VidYouth

“Students taking up political sciences and geography are hereby warned that their syllabus would be under constant up gradation and changes, owing to various non ending amendments due to the fasts and rallies carried by political parties across the nation for the formation of newer smaller states” would be an apt introduction to any Social Studies Text Book. The day is not far when India will be known as UNITED STATES OF INDIA because, the list of new regions in demand of a separate state is growing exponentially, unrest in the masses has always been present in our secular republic nation since the very day of formation of the independent nation – INDIA on the 15th August 1947.

It took a great deal of bureaucratic and military influence to form the Indian Republic, as the princely states of Hyderabad, Kashmir and also other places such as Goa, Pondicherry were made a part of a single nation. Back in the 1940’s and 50’s the government of India divided states on the basis of language spoken in the region and formed 25 states. After 50 years 3 new states were formed namely Jharkhand, Uttarkhand and Chhatisgarh in, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh respectively. But the recent protests carried out by Telagana Rashtriya Samiti(TRS) party and the fast by K Chandrashekar Rao, belonging to Karimnagar district of Andhra Pradesh, resurfaced a very old underlying problem of Indian politics which involved the suppressing of demands of common man. In this case the demand was clear, formation of a separate Telangana State out of Andhra Pradesh. What started as a political move eventually took a new phase as students across the state joined hands and created uproar across the nation and made their voice heard. Students of Kakatiya University and Osmania University mainly belonging to the ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidya Parishad) came out in favor of TRS party and demanded the formation of separate Telangana State. It wasn’t long before the state had to face with several Bandhs, Curfews and even implication of Section 144 under constitution of India which bans organizing any group meetings or moving in groups in the regions under this rule.

Students Woes vs Ministers Vehicle. Credit: Rediff.com

Finally, on the night of 9th December the resolution to form a separate state of Telangana was accepted by the ruling party. It was then that the real problem had surfaced, as the very next day, many political parties staged protests against the government’s decision and several MLA’s resigned in protest. The larger affect of the agitation in Andhra Pradesh had an even more profound effect as people from the other states wanted their demands met as well.  Following the chain is another group in the West Bengal region of Darjeeling, which is on an endless fast demanding for a separate state called GORKHA LAND and according to them their demand is a whooping 102years old, older than our constitution or even our Independence. What strikes a fear of chaos in our nation is the list of the following states which demand separate states as well, the following list is just a glimpse of the real larger picture: lGreater Rayalseema – Andhra Pradesh lGorkha Land – West Bengal lHarit Pradesh – Uttar Pradesh lBhojpur – Uttar Pradesh Bihar lBundhelkhand – Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh lPurvanchal – Uttar Pradesh lVidarbha – Maharastra lCoorg- Karnataka lKhalistan – Punjab lMahacoshal – Orissa lBodoland- Assam lSaurashtra – Gujrat lMithilanchal – Bihar and also the grant of state hood to Delhi and Poducherry which currently are Union Territories. That makes it an approximate of 15 new states, making it a total of 45 states in India.

Telangana Formation. Credits: Sepiamutiny.com

Revathi, a student in her final year tells us she is still unclear behind the need of separate states and the endless protests causing so much of confusion in general public, who seem to be unaware of why public properties like buses, trains and other infra structure which are run by the taxes paid by them are blown into pieces or damaged in these mad-fights.

Adding to the list of people who don’t understand the reason behind these protests is Manish, who tells “First these people damage public properties and when additional taxes are levied, prices of essential commodities increase eventually to compensate for the loss they caused,which inevitably sparks a new protest against the increase of taxes. This seems like an endless vicious circle, which has no end but in its way spoils the society”.

When the college going students were asked to comment on the current issue there was a mixed reaction with half of them being happy with the unexpected holidays, and the latter half were worried with the exams getting postponed and the smallest group of students were scared of the aftermath of formation of a separate Telangana.

The line “UNITED WE STAND DIVIDED WE FALL” is more than justified to conclude here.