Hyderabad, December 10
The Centre’s decision to grant statehood to the Telangana region has opened a Pandora’s box in Andhra Pradesh, which may well head for a three-way split.

Andhra Pradesh, the first linguistic state in the country formed in 1956, has three distinct regions - Telangana, coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema. The state capital is part of Telangana.

While the demand for separate Telangana state has been more vociferous, similar demands have also come from other regions. In the event of Telangana state becoming a reality, the cosmopolitan city of Hyderabad will become a major bone of contention.

While Telangana protagonists insist that Hyderabad will remain an integral part of Telangana, several city leaders and intellectuals from various walks of life have advocated Union Territory status for it.

“If creation of Telangana state becomes inevitable, we want Hyderabad to be made Union Territory,” Congress Ministers Mukesh Goud and D Nagender said.

Hyderabad symbolised “mini India” as people from all over the country had made it their home and granting Union Territory status would be a fitting recognition for the city, they said.

The Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), which has considerable influence in the Muslim-dominated city, is also in favour of declaring Hyderabad a Union Territory. Muslims constitute nearly 40 per cent of the city population. The MIM represents Hyderabad in the Lok Sabha and has five legislators.

The Telangana region accounts for 119 of the total 294 seats in the Assembly and 17 of the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies.

Along with Telangana, there is now the demand for a separate “Andhra”, “Rayalaseema” and even a separate “north-coastal Andhra” bordering Orissa.

The latest addition to the wish list is “Greater Rayalaseema” comprising four districts of Rayalaseema (Anantapur, Kadapa, Kurnool and Chittoor) and Nellore and Prakasam from the coastal belt.

“Rayalaseema is the most backward region in the state. If Telangana state is to be formed, we want a compensation of Rs 1 lakh crore,” the Rayalaseema Rights Forum spokesman and Congress MLA TG Venkatesh said.

On the other hand, people of north-coastal Andhra - comprising Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts - are demanding a separate state in the event of bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.

Being the state capital, the IT-savvy Hyderabad has, over decades, attracted a large number of people from the other two regions of the state. Dubbed as “settlers” by Telangana protagonists, they constitute nearly one-fourth of the city population and are strongly opposed to the division of the state.

Guwahati, December 10
The Central government’s move to carve out a separate Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh has rekindled Assam’s Bodo tribe’s demand for a separate state.

Leaders of the Bodo People’s Front (BPF), a political party formed by leaders of the now disbanded militant group Bodo Liberation Tiger (BLT), said though they had settled for an autonomous council called Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) scaling down from their demand of a statehood while signing the Bodo Peace Accord on February 10, 2003, they would now launch fresh movement for statehood now.

The BPF, led by former BLT chief Hagrama Mohilary, is now in power in the BTC, besides being the only coalition partner of the ruling Congress in Assam.

“If Centre can announce to create Telangana state, there is no reason for it to deny a separate state to Bodo tribe in Assam,” BPF leader and a cabinet minister in Assam Chandan Brahma said.

Hyderabad, December 10
When K Chandrasekhar Rao, weighed down by a string of electoral defeats, announced last month that he would undertake indefinite fast pressing for a separate Telangana state, none took him seriously.

After 11 days of fast, the maverick Telangana leader had the last laugh. Bowing to pressure from statehood supporters, the Centre gave the green signal for the creation of Telangana state, fulfilling around 40-year-old demand.

What the electoral politics could not achieve in years was achieved by politics of agitation in a matter of days.

After launching the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in 2001, with the sole aim of realising the statehood dream, the 55-year-old rabble-rousing leader had a roller coaster political ride that saw him in and out of the UPA government.

Known for his acerbic tongue and aggressive posturing, KCR, as the TRS chief is referred to in political circles, had set repeated deadlines for the UPA government to initiate the process for carving out a separate state and finally walked out of it in 2006.

At a time when the statehood slogan was losing relevance following a near-total rout of the TRS in the April Assembly elections, KCR has succeeded in bringing back the issue to the centre stage of national politics.

Political observers say the political void created by the sudden demise of Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy has helped KCR in reviving a dying movement and hogging the limelight.

“It is either the Telangana victory rally or my funeral procession,” KCR had declared before embarking on the indefinite fast. His brave words had evoked derisive comments from his detractors because the TRS was smarting under severe drubbing in the April Assembly elections.

However, KCR’s fast galvanised the pro-Telangana forces in a manner that was unprecedented in the state.

An effective orator and a crowd-puller, KCR gave a controversial call “Telangana waley jago, Andhra waley bhago” that provided a punch to his campaign. He even threatened to launch a “militant struggle” to achieve the statehood goal.

Hailing from Medak district, KCR was first elected to the Assembly in 1989 and was associated with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). He quit the TDP and the Deputy Speaker’s post in 2001 to lead the statehood agitation.

