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Feb, 7th to 9th , 2010 ,
Day 1 – 7th Feb, 2010
As soon as the participants of MPG-05 reached Hyderabad, they had to leave for their first appointment which was at Warangal, nearly at a distance 200 km. But before we could join the student rally at Kakatiya University, we visited a couple of villages on the way. These villages had been the homes of students who committed suicide for the cause of Telangana. There wasn’t any media house who had managed to reach these families nor were these families provided by financial support but were in a dismal condition. About 270 students had committed suicides and the Government nor the media had taken efforts to visit the families of the deceased and hear the grievances of the people.
After meeting these families we left for the University. As we just a few kilometres away from the Kakatiya University we were stopped by the policemen who had orders to see to it that there is minimal attendance at the rally and hence had created unnecessary rules. The police had blocked the regular road to the University and we had to use a longer diversion on which heavy vehicles were prohibited. The participants got down of the bus and jumped in the rickshaws and finally reached the University grounds.
The atmosphere was something which the participants of MPG-05 will never forget in this lifetime and long to experience it once again. There were students coming in huge numbers just on a call to unite at a ground for the cause of separate Telangana. And this call wasn’t given by any leader as such but was just an outburst of unanimous feelings of the people of Telangana. The total attendance was nearly 20,000 students both male and female activists in spite of all attempts to discourage the people from gathering to the spot.
This was evident that even the Government would have agreed to a separate Telangana if it would have attended this rally. It was stunning to see how a cause or a desire can run movement without a notable leader. The Joint Action Committee, a non political umbrella organization was calling all the shots. The stage provided a platform to more than 300 activists, several among them were various folk singers, tribal dancers, academicians, members of the JAC, and for a while even the participants of MPG-05. And there was a surprise; politicians were actually banned from coming on the stage as the JAC didn’t want to get the movement hijacked and locked in petty political battles which will divide the people and create a hurdle in creating the consensus among the people.
The MPG-05 participants were invited on stage to boost the morale of the students agitating for a separate statehood. The pro-Telangana MPG-05 participants created a euphoria with the cries of “Jai Telangana” when on stage. It was evident that MPG-05 group did make a mark as the next morning nearly all Telgu newspapers which published the photographs of the rally had MPG-05 participants’ clearly visible standing on the stage.
Even on the day of rally, the media thronged the participants of MPG-05 to know their views on the separate issue of statehood as the media considered the MPG group as a very politically conscious study group. The participants had a good experience talking to the media as it helped them come out of their inhibition. But the most scandalous thing the participants saw was the absence of national media at a time when there were nearly more than 20 local media channels which had come to the spot with their cameras.
The day concluded with a small discussion organized over the dinner table by some office bearers of the Telangana JAC. Herein the MPG-05 participants were briefed upon how the JAC was convened and also on the recent history of the Telangana movement.
Day 2 – 8th Feb
The second day early morning the participants had an appointment with the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) chief, Mr. Keshav Rao. A learned scholar and an ideologue of the Congress gave as a very academic history of the Telangana. He also gave us insights into the difference between social activism and politics. He said the formation of Telangana will bring common man at the centre stage of development. On being asked about the involvement of youth in the movement, he said that if the youth can’t fight then no one can.
He also rubbished the claim that Telangana movement was a Naxalite movement as he added that if it was, then we could not have had the image of Telli devi (a local goddess) present in nearly all the posters, agitations nor could have we seen women carrying idols of Gods on their heads in protest against the non formation of Telangana.
He added that today’s Democracy isn’t a participative one but formation of Telangana will surely ensure that Telangana is one stage higher – Partnership Democracy wherein the people are equal partners. When asked to clarify if it was the official Congress stand on what he had just spoken on Telangana with a pro Telangana approach, he was affirmative and told the participants it wasn’t just his private individual stand but also the public stand as well the official APCC stand.
After we were done with the nearly 2 hour brief up, Keshav Rao spoke to a cluster of cameras in the presence of MPG participants and gave out some snippets about the interaction.
