Telangana is nine years old and stepping into the tenth with grand celebrations by all parties on the occasion of the tenth formation day.
Transitions are never easy, but in the case of Telangana, which was born after six decades of struggle for a separate identity and on a warpath against the very idea of a unified Telugu state since 1969, began its tenth year with renewed hope and expectations of an even better future.
When the separate state of Telangana came into being on June 2, 2014, it began its journey with a lot of promise, as the newest state, a start-up state.
It enters the realm of political discussion to appraise whether all promises have been fulfilled, and irrespective of where one stands on this particular issue, it is an unimpeachable fact that Telangana has a lot to showcase, cherish, and celebrate.
Telangana — which has now become an exemplar for smaller states and easier to manage administrative units — marches ahead with determination to be the very best state in the country.
Disagreements over what has been achieved or what more should have been done will abound in an election year. But at a deeper lever, every political party and leader in the state, and every single one of the over four crore citizens want the same things — better governance, greater transparency, less to no corruption, greater dignity for people, higher levels of liberal democracy, free media and expression, more accountability from politicians and bureaucrats, balanced development, more effective welfare, and of course, fairer dispensation of law, order and justice — all of which can enhance quality of life.
Political parties of varying ideologies — the ruling BRS, its friendly ally AIMIM, or the Opposition players like the BJP and the Congress, should all introspect on the occasion to see how many promises of the separate statehood agitation have been achieved — and focus ahead on how the rest can be achieved.
All of India wishes, and will back the young state on its path to, success.
