T State should fulfill Jayashankar’s dream

I attended an endowment lecture arranged by Jayashankar Memorial Trust at Kakatiya University on August 6 on the occasion of his 79th birth anniversary. The speaker was Prof Haragopal, a well-known human rights activist and former professor of political science, Central University, Hyderabad. He said that freedom of thought, expression and freedom from suppression should be the basic traits in separate Telangana State.

Haragopal said that all through his life Jayashankar had revered freedom; hence modeling the State on those lines would be an honour to him. On the “Vision of New Telangana”, he said the new State should be free from exploitative new economic model that has been employed across the globe by US-dominated institutions like the World Trade Organization and the World Bank. The government should adopt an economic model where agriculture would be given priority as agriculture, being labor-intensive, could create jobs. By creating surplus in the agricultural sector, other sectors in the economy can also develop.

The emphasis in Haragopal’s lecture was that Telangana should not follow the so-called new economic policy of globalisation, privatisation and liberalisation. These policies are responsible for aggravating economic disparities. He paid rich tributes to Jayashankar with whom he had a close relationship. I too had a close relationship with Jayashankar as both of us taught economics in degree colleges of Telangana. We used to have a healthy interaction on various topics whenever we met. Though we differed on the solutions of some problems, we always concluded our discussion on a note of cordiality.

Jayashankar was born on August 6, 1934, in a middle class agricultural family at Akkampet village close to Warangal. Since his childhood, he displayed qualities of leadership. He had a cool and accommodative temperament which endeared him to people around him. His leadership was accepted not because he dictated terms but because of his commitment to the cause he put forward and his uncompromising attitude to achieve it.

As Prof Lingamurthy, who was a close follower of Jayashankar, says: “Dr Jayashankar was a self-made man and architect of his own future. He started his career as a primary school teacher at Adilabad, the most remote and backward district of Telangana, and rose to the position of Vice-chancellor of Kakatiya University”. That was his greatest achievement.

Surprisingly, the man who was destined to become the vice-chancellor of a university never studied in a university. His formal education was only up to high school. From then onwards, the major part of his higher education consisted of private study for degrees from various universities as he could not afford to do his post-graduation in any university like a regular student. After getting promotion as a lecturer in economics in a degree college, he did his PhD and received it from Osmania University.

When he was working as a high school teacher, he participated in teachers’ union and strove to improve the service conditions of teachers. When he was working as a lecturer in various government degree colleges, he was instrumental in establishing the Government College Teachers Association (GCTA) and served as its first general secretary. Afterwards, he was made principal of Chanda Kanthaiah Memorial College (CKM College) from 1975 to 1979. He worked day and night to mould this college into an institution of excellence. After that distinguished stint, he served as registrar of Kakatiya University between 1979 and 81. From there, he went to Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages (CIEFL) at Hyderabad as registrar from 1982 to 1991. Thereafter, he was made Vice-chancellor of Kakatiya University in 1991.

Since his student days, Jayashankar had been an enthusiastic advocate of a separate Telangana State. As a student, he participated in the 1952 agitation for strict implementation of Mulki rules. He opposed merger of Telangana with the rest of Telugu-speaking areas of the newly created State of Andhra in 1956. He had also participated in the whirlwind agitation for creation of a separate State of Telangana in 1969. After his retirement as vice-chancellor, he concentrated all his energy on the cause of separate Telangana.

Jayashankar was a good speaker. When he wanted to prove his point, he came fully prepared to put forward his argument. Statistics used to be always at his fingertips. He used to prove his argument with facts and figures. He used to clarify the doubts of his audience whenever he delivered his speech. He addressed nearly 200 meetings during the second phase of Telangana agitation from 2001 until his demise on June 21, 2011. Achieving a separate State of Telangana was the most cherished mission of his life. It is a pity that he is not alive today to see his dream being fulfilled.
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