Who ever knew that one frail looking man can kick start a movement with so much momentum, without even having to lift a finger?

Jillian D'silva
December 9 2009

Who ever knew that one frail looking man can kick-start a movement with so much momentum, without even having to lift a finger? Well, the individual we are referring to isn't Mahatma Gandhi but a man who has set out on the similar path. K. Chandrashekhar Rao is his name and 'Gandhigiri' is his game.

The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leader K. Chandrashekhar Rao has vowed to continue his hunger strike indefinitely till the Andhra Pradesh government doesn't sanction a separate Telangana state. His fast has now entered the 11th day and his health is rapidly deteriorating as he has refused to take intravenous antibiotics, saline, glucose and any other sustaining therapy. Doctors say it's imperative that KCR break his hunger fast as he is in a critical condition.

Rao, who is at the heart of the movement for a separate state of Telangana, began his fast 10 days ago. However, he was caught drinking a glass of juice on camera, which upset his followers. Rao later insisted that his doctors had force-fed him.

His deteriorating health has now become a cause of concern not just for his family and party leaders, but also the Congress, as the final decision lies in their hands. A worried Congress president Sonia Gandhi held meetings with her top ministers in Delhi to try and resolve the anxiety. Major Opposition parties have favoured the introduction of a resolution on Telangana in the Assembly at an all-party meeting that was summoned by the government. The state government, meanwhile, said it has left the decision to its high command.

Andhra Chief Minister K. Rosaiah is scheduled to come to New Delhi to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi and discuss the Telangana issue. The Telangana statehood issue also rocked Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Tuesday, following TRS demand of a discussion on the issue, creating uproar in the House. TRS MLAs demanded that the Assembly take up their adjournment motion and an official resolution to carve out a separate Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh be moved. However, after MLAs did not let the Assembly to function for a long time, Speaker Kiran Kumar Reddy adjourned the House for one day.

Meanwhile, hell has broken loose on the streets of Andhra Pradesh as supporters of the Telangana movement are getting more aggressive and boisterous with each passing day. Pro-Telangana protesters surrounded the house of Danam Nagender, Andhra's Health Minister, for suggesting that Hyderabad should be made a Union territory. They burnt an effigy of Nagendar, labeling him as an "anti-Telangana minister." In response to the protest, Nagendar said, "You have a right to protest but you can't make others forcibly shut their mouth. Everyone has a right to an opinion in a democracy."

At Osmania University, students have challenged a government order to vacate their hostels. Professors have also threatened to quit if the police is not withdrawn from the campus. Students were lathi-charged by the police, following a demonstration. The University closed down till December 18 as a precaution against violence, but it still remains the epicenter of the protests for a Telangana state.

Security in Hyderabad as been tightened for the December 10 Telangana agitations, when all groups supporting the cause have called a "Chalo Assembly" bandh. There are growing fears among authorities that the march to the Andhra Assembly will lead to violence on the streets. Hence, section 144 has been imposed in Telangana. Armed reserve police have been called upon from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, to work with local policemen and security forces in order to prevent protesters from entering Hyderabad. The government will deploy 140 paramilitary platoons, 66 tear gas squads and 9000 civil policemen on December 10, in anticipation of the disorder.

What the outcome of this hunger strike and demonstration will be is yet to be seen, but by the looks of things, the scenario is going to get ugly if the Congress fails to take a political stand immediately. Years ago, Mahatma Gandhi set out on a mission to rid India of the British rule, thus uniting Indians of all regions and religions. Several years later, Chandrashekhar Rao has adopted the same route but the destination is starkly different. He, along with many others, wishes to segregate and divide the country on the lines of caste, region and religion. How can that be healthy for a country?