Create Telangana
Krishna tried his level best to avoid a showdown between cousins, but could not prevent an epic war. Srikrishna's six alternatives seek similar conflict avoidance but history is set to repeat itself,
and it is up to political leaders at the Centre and in the state to prevent both tragedy and farce.
The Srikrishna panel's finding that Telangana suffers no special backwardness as compared to the other regions of the state might not suffice to douse the passions raging in the region for a separate state.
Man does not live by bread alone, and even cake might not compensate the inhabitants of Telangana for perceived cultural slights.
The population of Andhra Pradesh is bigger than that of most countries, including those with federating provinces that speak a common language. It can sustain division into separate states, with material and cultural consequences that are, on balance, positive for all concerned. This might not be obvious, right now, to Telugus outside Telangana, particularly in relation to the loss of their capital city Hyderabad where they have made heavy investments, financial and emotional.
It is up to political parties of all hues to lead the people of the state to an enlightened view on the subject. The people of Telangana can be given a choice, to accept immediate division and accept Hyderabad as a Union Territory that serves as a shared capital or to wait for five years while a new capital city is built for Andhra.
If the state is not to see yet another demand for division, the new city would be built bang in the middle of Rayalaseema, with good connectivity to Visakhapattanam, Vijayawada and Hyderabad.
A spanking new city with modern, energy-efficient urban planning where people walk to work instead of wasting their lives in traffic jams and has parks, playgrounds and public transport would attract loads of new investment as corporates struggles to find the urban space it needs to house the economic powerhouses that deliver India's 9% growth. Construction of the new town would boost growth in the state and across the country. And moneybags from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh would rush to grab a piece of this new prosperity, creating fresh ties that bind.
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