Mixed reactions at Osmania University

Hyderabad: Merger for a few, forced occupation for some, deception for others and liberation for the rest. This is how September 17 was celebrated at Osmania University on Tuesday. All the student organisations observed the day, according to their own perception and a political directives about the history of Hyderabad.

Telangana Vidyarthi Parishad (TGVP) hoisted the national flag in front of the Arts College building, where students and Prof Mallaiah, Principal of Arts College and Prof Chinnappa, Dept of Telugu, attended. Prof Chinnappa observed that Sep 17 could be observed as a day of liberation from the Nizam rule and as a day of deception, because of the merger of Telangana with Andhra, which followed.

Progressive Democratic Students Union (PDSU) activists rallied from Arts College to the main road, waving black flags and shouting slogans against the police action, which brought Hyderabad into the Indian Union. The rally was led by Vimala, Founder of Arunodaya Samskruthika Samakhya, SL Padma, President of Indian Federation of Trade Unions and Potu Ranga Rao, CPI(ML) New Democracy State Executive Member. The group later on burnt a picture of Sardar Vallabhai Patel at the Arts College entrance.

Akhila Bharatiya Vidyar Parishad (ABVP) activists celebrated by hoisting the national flag in front of the Arts College and paid their respects to Sardar Vallabhai Patel, singing patriotic songs. Bahujan Students Federation (BSF) celebrated the day in remembrance of Periyar EV Ramaswamy, one of the champions of the Dalit movement, who was born on Septembe 17.

V Ravi, a student activist belonging to a weaker section said that it is time for waging a war against the dominating sections and taking away political power from their hands; in order to build a Bahujan rule in Telangana. K Vinayakan, a research scholar from EFLU, who was present there, said that Periyar was against the concept of the present state of nation and had fought against the Brahminical nature of living life. He was against social and religious discrimination. He said that Periyar viewed the society as Brahmin and non-Brahmin sections and advocated for the protection of self-respect of every caste.

In all, the day was a mixture of ideological views taken by different student organizations about September 17. They all protested right in front of Arts college, competed each other in sloganeering and strongly opposed each others’ views openly. However, they were all united for a single cause, known as ‘Telangana’.