t e d " l i fe for over s ix centuries; and never before i 'n h i s to ry h i v e the people of A u r a n g a b a d , Go lkonda a n d G u l ­ba rga o r D e o g r i , K a l y a n i and M a l -k h o d been dependent on Bombay , and Poona, K u r r o o l o r Mysore . The people of these areas have l ived a n d suffered together in the past d u r i n g grea t upheavals ; and they n a t u r a l l y feel t h a t j u s t when freedom has come, they are being dismembered a n d depr ived of the joys of a "sub­s t a n t i a l l y u n i t e d " l i fe i n the i r j o i n t m a r c h t o f reedom.

Deccani Culture The Deccan ' cu l tu re m a y or may

not be d i f fe ren t f r o m tha t prevalent i n f o r m e r B r i t i s h I n d i a ; bu t i t s con­t r i b u t i o n m a y be deemed somewhat d i f ferent . C a l l i t by any name, H y d e r a b a d has evolved, whether in r u r a l or u r b a n areas, a c o m m o n social a n d economic ou t look and a w a y o f l i f e , w h i c h m a y n o t be easily

unders tood unless one l ives in the H y d e r a b a d atmosphere.

The Commiss ion m a y f ind i t sur­p r i s ing , bu t th i s c o m m o n cu l tu re based on unders tand ing , tolerance, a n d fe l low-fee l ing has beon a m a j o r c o n t r i b u t i o n to the quest fo r u n i t y tn I n d i a . There way some signif ic­ance when the P r ime M i n i s t e r h i m ­self declared close on the heels of t h y Police A c t i o n t h a t the people or the State w o u l d be g iven a chance to decide about the i r future and t h a t the police ac t ion was confined to ths r e m o v a l of feudal ru le .

The SRC seems to be more en-t h u s a s t i c in the cane of H y d e r a b a d t h a n in respect of the rest of I n d i a over divis ions on geographica l a n d demographic lines. The Commiss ion convenient ly forgets t h a t these "de­mograph ic features" apply w i t h greater force to the rest of I n d i a as a who 'e t h i n to Hyderabad . I n d ' a h i s a n i n d i v i d u a l i t y and v a r i e t y u n ­l i k e the regimented or com­m o n pa t t e rn a n d mode o f l i v i n g i n W e i t e r n countr ies . I n w h i t w a y can "demographic features ' be more va r i ed between A u r a n g a b a d a n d W a r a n g a l t h a n between Cuteh a n d the Goa borders, w h i c h the compo­site B o m b a y State, the h a n d i w o r k of the Commiss ion , i t se l f repre­sents?

No Need for H u r r y The Commiss ion seems to be l i v ­

i n g in a w o r l d of i t s o w n . Otherwise h o w can "the apprehensions fel t by the educa t iona l ly b a c k w a r d people of Telengana t h a t they may be swamped and exploi ted by the more advanced people of the coastal area" d ; f fer in the case of the M a r a t h ­w a d a a n d K a r n a t a k dis t r ic ts o f the same State? T a k i n g in to consider­a t ion the same state of affairs a n d a l l the disadvantages and d i sab i l i ­ties w h i c h Telengana w o u l d face n V i s h a l a n d h r a , the Commiss ion could have adopted the same i m p a r t i a l a t t i t u d e towards the common back­w a r d M a r a t h w a d a a n d K a r n a t a k regions.

There was no need f o r such h u r r y a t th is j unc tu re when these back­w a r d regions af ter centuries of sub­jec t ion were Just s e t t l i ng down rand l o o k i n g f o r w a r d t o development t h r o u g h va r ious schemes. By a l l ow­i n g the T u n g a b h a d r a o r Ra ichur area to develop, the H y d e r a b a d people n a t u r a l l y feel t h a t the C o m ­miss ion could have not only a l lowed the con t inua t ion of the same ad­m i n i s t r a t i o n t h a t planned the pro­jec t , bu t also t r i ed to help the pro­gress of H y d e r a b a d State a n d i t s

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November 5,1955 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY

K a n n a d a areas. A l l th i s Ungu's t ic d i s t r i b u t i o n could have w a i t e d as the accent is no longer on mere a g r i c u l t u r a l development, w h i c h was perhaps dependent on l inguis t i c ho­mogenei ty . The accent n o w is on i n d u s t r i a l development. I n d u s t r i a l development m a y be dependent on the a v a i l a b i l i t y o f n a t u r a l resources, but no t so m u c h on l inguis t ic homo­genei ty.