Lucknow, December 10
Inspired by the success of TRS, Bundelkhand Mukti Morcha has decided to launch a “massive” agitation for a separate Bundelkhand state. “We had been with the TRS in its struggle for a separate Telangana state and we are happy that their long struggle have started bearing fruits. Now we would go all out to launch a massive struggle for Bundelkhand state”, BMM President Raja Bundela told PTI on the telephone. “The struggle for Bundelkhand has been going on for the past 20 years as people there have realised that the region cannot develop without separate statehood. We will give it a fresh momentum,” Bundela said. He also said as a first step, a 300-km long march from Chitrakoot to Kamtanath in Madhya Pradesh would start from December 16.

There is also a growing realisation in the Bundelkhand region that as their "peaceful agitations" have had no impact, drastic means are required to help in getting their demands fulfilled, Bundela said. There were similarities between Bundelkhand and Telangana because both were "provinces which had merged with the union on promise of separate statehood".— PTI

New Delhi, December 10
Defending the Government as well as the findings of the Liberhan Commission, the Union Minister P. Chidambaram delved into 2,600 years of history to apply a “balm” on the festering wounds of minorities saying, “no religion is foreign to India” while he blamed the BJP for having “…done a great damage to the essence and fabric of the country”.

Chidambaram’s reply, following two days of discussions on the Liberhan Commission report in the Rajya Sabha, this evening had an important announcement: Chargesheets against those connected with the demolition of the disputed structure at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992, would be re-visited and the sources of huge funds for the “movement” that led to the incident probed.

“We will have to examine whether chargesheets are complete, whether to re-visit them and some sections need to be added..", said the Home Minister, while adding that, “We would have to examine…. who collected money, transferred money... Whose money was it and was it accounted for”.

The Minister’s reply was marked by periodic protests by BJP members, especially by Vinay Katiyar, who is one of the 68 indicted by the Liberhan commission. Katiyar was warned by Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan, who quoted the relevant rules, asking him not to disrupt the proceedings.

Chidambaram commenting on Jaitley’s yesterday’s remarks on the aspirations of the majority (community) said “…Your theory of majorityism is one step short of xenophobia…. I beg of you, do not create a majority or minority on the basis of religion”. He went on to add “… I differ with Arun and request him to please reconsider his views”. Jaitley, got up to clarify that minority rights cannot be at the cost of the majority ( Hindus) and accused the Congress of playing vote-bank politics.

Chidambaram retorted: “You can have a majority view on the basis of political, economic ideology, however, if you construct such a view on basis of religion that is majoritiyism and we will not accept that”.

Quoting from the findings of the Liberhan Commission, Chidambaram said the main issue was who demolished the structure and the panel was able to pinpoint the responsibility for the same on the Sangh Parivar. ”The behaviour of the Sangh Parivar on December 6 cannot be accepted in a democracy”.

Chidambaram concluded by saying the two ideas (The BJP and the Congress ) clashed in 2004 and 2009 and “our idea of inclusiveness has prevailed”.

Independent member from Haryana Tarlochan Singh said the report should be rejected and went on to describe the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, as the worst-ever carnage in the country.

Bellary (Karnataka), December 10
CBI officials today questioned Karnataka ministers Janardhana Reddy and Sreeramulu over alleged illegal mining activities by a company owned by them in the state and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

A 11-member CBI team visited Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), owned by Tourism Minister Janardhana Reddy's brother Revenue Minister Karunakara Reddy, as part of the probe into alleged illegal mining activities.

The agency sleuths conducted searches at the Ennoble India company, a chit firm owned by Janardhana, which has now become defunct, and reportedly seized some documents, CDs and two computers, police said.

The team, which questioned Janardhana and Health Minister Sreeramulu, visited five mining companies in Bellary, but details of documents seized were not available immediately.

Meanwhile, Janardhana alleged it was a conspiracy by the Congress which had led to the CBI probe. “They (Congress) are troubling us. They are trying to create problems for the BJP government in Karnataka,” he told reporters here.

The CBI team, which arrived here last night, questioned OMC employees at its office in Havambhavi area and later visited Janardhana's residence.

The Centre had ordered the CBI probe into alleged illegal mining at Andhra Pradesh government's request. The Reddy brothers are also under Supreme Court's scanner over mining activities in parts of Karnataka bordering Andhra Pradesh, where they hold three mining licences.

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa has ruled out ordering a CBI probe into the alleged illegal mining and sacking the three ministers, who had rebelled against him recently before the BJP central leadership stepped in to bring about a truce.

A Central Empowered Committee, appointed by the Supreme Court, had concluded that OMC was carrying out "illegal" iron ore mining on the Andhra Pradesh-Karnataka border.

