Thursday, March 25, 2010

Where Have all the Industries of Telangana Gone

The history of Telangana from the period of the Satavahanas, to the Asaf Jahi’s is dotted with the benevolence of its rulers. Each dynasty which ruled over the region enriched its culture and the lives of its citizens. However, since the forcible merger of the Telangana nee Hyderabad state with the Andhra region, there has been a drastic reversal in fortunes of its citizens. Successive Andhra and Rayalseema regimes have reduced a once prosperous people to a pile of bones and skin, who commit suicide at the prospect of facing another year of failed crops.

The people of Telangana have since the merger of the state with Andhra districts of erstwhile Madras state, have been progressively marginalized, their lands have been made barren by diverting their rightful share of waters to the verdant fields of Seema Andhra region. The factories where its workers earned their livelihood have been systematically run down to sickness, sold off and the factory lands converted to sprawling colonies for the settlers.

In 1956, when Telangana state (Hyderabad state) was merged to form Andhra Pradesh, the region was a buzz of activity with several large thriving industries, chief among which were the Azam Jahi Mills, Nizam Sugar Factory, DBR Mills, Sirpur Sir Silk Mills, Deccan Glass factory, Praga Tools, Soda factory, Iron factory , Firangula factory, and the Antargam spinning mills. These factories collectively employed over 1,00,000 workers in Telangana. Save for the lone Praga Tools which is alive today all the others have been meticulously nurtured to sickness and closure. There is a single story that binds the closure of these industries and loss of livelihood of thousands of Telangana workers, it is a story of Government apathy, systematic ruin of a thriving industry, followed by a distress sale to Seemandhra businessmen, who later converted the industrial land into housing colonies.

The Nizam Sugar Factory in Bodhan was at one time Asia’s biggest sugar factory. During the time of Nizam the Sugar Factory's holdings included over 1,600 square kilometres of land, 14 village camps and Hospital. Other services that were provided for the children of employees included a high school, junior and degree colleges. The factory was managed into sickness by the cadre which was primarily deputed from the Andhra region. It was finally sold at a throw away price to Gokaraju Rangaraju from W.Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.

The story of the Azam Jahi Mills is similar, this was established in Warangal during Nizams rule and provided livelihood to about 15000 people in Warangal. It was also managed to sickness, closed down and the Mills lands sold as real estate under YSR. A housing colony is being built on this prime land in the heart of Warangal.

Contrast this with the Seemandhra Government’s patronage and wholeheartedness in reviving the sick Vizag Steel Plant at a cost of 1,500 crores. It would have taken this amount to revive all the 8 industries in Telangana, and saved the livelihood of over a lack of people. But, this would not have suited the Seemandhra game plan, whose mission has always been to plunder and deprive the people of Telangana of their right to livelihood. The people of Rayalseema and Andhra have prospered by exploiting the people of Telangana, and the only way ahead for the state of Telangana to prosper is to break free of these Seemandhra clutches.

Jai Telangana. Jai Hind

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Reviving a company is not simply pumping money. The companies that you said were attempted to be revived. But they were not recovering. Next pumping money into govt owned steel factory is different than the privately owned companies you listed. Praga tools is a govt company and govt has done enough to save it. Please do not write selectively for the sake of writing. If something is really wrong it has to be projected. Do not drag everything to show Seemaandhra people are bad.

Neera Kishore said...

Bhartiya

Yes, reviving industries requires more than pumping money. All the companies listed Nizam Sugar Mills, Azam Jahi Mills, etc were all set up by the erst while Nizam for the development of the Hyderabad state. After its forcible merger with the Andhra state, these industries fell in to the hands of the Seeamandhra mangement, who willfully and mailiously ran them into sickness. These industries failed because they were not modernized as the funds menat for modernization were swalloed up by the Seemandhra industries. Hope this puts to rest the fallacies that you people have been harbouring under. Jai Hyderabad. Jai Hind

Unknown said...

Escapism. For all failures, easy answer is "seema-andhra" management. Are we not ashamed to say like this. Almost all the governments are by ganging up of Reddies of Telangana and Rayalaseema. Except KBR (controlled by above Reddies)and NTR Coastal Andhra did not produce a CM. Of course NTR destroyed everything without any regional affinity. Even today Rayalaseema wants to join Telangana so that Reddy community will capture power in T-state. Any way clever KCR has refused this proposal.