We have created our myth. The myth is a faith, it is passion. It is not necessary that it shall be a reality. It is a reality by the fact that it is a good, a hope, a faith, that it is courage. Our myth is the Nation, our myth is the greatness of the Nation! And to this myth, to this grandeur, that we wish to translate into a complete reality, we subordinate all the rest.that was benito mussolini on myth.
jayashankar liked to say: i think in urdu, write in english and speak in telugu. all the the feudal elite of hyderabad state before independence could also have described themselves in that fashion. the top 5% of the people who prospered and were entitled to many privileges while the rest weren't worth even primary education in their own language. telugu, the people's language, therefore, held that kind of relevance for him-- a language you used to communicate with the lower classes, to tell them they need to know little other than to serve. not a language for the expression of high thought. and he always knew better than the people-- even when the people's representatives overwhelmingly voted for a united state for the telugus, he knew that the majority, which in his view consisted of himself and a reactionary, minuscule minority comprising a few feudal elements, were not in favour of andhra pradesh.
his politics completely derailed the process of evolution of dalitbahujan consciousness and politics for the last decade and more in andhra pradesh. when the dalitbahujans should have been asking for their own rights-- their stolen entitlements, jobs, resources and share in political power-- he appropriated their angst and converted it into a fictitious regional divide.
he brought back the forces of hindu nationalism and savarna casteism into telugu politics.he trivialized people's aspirations for greater decentralization and democracy. he leaves behind a political legacy that upholds retrograde myths over facts, lumpen muscle over dissent and democracy.
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3 comments:
Despite being in United AP state for 54 years, it is strange that respected professor could not find a single positive point about fellow Telugus from rest of Andhra.
While everybody will appreciate the spirit to develop Telangana region, single point agenda of seperate state because we were not united for few 100 years of Nizam rule, then reverse-engineer the content to support the theory of discrimination, invent a new race to break people on the similar lines of Jinna (India vs Pak), this is a very dangerous concept to India (not just to Telugu people)..
More importantly, when all other elders who were responsible for merger left to heaven, our professor came into limelight with stunning discoveries about fellow Telugus.
Professor will probably get answers from those elders in the heaven for all his questions.
Overall, Telugus failed to unite/integrate even after 54+ years of state formation. Greedy politicians and regional fundamentalism by professors didn't allow Telugus to integrate.
anon,
thanks for sharing your insights. but i think the telugus are quite integrated-- in their aspirations for better lives. ambitious upper classes/castes will always seek to exploit differences to further their own narrow interests.
Kuffir:
While you may disagree with the late Prof. Jayashankar's ideology, the linguistic approach you adopt is difficult to digest.
Most Telangana people (especially the poor) are more comfortable with Urdu than the "shudha Telugu" spoken by our "brothers" (especially the Kammas from VJA).
Most andhras don't understand the Telugu spoken by the poorest of Telangana. In fact, they ridicule it and charecterize our people as lumpen, lazy, uncultured etc.
Telugu unity is a fraud and a tool of oppression. It is no coincidence that Karamchedu happened when the votary of "Telugu self respect" was at the helm. While Dramarao was speechifying about "Telugu glory", his kinsfolk set Dalits afire!
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