Next stop on the list was KCR’s daughter. She had invited the participants to her residence located in the plush locality of Hyderabad. In an interaction which lasted for an hour, she gave us an apolitical dimension to the issue of Telangana. Also, being KCR’s daughter she shared with her what it meant for her as a daughter to see her father fight for the separate statehood.
Our third stop for the day was, K Chandrashekhar Rao the flag bearer of not just Telangana Rashtra Samiti but also the political movement itself. As soon as the participants reached the Telangana Bhavan, they were greeted by KCR who took them towards the dining hall wherein the participants enjoyed a grand meal hosted by KCR who accompanied the group to the dining place.
KCR started the interaction with giving a brief up on global events, Nehruvian socialism and some as it is adaptations from London’s Parliament which have done more harm than good in our politics. And therein lay the origins of the problems of Telangana according to KCR. He added that the party in power should have be called the “serving party” and not “ruling party” as it radically changes the approach the party in power has towards the people of the country.
KCR gave a brief historical description of the movement beginning from the Nizam days and in the process explaining the origins of Gentleman’s Agreement and Mulki laws. He further explained how the people of Telangana have been exploited from time to time ruthlessly. If the Government of India was indeed democratic then why will people die fighting against it he added.
KCR also told us about some certain inter-personal incidents when he experienced when he was a part of the UPA at the centre. Even when the first SRC was implemented there were only 14 states which were carved out then how come we have 28 states today? And if did go ahead with the policy of smaller states then why refuse Telangana which has been the oldest small states demand was his argument.
On being asked if the student movement was running parallel to the political movement, he said it wasn’t so. On the contrary, TRS was maintaining restraint because if it made a direct entry in the student movement, then other parties will follow suit and the movement will be reduced into an opportunity for politicians to earn petty political brownie points. He added that it was his party that had provided funds for the Warangal rally held on the earlier day along with lot of help with logistics. He also said that TRS was helping the JAC behind the curtains and many of the JAC student leaders had been trained by KCR himself in Telangana Bhavan through academic workshops.
When asked if the TRS had a development plan for the new state ready, he replied saying that his first job would be to announce a holiday of 2-3months to all government servants except the ones in emergency and essential services. Then get them involved in creating a vast and extensive database of the people of the entire state. Because according to him, it is very essential to understand the pulse of the people before making policy decisions. The Government should know the people it is serving. The first preference for the first Government of Telangana he said would be healthcare and education.
KCR was enjoying the discussion at its fullest. He didn’t think twice in sharing his radical theories like need to have a dozen smaller states or doubling the size of the parliament and reserving all the new seats for women. Today, according to him the not the politicians not the bureaucrats from Telangana and the remaining Andhra region could sit together. And hence he felt much of the administration would be in a dead lock and hence, it is essential for both the regions to get statehoods for smoother functioning of the administration.
The discussion concluded with him distributing a book on Telangana which he claimed to have specially ordered for our visit. It was really a very long and detailed discussion wherein KCR tried to satisfy all the doubts the participants had in their minds. Whether Telangana or not, might still be a debate within the participants of MPG-05, but surely no participant will doubt the commitment put in by KCR. Though it seemed funny but everything in his room – right from the curtain, to the chair, the marker, water bottles, towel, and even a laptop where coloured pink, the colour of not just the party but movement as a whole.
The press was in full attendance waiting for us outside Telangana Bhavan wherein Sankalp sir briefed the press on the intent of the visit and about the School of Government in General.
After the media brief up, the participants of MPG-05 rushed to Osmania University campus which actually laid the seeds of this movement. It is a laboratory which formed the genesis of the whole Telangana agitation. There were activists in the tents involved in relay fasting. After the MPG-05 group reached the spot, they were given a brief on the role of the students of the Osmania University in the agitation for a separate Telangana. On behalf of the School of Government, Mr. Sankalp briefed the students of Osmania University on the findings of the MPG-05 so far with their interactions with various leaders of the movement.
