Head over heels for Telangana

At most of the effervescent ‘T’ meetings, amidst all the clamour, it is unusual not to notice Telangana Nagesh.

Telangana Nagesh was spotted again recently at the 'Sakala Jana Bheri' with his head shaved 'Jai T G'. Amidst vociferous crowds roaring and raising frequent slogans at the stand, this taciturn Telangana protagonist was composed, keenly listening to the speeches of leaders present at the event held at Nizam College Grounds on Sunday.

When asked what Telangana would give him after the state is divided, Telangana Nagesh smirked, “A dalit is going to become the chief minister of 'Samajika Telangana'.”

A mechanic by profession, 25-year-old Nagesh lives in Punjagutta. He migrated from Nalkal Mandal of Medak district along with his parents when he was five years old. Since Telangana movement gained momentum in the past few years, this ardent supporter of Telangana has been attending all public meetings that were organised across Telangana region.

While in one meeting he shaved his head with a map of Telangana which is divided from Andhra Pradesh, in another meeting he shaved his head like a symbol of Telangana Telugu Talli (mother of Jai TG). One could find him with numerous Tatoos related to the Telangana state on his body. When questioned whether he is working at the behest of any politician, he said " I don't take a single pie from any leader representing any party, infact I do not have faith in them. In 2009, I met Minister Geeta Reddy urging her to install a statue of Dr B R Ambedkar in my village Mamadigi which is a border between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka of Nalakal mandal in Medak district. Our dream and efforts to install the statue of a dalit leader went in vain despite repeated requests made to several leaders who were in power since then."

Telangana Nagesh says his dream would be realised only after Telangana state was formed. Nagesh said “Many dalit youth are jobless in the region. At the same time, I also feel for backward communities. For me carving just a Telangana State is not acceptable, for us it is a matter of development and growth.” He warned that he would launch a hunger strike before the state legislative assembly if there was any hindrance in passing the Telangana bill.