Telangana people's trust in KCR led to triumph

One of the most important struggles for a separate state in India is definitely that of Telangana state which has been there for over five decades. Immediately the state was formed, saga of un-kept promises and violation of the Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1956 resulted in violent agitation in 1969.

It is important to recapitulate that Channa Reddy was disqualified by Supreme Court for six years to hold public office and captured ongoing Telangaba movement in 1969. People supported his TPS by electing 11 out of 14 MPS from Telangana region and yet he betrayed the movement for personal and political gains. It was a stunning blow to the people of Telangana and their aspirations but Reddy reaped a rich political harvest by becoming Governor and later became Chief Minister twice.

Later six-point formula of 1973 which guaranteed preference to local candidates in jobs besides accelerated development was also not implemented sincerely and subsequently a feeling was built up among the people of Telangana that they were cheated because of the discrimination shown in employment and education.

The history of Telangana's negligence is testimony to the fact that power and pelf overrules all agreements, safeguards, even those provided by the Supreme Court. The people felt betrayed by their own leaders who gave up the demand for a separate state in return for some positions of power. However, some groups continued making subtle demands for the state but could not make any impact. The intellectuals and social activists of Telengana kept the movement alive with slow pace and they were not able to translate people’s anger into a focused movement for the formation of a new state. However, with the emergence of new political force in the state and patriotic emotions of telugu pride by NTR, the state lived in a calm and peace till end of the 20th century.

Just when everybody thought Telengana statehood would remain a dream and the Telangana movement died, Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhara Rao while as Deputy Speaker revived the movement and floated Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) in 2001 and most of the groups seeking a separate state joined hands with him. Several thousands and thousands people participated in this last phase of separatist agitation. Students, Artists, Lawyers, Journalists, Employees, Politicians, Peasants, Unemployed youth, small artisans, Farmers, Laborers and every segment of the Society involved in this historic agitation.

“Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river” said, Nikita Khrushchev. That lack of trust in politicians is not new phenomenon in any country. There is no secret that Chandrashekar Rao also revived the Telengana movement at the beginning of the millennium after he was denied a cabinet berth in Chandrababu Naidu’s cabinet.

But why Marri Channa Reddy from powerful community, the rabble-rousing, mass leader of Telangana Praja Samithi (TPS) failed and KCR hailing from a small family of minority community and TRS has succeeded. There was a distinct difference between agitation lead by Channa Reddy and KCR. There must be something different. Yes there is “something”.

That something plays a vital role in individual relations and political processes alike to build powerful regimes, successful business empires and flourishing economies. That something is “hope and trust”, core dimensions of human behaviour.

Hope looks to the future with an expectation of the good to come. Trust is the bond that brings people and leaders together in political processes ensuring long term success in political environments. Building trust is an important quality and knack of leaders to succeed in public life and KCR knows it better than most people. Trust is an attitude that we have towards people whom we hope will be trustworthy, where trustworthiness is a property, not an attitude. Trust and trustworthiness are therefore distinct although, ideally, those whom we trust will be trustworthy, and those who are trustworthy will be trusted.

Trust is the most important component of a happy relationship. Without trust, a relationship can become a horrible experience because of constant doubt and fear. Losing the trust in a relationship causes many relationships to end. Winning back the trust in a relationship is the only way to ensure that the relationship lasts past its rocky moments. Rebuilding trust involves the participation of both partners. Trust is the foundation of most personal relationships, which in turn are key determinants of human well-being and economic development. Trust, if it is matched by trustworthy behaviour in others, reduces the costs of dealing with risks and uncertainty.

Trust is important, but it is also dangerous. It is important because it allows them to form relationships with others and to depend on others—for love, for advice, for help when they know that no outside force compels them to give such things. But trust also involves the risk of betrayal and if there were some guarantee that they would pull through, then we would have no need to trust them. Thus, trust is also dangerous. The risk in trusting others is the loss of the things that one entrust to others, including self-respect, perhaps, which can be shattered by the betrayal of our trust. Telangana people have seen that earlier and felt that there is nothing more to lose by trusting KCR.

Generally speaking, trust refers to the confidence that people have in others that they will act as we might expect. Hence, it reflects people’s subjective perception of people’s reliability. KCR has taken the right decision at the right time about a decade and half ago on reviving agitation for separate statehood. Initially people did not trust KCR but He started with confidence and power to create history. He worked hard with his integrity and single point agenda-bifurcation of the state and earned peoples trust. Yet very few people joined in the beginning. Certainly not a single politician of any party supported him.

