Special Status, whether or not it comes, to AP is now irrelevant. It is like reservations – not good for the Telugus who are enterprising, hardworking and intelligent. Right from the Independence Era and before, Telugus didn’t have anything easy but they carved out their own destiny. Just one example proves why Telugus don’t need anyone’s support to grow big.
When Dr C Rajagopalachari resigned as the Last Governor General of India (after Lord Mountbatten), he returned to the State of Madras in 1952. In Madras, an enterprising Telugu was already a force to reckon with and a potential threat to all the Tamils in the State. His name was Tanguturi Prakasam, a brilliant lawyer and a freedom fighter who dared even Gandhi on some issues. The lobby against T.Prakasam ganged up and cajoled Chakravarti Rajagopalachari to contest for the elections. Eventually, it was a comedown for C.Rajagopalachari because having served as the Last Governor-General of India, Chief Ministership of Madras State was not such a coveted position. Eventually, T.Prakasam never made it to the Madras State but this laid the foundation for a separate Telugu state continued to grow – it took the life of Potti Sriramulu who did a fast unto death and a fierce agitation capitalising on his death that made Nehru and CR to concede to the request of a separate state for Telugus.. CR opposed the movement even then and remarked famously: “Dividing the States of India on linguistic basis is a tribal idea.” But eventually, Telugus won their own State and never looked back, atleast they never were backward unlike many states in the North. T.Prakasam, indeed became the Chief Minister of the erstwhile undivided State of Andhra Pradesh; he had the last laugh. Special Status was never a catalyst for activity for Telugus – they migrated everywhere like the Marwaris, got into government service, went into specialised fields of law, medicine, arts and commerce. And the most enterprising Telugus – be they Reddys, Kammas, Rajus, Velamas, Dalits and even Kapus built businesses.
Moral of the Story: Don’t fret about Special Status. When you are growing at 15 per cent GDP growth in one State and 11 per cent in the other State, Special Status is not a game-changer.