K a r n a t a k B i d a r has, however, been re ta ined by the Commiss ion in res iduary H y d e r a b a d State fo r the sake of the so l i da r i t y of I n d i a . In the present Assembly, out of 96 members f r o m Telengana, 50 be­l o n g to the Opposi t ion a n d 44 to the .Congress. W i t h the add i t i on o f 11 Congress members f r o m B i d a r , the s t r eng th w o u l d be 55 Congress as against 50 Opposi t ion In a House of 105. Ins t ead of such a precarious m a j o r i t y in spite o f B ida r . w h y no t include G u l b a r g a and Raichur , w h i c h have the same a f f in i ty a n d c o n t i g u i t y a s B i d a r w i t h Hyderabad? W h y th i s hazardous break and dis­loca t ion of l i fe in these cont iguous d i s t r i c t s by s p l i t t i n g and f o r c i n g t hem to j o in K a r n a t a k - M y s o r e ? Moreover , Ra i chu r a n d Gu lba rga do no t differ m u c h f r o m Bidar , whose "undoubted K a r n a t a k areas are also somewhat remote f r o m Banga lo re a n d Mysore . "

Urdu-speaking Population

Speaking about H y d e r a b a d C i t y , the Commiss ion takes i n t o consi­de ra t ion the posi t ion of 45.4 per cent of the Urdu-speak ing popula t ion . A n d l ikewise f o r the re ten t ion o f B i d a r i n res iduary Hyde rabad , i t pleads fo r the Urdu-speak ing popu­l a t ' on , a p a r t f r o m advanc ing o ther considerat ions such as " t h a t a d m i ­n i s t r a t i ve ly , B i d a r has v e r y close l i n k s w i t h H y d e r a b a d " etc. O f the 86.2 per cent H i n d u popula t ion , the la rger section is in the eastern h a l f o r the Telengana area t h a n in the western h a l f o r M a r a t h w a d a a n d K a r n a t a k areas. Of the s ix f o r m e r M u s l i m capi ta ls i n the State, t w o , namely , Go lkonda a n d Hyde rabad , are in the centre, and the r e m a i n i n g four, namely , A u r a n g a b a d , D a u l a t a -bad, B i d a r and Gu lba rga , are in the Wes te rn ha l f . These are the v e r y por t ions w h i c h the Commiss ion has s t r ange ly sought to w r e n c h f r o m H y d e r a b a d to be added to the remote regions o f Mysore o r B o m b a y on u n ­tenable a rgument s .

A l i t t l e ca lcu la t ion w i l l show t h a t ou t of 11.8 per cent of Mus l ims , a t o t a l n u m b e r of 53.3 per cent l i v e i n u rban areas; a n d H y d e r a b a d C i t y

accounts f o r 22.0 per cent of t h e i r t o t a l popula t ion . I n Bidar , w h i c h has received special cons idera t ion f r o m the Commiss ion , the i r per­centage is 42.9. The Commiss ion , w h i c h i s so loud in i t s pleadings to t a g B i d a r t o H y d e r a b a d C i t y , w i t h a M u s l i m popula t ion of 44.7 per cent, a g a i n convenien t ly ignores the f ac t or fa i l s to apply the same consider­a t i o n t o Gu lba rga a n d A u r a n g a b a d where the percentage rises to 48.3 a n d 43.9 respectively.

Common Life W h a t r e a l l y weighed w i t h the

Commiss ion in dec id ing on d i smem­berment o f the State is r a t he r d i f f i ­cu l t t o unders tand . A f t e r a l l , the area is a contiguous one; and, f o r good or bad. the people have l ived together fo r the past so m a n y cen­turies . Somehow, a common l i fe has been evolved, w h i c h has stood the test of t ime ; at least, here in the H y d e r a b a d regions there has not been so f a r t h a t v i r u l e n t caste or language an tagonism, w h i c h is so vehement in o ther pa r t s of the coun t ry , especially in the South.

T a k i n g i n t o considerat ion these o v e r w h e l m i n g factors , there is need fo r a detached v i e w a n d fo r a l l o w ­i n g the s ta tus quo in the case of

t h e present H y d e r a b a d State . A l ­ready i n the w a k e o f the d i s n t e g r a -t i o n proposals o f the SRC, there have been d i sma l por tents of paro­c h i a l i s m ; selfishness i s t u r n i n g fr iends and colleagues i n t o oppo­nents a n d r i v a l s in a race f o r t e r r i ­t o r i a l possessions. In a s t rugg le f o r power between Telengana. a n d A n -d h r a a l l sorts o f manoeuvre m a y be t r i e d . Some m a y even raise for the i r selfish ends, the bogey of " I n d i a i n danger" a t the s igh t o f Hyde rabad State j u s t as the League used to raise the bogey of " I s l a m in danger" a t the s igh t of the Con­gress,

The SRC, ins tead of s o l v i n g the problem of the fu ture set-up of I n d i a , seems to have created more problems fo r fu tu re generat ions . A f t e r a l l , the Repor t Is no t such a sacrosanct document needing i m m e ­dia te imp lemen ta t ion . Reorganisa­t i on is no t a ha l f -hea r ted measure, a n d i t cannot be implemented in a h u r r y i n the m i d s t o f m o u n t i n g tension a l l round . R e d r a w i n g o f the map for a d m i n i s t r a t i v e or deve­lopment purposes m a y become neces­sary o n l y when the coun t ry has sufficiently advanced i n d u s t r i a l l y a n d not otherwise .

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