Hyderabad Political Conferences, Andhra Maha Sabha and “Andhra”

In his latest article, “Telangana state demand is NOT over 50 years old” Chakravarthy garu brought some more historical facts that fly in the face of separatists’ lies. That article talks about the origins of the demand for a state for Andhras (read: Telugu people – not just people from coastal districts), which was supported by Mahatma Gandhi also. So much for the e-mails I have seen which state, “If Bapu were alive today, he would have supported separate Telangana state.”

During the time period mentioned in Chakravarthy’s article, Nizam not only oppressed Telugu language and culture, but also banned all political gatherings and meetings. The leaders in the Nizam Telangana area held four conferences, each of which is called Hyderabad Political Conference – but none of them were actually held in Hyderabad. The first was in 1923, and it was held in Kakinada, in conjunction with the Congress party gathering. Madapati Hanumantha Rao, Raghavendra Sarma and Vamana Nayak were among the prominent leaders at the first HPC. The 1926 HPC (HPC 2) was held in Bombay, HPC 3 was held in Pune and the 1931, the fourth and last HPC was held in Akola.

What was on the agenda at these conferences? Promotion of Telugu language and culture, unveiling new Telugu books and promotion of historical research. The delegates of HPC were also the who-is-who in Nizam Jana Sangham, which, by 1930 came to be known as Andhra Jana Sngham. In a 1930 conference Andhra Jana Sangham was renamed as Andhra Maha Sabha.

All these defiant acts made the use of the word ‘Andhra’ objectionable to Nizam government. Yet, the leaders from Nizam Telangana refused to use the word Telugu or Telangana in stead of Andhra.

Fast forward to 2010:

• Some hateful elements like KCR are trying to tell us that the word “Andhra” represents exclusively whom?
• Does KCR takes pride in Nizam rule which is why he is resorting to Nizam’s methods in treating the word “Andhra” objectionable?

Sorry if it gets under the hateful skin of some people, no matter what these hate-mongers are trying to tell you, remember this always: “Andhra” is not a bad word.

ప్రతిఘటన సినిమాలో ఝాన్సీ: “మర్మస్థానం కాదది నీ జన్మస్థానం”
“ఆంధ్ర: బూతుపదం కాదది మన అస్థిత్వం”

Let me join the chorus with Chakravarthy garu:

• Shed hate. Reject hate-mongers (on any side)! [Click here if you want to know what “hate” looks like.]
• Be proud of your heritage.
• You are a Telugu. You are an Andhra.
• Save Andhra Pradesh!