14-1-2013

AamAdmi Party: National Executive

Resolution on the demand for a separate state of Telangana

Andhra Pradesh is going through an extraordinary situation. The people of the state are

divided on regional lines: an overwhelming proportion of people of the Telangana region

demand the creation of a separate state for the Telangana region with Hyderabad as the

capital of the new state; the people in the rest of the Andhra, almost in an equal

proportion, oppose the splitting the state and want the continuation of the unified

state in its present form. Political parties are also either split or internally divided on

regional lines. The central and state governments as well as the major political parties in

the state have played opportunistic and partisan political games with people’s

sentiments. Exploiting people’s emotions for vote bank politics has led to unholy

alliances and politics of divide and rule. The uncertainty over the demand for a Telangana

state must end now so that people can carry on their occupations and work without

anger, ill-will and anxiety.

Aam Admi Party supports the formation of smaller states in the Indian Union in general

as a significant step towards bringing the locus of political power closer to the people.

Small states in India, given the population size of the country, will still be big by

international standards. With a population of about 3 crores, Telangana, if and when

created, will be viable as a state of the Indian Union. Demands for making governments

responsive and accountable, need for redressing administrative inefficiency, and popular

aspiration for a better life have set the stage for a new phase of states’ reorganization.

Aam Admi Party believes that it is time to reinterpret the linguistic principle which has

become the basis of the organization of states in India since 1956. The principle of

linguistic state need not mean ‘one language – one state’. The new phase warrants us to

reinterpret this principle as ‘one state – one language’. If the movement for a unified

state for all the Telugu-speaking people showed the way for the first round of states’

reorganization in the 1950s, the people of the state can once again show the way for a

new phase of states’ reorganization, especially for the non-Hindi speaking states.

The popular movement for Telangana has reached new heights in recent years. People’s

struggles and sacrifice have made it clear that the demand for a separate state of

Telangana now represents the aspirations of an overwhelming majority of the people in

this region. Aam Admi Party is also aware of the stiff opposition to the demand for a

separate state of Telangana with Hyderabad as capital. This opposition mainly comes

from the people of coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions who are apprehensive of

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the motivations of those who lead the separatist agitation and consequences of such a

division. Over the years, the people of the region have moved to the capital city in large

numbers and had developed emotional attachment to and material interests in the

place, which they feel might be jeopardized if a separate state is to be created.

Aam Admi Party believes that a new state of Telangana should be announced without

further procrastination. The new state must belong to all people living in the present

region of Telangana without any discrimination, must effectively protect the rights of

minorities, have mechanism to guarantee the security of residents from Andhra and

Rayalseema and provide for equitable sharing of water with Andhra. The status of

Hyderabad city in the new set up should be amicably settled giving due recognition to

the cosmopolitan character of the city, its distinct social composition and concerns and

anxieties of the people of all regions.

Aam Admi Party believes that the creation of a separate state of Telangana will help end

the bitterness and misperceptions that have grown over the years among the

Telugu-speaking people, paves the way for addressing the real issues and every day

concerns of ordinary people in both Telangana and Andhra. At the same time, small

states are not the real solution to the problems of the people, these can help only as a

first step towards radical political decentralization. Only radical political decentralization of

power to gram sabha can enable people to strive towards Swaraj and a corruption free

India.

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