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 peoples
sentiments. Exploiting peoples 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. Peoples
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
1
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.
2