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Home , Estimates Committee, Marri Chenna Reddy, Reddy (surname)

Science, Technology and Development ISSN : 0950-0707

Dr. MARRI CHENNA - THE PROPOUNDER OF STATE - A HISTORICAL STUDY

Jakkula Koteswara Rao Research Scholar Department of History Osmania University, , 500007, Telangana.

Abstract In this article researcher presented the autobioghraphy of Dr.M.Chenna Reddy and the role in separate Telangana state movement 1969. The researcher collected information from unpublished and published data. Almost all respondents treated Dr.M.Chenna Reddy a leader par excellence in Telangana.

Key words: In the early stages of life, Political profile of the Dr., Tenure as Member of Parliament, Role in the first Telangana movement, Tenure as Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Tenure as Chief Minister, The 1969 agitation for separate Telangana state

1.0. Introduction The aim of the present study is to repeatedly attempt to stop the Philippines against the Telangana leaders who led the 1969 Telangana movement. It is a putative notion that Telangana leaders have launched a movement to settle scores with Andhra rivals and for their political rehabilitation. It mocks the truth and mocks the absurdity. Before Dr. Marri Chennareddy joined the Telangana agitation in 1969, students and youth only demanded that the Mulkey rules be extended and protections enforced. Calling for a separate state, Dr.Marri Chenna Reddy set out to awaken the people of Telangana to their potential and motivate them to play a dominant role in the political system. “I am indebted to the people and the only way I could redeem my debt to the masses is to be born again in order to serve them” - Dr. Marri Channa Reddy

1.1. Dr. Marri Chenna Reddy Dr. Mary Channa Reddy born on January 13 1919 was an active Indian politician in many states. 1 He was the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh from 1978 to 1980 and from 1989 to 1990. He served as Governor of Uttar Pradesh (1974-1977), Governor of Punjab (1982-1983), Governor of Rajasthan. Governor of Tamil Nadu from February 1992 to May 1993 and from 1993 until his death. He is the leader of the party.

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Reddy was one of the leaders who led the Telangana movement in Andhra Pradesh in the late 1960s. He also has the distinction of being one of the youngest; He became a minister of Andhra Pradesh at the age of 30 years.

1. In the early stages of life Dr.Marri Chenna Reddy was born on 13 January 1919 in Siripuram village (now Marpalli zone) in Atraf-e-Balda, Hyderabad to Mari Lakshmareddy and Buchamma had his schooling in Hyderabad, staying away from his parents from the tender age of five. He was a very bright child and showed great promise. From an early age Channa Reddy nurtured a strong ambition to become a medical doctor so that it would make him ultimately economically independent to persue his political work. He graduated with MBBS in 1941. He is the founder of Andhra Yuva Samithi and Students Congress. He has been associated with many students, youth, social, educational, literary and cultural institutions. He edited a weekly for about two years and also contributed articles to popular dailies and magazines. Even from his student days Channa Reddy was involved with people and their welfare and problems. His intense political awareness was apparent right from that time.

2. Political profile of the Dr.Marri Chenna Reddy He took an active part in the political struggle in the former state of Hyderabad and became the General Secretary of the Andhra Mahasabha in 1942 (ancestor of the State Congress). In 1946 he became a member of the State Congress Standing Committee and became the General Secretary of the Hyderabad City Congress. He was one of the founders and the ideological K.M.P. General Secretary of the Group. For many years he served as the General Secretary of the Andhra Provincial Congress Committee and a member of the PCC Working Committee for 30 years.

3. Tenure as Member of Parliament In 1950, Reddy was nominated for Provisional Parliament and appointed Congress Parliamentary Party Whip. Elected to the Hyderabad Legislative Assembly in the first general election and served as Minister of Agriculture and Food, Planning and Rehabilitation in the State of Hyderabad from 1952–1956. In 1953, he hosted the Indian delegation to the World Conference of Agronomists in Rome under the auspices of the FAO. He opposed the amalgamation of Telangana with Andhra Pradesh and was one of the four signatories to the Gentleman Agreement, after which the state of Andhra Pradesh was formed. Re-elected to

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Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly from constituency between 1957-62 he was a member of the Public Accounts Committee, twice Chairman of the Estimates Committee and Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Regional (Telangana) Development Committee in the State Legislative Assembly. He was re-elected from Tandoor constituency in 1962 and was the Minister for Planning and Panchayati Raj and later for Finance, Commercial Taxes and Industries. In 1967, he returned to the Legislature and became Minister of Finance, Education and Commercial Taxes. He resigned from the State Ministry on appointments as Minister of Steel, Mines and Metals in the Union Cabinet (1967–68). He was later elected to the in April 1967. As Minister of Steel and Mines, he introduced several reforms to improve production and reduce the distribution of steel and coal. He resigned from the Union Cabinet in April 1968 at the invitation of the British Government in the UK to discuss the steel industry and other issues.