Inside the university campus the MPG-05 participants were addressed by Prof. Ramesh Reddy who has taught and nurtured many of the upcoming student leaders of the Telangana. He said defiance was in the blood of the people of Telangana. He said that it was the tactics of Andhra Government which had reduced the morale of the people of Telangana and caused much fear and suspicion among the people of Telangana against the people of Andhra. The biggest blow was the manner in which a 7 time MLA and 2 time MP, KCR was arrested and kept in a ‘C’ class jail. He added that if a person of his level was dealt so ruthlessly then what should the average people of Andhra expect from the Andhra Government. If they don’t feel their leader is safe then how will the people feel safe themselves.
He added that the politicians didn’t have the guts to face the people and only resorted to facing the media and giving statements either from Delhi or Hyderabad. Mr. Reddy said that the smaller the state, the more efficient was the administration along with being more efficient as well. He concluded by saying there wasn’t any point in forcibly keeping the state united when there was such a huge regional imbalance and animosity.
Next, as the sun went down under, the participants rode the bus for one last time that evening for their final engagement of the day that was visiting the office of The Siyasat Daily. At the newspaper office, there was a group of scholars and activists waiting to address us. After yest another discussion of the movement and the direction in which Telangana headed, the program concluded with a small dinner organized by The Siyasat Daily.
Day 3 – 9th Feb
The day started with a visit to the office of one of the biggest local news channel i.e. HMTV. After a brief discussion of supposedly 2 hours with senior journalists, the participants of MPG-05 batch were given a tour of the studios and different departments of HMTV wherein many participants for the first time saw how things work a newsroom.
The senior journalists claimed that Telangana was a self rule movement and completely democratic. They gave the example of NASA wherein a majority of the people working there are Indians and just this wasn’t enough to claim NASA as a part of India. Similarly, Hyderabad can’t be claimed to be a part of Andhra Pradesh and it very naturally belongs to people of Telangana
After visiting HMTV, we headed towards our next engagement that was a meeting with so called Naxalite leader, Gaddar. Gaddar had a unique aura around him. He communicated in the form of songs in which he gave out messages against the overt methods for subduing people by capitalism, the threat of globalization and problems of Roti, Kapda and Makaan faced by the tribals of India. And this, he claimed was the actual problem of the country and not just Telangana.
It was because of growing capitalism and globalization that people of the developing countries are suffering. In India, there are its own nationalist capitalist who are sucking the blood of the people of the country like a few families are sucking the blood of thousands of tribals of Telangana by sitting in Hyderabad.
He criticized Chidambaram’s move to announce the initiation move for Telangana and later reverting back. He says, it was this move which triggered a massive outburst of the people in the cause for a separate statehood. The triangular imperial policy of cultural invasion, economic invasion and political invasion had already done a lot of harm to the country. The education policy wherein a B.Sc in agriculture didn’t know names of plants is yet another case of where our country is heading. Till yesterday people used one datun, but today people had multiple choices- the father preferred Colgate whereas the mother preferred Promise. This is how the people of the country are being exploited. Talking about capitalism in the case of soft drinks, the entry of Coca Cola and Pepsi had killed local business of lime water, coconut water, as well as local soft drink industry of Goldspot.
He said that earlier it was just violence but today the Government was using structural violence against the people of the country. He named 5 MPs as the dalals of US and these were the ones who didn’t want the Telangana state to be formed as their vested interests were going to be not allowed in the new state. He went on to criticize the intellectuals saying that these bunch of people make decisions sitting at the top but never bother to go to the grassroots to understand the problem.
Gaddar accepted that formation of smaller state of Telangana won’t stop the problem of corruption but yes, surely give the people of Telangana – bargaining power. There will surely be a much more stringent check on corruption in a smaller state he added. He also added that these capitalists who are causing this problem because of their vested interest in Hyderabad weren’t just an enemy of Telangana but the entire state of Hyderabad.