In the initial years of his planning to start separate statehood agitation, I used to spend hours talking to KCR every day for months in discussing injustice mooted to people and region. I was one of the early persons walked behind him and exposed injustice done to Telangana region. I am fortunate to introduce my good friend late Prof. Biyyala Janardhan Rao to KCR and later through him introduced late Prof. Jayashankar to KCR. The Telangana movement was kept alive through untiring efforts of Prof. Janardhan and Prof. Jayashankar through Telangana Vidyavanthula Vedika. Later Prof.Janardhan was actively involved in the process of launching Telengana Rashtara Samithi (TRS) and was focus of “Simha Garjana” at Karimnagar, the first TRS public meeting after the party was formed. It was a million dollar question then on achieving any success with separate state. In fact the hectic activity of guiding the political leadership of TRS has taken the toll on his health which went neglected and finally succumbed to heart failure. Subsequently, I was compelled to disassociate with the main line agitation for personal reasons and preoccupations but continued to advise and follow TRS activities till the sudden and sad demise of my good friend Biyyala Janardhan Rao in 2002.

KCR started the second phase of Telangana agitation with courage, conviction and confidence. Probably academics like me are short-sighted who failed to understand the vision of KCR because we were still lingering on alternatives to correct injustice done to Telangana. His greatest asset and weapon was his communication style and Telangana slang that directly appealed people. His speeches in a convincing style, mobilised the masses thanks to the proliferation of print and electronic media in Andhra Pradesh in the last one decade and made it "compulsory" for leaders of Congress and TDP from Telangana to endorse his stand. When everybody thought the Telangana movement died with the humiliating defeat of the bye elections, KCR went on with a Gandhian way of protest: fast-unto-death and that made the difference which is different from Channa Reddy and TPS.

He developed a high trust relationship with people so much that it did not affect even when he changed his stand to make a dalit as Chief Minister in Telangana if TRS come in to power. Critics alleged that TRS is a family run party and even that did not dissuade on peoples will to support TRS in elections and all the family members were elected.

KCR is a very charismatic personality, a powerful orator and campaigned extensively in 107 constituencies across Telangana. Though people by and large endorsed that Congress has given Telangana but affirm that it is because of KCR’s agitation. There is a reason why such a decisive election victory occurred in 2014 elections to TRS solely on the strength of one leader KCR. That reason is rooted in our mythology and history with a strong and inspiring leader behind every such event. In Mahabharata it is Krishna who inspired the Pandava victory, it is Chanakya who inspired the Mauryan empire, it is a Shankaracharya who reinforced the cultural unity of India, it is Samarth Ramadas behind Shivaji in establishing Marath kingdom and it is Gandhi in achieving freedom with non-violence. The TRS decision to go alone after refusing to merge it with the Congress and even deciding not to have an electoral alliance with it helped his party reap rich dividends because of strong and inspiring leadership of KCR.

Since last decade, the very mention of KCR evokes admiration in Telangana. KCR acquired a cult status during the years of struggle and people came to believe that he is the only hope for Telangana. He deserves the credit for bringing students, employees, intellectuals, artists and different JACs to one platform and chant one voice, separate Telangana. For many people Telengana is an aspiration but for people at large it is a life dream. With his mission of a separate Telangana state achieved, he chanted the development and welfare mantra, advocating "new approach and new policies" for the state. He made several election promises including reservations for minorities, free power for farmers and two bedroom houses for the poor.

Will he deliver? Frankly, I don’t know. I am not TRS propagandist and I certainly do not belong to any political party. But I wish and hope that he succeeds. Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It’s not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. I am also optimistic because I trust him and his competency and believe that he is committed to deliver what he promised.

I support him because he says things I like and I want to hear. He has facts about injustice done to Telangana on his fingertips. He also talks about solutions rather than just projecting problems. He is unapologetic about his stand on frequent change of leanings. He is not bothered about his image and never cares whether you term him Dora or something else as long as he gets to do his job.

Whether anybody agrees or not KCR has secured prime position in Telangana history and ensured that the title of "the father of Telangana" is his forever. Today Telangana as a state is at cross roads and when people trusted him so highly, KCR would utilize the chance of setting right of the injustices done and fulfil the aspirations of the people and remain in Annals of Telangana.