Spread of Telangana movement

The agitation intensified in 1969 and gained massive support from students and people belonging to different professions

Hyderabad: This article is in continuation to the last article focusing on the Jai Telangana Movement (1969-70), which is one of the important topics for the government recruitment examinations.

Students of the Osmania University plunged into the movement and spread quickly across Telangana and gained massive support. They organised meetings, conventions, seminars and intellectual gatherings in support of the Telangana cause. The Telangana Protection Committee was formed under the presidentship of Katam Laxminarayana, a renowned freedom fighter and it supported the students’ struggle for separate Telangana.

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A convention was organised in Warangal under the auspices of the ‘Telangana Vimochanodyama Samithi’. The theme of the convention was ‘Liberation of Telangana’ and it was presided over by a greatly respected poet Kaloji Narayana Rao. It demanded the resignation of the Chief Minister.

A non-political organisation called the ‘People’s Convention’ was established mainly by youth and intellectuals. A Madan Mohan was made its Convener. The People’s Convention held its first meeting on March 8 and 9 in Reddy Hostel, Hyderabad. It was estimated that as many as 15,000 delegates from different districts attended the convention. It was inaugurated by Ravada Sathyanarayana, the then Professor of Physics in the Osmania University. It was a huge success and it turned out to be a landmark in the 1969 Telangana Movement. Sadalaxmi presided over the meeting.

A convention of university and college teachers was held on May 20 to discuss the issues pertaining to unrest in Telangana. The Vice-Chancellor of the Osmania University, Prof. Ravada Sathyanarayana, inaugurated the conference while Prof. Manjur Alam presided over and Dr. Marri Chenna Reddy delivered valedictory address. Intellectuals such as Dr. Jayasankar, Prof. Basheeruddin, Dr. Sreedhara Swamy, and Thota Ananda Rao presented research papers in which the multi-dimensional aspects of Telangana question were analysed. The research papers were published as a book entitled ‘Telangana Movement: An Investigative Focus’. It was an important contribution to the Telangana Studies.

A meeting was held in the office of Telangana Watandari Association situated in Gowliguda, Hyderabad, which was attended by Pratap Kishore, a veteran journalist working in ‘Deccan Chronicle’; Jaganmohan Reddy, advocate; S Raghuveer Rao, journalist; PN Swamy, journalist; Muneer Jamal, journalist; Madan Mohan, advocate; and Dr. A Gopala Kishan, a doctor. They extended their support to the ongoing students’ agitation and passed a resolution demanding separate Statehood for Telangana was acceptable to the people of Telangana.

Madan Mohan and Dr. Gopala Kishan together started Telangana People’s Convention in support of the agitating students. Students’ movement was intensified and they gave a call to boycott of schools and colleges till the State was achieved and gave a slogan against Andhras –“Quit Telangana”.

The Telangana Students Action Committee led by Mallikarjun declared that their objective was to achieve a separate Statehood for Telangana and he called upon the students’ community to be ready for sacrifices of any kind for the sake of Telangana. The Action Committee organised various programmes like Protest Day, Demands Day, Anti-Repression Day, and Flag Day.

Students, non-gazetted officers, advocates, doctors and almost all sections of the civil society supported it. The entire Telangana had become a battle ground. There were processions, dharnas, hunger strikes, gheraos, bus burnings, rail-rokos, street fights from the agitator’s side and arrests, lathi-charges, teargas shell firings, imposition of 144 sections, curfews, barricades, firings from the Police forces had become a daily routine.

The school and college buildings all over Telangana were converted into open jails. The student leaders like Mallikarjun, Dr. M Sridhar Reddy played an important role and Nizam College and Vivek Vardhini College were in the forefront of the movement. Government deployed Army in Hyderabad, Nalgonda, Warangal, Kodad, and Kothagudem, and conducted flag march in all these towns.

To be continued…