Samaikya Andhra Movement (United Andhra Movement) was a movement organized to keep the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh united, and to prevent the division of the state - separating the Telangana districts of the state into a separate Telangana state. The movement was supported by government employees, advocates in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions along with students from 14 universities, various occupational, caste and religious groups of Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions. The last set of protests were triggered after the Congress Working Committee decision to divide the state came to an end after President of India gave nod to Telangana Bill which would make the latter to come into existence from 2 June 2014.
Background The movement took shape on 9 December 2009, when as a result of an 11-day fast by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram announced that the Indian government would start the process of forming a separate Telangana state pending the introduction and passage of a separation resolution in the Andhra Pradesh assembly. The announcement resulted in widespread protests across Coastal Andhra and Rayalseema regions.
Lagadapati Rajagopal began an hunger strike demanding that the state be kept united, his shocking dramatic "escape" from the hospital in Vijayawada to the State capital, he said he had come to the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS),He called off his fake deeksha in the presence of reporters and immediately afterwards, said he would undertake another fast-untodeath in Visakhapatnam if the Centre didn't come out with a solution acceptable to all. though his strike didn't receive much support. Leaders and activists of Seemandhra political parties and several elected representatives and leaders of the Congress went on one day hunger strikes extending their support to the cause.
Students, workers, lawyers & various organizations in the regions launched agitations and peaceful demonstrations (dharnas) demanding that the state be kept united. MPs from these regions also submitted their resignations in protest seeking a reversal of the home minister's statement. Two activists also allegedly committed suicide in protest against the division of the state.
TDP leaders including MLAs Devineni Uma and Paritala Sunitha, who were on a fast-unto-death as an act of protest in Vijayawada, Ananthapur, Guntur, Ongole etc. were arrested and forcibly shifted by the police to hospitals. In Kadapa, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR)'s brother and Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Y. S. Vivekananda Reddy also fasted in support of united Andhra accompanied by his wife and followers who sat on a relay hunger strike. Another Congress leader who was fasting was also forcibly taken to hospital.
At Sri Venkateswara University, actor Mohan Babu sat on a day-long fast in the campus expressing solidarity with the students who were already on a hunger strike.
On 23 December, keeping in view the reactions of people of other regions, the Government of India announced that no action on Telangana will be taken until a consensus is reached by all parties and groups in the state. Samaikyandhra movement proponents continued the movement demanding a clear stand from the central government that the state will remain united and will not be divided. On 3 February 2010, the government announced a five-member committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Srikrishna to look into the issue. It also announced Terms of Reference to the Srikrishna Committee, with a deadline of 31 December 2010 to submit its report.
Concerns of Protestors Historical Proponents of the cause call the very coining of two words (Telanganites and Andhrites) to describe the Telugu speaking people who live between the Krishna and Godavari river as the result of an emotionally painful loss of wars to foreign kingdoms and a reminder of the destruction of a glorious era in Telugu history. The fall of the unified Telugu kingdoms of Krishna Deva Raya to the Bahminis, the fall of Mussunuri kingdom to the Turks and the Vijaya Rama Kingdom to the British are seen as historical failures of the Telugu people.
Hyderabad
Capital: Since the state of Andhra Pradesh loses Hyderabad if Telangana gets divided, the people of the former region expressed concerns over the lack of a proper capital to their state.
Revenue: Proponents of the Samaikyandhra Movement argue that a division of the state will be detrimental to the other regions as majority of the state's revenue comes from the capital Hyderabad and the proper development and implementation of welfare programs in the Andhra Pradesh state would not be possible along with the establishment of a new capital.
Employment & Education: Students feel that in case of a division, youth of the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema will be denied many education and employment opportunities, especially from Hyderabad. Medical students also fear that since 85 per cent of super specialty course seats were allotted to colleges in Telangana, students from other regions may not be able to pursue important PG courses like cardiology.
Water: Division of the state, they argue, would also result in water problems in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema since Telangana is on the upstream of Krishna and Godavari rivers. Farmers & water-users associations express fear that division of the state would render upland areas in Krishna delta into a desert and force farmers to migrate as daily wage earners. According to water experts, the Polavaram Project could take up to 15 years for completion and due to the state division its reservoir would be located in Telangana region which could further intensify the already existing interstate disputes over the project.