4. Role in the first Telangana movement Reddy was actively involved in many public movements and played an important role in the split of the Congress political party. He played an active role in the movement for a separate Telangana state. To politicize the movement, Chenna Reddy became the president of the then popular Telangana movement Telangana Praja Samithi. The separatist party won 11 seats (out of 14). As the head of the special Telangana movement he made special efforts in solving problems. He is credited with inventing the Six Point Formula in 1971. When the Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections were held in 1972, it was included in the Congress manifesto as the ‘New Agreement for Telangana’.

5. Tenure as Governor of Uttar Pradesh In 1974, Reddy accepted the office of Governor of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in the country, at the personal request of , stating that Reddy needed help to become the Governor of his home state of Uttar Pradesh. However, it is widely seen as a reward for ending the special Telangana movement. As Chancellor of the State Universities, he initiated the practice of awarding honorary degrees to eminent scholars and eminent scientists from other parts of the country, especially from the South. 2 He also ruled when the President came to power within 55 days of taking office. He took the advice of prominent leaders like Nirmal Chandra Chaturvedi, Sibi Gupta and Ali Zaheer to clean up the state administration.

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6. Tenure as Chief Minister Twice as a Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Reddy has successfully brought the Congress party to power on two occasions, Pradesh Congress Committee Chairman. He is the Governor of Uttar Pradesh (under Presidential rule in the mid-1970s), Rajasthan, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. In fact, when he was the governor there, he was the one who eradicated the peace process and terrorism in Punjab.

1.2. The 1969 agitation for separate Telangana state In the years after the formation of Andhra Pradesh state, people of Telangana expressed dis satisfaction over how the agreements and guarantees were implemented. Discontent intensified in January, when the guarantees that had been agreed on were supposed to lapse. All the Andhra employees who migrated to capital city in 1956 will be considered ' local in 1969 after 12 years of residence per mulki rules. The locals wanted them to go back to Andhra. Student agitation for the continuation of the agreement for Telanganites began at Paloncha in Khammam district and spread to other parts of the region. One section of students (which appeared dominant) wanted a separate state of Telangana whiles the other wanted implementation of safe-guards. On 19 January, all party accord was reached to ensure the proper implementation of Telangana safeguards. The Accords main points were 1. All non-Telangana employees holding posts reserved for Telangana locals will be transferred immediately 2. Telangana surpluses will be used for Telangana development 3. Appeal to Telangana students to call off agitation. On January 19, protests turned violent when a crowd of about 1000 agitators tried to set fire to a Sub-Inspector's residence. This resulted in police firing in which 17 people were injured. Meanwhile certain Andhra employees challenged the transfer orders promised by the all-party accord to the Telangana State by filing a petition in the AP high court. On January 29, Army was called in by the government to maintain law and order as the Agitation quickly turned violent. In February, Mulki rules (local jobs for local people), as promised in Gentlemen's agreement, were declared by high court as void but this judgement was stayed by divisional bench of high court. Quoting statistics of development in Telangana area over the last 12 years, the chief minister maintained that the state of the Andhra Pradesh was “irreversible” and made an

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appeal to people to help maintain unity and integrity. Protests continued in March, and a bundh turned violent when protectors burnt buses. In April, protectors tried to disrupt a meeting of CPI (which was opposed to the division of the state) by indulging in stone-pelting. Police had to resort to live firing after their attempts to control the crowd by lath charge and firing in the air didn't yield results. In the ensuing firing, three people were killed and several injured. Around 354 arrests were made during the agitation. Then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi called for a high-level meeting to dis-cuss the issue while ruling out the division of the state. After several days of talks with leaders of both regions, on 12th April 1969, Prime minister came up with eight point plan. Eight point Programme After several days of talks with leaders of both regions, on April 2, 1969, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi came up with eight point programme.

1. Eight point Programme Eight point Programme After several days of talks with leaders of both regions, on April 2, 1969, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi came up with eight point programme. Eight point programme: This plan includes appointment of five committees: 1. High - powered committee would be set up to determine financial surpluses to Telangana 2. Telangana development committee 3. Plan implementation committee 4. Committee of jurists to be consulted on safe guards 5. Committees to look into grievances of public servants Telangana leaders were not satisfied with the accord.