Forest clearances of some firms, including OMC, have been suspended by the Centre on grounds of illegal mining in six mines in Andhra Pradesh. — PTI 

Bangalore, December 10
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has directed its focus on developing radars useful for fighting low intensity conflicts (LICs).

S Varadarajan, director of Electronic and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE) - a DRDO affiliate - said they were working on developing radars that would capture images penetrating obstacles such as foliage and concrete walls. “These radars are urgently required by our security forces,” he said.

The LRDE director, while talking to this reporter on the sidelines of the International Radar Symposium, India (IRSI), that began here yesterday, said the foliage penetration radar would be operated from an airborne platform and would be able to detect man and manmade objects hidden below foliage.

He said the wall penetration radar would be kept in a horizontal position on the ground and detect targets - both moving and stationary - hidden behind concrete walls. Varadarajan said they were also working on a radar with the capability to penetrate the ground to search for hidden mines. This radar would be operated by remote control since direct manual control could put the life of its handler in danger. All these radars would be ready in “two to three years time”.

He said work was on to develop synthetic aperture radar (SAR) of X-band frequency. An SAR having X-band frequency is considered ideal for military purposes since such radars pick up metallic objects well and give accurate images. The radar could be used by fitting it with a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle). Varadarajan said it would take another three years time for the X-band SAR to be ready.

The LRDE director also revealed that work on manufacturing an indigenous Active Electronically Scanned Array radar (AESA radar) had made significant progress. AESAs allow ships and aircrafts to broadcast powerful radar signals to detect targets while remaining hidden. He said the AESA radars would be fitted with LCA Mark 2 - an upgraded version of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft - slated to be rolled out in 2014.

New Delhi, December 10
Faced with serious internal revolt, the Congress is now looking to defusing the crisis and prolonging negotiations over the Centre’s last night decision to initiate the process for forming a separate state of Telengana.

The move evoked immediate protests from MPs of other regions of the state. The Congress MP from Vijayawada, L Rajagopal, was the first to send his resignation. Another MP, R Sambasiva Rao, has also resigned while two other MPs have also offered to quit.

As Congress president Sonia Gandhi conferred with senior leaders and held meetings with MPs from Telengana and other regions to douse the burning fires, the party was encouraged by the “help” that appeared to be coming its way from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) camp. Naidu had extended support for a separate Telengana state at an all-party meeting just a few days ago.

Sources of the Congress said it would be too happy to see TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu breaking the “so-called consensus”, as it would automatically bail it out of the current crisis. Lack of agreement would put the issue on the backburner, as a resolution on the formation of a separate state needs full consensus. Simultaneously, it would expose Naidu when his party is required to vote on a resolution in the state assembly.

However, the Congress is in no hurry to take the next step. Alarmed over the spate of resignations from Congress MPs and legislators from the state’s coastal and Rayalseema regions, AICC in charge of Andhra Pradesh Veerappa Moily today clarified that no time frame had been fixed for moving a resolution in the state assembly for the formation of Telengana. Taking a cue from the Centre, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah also attempted to pacify the situation with a similar assurance.

Trying hard to correct the perception that the government had succumbed to pressure, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the party had never opposed the formation of Telengana, but was looking for a consensus on the matter. He added that since all parties were now in agreement, the government had decided to move ahead on this demand.

The sources further said the government was constrained to giving consent to the pending demand as TRS Chief K Chandrasekhar Rao’s condition was deteriorating and had it worsened, the state would have gone up in flames.

The Congress had managed to keep the lid on the demand for several years, but it was forced as volatile students who were being encouraged by Naxal elements had hijacked the Telengana movement. There were also murmurs in the Congress that its Rajya Sabha MP KVP Rao and supporters, who were heading the “Jagan for CM” campaign” were allegedly stoking the fires to make things difficult for the chief minister.

New Delhi, December 10
The Left today stood divided on Centre’s support to Telangana, with the CPI supporting the creation of the new state but the CPM slamming the idea of states’ reorganisation on other than linguistic lines. While Left parties within the Front took different positions on the issue, with CPM leader Sitaram Yechury warned the Congress of the dangers of dissecting the states on an economic basis, while the Trinamool Congress maintained a guarded silence.

Both, the Left and the Trinamool, have high stakes in the issue considering persistent demands for Gorkhaland in poll-bound West Bengal. That apart, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee declined to comment on the Centre’s decision to support Telangana. “What can I possible say? It’s something concerning Andhra Pradesh. Ask people from Andhra.”

Sometime back, the party leader Shishir Adhikari had however openly rejected the idea of Gorkhaland in Bengal - indicating the UPA ally’s general position on smaller states. But Mamata Banerjee today evaded direct queries on the issue, saying the decision would be taken by the government.

