Part Two – Know and Understand Complete Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee report on Telangana –
Part Two – Know and Understand Complete Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee report on Telangana –
The agreement was not implemented properly.
The political space in the institution of Deputy Chief Minister (or Chief Minister)
for the Telangana region was denied by the signatory to the Gentlemen’s
Agreement and the Chief Minister from Andhra area, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy
(who became the first Chief Minister of the united Andhra Pradesh) in the very
first Ministry in 1956 by reportedly calling it an ”unwanted sixth finger of the
hand”.
in later years, other issues such as the sharing of waters and irrigation resources, land management etc., also became quite contentious.
The arrangement of Chief Minister/Dy. Chief Minister got restored only
after the 1969 “Jai Telangana” agitation.
The States Reorganization Act, 1956, and the seventh Amendment
to the Constitution of India, 1956, in the form of Article 371, took into account
the Gentlemen’s Agreement and included, besides the Constitution of the new
state, the important provision regarding the Constitution of the Regional
Committee. The relevant provisions of the SRC and Article 371 respectively are:
(i) Andhra Pradesh…..The territories specified in subsection (1) of
section 3 of the Andhra State Act, 1953 and the territories Specified
in sub-section (1) of section 3 of the State Reorganization Act,
1956.
(ii) Substitution of a new Article for Article 371- For Article 371 of the
Constitution the following Article was substituted, namely:-
371. Special Provisions with respect to the states of Andhra Pradesh,
Punjab and Bombay:-
(1)Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, the
president may, by order made with respect to the State of Andhra Pradesh
or Punjab, provide for the Constitution and functions of the Regional
Committees of the Legislative Assembly of the State, for the modification
to be made in the rules of business of the Government and in the Rules
of procedure of the Legislative Assembly of the State and for any special
responsibility of the Governor in order to secure the proper functioning of
the Regional committee.
Regional Committee of the Legislative Assembly of the
state got constituted in 1958.
However, as decided
in the Gentlemen’s Agreement, 1956, the statutory Regional Council which was
to look after the political space, the implementation of development and other
related issues was not constituted.
Regional Committee was formed in 1958, to have a sort of legislative advisory role over the executive; albeit, it was restricted to Telangana related development issues.
The position and powers of the Regional Committee were responsible for its ineffective functioning.
the powers of the Regional Committee were enlarged by the Presidential Order of 1970
1958-68 dispensation, the scope and area that the Committee was limited but got more restrictions.
Central Government made the Andhra Pradesh Public Employment (Requirement
as to Residence) Rules, 1959. The rules required that specified categories of
employment in Telangana area should be filled up only by persons who had been
residents of Telangana area for not less than 15 years.
One of the main causes of dissatisfaction of the people of Telangana was that a
large number of persons from coastal Andhra region were appointed to the posts
belonging to them on the ground that qualified personnel from Telangana were
not available.
The Regional Committee brought it to the notice of the Government
repeatedly that the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Public Employment
(Requirement as to Residence) Rules, 1959, were not being implemented
It pleaded for the extension of the Public Employment
(Requirement as to Residence) Act, 1957 by 5 years in 1964, and again in 1969.
Urdu was the language of administration and the judiciary in the erstwhile Hyderabad State under the Nizam as opposed to English, which was used in coastal Andhra
An agitation began in Telangana in January, 1969, as a consequence of a High Court judgment holding that the Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Board did not come under the purview of the Public Employment (Requirement as to Residence) Act, 1957
The non-gazetted officers from Telangana joined the movement with the
demand for the immediate repatriation to coastal Andhra region, of about six
thousand coastal Andhra employees occupying the Telangana posts.
The agitation spanning nearly for a year from December, 1968, to November, 1969, resulted in colossal damage to public and private property, loss of precious life and injury to several people across the districts
Government issued a Government Order (G.O.) assuring to remove/move all non mulki officials from their current positions and set a dead line for the same as February 28, 1969.
The state government also announced that it was extending the Mulki Rules to
the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Board as it was funded by the state.
On the announcement of these decisions, particularly the one pertaining to repatriation
of employees of coastal Andhra/Rayalaseema from Telangana region, violence
erupted in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.
During this period, Telangana Students Action committee called upon the students of Telangana to abstain from classes till a separate state was formed.
K.V.Ranga Reddy, former
Deputy Chief Minister, joined the students, stating that without separate
statehood, the injustice to Telangana cannot be rectified and prevented.
While the situation was taking a turn for the worse, the Supreme Court granted an
injunction on the state Government’s announcement of “Non-Mulki employee
repatriation by February 28, 1969”.
Subsequently, the order was declared by the Supreme Court to be ultra-vires of the Constitution. This led to the intensification of the agitation for a separate statehood.
the student agitation, as a result, passed in to the hands of the politicians demanding
separate statehood, who formed themselves into what was called the “Telengana
Praja Samithi”.
After the trifurcation of Hyderabad state in 1956, the Mulki rules
continued to be in force in the Telangana region.
As a consequence, some of the coastal Andhra employees challenged the validity of the Mulki Rules in the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
On February 14, 1972, a full bench of the five judges, with a 4-1 majority,
held that the Mulki Rules were not valid and operative after the formation of
Andhra Pradesh state
(in 1919 the Nizam of Hyderabad had issued a “Firman”
laying down that only “Mulkis” are eligible for public appointment in the state).
The High Court Judgment stirred the Andhra Pradesh Government and was a
rude shock to the Telanganites as they were always insisting on enforcement of
the Mulki Rules.
