I welcome Sri Nalamotu Chakravarthy as a contributor to TeluguGlobe. Even though Chakravarthy has his own blog site, he has kindly agreed to contribute on TeluGlobe. This cross-publishing is common in the blogosphere. I recently had a long conversation with him. He has better command on the facts and figures, especially on contemporary issues, than me. Within the American context, he and I disagree on several fronts. But we agree on many things related to Andhra Pradesh. We both believe that the facts, historical or contemporary, do not support the argument for division among Telugu people. Current Telangana separatist movement is fueled more by emotions and hate-mongering by vested interest groups than it has any factual basis. While some stats are valid, they are either accidental, or twisted, or due to sheer incompetence – but definitely not due to any evil-design by the people of one region. FYI, Chakravarthy hails from Nagonda disrtict and I hail from the neighboring Guntur district.
-Mohan
Chakravarty about himself:
My native place is a small village in the district of Nalgonda in the Nizam Telangana region. My grandfather was a full fledged farmer owning lands in Nalgonda. My father worked for the Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) state government and had to relocate from one town to another every few years because of government rules. As a child, I spent time in Devarakonda, Thungathurthi, Suryapeta, and Nalgonda. When I was five years old, my parents sent me to live with my grandparents in Hyderabad. I used to visit my parents during the winter and summer holidays.
After finishing my bachelor’s degree in 1993, I came to the United States in pursuit of higher education. I obtained my master’s degree from the University of Hawai’i and business degree from the Columbia University. I currently live with my wife and two children in New York.
Writing is a hobby of mine, though I do not write for a living. In the past, I wrote articles for international students at the University of Hawai’i. Later on, at the Columbia Business School, I wrote for the school newspaper Bottom Line. I have also written articles for the A.P. state BJP’s paper Jan Sandesh. I now occasionally write notes on Facebook on conservative viewpoints.
The decision to write this book happened inadvertently. Few years ago, when the controversy around a separate state reached a feverish pitch in our state, I wanted to learn more about how the regional differences within our state came about. The more I learned about our past, the more determined I grew to share what I learned with fellow Telugus. I hereby present my findings and views through- “My Telugu Roots: Telangana State Demand – A Bhasmasura Wish”.
