15/03/10

kancha ilaiah: why he is a telangani

students force kancha ilaiah to say 'jai telangana':
Nearly 20 students stormed into the apartment of Ilaiah and demanded that he withdraw the `Manya Seema’ demand which he voiced at a time when the agitation for Telangana State was at its peak. The students demanded that the professor support separate Telangana and raise the slogan of `Jai Telangana.’ Taken aback, Ilaiah reportedly chanted `Jai Samajika Telangana’ but that too did not go down well with the students who said that the same slogan was taken up by Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) but was later dumped by the party. Ilaiah then reportedly raised the slogan of `Jai BC Telangana’ too which did not pacify the students and they forced the professor to raise `Jai Telangana’ slogan in the end.

The professor, however, insisted that a at least separate district be created for tribals if separate Telangana is carved out, to which the students agreed.

``We don’t mind Ilaiah leading the ongoing Telangana movement. But we are against the Manya Seema or any other slogan,’’ OU Students Joint Action Committee (JAC) leader Manavatha Ray said.

The students left the place after painting the walls of the entire apartment with slogans of `Jai Telangana’ and `Manya Seema vaddura (We don’t want Manya Seema).
i'd pointed out in many posts (
please read this), that the separatist movement has a majoritarian agenda because its core philosophy is essentially of upper caste hindu origin and telangani-ness now (like hindutva), and in the future (if a new state is formed) shall be defined according to upper caste norms. so why would the telangani separatists like the idea of adivasis in andhra pradesh demanding a state of their own? as i had warned in this post, the separatists own the adivasis now, their history and their homeland. i had also said in this post:
slowly, but surely, i see all kinds of diverse minorities bowing down to the hectoring of this new, unexpected majoritarianism: from various obc caste groups to the madiga rights' activists to muslims in the villages. will they really have any say in shaping a new telangana?
ilaiah had said, when he received the lisa book award in london:
This award has come at a time when I was going through a crisis of confidence. I have begun to think, of late, whether the Dalitbahujan people, for the sake of whose transformation I have been writing and fighting, would ever use the material I and others write and are writing, to change their status and position in India and in the world. As a person who constantly keeps working towards, what I call, Thought Reform, in a country where the thought process of the people I write for and work for, has never been recognized, I began to become rather nervous.
and:
For a people who had no identity of their own for centuries, the struggle for identity becomes central in the realms of both thought and action. This is a historical process that remained invisible for centuries. Their actions for identity were met with violence and counter violence. Blood was spilt but most of it was of Dalitbahujan. Brahminic ideological forces deployed several mechanisms of violence—spiritual, social and political—to keep the Dalitbahujan under control or under their hegemony. Brahminic hegemony was so encompassing that the Dalitbahujan had no historical agencies to liberate them for a long time.
now, at home, the people '
for the sake of whose transformation' he'd been 'writing and fighting' seem to be rejecting the historical agencies he offered them.

12 comments:

anu said...

will the intellectuals, progressive and democratic leaders of the telegana movement come forward to condemn this attack and vandalism?

sravan said...

Now gherav and dharna are the components of a democratic struggle.
And since the person who is targeted is a dalit leader, does it essentially mean that the movement is uppercaste.
And everyone know how eccentric Kanche Ilaiah had been in the past. When everyone is silent he begins supporting the movement. And now everyone is after it he starts throwing obstacles.
What is his strategy behind Manya seema, it is clear to everyone that he wants to somehow sullify telangana movement.
That is the reason he was gheraoed.
And kind of people like you are the reason why today we cannot genuinly criticize a political leader.
You have simply brought in his caste affliations to glorify his trecharous intentions. People are not so stupid not to understand his real intentiosns.How many BC people or Dalit people did Kanche Ilaiah ever represent.
How many popular movements did he ever lead?
none.

Space Bar said...

I'm fascinated by the appropriation of words like 'struggle' and 'movement' and the use of loaded words such as 'treachery'.

'Treacharous'? [sic] Really? How can a 'democratic' movement be 'betrayed' by differing opinions? How is it democratic if it cannot contain and respond to differences?

sravan said...