Gaddar continued to express much of his thoughts through poetry continuously linking the problems of Telangana with global problem of capitalism time and again. He shunned the Government action of resorting to violence against the Naxalites claiming which Government in the world does that against its own people. He also warned that if the Telangana movement was crushed the people involved in the movement won’t have a choice but become Naxalites.
Though he said that all isn’t lost and there is still hope which will come out in the form of “New Democratic Revolution” which will not exclude the nationalist capitalists but also make them a part of the revolution. He said that when the state breaks its own rules, then it become a big problem. And the formation of the Srikrishna committee was deceiving the people of the Telangana.
After the interaction with Gaddar, our last visit was to Centre for Policy Development which was an organisation which was into the field of political consultancy. Mr. Srinivas Reddy, our alumnus facilitated this engagement. A small discussion on Telangana and our findings went on before the session concluded.
As the official engagements of the tour had ended the participants decided to take a few hours off to visit Charminar and do some pearl shopping in the nearby bazaars. The tour finally came to an end with the participants having dinner at another of our Alumnus’ place – Mr. Ashok.
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Local Field Visit: MPG 05
Feb 4th, 2010
South Asian Youth Delegation visited MIT-SOG under Centre for Youth Development and Activities exchange program. MIT-SOG has hosted an interactive session between MIT-SOG participants and South Asian delegation. At the beginning of program Miss Vandana Seth Introduced the topic by expressing her views on “Evolution of democratic process” and Mr Towfiq Ahemad Khan , North South University, Dhaka expressed his concerns about instability of Democracy in South Asian region specially in Bangladesh. Mr. Rahul Kumar introduced MIT School of Government to the delegation and career opportunities for the participants. Masters Program in Government (MPG) explored the new dimensions of democracy and pathways to peace.
The session was chaired by Mr Nixon Fernando, Course head, MITSOG and Ms. Vandana Rai, Director, Programs CYDA. The students has healthy discussion on “Three solutions to democratic process” facilitated by Mr Ramanand Garge. The entire discussion was healthy as Participants and Delegation exploring new dimensions to democracy. Students across Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives and Afghanistan contributed to the discussion and Mr Devendra Paie, Miss Vandana Seth, Mrs Vanisree Ramnathan, MITSOG expressed their views on Indian stand on spreading democracy and solutions to the world peace. The program was anchored by Mr Pawan Kumar, Participant of MITSOG. During the lunch session students across countries in South Asia had a warm discussion and later MITSOG participants gave friendly farewell before the delegation head towards their Motherland.
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Local Field Visit: MPG 05
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December may not be the best of times to go sightseeing to Himachal Pradesh, but there is nothing called ‘inappropriate time’ when the intention is to understand the dynamics of political and other institutions there. So, thanks to the offer of Mr. Anurag Singh Thakur MP Lok Sabha, the team from MITSOG set out with the aim of studying institutions of state importance, meeting dignitaries and also studying realities in the state with special reference to the Hamirpur Constituency. Before the team set out the participants were briefed about matters related to surveys and information was given to them about several aspects of the state.
A team comprising of participants, Mr. Sankalp, and three staff members, set out on 15th December. Col (Retd) Sharma was to join them directly at Dharamshala. After 38 hours on train and a short bus ride the team reached Kangra where they were put up at their lodgings. The team immediately left for the State Assembly. The Winter Session of the assembly was being held at the newly constructed Vidhan Bhavan at Dharamshala; and the participants came back pretty much impressed with the maturity seen in the house. The session revolved around electricity and energy issues along with taking back of a proposal introduced in the house by the Opposition. As the participants came out of the house, at about 6.10pm after an hour long chilling wait outside, the group finally got permission to meet the Chief Minister personally. The CM – Mr. Prem Kumar Dhumal, invited the group inside his office wherein he was briefed about the MIT School of Government.
