Open Letter to members of Sri Krishna Committee on Telangana

To: Committee for Consultations on the Situation in Andhra Pradesh, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India

To,

Shri Justice B N Srikrishna (Retd.)

Shri Vinod Kumar Duggal, IAS (Retd.)

Prof (Dr.) Ranbir Singh

Dr. Abusaleh Shariff

Prof (Dr.) Ravinder Kaur

Sub: Your response sought on Justice Narasimha Reddy (AP High Court) judgment.

Ref: 1) Report submitted by Committee for consultations on the situation in Andhra Pradesh.

2) Judgment pronounced by Andhra Pradesh High Court in Writ Petition No.1569 of 2011 dt: 23-03-2011

Respected Members of the committee,

We are concerned citizens of Andhra Pradesh state, greatly interested in seeing an end to the current state of unrest and turmoil in Andhra Pradesh arising out of demand for a separate state of Telangana. We seek a solution that is established on the principles of Justice and Fairness enshrined in democracy.

We have gone through the copy of Judgment referred to above and are extremely disturbed with the thoughts induced by it. Pronounced by The Hon’ble Sri Justice L.Narasimha Reddy on 23rd March 2011, it raises serious questions on the integrity and intentions of members in the committee. The questions, left unanswered would contribute negatively to the prevailing atmosphere in the state and vitiate things further. We as concerned citizens are anguished by turn of events and would like to seek certain clarifications and your response to the following points being raised by us from each and every one of you as being members of the said committee. We expect truth and nothing but the truth from you.

Each and every one of you was appointed to the committee owing to your very high reputation as individuals of high integrity. Your appointment we assume was based on the belief that you all possess skills and objectivity to understand and guide the Government of India in finding right solutions to the burning problem.

The judgment referred to above casts serious aspersions on your integrities and motives individually as well as a group. The judgment if left unexplained by your group will strike at the basic foundations of trust people of this country have, on various mechanisms of governance.

Please do respond to the questions below, individually or collectively as per your convenience and conscience.

1) Was there a process by which contents of the report were approved and were the contents of the 8th Chapter approved through the process if it existed?

2) Was the 8th Chapter (VIII) of the committee report authored and approved by all the members? If No, who authored it and who all approved it?

3) Do you agree that the secret part of the report in the form of Chapter 8 is beyond the publicly given Terms of Reference (ToR) to the committee?

4) What prompted the committee members to prepare this note/Chapter 8 going beyond the given Terms of Reference (ToR) of the committee? Were any instructions given to the Committee by Government of India or its agencies to prepare a note of this nature?

5) The judgment opined in Paragraph 44 “The very purpose of appointing Commissions or Committees is to gather different views from the public and stakeholders, analyzing them with reference to evidence and other material, and to make a suggestion to the Government, enabling it to arrive at a just and proper conclusion. It is a different matter that the ultimate decision is to be taken by the Government and in a given case; the report can be ignored altogether. More than the conclusions, or recommendations of the Commission/Committee, it is the reasons, which prompted them to arrive at the conclusions that become very important. Even where a person is otherwise opposed to a particular conclusion or viewpoint, may become convinced, once the relevant reasons are known to him. Conclusions can be arrived at by the administrative authorities also. What makes them more acceptable to the public, is the reasons recorded therefore. Since the Committee or Commission of Inquiry has a wider and larger access to the public, the reasons are bound to be sound. They are the ultimate distillation of the enormous material, which the committee receives, in the course of inquiry”. Do you agree with the above opinion?

If yes - Paragraph 64 of the judgment says, “ The Committee discussed the issue of communal violence in its secret note. The subject is certainly a sensitive issue. As to source of information, it, however, observed, “The intelligence wing of the State Police and the I.B. will be more informed on this aspect”. This means that the Committee relied upon some other source, for its analysis, if not, for its recommendations. Though privilege under Sections 123 and 124 of the Evidence Act was claimed, none of the ingredients thereof either pleaded or proved.” What were your sources for arriving at a conclusion on current scenario and recommendations on the issue of communal violence? Disclose them to validate your claims.

6) The supplementary note with three parts summarized under the sub-headings a) Political Management, b) Media Management and c)Full Preparedness are of a very dubious nature going by the contents exposed in the judgment. The contents clearly indicate that Committee Members took upon themselves the job of giving suggestions on how to quell the movement by using various “management” strategies. The recommendations give us the impression that committee members had ulterior motives in maintaining the “status quo”. This is nothing but violation of trust imposed in your committee by people of all regions in Andhra Pradesh to suggest a just solution by doing an impartial and dispassionate study. Do you agree and if you do not what is your explanation on the nature of contents in Chapter 8 and supplementary note?

6) How did the committee arrive at recommendations listed under “Media Management”? Do the members see the recommendations as being rooted in the spirit of democracy or otherwise?

7) We do not hesitate in saying that the contents of Chapter 8 of the report and its supplementary note, if true and have been arrived at unanimously by the committee members indicate that the members have acquiesced to pressures known only to them and have acted against principles and values of morality and prudence of the highest order imposed upon them by being members of the committee. Do you disagree?

We demand all of you to respond collectively and individually to vindicate your stand in coming out with a secret chapter and note that violate all known principles of neutrality and democracy expected from being members of a committee of this nature. Do not delay or avoid responding to our open letter, as it will be construed as a willful act of sabotage of democracy.

