CHANNA REDDY IN TELANGANA STATEHOOD MOVEMENT: INITIATION, INTERVENTION AND CONTRIBUTION

Abstract

The present paper tries to explore some of the repeated accusations and half-truths against the Telangana leader – Dr. Marri Channa Reddy, who led the movement in 1969. It is believed that the leaders started the Telangana Statehood movement as a problem-solving movement against sub-regionalism. Dr. Reddy was a staunch opponent of Andhra’s internal colonization.  This is not only absurd but also a parody of the truth. This is mainly due to the lack of original documents in an organized campaign for the separate state of Telangana.  The print and electronic media reports speak of alarming national integration at the request of the state of Telangana. While national integration can no longer be mere integration, biased politicians and media cannot accept the exclusive right to speak on behalf of the common man. Therefore, an ordinary person needs to understand how effectively the public and leader’s participation took place in the country's democratic and political process in articulating their rights and entitlements. And, thus, the initiation, intervention, and contribution of a prominent political leader of Telangana State were discussed in this paper with substantial shreds of evidence.