The genesis of the Telengana problem has its roots in the Gentleman’s Agreement signed by the representatives of both Andhra and Telengana regions a list of who are given below.
Andhra region Telangana Region
B. Gopal Reddy B. Rama Krishna Rao
Chief Minister, Andhra State Chief Minister, Hyderabad state
N. Sanjeeva Reddy K.V. Ranga Reddy
G.Lachanna M. Chenna Reddy
Alluri Satyanarayana Raju J.V. Narsing Rao
I am now giving the important points from the Gentleman’s Agreement. There are some other points which did not contribute to the present position, hence they are ignored.
A Regional Standing Committee:
1. There will be one legislature for the whole of Andhra Pradesh.
2. Telangana region would have a Regional Standing Committee of MLA’s belonging to that region including the Ministers from that region but not including the Chief Minister.
3. The advice tendered by the Regional Committee will normally be accepted by the Government
4. The Regional Committee will deal with following matters:
1) Development and economic planning within the framework of the general development plans formulated by the State Legislature.
2) Local Self Government
3) Public health and sanitation, local hospitals and dispensaries.
4) Primary and secondary education.
5)Regulation of admission to the educational institutions in the telangana region.
6)Prohibition.
7) Sale of agricultural lands.
8) Cottage and small scale Industries.
9) Agriculture, Cooperative Societies, Markets and Fairs.
Unless revised by agreement earlier this arrangement will be reviewed after ten years.
B. Domicile Rules : Telangana is regarded as a unit as far as recruitment to subordinate services is concerned; posts borne on the cadre of these services may be reserved for being filled up by persons who satisfy the domicile conditions as prescribed under the existing Hyderabad Mulki Rules. ( 15 years of Stay in Telangana area)
C. Distribution of expenditure between Telangana and Andhra Regions. The expenditure of the new state on central and general administration should be borne proportionately by the two regions and the balance of income should be reserved for expenditure on the development of Telangana area.
D. Education: The existing educational facilities including Technical Education in Telangana should be secured to the students of Telangana and further improved.
E. Cabinet Quotas: The cabinet will consist of members in proportion of 60:40 percent for Andhra and Telangana respectively. If the Chief Minister is from one region the other region should be given Dy Chief Ministership.
PROBLEMS WITH THE AGREEMENT:
The people from Andhra who have signed the agreement seem to have done so in haste without deliberating about the consequences. . Neither could they visualize that such provisions can lead to dissatisfaction of the Telengana people as those would be impossible to implement.
Because of this agreement it would be a right of the MLA’s of Telengana who are on the SRC to go at variance with the majority opinion of the assembly on many major issues.
The Mulki domicile rules debar a person from the Andhra region to get employed in the subordinate services unless he was domiciled in the Telengana region for 15 years or more. The Mulki rules were challenged in the Supreme Court and was upheld by them in 1972. This sparked off the Jai Andhra movement for a separate Andhra state.
Reserving the seats in the educational institutions in Telengana to the students from Telengana is also difficult to implement once the region develops.
Although Dy CM from Telengana should have been appointed as per the agreement, it was never implemented.
So, I feel that the present crisis is because of those gentlemen who signed the agreement. They are so emotionally attached to the concept of a unified state for the Telugu people that their reason has failed them.
It is interesting to note that the SRC appointed by the then Government was against the immediate merger of Telengana with Andhra region as it felt that the large differential in the literacy of Andhra and Telengana was feared by the people of Telengana and hence the regions should not be merged. It can be done so later when approved by a two thirds majority of the Telengana legislators.
Another point here is that Gauthu Lachanna who was one of the signatories to the Gentlemen’s Agreement from the Andhra side took a leading role in the Jai Andhra agitation demanding a separate Andhra State and was jailed during the course of the movement. Perhaps by then he realized the folly he has committed by signing the agreement in haste. The jai Andhra agitation was ruthlessly suppressed and in the process 8 people died in the police firing.