Space bar,
How can a 'democratic' movement be 'betrayed' by differing opinions?
Exactly the way the telangana movement is ascribed an upper caste hindu color.
Exactly the same way the telangana movement is being derided as a maoist intigated.
Exactly the same way telangana movement is being shown here as only being run by an unemployed politicians.

How is it democratic if it cannot contain and respond to differences?

Read the news article in whole. You will understand if the differences are not being tended to?

Bhanu Prasad said...

Kufr,

I have a small doubt.

Do you want to keep adivasis in their natural habitat or you would like them to take education and urbanize? I would prefer the latter.
In such a case a seperate state of adivasis will be of limited use.

gaddeswarup said...

Should the first link be this?

anu said...

sravan,

i would condemn an attack on modi or raj thakre or you, or any indian. ilaiah is a known name, i don't know who you are but have been reading your views, and if were not allowed to have them here or anywhere else, were mobbed in your own home and your house vandalized, i'd would be just as furious and would expect the people behind it to be taken to action, i would expect and demand civil society to respond by condemning it. it does not matter, whether one has led a movement or one is a dalit, a shopkeeper, a prof, politician.

kuffir said...

swarup garu,

thanks for pointing out. corrected.

Unknown said...

Sravan,

Who are we to say say that our movement is glorious than that of Mr Ilaih's?

As far as popular movements, I don't recall any successful movement by separate telangavadis ever? Do you? I know long list of successful politicians who cashed the so called popular movements. I think Mr Ilaih may have better record on this.

Reality said...

Telangana fanatics are now claiming entering a private residence and intimidating people living in that residence is a "democratic struggle".

I am very relieved that Mr.Ilaiah finally agreed with the protesters ,otherwise god only knows what these OU naxals would have done to him and his family.

kuffir said...

bhanu,

please don't pick up the habits of certain 'objective liberal democrats': none of us can speak up for everyone else. not for *all* telanganis, andhraites, adivasis, obcs, dalits or indians.

reality,

'I am very relieved that Mr.Ilaiah finally agreed with the protesters ,otherwise god only knows what these OU naxals would have done to him and his family.'

yes, unequivocal condemnations like that are what we need to keep democracy alive, in howsoever weak form, in debates. but those students in no way represent all of o.u., i am sure. nor all of naxals.

Blueshift said...

sravan

For a moment lets have this thought experiment.

Lets imagine KCR and his private army is non existant.

(Following is not possible without removing KCR private army component.)

And Lets define KCR as fool and ecentric who does not know what he is talking but still he does represent a group of people.


IF Andhra people enter the home of KCR and vandalise his home and threatten him with violent consequence and humiliate him in front of his family and insult his family infront of neighbours and ask him to Shout Jai Andhra and break items in his home and write or paint his home with Jai Andhra slogans.

If you can call above as component of democratic struggle.

I absolutely dont have problem calling telanganis attack as democratic struggle.

Or should we change the definition of democratic struggle so that it has a component of violence......lol

Calling Kanche Ilaiah as eccentric is Irresponsible on your part. Please stop this first.


"What is his strategy behind Manya seema, it is clear to everyone that he wants to somehow sullify telangana movement."

let me rephrase it. Can you explain this?

What is his strategy behind Seperate Telangana, it is clear to everyone that KCR wants to somehow sullify Manya seema movement.


Before this i do not believe without Individual security in a country like India. Democracy is working.

I think its Caste-o-cracy and Telangana movement is one such movement of Casteocracy.

Lets not desecrate Democracy.

I absolutely agree that such a component can exist in Casteocracy.


In Casteocracy each caste is having their own private army like KCR, YSR army(Suri and gang), Babu(Paritala Ravi) and they fight among themself like wild animals in jungle often preying on weak castes of jungle domain they call as state. These species are very very very ......far from civilized human behaviour. Where people build societies on tolerance and mutual respect of each being and co-exist and they call their societies as Democratic.

Once again lets not desecrate Democracy.

 
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