Awaiting your response and hoping out of hope that our trust in democracy and justice will be reaffirmed.

Sincerely,

The link to online petition is

http://www.petitiononline.com/krishnac/petition.html

Telangana - The Land of Destiny or a Mirage? Part 2

Lessons for the downtrodden people - The power is in their collective hands. Nothing can ever take it away from them. Separate statehood struggle proved it beyond point. The struggle has to move out of books to minds and then into streets. Only then can it be a liberative force from whatever the problem is. Assertion of collective will can bring down monoliths. The challenge is to channelize it positively and wisely. It requires maturity from people and the leadership alike. Struggles need time to mature and vision just like a good wine which needs time for fermentation. The leader has to play the role of a master wine maker - identify the right grapes, right yeast and the right container. If the struggle loses its direction, focus or key people it loses the goal.

The struggle for Telangana was once betrayed by its leaders. The state of Telanagana cannot afford to be shortchanged again. The challenge of holding Telangana political leadership to their promises is one of the biggest challenges in front of people. The agitating leaders who are crying themselves hoarse cannot be pardoned if they fail in delivering tomorrow. They cannot give any more excuses after pushing all out for a separate state as panacea. People should understand this and not allow any further blame game in future on account of any reason - internal or external. If the people fail in ensuring this - they would have waged this long arduous battle in vain. They have to be vigilant all the times. The moment they stop the vigilance, rest assured, they will be short changed. All the tall promises will vanish and given a chance, even the leaders will vanish from the streets.

Lessons for the Prosperous & Dominant sections in a society

Growth can sustain only if it is inclusive. It cannot be the identity of few for long. They need to be generous in spirit and actions. Logic and science dictate that inequality/imbalance cannot remain forever. When the agitation for just demands was going on - the dominant group chose to stay silent - to a large extent that is. Instead of supporting the fighting souls it chose to stay silent. When written agreements and orders were being mutilated beyond recognition in action the enterprising group watched in mirth. It was reduced to a dull daily soap for them. It was not their problem. It was somewhere out there. That out there is right now bursting like a volcano under their feet and threatens to take out everything. The muted black&white hazy characters in the background of the soap opera have finally turned into the main subjects. They now have voice, shape, colour and the best dialogues. The run of events now threatens to destabilise the very base on which their supposedly secure futures did rest for a very long time. Time for introspection perhaps - not just in AP but elsewhere too.

Questions that need to be answered tomorrow ............. next post.

Telangana - The Land of Destiny or a Mirage?

Talangana State is hopefully around the corner!

Mr.Chidambaram, the union home minister has announced that the process for a separate Telangana State will begin soon. Six decades of struggle has finally resulted in a concrete step towards the much sought after separate existence. I am drowned in mixed feelings.

Happy - that a peoples' struggle finally won in this country after a long gap. Sad - the state which I belong to will be split into two. Happy - hopefully no more lives will be lost at the altar of this struggle. Sad - the state did not have a statesman leader to cater to the just demands of aggrieved people and hence it lead to this situation. Happy - people like me (Coastal Andhra Origins) wont be blamed unnecessarily in future for supposedly looting others' resources. Sad - it will not change the imbalanced power structure or inequity.

I am one, and I am secure in the knowledge that there are many more like me (from non - telangana regions) who have come to regard the Telangana area as their own land. Not as a land of destiny or as a land of opportunities but as a land which bestows a sense of belonging. It is my mooring point. It is a land of diverse cultures and THE land with the widest open arms - welcoming others into its fold. People here are known for their rustic and casual but warm nature. The language is liberating - free from all frivolous formalities. It is so enervating - destroys all barriers instantaneously for the open mind. It will remain all that and more to me.

I was born here, studied for most part of my life here, been working here and most of my friends are from here. The news of separation of the state though not entirely unexpected was a bit too soon for me. I expected a lot more resistance from Congress party and a lot more of compromise formulas being showered, hence, it's a surprise which evoked mixed emotions within me. I will try to summarize my feelings and ideas over the next few days through this blog.

This event being one which I closely observed holds a lot of lessons for a lot of people, including me.

For Political Struggles - Many may think that it is full of surprises but in actuality is a reaffirmation of history - Movements which can sustain their identity and voice over sustained periods are destined to succeed. The key is to "not give up" - "not relent under extreme duress". A movement needs to be broadbased at various levels to ensure secure anchorage and sustainability. A tree which can spread roots its' roots deeper and wider has greater chances to survive a drought or storm. Shallow ones are either blown away or wasted by withering. Telangana movement succeeded only because it could do both in many ways. It survived by going deeper - deeper when it was oppressed, deeper when it was sought to be erased by false promises of hope and wider - it garnered support from varied quarters - men-women, young-old, lawyers, students, government employees, police, journalists, political parties, naxalites, writers, politicians.. The list could go on. The recent struggle has been very successful in doing all these things and hence was able to bring pressure on the administration.

Struggles need to look beyond traditional political leadership for salvation. People of Telangana trusted Chenna Reddy and he sold them off. People trusted KCR - for a while. They decided to ditch him and forge ahead when it appeared that he broke his fast. That is when it truly became a mass struggle - when people chose to raise above party politics. He had no other option but to continue. He became a pawn in the hands of people rather than the situation being the other way around. He would have hopefully learned some lessons.

More to Continue........