Safety and Security in Hyderabad: People in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions express worries about the safety of their friends and relatives who have settled in the state capital, Hyderabad and the fear that they would be considered 'non-locals' in their own state. They also said that they are not ready to lose Hyderabad since they opined, they had contributed more for the development of Hyderabad.
Sri Krishna Committee Report
The five member committee headed by Justice B.N. Sri Krishna toured all the regions of state extensively and invited people from all sections of the society to give their opinion on the statehood. It received over one lakh petitions and representations from political parties, organisations, NGOs and individuals. It also held consultations with political parties and general public while also factoring in the impact of recent developments on different sections of people such as women, children, students, minorities, Other Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. In a report submitted to the Home Ministry of India on 30 December 2010, the committee opted to keep the State united and favored for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
Samaikhyandhra proponents were against the report and recommended option. Telangana leaders accepted the recommendations of the Sri Krishna Committee Report and insisted on the formation of a separate Telangana State with Hyderabad as its capital.
Protests in 2010 In January, in Krishna District activists stopped trains at various railway stations and resorted to road blockades at some places. As many as 46 trains were "detained" for duration ranging between 2 minutes and 45 minutes at various stations in the Vijayawada division of the South Central Railway. However, no damage to railway properties was reported. MLAs from Congress & TDP participated in the agitation. A government teacher in Tirupati reportedly committed suicide for the cause of the united state leaving a note behind which mentioned that he was saddened by the bandhs strikes and other endeavors being undertaken to split the state.
In February, the Samaikyandhra Medical Joint Action Committee in its inaugural session at Tirupati accused P. Chidambaram of ‘conspiring’ to weaken Andhra Pradesh by allegedly encouraging bifurcation of the unified State into 2 separate states. They said that his stand against bifurcation of Tamil Nadu & Andhra Pradesh shows his double standards and his ‘conspiracy’ as a Tamil Nadu politician to weaken Andhra Pradesh by breaking the State into two and thereby put deliberate brakes on its fast-track development recorded especially during the last 15 years.
In September, members of the Samaikyandhra All Universities JAC blocked the State Highway in Visakhapatnam district in protest against the allegations made by a student from Warangal that he was beaten up by some locals after he joined at a B.Ed. college here. The student had not attended classes but made the false allegation and also went on a fast in Warangal to which the TRS MLAs extended support, the JAC said.
In November, on the eve of the state formation day on 1 November, the students JAC warned separatist forces against continuing to ignite passions of people. A statue of Potti Sriramulu in Tirupati was flooded with garlands as parties and movements of all hues converged to express their strong sentiments advocating the cause of unified Andhra Pradesh.
Protests in 2011
In February, Students in Ongole, under the banner of Samaikya Andhra Rashtra Vidyardhi Joint Action Committee (SARVJAC), protested against the film Jai Bolo Telangana by viewing the film with flowers in their ears. The film portrayed the Telangana history and the agitation for statehood. The SARVJAC members took exception to the film's content and scenes, and described it as an attempt to hoodwink the people. They warned the director not to make film that fan regional passions. They also said that actor Jagapathi Babu would not be allowed to enter Seemandhra if he continued to act in such films.
In March, Leaders of Samaikyandhra Parirakshana Samithi performed 'palabhishekam,' at the statue of Gurram Jashua in Nagarampalam and at the statue of Annamaya protesting against the desecration of statues of eminent Telugu personalities by pro-Telangana forces at Tank Bund during the Million March. In Vijayawada, a rally was taken out by the activists of Jana Vignana Vedika along with members of other cultural and literary organisations. They carried the pictures of eminent litterateurs Sri Sri, Tripuraneni Ramaswamy Chowdary, Annamayya and Kuchipudi exponent Siddhendra Yogi and decried the desecration of their statues, saying they did not belong to any one region or group. Media persons with the banner of AP Union of Working Journalists (Krishna urban unit) took out another rally and staged a dharna at sub-collector's office. Decrying the attacks on media persons and damaging of equipment belonging to various media houses, the journalists said the leadership of Telangana movement must accept responsibility for the incidents.
In July, hundreds of women activists of the Women Joint Action Committee today took out a rally in Kadapa in favour of United State Samaikyandhra and raised slogans in support of a united state.
In October, reacting to the Sakala Janula Samme carried out by the Telangana JAC, congress MLAs pointed out that while the richer sections were not affected, those in the bottom half of the economic strata were the worst-affected. The I-Max theatres and Telangana-based institutions continued their operations while others are made to suffer heavily, they deplored.