HYDERABAD: Similar to the earlier phases of the Telangana movement, the students, especially from Osmania University, played a crucial role in its last phase which began late in 2009.
The iconic University College of Arts and Social Sciences, popularly called Arts College, on the Osmania University campus witnessed a spectrum of events unfolding before it—from silent student marches to brutal police crackdowns on peaceful protests by students from hunger strikes against injustices to massive celebrations that started after the Centre announced the process of forming Telangana —all for the sake of separate Telangana.
When the Supreme Court declared Hyderabad as a free zone for recruitment of police jobs in October 2009, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K. Chandrashekar Rao decided to protest against the free zone order. Accordingly, KCR launched his indefinite fast on November 29 opposing the decision to declare Hyderabad a free zone and urging the Central government to declare the formation of a separate Telangana state. On the intervening night of November 27 and 28, over a thousand students of Osmania University gathered in front of the Arts College, demanding the UPA government declare the formation of Telangana state. The university’s first semester exams had just begun. The students were ready to sacrifice their academic year for the greater cause of Telangana and had declared their support to the TRS president who was to begin his fast unto death the next day for Telangana. However, when media reports came in that KCR ended his fast on the third day, the OU campus witnessed protests denouncing KCR’s move to end his fast. The OU students JAC, which was already formed in November 2009 for spearheading the Telangana movement, came down heavily on the TRS chief and announced that they would continue their protest demanding Telangana be granted statehood at the earliest.
According to Mohammad Saleem Pasha, one of the founding members of OU Students Joint Action Committee (OUJAC), about 13 student unions came forward to form OUJAC to spearhead the movement urging the Union government to abolish the free zone status to Hyderabad and accordingly grant statehood for Telangana. OUJAC organised a massive rally on November 29 in support of KCR’s hunger strike. However, the rally was stopped and students were brutally chased and beaten by the central forces which were already stationed on the university campus in the run up to the anti-free zone protest. The police crackdown and subsequent ending of fast by KCR angered the student community and the agitation got more vigorous and violent in the campus, says Saleem, who was a student of Nizam College and an inmate of E-2 hostel on OU campus. Hostel messes were closed and student leaders were picked up from the hostel rooms and were taken to different police stations further angering the student community. It was the student community that carried out a sustained-protest on the university campus, Saleem adds.
The campus erupted in celebration on midnight of December 8-9, when Home Minister P. Chidambaram announced the process to form Telangana. However, the delight of students was short-lived with Chidambaram’s second announcement on December 23 that the Centre would consult all stakeholders on the Telangana issue. Students in thousands assembled at the Arts College and at least a dozen students began fast unto death the next day. Massive tents were erected in front of Arts College and leaders from all political parties would line up to extend their solidarity with the protesting students. Dozens of students would take up a relay hunger stir in support of students who were on an indefinite hunger stir which went on for eight days before police removed tents and shifted fasting students to various hospitals in Vidyanagar after the midnight crackdown.
On every major development, the inmates of the 13-odd hostels on the OU campus then would rush to TV halls for evening bulletins to catch up with the latest developments on the Telangana statehood issue.
The Vidyarthi Maha Garjana on January 5, 2010, organised OUJAC saw close to two lakh students converging on the OU campus from across the state. The success of the event encouraged students across the universities in Telangana region to take up agitations more vigorously. Professionals, and employees’ unions too supported the students. After the success of the Vidyyarthi Garjana, two teams of OUJAC leaders set on padayatra- one toured north Telangana, the other covered south Telangana district to mobilise support for the statehood movement.
Student suicides on the campus also caused commotion and the statehood movement further got intensified. The first such incident took place on January 19, 2010 when a student K. Venugopal Reddy, an off-campus student, was found dead near Tagore Auditorium who took the extreme step as he was depressed over the delay in Telangana state formation. With the student’s death, the campus was on the boil again. While the students were planning a massive rally with the student body, police denied the same which eventually led to the firing of teargas shells and then a lathi charge on students.
Another major event that sent shockwaves across the Telangana region and flared up emotions was the brutal crackdown on students on February 14, 2010. Police chased students of B-Hostel to their rooms. When students locked themselves inside hostel rooms, the police broke windows and fired tear gas shells inside hostel rooms. Dozens of students were injured and were shifted to DD Hospital in Vidyanagar post midnight. As if this was not enough, the very next day, the police attacked media personnel who were on the campus to cover the developments. The equipment of the TV crew was damaged and the scribes were mercilessly beaten near the State Bank of Hyderabad branch on the campus. Scores of journalists sat on protest on the campus seeking action against cops for attacking journalists.
OU campus remained an epicentre of the statehood movement till the AP Bifurcation Bill was cleared by the Parliament. Lawyers, teachers, and employees would visit the campus and extend solidarity with students who stayed put under tents in front of Arts College to keep the statehood movement going until it was realised in early 2014.
Prof Kodandaram, who headed JAC, which was formed after the Centre’s announcement on January 23, 2010, delaying the process of Telangana, told Deccan Chronicle that the role of Osmania University students in the Telangana movement is very crucial. Students kept the movement sustained and going despite facing severe hardships. It was their struggle that gave tense moments to both the AP government and the Centre and forced them to take a call on Telangana positively. The governments were under tremendous pressure to take a call in favour of Telangana, he adds, citing deliberation that took place during a meeting of all party leaders with then chief minister K. Rosaiah.
However, the retired professor, who played an instrumental role in unifying different political and social organizations for Telangana cause, laments that the aspiration for which Telangana was formed still eludes. This government is going contrary to the values and ideas that were enshrined in the movement. The objectives of the Telangana struggle are irrelevant to the KCR government. The government is no longer interested in them. They feel there is no point in talking about them. That is the reason why they have even given up the name Telangana and renamed TRS to BRS, said the academician, who is now president of Telangana Jana Samithi.
"OU students kept the movement sustained and going despite facing several hardships. It was their struggle that gave tense moments to both the AP government and the Centre and forced them to take a call on Telangana positively. The governments were under tremendous pressure." - Prof Kodandaram, TJS president
