Telangana Formation: 1948 to 1952
Hyderabad: After the integration of Hyderabad into India on September 17, 1948, Military rule started with JN Chaudary as its head. The developments during the Military rule which affected the Mulki issue were: 1. English was made the official language of the State as a consequence of which only English educated persons were recruited into the […]
Hyderabad: After the integration of Hyderabad into India on September 17, 1948, Military rule started with JN Chaudary as its head. The developments during the Military rule which affected the Mulki issue were:
1. English was made the official language of the State as a consequence of which only English educated persons were recruited into the public sector. The Hyderabad State had very low literacy rate and English speaking within the literates were very less, as a consequence of which non-mulkis got recruited into the government services.
2. On November 1, 1949, the JN Chaudary government issued a ‘firmana’ called The Hyderabad Civil Services Regulation 1949. This regulation was a modified version of the 1919 ‘firmana’ and detailed the definition of Mulki and the process for obtaining Mulki Certificate.
The rule of the Military government ended on December 1, 1949, as a result of the recommendations of the Pandit Sunderlal Committee appointed by the Central government to investigate communal violence against Muslims under the military rule.
After dissolving the Military government, the Government of India appointed civilian government headed by MK Vellodi on January 26, 1950, to govern the Hyderabad State until the first general elections held in 1952. The changes made by the Vellodi Government that had an impact on the Mulki issue were:
1. Mother tongue was introduced as a medium of instruction in schools as a consequence of which, in order to teach in Telugu, many people from the Madras State were employed as teachers
2. In order to obtain fake Mulki certificates, government offices were bribed by the non-Mulkis as a consequence of which even qualified Mulkis could not find employment
Elections were held in the Hyderabad State in February 1952 and Burgula Ramakrishna Rao was sworn in as the Chief Minister on March 6, 1952.
The same year, the Hyderabad State witnessed a massive revolt against the non-Mulkis, famously known as the 1952 Mulki agitation.
The 1952 Mulki Agitation
Even before the State of Vishalaandhra was formed, the Hyderabad State witnessed a massive movement against the non-Mulkis. This movement is significant as it highlighted the antagonism of Telangana people towards the Andhra people.
The most important situations that lead to the agitation were:
• Post Telangana armed struggle, people of Telangana had great expectations from the succeeding governments, especially in matters of employment. The three succeeding governments, including the popular government led by Burgula Ramakrishna Rao, failed in changing situation in matters of employment in favour of Mulkis.
• Migration of people from different parts of India to the Hyderabad State was common since the medieval period. Most of these migrants were from North and Northwest. They mingled well with the locals and became an integral part of the Hyderabad society. Migration of Telugu-speaking people from the Madras State increased drastically after integration of the Hyderabad State into the Indian Union. These people were preferred in public employment. Unlike the other migrants, these people were very dominating and abused the local culture and Telangana dialect hurting the sentiment of the local people. They also dominated administration.
• From the beginning of the 20th Century, the idea of Vishalaandhra State combining Telangana and Andhra was proposed at every important public gathering in the Andhra region. Post-Independence, propagation of the idea of formation of Vishalaandhra escalated to great heights as it became the main point of discussion in every public gathering in Telangana as well. The people of Telangana were not in favour of the formation of Vishalaandhra because of the bitter experiences they had with the Andhra people. The opponents to Vishalaandhra supported the 1952 agitation.
To be continued..
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