The Chief Minister seemed impressed with the students and shared a few words. The CM pointed out that being a politician was one of the most difficult and demanding jobs in the world. He added that none of the professions have to give an examination every 5 years not even the civil servants who just give an entry level examination. Also, the grading isn’t done by experts in the field but by common man and not just one but thousands in which many will be uneducated as well. The CM ended the conversation by passing on his wishes for a successful tour and also hinting at being eagerly looking forward for the report. The day ended with a dinner of traditional Himachali food.
Into the second day of our visit the destination was Maclaudganj where the team was warmly welcomed at 10.30am by the Tibetian Prime Minister in exile, his holiness Samdhung Rimpoche. The team was briefed about the issue of Tibet and it was followed by a question and answer round in which he answered the tough questions of the participants in a graceful manner. The most important learning outcome of this interaction was that the participants learnt that Tibet has never demanded independence but recognition of its autonomous status as per the Chinese constitution itself. There were discussions on climate change, spirituality, international politics, Tibetian Government in exile, Tibetian people, political ideologies, his holiness the Dalai Lama and the unchanged policy of India towards Tibet for the last 60 years.
After some marketing, a bit of sampling and sightseeing the team reached the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium in Dharamshala. The team was greeted by Mr. Arun Kumar, Director of Himachal Pradesh Tourism. The Bureaucrat had been the former Principal Secretary of the Chief Minister for 7 years and was enchanted to meet the participants studying a unique course. He discussed the pros and cons as well as the opportunities and weakness of tourism in Himachal along with also a brief discussion on political branding. Being the author of book on Political Marketing, a copy of it was gifted to MIT SOG.
The next destination was Hamirpur, the constituency of Mr. Anurag Singh Thakur, where a major chunk of sampling was to take place. The group finally reached Hamirpur at 1.30pm the next day after a three hour journey and shortly after lunch the participants assembled for the next activity. The group was divided into two and directed in the different areas. For about 3 hours the participants engrossed themselves in collecting the data. At about 6.45 the vans headed back in the direction of the hotel.
On the second day of the group’s stay in Hamirpur, the participants began at 9.00am and got divided into 6 different groups do their sampling but in different villages. On an average each group covered about 5 villages, so the entire team was able to cover nearly 30 villages in Hamirpur. The participants were overwhelmed to see the love directed towards them by the locals. The entire day was spent in sampling; a couple of groups were also covered in the media on the day whereas another group met with the editor of a local newspaper Amar Ujala who gave insights. The next day also commenced with some sampling and a bit of shopping and at noon it was time to leave for Shimla.
The group reached Shimla at 6.30pm and settled down for commencing the next day’s activities. At 11.30am the next day the group reached Raj Bhavan after a brisk 60 minute walk. The hon. Governor of the State – Mrs. Prabha Rau received the participants at her office. Mrs. Prabha Rau had visited SOG in the past, so she was well aware of the program. In her interaction with the participants she touched various issues like why Indians were the most intelligent people in the world, shortcomings of Indian Democracy, women’s development through reservations and de-reservation once the target was achieved. Also, the hon. Governor recalled her visit at MIT. She also answered various queries of the participants and was ruthlessly honest in her answers. The hon. Governor had to leave for New Delhi and hence left early though she didn’t miss to mention that she would have loved to spend more time with the visionaries of future India. That was followed by a short tour of the Raj Bhavan. The rest of the day the participants had to themselves.
The last day in Himachal began with a visit to Indian Institute of Advance Studies (IIAS). At 1.00pm, the group reached IIAS where after taking a tour of the campus, they were given an official tour of the erstwhile Viceroy’s Summer residence and later the Presidential summer residence. Built by Lord Duffrin in Scottish Baronial style, many historic decisions were taken inside this building which included the decision to partition India. Dr. Radhakrishnan had handed over this building to be converted into an academic institute where top class education is provided to academicians in the public domain, who wish to further specialize in areas like social work, public administration, etc.
At 4.30pm, the participants reached their next destination Khufri, watched a sunset point, visited Sankatmochal Mandir and then set course for Delhi at 8.00pm. From Delhi the group split up for the Christmas vacations and a few members returned to Pune.
