AP -Political Crisis in 1969 and 1972-1

Political Crisis in 1969 and 1972

During the years 1969 and 1972, Andhra Pradesh was rocked by two political agitations popularly known as the `Telangana’ and the `Jai Andhra’ Movements respectively. Telangana agitation was started by the people of the region when they felt that the Andhra leaders had flouted the Gentlemen’s Agreement which facilitated the formation of Andhra Pradesh.

The influx of the people from the coastal region into the city of Hyderabad created many social tensions. Slowly the discontent spread among the Telangana officials and the unemployed youth who felt that they were exploited by the people of the Andhra region. The discontent manifested itself when a student of Khammam went on a hunger-strike in January 1969 demanding the implementation of the safeguards for Telangana provided in the Gentlemen’s Agreement. Slowly the agitation spread to Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana. In the beginning, the movement demanded the implementation of the safeguards agreed upon earlier, but later it wanted the separation of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.

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*Three more districts were added later by the creation of Prakasam in 1970, Ranga Reddy in 1978 and Vizianagaram in 1979. Thus, the State presently has 23 districts.

The agitation took a new turn when the Congress legislators from Telangana supported the movement. Dr.Channa Reddy entered the fray and formed the Telangana Praja Samiti to lead the movement. But by November 1969, there was a split in the Praja Samiti when dissident Congress legislators realised that the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was not in favour of separate Telangana. The movement slowly petered out. In September 1971, Brahmananda Reddy, the then Chief Minister, resigned his position to make room for a leader from Telangana to become the Chief Minister. On the 30th of September, 1971, P.V.Narsimha Rao* became the Chief Minister. The Telangana Praja Samiti was dissolved and its members rejoined the Congress.

During 1972, another agitation known as the Jai Andhra Movement was launched in the Andhra region. The agitation was a sequel to the Telangana agitation which demanded that only `Mulkis’ should be appointed to the posts in Telangana including the Hyderabad city. The `Mulki’ issue had a long history behind it. As early as in 1919, the Nizam of Hyderabad issued a firman laying down that only `Mulkis’ are eligible for public appointments in the State. `Mulki’ was defined as one who was born in the State of Hyderabad or resided there continuously for fifteen years and had given an affidavit that he abandoned the idea of returning to his native place. Even after the formation of Andhra Pradesh, the Mulki rules continued to be in force in the Telangana region. As these rules stood in the way of the people of the Andhra region to compete for the posts, their validity was challenged in the High Court. A full bench of the High Court by a four-one majority held that the Mulki rules were not valid and operative after the formation of Andhra Pradesh.

But on an appeal by the State Government, the Supreme Court declared on the 3rd of October, 1972 that the Mulki rules were valid and were in force. The judgement created a great political crisis in the State. The people of the Andhra region felt that they were reduced to the status of second class citizens in their own State capital. They felt that the only way to uphold their dignity was by severing their connection with Telangana and started a movement for the separation of Andhra region from Andhra Pradesh.

As the agitation continued, President’s rule was imposed in the State on the 10th of January, 1973. Finally, a political settlement was arrived at under the aegis of the Central Government. A `Six-Point Formula’ was agreed upon by the leaders of the two regions to prevent any recurrence of such agitations in future. The `Six-Point Formula’ included (1) the abolition of Mulki rules and the Telangana Regional Committee and (2) the establishment of a Central University at Hyderabad to augment educational facilities.