But the CPM minced no words while warning the Centre of the consequences of Telangana. “Originally, language was the sole criterion for reorganisation of states. As for Telangana, the real issue is economic backwardness and past examples of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand have shown that states’ economy does not improve by mere grant of statehood,” Yechury said.

Patna, December 10
In the wake of recurring attacks on migrant workers in states like Punjab, Maharashtra and Assam, the Bihar government has decided to make the provision of registration mandatory for its people moving out of the state in search of jobs.

The state government is also contemplating on issuing identity cards to the migrants. The responsibility of registration and I-cards will be given to the village panchayats, Principal Secretary Labour Welfare and Skill Development Vyasji Mishra said.

The government feels that the registration of its migrant workers with full personal information would help it keep track of its migrant population and extend help to them in the hour of need.

The government is also planning to set up a helpline on permanent basis for extending prompt assistance to its migrant population.

At the moment there is no record with the government about the exact number of its migrants.

According to Vyasji Mishra, the government has been quite concerned about the people moving out of the state in search of livelihood. Various welfare measures had been initiated at the panchayat level to offer people alternative jobs as per their skill and prevent them from moving out.

The state government has asked the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi, to conduct a study on its migrant population and suggest corrective measures for their protection outside the state and also to check migration.

Initial surveys by the IIPA had revealed that maximum migration had been taking place from the flood-affected districts.

The state government was awaiting a final report from the IIPA on this subject to determine its final action plan. The government also intends to involve the panchayat bodies effectively to check migration and they would be guided by the United Nations Development Programme in this effort.

New Delhi, December 10
Son-of-the-soil agitations witnessed in Maharashtra and Punjab recently were among the worst forms of discrimination that violated human rights guaranteed under the Indian Constitution and United Nations Charter, according to noted Constitutional jurist Fali S Nariman.

Under Article 19 of the Constitution, all citizens had the freedom to move around freely within the country and settle down in any state of their choice. Several judicial verdicts had also clarified this position. All this had failed to deter political elements from exploiting local sentiments by raising slogans like ‘Maharashtra only for Maharashtrians’ and ‘Punjab only for Punjabis’. “How can Maharashtra and Punjab continue to flourish without the help of hard-working Biharis?” Nariman wanted to know in his lecture on the eve of the World Human Rights Day (December 10).

Pointing out that the country largely derived its strength from its vastness, the noted lawyer said it would cease to exist the moment it was cut up into pieces. The lecture was organised jointly by the OP Jindal Global University, UN Information Centre and the India International Centre.

New Delhi, December 10
India, with the highest number of measles deaths in the world, is jeopardising the realisation of the global goal to reduce measles mortality by 90 per cent by 2010. Of every four children who die of the disease globally, three are from India.

Nailing the government’s lie on ample availability of vaccines against childhood diseases, the latest report of the Measles Initiative, the global partnership against measles, directly blames delays in the implementation of large-scale vaccination campaigns in India for lack of progress on the front across the world.

The report says that whereas measles deaths worldwide fell by 78 per cent between 2000 and 2008, they fell by only 46 per cent in southeast Asia. Rest of the world has reduced measles deaths by 90 per cent (between 2000 and 2010) two years ahead of the UN reduction target.

Published in the December 4 edition of the World Health Organisation’s Weekly Epidemiological Record, the new measles data sounds an alarm for India, where immunisation campaigns are not picking up.

“The one region that may jeopardise achieving the 2010 goal is Southeast Asia, which includes heavily populated countries such as India, Indonesia and Bangladesh where measle deaths declined by only 46 per cent between 2000 and 2008. Delayed vaccination campaigns in India, the country with the majority of measles deaths, is mostly accountable for lack of progress,” the report states.

Add to that fund shortage being seen as a potential cause for measles relapse. Already, the Measles Initiative is facing a funding gap of $ 59 million for 2010. If left unaddressed, it could allow for a resurgence of measles deaths, new findings show.

Immunisation experts fear the combined effect of decreased political and financial commitment could result in an estimated 1.7 million measle-related deaths between 2010-13, with more than half a million deaths in 2013 alone, compared to 1,64,000 in 2008.

To eliminate these risks, the report warns lagging nations to conduct follow up vaccination campaigns every two to four years until their healthcare systems can provide two doses of measles vaccination to all children. “If we drop our guard now, this disease will regain a foothold and spread like wildfire once again; we must stay vigilant,” Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, chairman of the American Red Cross, observes in the findings.

Currently, measles - one of the leading causes of death among children worldwide - is claiming an estimated 400 children’s lives every day; most deaths are in India.

All regions, with the exception of southeast Asia, have achieved the United Nations goal of reducing measles mortality by 90 per cent from 2000 to 2010, two years ahead of target, it states.

So far, vaccinating nearly 700 million children against measles, through large-scale immunisation campaigns and increased routine immunisation coverage, has prevented an estimated 4.3 million measles deaths in less than a decade.