2. Government spending diversion Justice Bhargava committee headed by Justice Vashishtha Bhargava which looked into Telangana surpluses found that 283 million rupees diverted from Telangana to Andhra region between 1956 and 1968. Economist C H Hanumanth Rao further analysed the data from the committee report and concluded that for Telangana, cumulative surplus with interest during that period was 1.174 Billion rupees. During this period, the revenue budget of the state grew from 586 million rupees in 1957 to 2.04 billion rupees in 1968.

3. Chenna Reddy and Telangana Praja Samithi Although the Congress faced some dissension within its ranks, its leadership stood against additional linguistic states. As a result, detectors from the Congress, led by M.

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Chenna Reddy, founded the Telangana Praja Samithi (TPS) political party in 1969 which intensified the movement. In June, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi came to Hyderabad to discuss the issue with Telangana leaders. Telangana employee unions started strike on June 10 supporting Telangana movement. Major leaders of the movement were jailed in July and released in August upon court's intervention. With the success of bye elections, TPS became full-fledged political party. Due to Congress party's refusal of formation of Telangana state, TPS decided to contest Parliamentary election alone even though Congress party tried to become electorally. In May 1971 parliamentary elections, Telangana Praja Samithi won 10 out the 14 Parliament seats in Telangana. Despite these electoral successes, some of the new party leaders gave up their agitation in September 1971 after realising that the Prime Minister was not inclined to towards a separate state of Telangana, and rejoined the safer political haven of the Congress.. In a book written by then Secretary of External Affairs, T.N. Kaul and published in 1982, he mentioned that in 1969 Prime minister Indira Gandhi wanted to commence the process of forma-tion of a separate state for Telangana by instructing Sri P.N. Haksur, her senior secretary in the PMO, but she had to withdraw at the last minute due to intervention by Kaul who disguised her from it by reminding that Hyderabad's case was pending in the Security Council. United Nations dropped the Hyderabad's case on 2nd September, 1979. During this period, the Government promised to correct what critics saw as a violation of the promises of the Gentlemen agreement in the areas of jobs, budget allocations, and educational facilities. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was strongly against the division of the state, but on her recommendation, P.V. Narasimha Rao became the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh from Telangana on 30 September, 1971. In 1972, candidates of the Telangana Praja Samithi party contested all the available seats for the assembly elections. However, only Thakkalapalli Purushothama Rao got elected, from Vardhannapet constituency in Warangal District.

1.3. Review of the Literature There have been a number of studies conducted by the eminent researchers with the help of primary and secondary sources of data. The studies mainly focused on include the Books written on the Separate Telangana State movement and socio-economic and political conditions of the Telangana agitation Dominion at different types etc. Previously many researchers on the socio-economic and political life in Telangana movement are undertaken. There is remarkably few notable works on the History of Telangana Site of Resistance.

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Gaurav J Pathania (2020) 3 “Telangana Movement of a single chapter of a monograph in OSO for personal use. The University as a Site of Resistance: Identity and Student Politics Telangana Movement a Cultural-Political Discourse”. The available literature on the Telangana movement offers historical, political, and economic perspectives that define Telangana as a 'backward' region and the movement as an offshoot to this backwardness. The backwardness generally discussed pertains to the economic standing of the people of Telangana. Ashutosh Kolte, Dario Siggia, Nitin B Veer and Ashish Daryani (July 2019) 4 “Critical Exploration of Indian Economic Reforms of 1991: a lesson for Developing Economies.” The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of reforms that took place in Indian economy in 1991. Balance of payment difficulty resulted in acute economic crisis and therefore economic reforms were inevitable. Post this incident; there have been three more phases of economic reforms. Komol Singha (2018) 5 “Migration, Ethnicity-based Movements and State’s Response: A Study of Assam”. Following reclamation of Assamese ethnic identity, the movements for making Assam a nation province started in the 1960s. The caveat, however, was the ever-growing Bengali migrants from Bangladesh. Paris Aslanidis (January 2015) “Critical Review of Social Movement Literature” This review of the literature on social movements is part of my PhD thesis (2015) titled "Occupy Populism: social movements of the Great Recession in comparative perspective" (University of Macedonia). Please cite it as such. Dr. Chanchal Kumar (2014) 6 “Federalism in : A Critical Appraisal.” This article describes the features of India’s federal system and process, and seeks to explain their effectiveness in terms of their symbiosis with the projects of nation-building and state- formation in India. This is done through a presentation of the basic structure of and its political constraints. Federalism, along with parliamentarism, is axial principle of Government in India. Indian federalism is not a static entity.

