The gathering at the ground condemned the callous attitude and inaction by the Federal Government of India toward the issue of statehood. They demanded by submitting a letter to the ambassador that Indian government honour its promise on separate Telangana, which it had made in Parliament on December 9, 2009.
“After all, it’s the largest democracy. If the government refuses to heed the aspirations of 40 million people, then what kind of democracy is that?,” asked Jai Prakash Telangana,
The demand of statehood dates back to 1950s. With a population of 40 million, the proposed Telangana state would comprise 10 of Andhra Pradesh’s 23 districts, including the state capital and India’s fifth largest city, Hyderabad.
People have travelled from as far as North Dakota and California. Venu Kaila and his friends,who drove from Columbus, Ohio. said, “I am here to protest against the undemocratic attitude of the largest democracy in recognising people’s aspirations.”
The Telangana Non Resident Indians Joint Action Committee, the NRI-JAC, is an organization of Telanganites and allies of the separate statehood movement. A coalition is formed by all organizations based outside India which support the Telangana cause.
“Our objective is to bring to the attention of the international community about the plight of Telangana people and the total disregard by the Government of India for the democratic aspirations of its citizens,” said Ravi Mayreddy, Charmain of the coalition.
“We are here to demand the government of India to restore the statehood to Telangana, which is a democratic aspiration of the people,” Mayreddy added, “all we are asking is deliver on your December 9 statement.”
In 2009 the federal govt announced the formation of Telangana state. But within weeks altered its course due to pressure exerted by the elected representatives of the other two regions: Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema.
“Since December 2009 more than 600 people, most of them were youth, killed themselves vexed by the dilly-dallying attitude of the govt. But the state and central governments are showing utter disregard for people’s lives,” said Srini Palthepu, a representative of Chicago Telangana Association.
“What concerns us more is the human rights situation in Hyderabad and elsewhere in the region. State is using brute force to quell a peaceful and democratic struggle,” said Narayana Swamy, representing Telangana NRI Association. Varsha Biyyala, who travelled with Swamy from New Jersey said, “This cause is very dear to me. My father sacrificed his life for Telangana. I hope his dream will soon be a reality. Varsha is daughter of Dr. Biyyala Janardhana Rao, a telangana intellectual and activist who passed away few years ago.
“We came all the way from Bloomington and Peoria, Ill. We hope the international community takes the cognizance of the issue,” said Srinivas Kompalli and Pool Singh.
“Today, we came here express solidarity to our brothers and sisters who are on the general strike for the last 31 days,” said Ravinder Gaddampalli and Bharath Yedma who along with their friends of North Carolina Telangana community travelled overnight from Charlotte and Raleigh, to attend the gathering.
“I think this is the largest democratic movement in India since Independence. Imagine a million employees going on a strike paralyzing the state administration,” said Vishnu Madhavaram and Ram Enaganti who represents Washington D.C. Telangana Association.
A mass general strike is currently underway in Telangana with its epicenter in the city of Hyderabad. Nearly a million employees of the region are on strike. All public transport is off the roads. The largest coal mine in the entire southern India has shut down forcing state governments to declare power holidays in south India. Municipal services have been suspended. Educational institutions across the region have closed their doors. The next three days will see all trains stopping in their tracks as the mobilization moves for a “rail roko”, (rough translation, stop the trains). The Railway department has cancelled 124 trains severely impeding the movement between north and south India. “This is the time the Center (governement) announces the concrete plans of the formation,” said Dashrath Baddam from Maryland.
Representatives of organizations spoke to the gathering and announced future plans of JAC. Maa Bhoomi Sandhya was chief guest to the event.
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