The decision to bifurcate Andhra into two smaller states, Telangana and Andhra is causing a lot of trouble in the country. The opposition, it must be noted, is mainly due to the fact that the capital city of AP, Hyderabad is situated in Telangana and logically will become its capital once the bifurcation takes place. The people of Andhra, however have invested much in the development of this city and they fear that they will be the losers in the end.
The way in which the government took the decision and the follow-up measures leaves much to be desired. The issue was apparently decided overnight - without issuing feelers, and worse, without even properly engaging in negotiations with the stakeholders. It is not as if the issue was a mushroom that had sprouted after the first rain of the season. The agitation was going on for a pretty long time and the Central government was apparently disinterested. This attitude caused the proponents of the 'United Andhra' to be complacent - they believed that the issue would die out in the long run. It was only when the fast started, with the general public in Telengana, especially the Osmania University students supporting the cause that the Centre first seriously took up the issue. And quite unlike its general behaviour, made a rapid-fire accession to the demands of the TRS leader. 'Haste where it is undue and complacency where urgency ought to be the norm' seems to be the motto of the Home Ministry. PC ought to have been more careful. The Centre's estimation (if it made any) about the backlash reminds one of the Iraq war - hollow victory and general unrest in regions where relative peace had prevailed before the dumb decisions were taken unilaterally.
Now, a pseudo-war rages in one of the largest states of India and the Centre has only itself to blame. More regions have come up with demands for statehood. A new State Reorganization Commission may be soon set up. The talks between the stakeholders being conducted now are bound to fail - the Centre, with its hasty decision has alienated the rest of Andhra. The mutual trust factor is abysmally low on account of this unilateral action.
The only way out now seems to be the bifurcation of Andhra with Hyderabad as the common capital of the two states, a la Chandigarh. But even the execution of this relatively less troublesome (pardon me, I find no other combination of words that can describe the situation) decision is going to be cumbersome - a consensus has to be reached and there will be one set of fights till bifurcation is completed and another set after that. In future, we may have an agitation from the people of Andhra for a new capital too. Who knows?
