All the way back in 2011, when I was in my 11th or
commonly referred to as Inter Ist year, I had first heard about a TRS bandh. I
only had a faint idea about the true concept of bandhs or political shutdowns.
Luckily for me, I was showered by an immense number that made me study them
carefully and understand the true nature. After a whole month of shutdown, I
came to a detailed conclusion that a bandh was ‘basically a notion for the
deprived and helpless’ (BANDH- What a coincidence!) My conclusion was solid and
made sense only for the true meaning but the execution was a completely
different concept. The execution involved very few of the deprived and helpless
I spoke about, and had more of the brags of every lane and district. In the
name of social service, crucial time was eaten up and wasted. Not that I
complained, I got a sweet mini-vacation for one whole month.
Fast forward to 2013, the bandhs had affected schools and
colleges immensely which made the government and the social workers to give in
to establish a new bandh time-table which involved more walks and meets only on
a Sunday-basis. After a massive gathering and numerous appeals to the Supreme
Court, a new state was formed- Telangana. I had already completed my geography
and wasn’t interested to learn more, neither did I have regional pride to carry
forward nor did my favourite ‘Chinese bandi’ get separated for the new state to
affect me much.
I still woke up at the same side of my bed, used the same
toothpaste, walked the same roads, boarded the same bus, reached the usual
spot, was lectured on the same syllabus, had the regular shawarma, walked the
same road back home, logged onto the same account and slept on the same side of
the bed that I did 2 1/2 years ago. The Andhra-Telangana
separation did not have any direct effects on any of our lives, not for the
common man. It had immense impact hypothetically though, we all were forced to
demarcate and establish a boundary among our own. We were forced to pick sides
and labeled differently. We have immense diversity for a country of our size
which isn’t a good thing if the word ‘unity’ doesn’t tag along.
The separation was a glorious example of determination and
self-belief, a revolution that changed the nation, where the leaders never gave
up. Their grit and stubbornness was inspiring and set an example. All of this
for separation?! The main purpose of this revolution was defeated, several
years spent by the UN for unification disrespected. The separation has fired a
spark for other states to start a revolution, unite together and divide. That’s
the sad truth about the Andhra-Telangana separation.
-Prakhyat Mathur.
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