The second important player was the Deputy Chief Minister B. V. Subba
Reddy, a staunch integrationist who later went on to lead the bloody Jai Andhra
movement. As deputy chief minister, he, along with Chief Minister P. V. Narasimha
Rao, took out full-page newspaper advertisements promoting peace and urging
people to stay calm during the Telangana movement. His position changed when
the Jai Andhra movement took off. He became the fiery leader representing Kosta,
and he was blamed for large-scale violence occurring in the region.
The last player in the tragic saga of separate state movement was Smt.
Indira Gandhi. Unlike Chenna Reddy and Subba Reddy, Smt. Gandhi is the
hero of our story. She single-handedly saved Telugus from disintegrating.
She understood the legacy of Telugu glory, though her ulterior motive was
to preserve national integrity. If it were not for her iron will, our state and
Telugu people would have been torn apart into pieces long ago. When it came
to toughness, Indira Gandhi was unlike her father Nehru. She displayed an
uncanny ability to understand the separatist leaders’ psychology. She adamantly
refused to give in, even when leaders threatened her with violence in the region
and made good on their words. She did not flinch when the Nizam Telangana
and Kosta regions erupted like a volcano. In the end, she walked away with
getting what she wanted and did not give up an inch of her territory. Telugus
believing in the unity of our race owe her a great deal. If there had been any
other leader at the helm during that time, today, the so-called integrated state
of Andhra Pradesh would be confined to history books.
Let us now walk through the separate state movements occurring
from 1968–1973.
The gentlemen’s agreement coming into effect at the time of state
formation had now been in effect for 15 years and was ending. As a result,
the term of the Telangana Regional Council, overseeing development in the
region, was also ending. The regional council created to oversee development
in Nizam Telangana, failed in ensuring that excess revenue from Telangana
would be spent locally. During the 15 years of its existence, the regional council,
whose members were ministers, MPs, and MLAs from Nizam Telangana,
never once objected to the government misspending.
The Telangana legislative members of all parties woke up from their
slumber in February 1968 and demanded that the balance of funds from
Telangana be invested in the region. These members also demanded removal
of the ban on alcohol sales in the Andhra region, which was ineffective anyway.
In addition, they demanded extending the term of the Telangana Regional
Council by another five years. Political parties and their leaders did not object
to any of these reasonable demands.
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