1.4. Scope of the study The present study was intended to point out the various factors that contributed to Dr. Marri Chenna Reddy's involvement in the Telangana agitation in 1969 and only demanded that students and youth expand the politically and historically important Milky Way rules. The study, role and other activities proposed by Dr. Marri Chenna Reddy in the special

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Telangana movement to give a detailed picture about the movement will be studied and their aspirations will be taken into consideration.

1.5. Methodology The present study is based on empirical and historical methods, including commentary on evidence from government documents, newspapers and primary and secondary sources. Empirical data were collected through interviews with prominent figures involved in the Telangana movement he spent time studying under his physician Dr. Marri Chenna Reddy and also used oral evidence for this study. Historical data is based on primary and secondary sources. The primary data collected from Government Documents, Administrative Reports, Census Reports, Gazetteers, Newspapers, Biographies and affairs. The secondary source of data was collected from published books unpublished theses, articles and journals etc.

1.6. Objective of the Study 1. To trace out the Historical background of Telangana Straggle in India. 2. To trace out the Demand for Telangana Statehood has been on agenda of the intellectuals, employees, student and youth of 1969 movement, 3. To undertake a Telangana straggles in Dr. Marri Chenna Reddy crossed his political Rubicon and as a medical doctor diagnosed the issue and 4. To study the Telangana Praja Samithi (TPS) and also financed their election. 5. To trace out the interaction political activities in Dr. Marri Chenna Reddy

1.7. Findings of the study A researcher fined honor to Dr. M. Chenna Reddy in his study. 1. “Reform must be brought with the right direction as well as vision. Progress becomes synonymous with reform. The leader is mature, and his personal vision is associated with collective problems. Dr. M. Chenna Reddy has such a vision that it is also dear to the people and leaders.” 2. “His most serious critics - very few of them - are the consistency of his public activities, his incredible courage, his generous motivations, his intense hatred for Humbug and Sham, and above all he has not interfered in any quarter.” 3. “Rare oral gifts he made in English, Telugu, Hindi or Urdu - personal magnetism, great foresight.

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4. “Dr.Marri Chenna Reddy is a thinker, visionary, administrator, administrator, politician and politician. This is what makes him a man of fate.” 5. “Where there is temporary power, it must be used and used. It is a symbol of our sovereignty - a promise to our future. Dr. M. Chenna Reddy served as Governor and Uttar Pradesh will remember him fondly.” 6. “The heights of great men did not suddenly reach the plane, but they, while their companions slept, struggled through the night.” 7. “Dr.Marri Chenna Reddy never likes to measure swords with the powerful. But he planned his political strategy well. He knows how to move forward in the saga and how to do it, but is also good at master retreat art as far as context requires. 8. “Of the many, only a few can identify the problem; there are still others who can think of a practical solution to the problem - rarely and few can still see the problem, design and implement the solution. One such person is Dr. Chenna Reddy.”

REFERENCES:

1 Krishnamoorthy, Suresh (2 December 2014) . “Leaders pay respect to Channa Reddy”. The Hindu. 2 “Archived copy”. Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 5 June 2009. 3 Gaurav J Pathania (2020) “Telangana Movement of a single chapter of a monograph in OSO for personal use. The University as a Site of Resistance: Identity and Student Politics Telangana Movement a Cultural-Political Discourse”. The University as a Site of Resistance: Identity and Student Politics (pp.1-33) 4 Ashutosh Kolte, Dario Siggia, Nitin B Veer and Ashish Daryani (July 2019 ) “Critical Exploration of Indian Economic Reforms of 1991: a lesson for Developing Economies.” International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology 8(5S3):490-500, DOI:10.35940/ijeat.E1073.0785S319, 5 Komol Singha (January 1, 2018 ) “Migration, Ethnicity-based Movements and State’s Response: A Study of Assam”. First Published August 30, 2018 Research Article, https://doi.org/10.1177/0020881718754958, Volume: 55 issue: 1, page(s): 41-60 6 Dr. Chanchal Kumar ( September 2014 ) “Federalism in India: A Critical Appraisal.” Journal of Business Management & Social Sciences Research (JBM&SSR) ISSN No: 2319- 5614 Volume 3, No.9,

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