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| Local Field Visit: MPG 05
November 28th, 2009
The participants of MPG-05 visited Bharatiya Agro Industries Federation (BAIF) on 28th November as part of their curriculum. BAIF is a reputed Research and development foundation situated in Urali Kanchan, committed to the sustainable development over 3.0 million rural families, spread over 45,000 villages and 12 states of India. The BAIF goal is improved quality of life through livelihood, literacy, and health using available natural resources and appropriate technologies while building human capabilities and moral values. It is a non-profit, Public Charitable Trust established in 1967 by a staunch Gandhian, Shri Manibhai Desai. BAIF has now been renamed as BAIF Development Research Foundation. It works in areas such as Livestock Development, Water and Land Resources Development, Empowerment of Women, Community Health, Renewable Energy and Environment etc. The participants visited and got briefing on Lives Stock development program, Agriculture Development Program, Water Shed Development Program, Peoples Organization and Women in Development Approach. The MIT-SOG group visited various centres of BAIF and observed the various activities going on there. The participants got first hand information about Cattle Breeding Laboratory,Semen Laboratory,Cattle Feed Factory,Mineral Mixture Unit,Sericulture Department (Silk Emporium), Vermi-culture Unit,Bio-Gas Plant,Embryo Transfer Laboratory and Fish-breeding pond. They also attended the exhibition portraying the he activities and centres of BAIF. The experts from these centres informed the MITSOG participants about the activities being carried out there. The participants also got the information about the founder of BAIF, Shri Manibhai Desai and the various awards conferred upon him such as Magsaysay Award for public service, Jamanalal Bajaj Award, Padmashri etc. The participants were also updated about various activities and projects of BIAF. The visit was a learning experience to the MPG participants as a role model that a single organisation itself can change the developmental challenges of India.
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Local Field Visit: MPG 05
November 9th, 2009
The participants of MIT School of Government got a firsthand chance to interact with young leaders of the United States of America as a delegation of Council for Young American Leaders the campus on 9th of November.
It was a session of two hours conducted by MIT School of government. All the delegates and participants of MITSOG actively contributed. The session was beyond doubt very informative and interactive. From the very presence of my fellow participants and delegates it was obvious that our country is going on the right track with the training process of governance and thereby increasing the quality of policy making.
The discussion that took place was of high worth with special emphasis on changing world order from uni-polar to multi-polar world and the change of American policies towards India. It was great to clarify to the questions on their part which related to the biggest social issues concerning India and India’s relations with U.S.
Thereafter Poornima, one of the participants of MITSOG talked about the facets of challenges for the budding Indian leaders.
Educated politicians or informed politicians are indispensable today. What we lack in our country is the political will. The elected representatives are indulged in all possible blame-game among themselves but never on the development issues.
Human behaviour reflects his work and it is factual in any field. Our efforts somewhat reflect our own persona which is usually unseen in Indian politicians. I am not saying our politicians should go for suit but they should change the way they respond and react.
The best thing to learn from the delegates was the blend of idealistic and realistic approach that will foster the development of a society. The blend is the policy that should be ideal and also implemented to the best attainable extent. So with skilled legislative we can bring the transformation we are determined for.
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Local Field Visit: MPG 05
November 7th, 2009
Yashda is named after the late chief minister of Maharashtra , Yashwant Rao Chavan . It is the centre of various development studies also a training centre for state service commission . It trains the officers of various departments which are working in the policy making for rural development and for the analysis of working programmes of govt. after a certain period to give it’s proper feed back and suggestions to make the programme better. Yashda has various departments which are working in their relevant fields like Deptt. of administration, deptt. of disaster management, and deptt. for the welfare of children etc. It has a big library having more than 50,000 books on various subjects ( issues ). It also runs some short term and long term residential programmes . total area of this institute is 15 acres. Institute provide residence with world class facility like a five star at a very reasonable costl.
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