The government preferred an appeal in the Supreme Court against the ruling of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
On October 3, 1972, the Supreme Court gave its verdict
reversing the A.P High Court decision and holding that Mulki Rules were valid and
were in force.
This judgment stirred the people in coastal Andhra region who felt
that they were reduced to the status of second class citizens in their own state
capital.
Ostensibly, to safeguard their dignity, they preferred to sever their
connection with Telanganites. This led to the “Jai-Andhra agitation”.
The AP Government announced its decision to implement the Mulki
Rules and later it was decided and agreed to allow the Mulki Rules in the twin cities
upto 1977 and in the rest of the Telangana until the end of 1980.
A Bill was introduced in the Parliament to that effect which was passed on December 31,
1972.
The people of coastal Andhra region were taken aback by the passage of the Bill as they wanted nothing short of immediate abolition of the Mulki Rules.
The Congressmen from the coastal Andhra area met on December 31, 1972, at the Tirupati Convention which was attended by a large number of the Congressmen from the Assembly and council and chairmen and presidents of the Zilla Parishads.
The Convention was presided over by B.V. Subba Reddy, who
was till then the Deputy Chief Minister and had resigned before the convention.
At this convention, a call was given to people to “Paralayse the State
Administration‟” by refusing to pay taxes and by defying the prohibitory orders.
The Jai Andhra agitation spread like a wild fire and, did, in fact, succeed in
paralyzing the administration.
It continued for more than two months, resulting in damage to public and private property, loss of human life and injury to several people across the districts.
Taking all these aspects into consideration, including the intensity of the agitation, President’s Rule was imposed in the state in January, 1973.
In the meanwhile, another twist came in respect of the definition of
Mulki Rules. The Andhra Pradesh High Court on February 16, 1973, declared that
people from outside who came to Telangana and settled there could also be
Mulkis and not only those who were born and brought up in Telangana.
As a result of this decision, the Telangana people claimed that they lost the benefit of
the Mulki Rule.
In another development , on July 11, 1973, the Andhra Pradesh
High Court gave another verdict that Mulki Rules would apply to initial
recruitment and nor for subsequent stages of promotion, seniority, reversion,
retrenchment or ousting from service, whether temporary or permanent. As a
result of these developments, and gradual loss of public support, Congressmen
from both sides realized the futility of their demand for bifurcation.
Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi again intervened, and after a
series of discussion with leaders of both the regions, evolved a consensus
through the “Six Point Formula”.
implementation of the Six Point Formula was required to be backed by the
Constitutional Amendment which was enabled by the Thirty-Second Amendment
in 1973.
The statement of Objects and Reasons of the Constitution (Thirty-
Second) Amendment Act, 1973, clearly mentioned why such legislation was
needed and hence the same is reproduced below:
“When the State of Andhra Pradesh was formed in 1956, certain
safeguards were envisaged for the Telangana Area in the matter of
development and also in the matter of employment opportunities and
educational facilities for the residents of that area.
The provision of Clause
(1) of Article 371 of the Constitution were intended to give effect to
certain features of these safeguards. The Public Employment
(Requirement as to Residence) Act, 1957, was enacted, inter-alia, to
provide for employment opportunities for residents of Telangana area.
But in 1969,the Supreme Court held the relevant provision of the Act to be
unconstitutional in so far as it related to the safeguards envisaged for the
Telengana Area. Owing to a variety of causes, the working of the
safeguards gave rise to a certain amount of dissatisfaction sometimes in
the Telengana Area and sometimes in the other areas of the State.
Measures were devised from time to time to solve the problems. Recently
several leaders of Andhra Pradesh made a concerted effort to analyse the
factors which have been giving rise to the dissatisfaction and find enduring
answers to the problem with a view to achieving fuller emotional
integration of the people of Andhra Pradesh.
On the September 21, 1973, they suggested measures (generally known as the Six-Point Formula) indicating a uniform approach for promoting accelerated development of
the backward areas of the State so as to secure the balanced development
of the State as a whole and for providing equitable opportunities to
different areas of the State in the matter of education, employment and
career prospects in public services….”.
The Thirty-Second Amendment Act omits clause(1) of Article 371and makes special provision with respect to the State of Andhra Pradesh by inserting new clause 371-D
As a result of the events described above, the Mulki Rules were
repealed in 1973 by the Mulki Rules Repeal Act and the Six Point Formula (SPF)
was announced on 21st September, 1973 and 22nd October, 1973, highlighting the following:-
(1)
Constitution of a Planning Board at the state Level as well as
Sub-Committees for different backward areas.
(2)
Preference to local candidates in the matter of admission to
educational institutions and establishment of a new Central
University at Hyderabad.
(3)
Preference to specified extent to local candidates in the
matter of direct recruitment and organization of local cadres.
(4)
Constitution of Administrative Tribunal.
(5)
Amending Constitution suitably for the above purpose.
(6)
The above approach would render the continuance of Mulki
Rules and Regional Committee unnecessary.
a major effect of the Six Point Formula was that it resulted in the abolition of the Telangana Regional Committee and setting up of a state Planning and Development Board and separate Planning and Development Committees for the three regions of the state.
The Six point Formula (SPF) was incorporated in the form of
special provisions with respect to the state of Andhra Pradesh in the Constitution
(Article 371-D) and a Presidential Order was issued through G.O. Ms. No 674 on
February 20, 1975, to mark the beginning of the implementation of the Formula.
The interregnum between September, 1973, when the formula was evolved, and February, 1975, when the same was put to implementation, witnessed two important milestones;
one was the abolition of the Mulki Rules on December 31, 1973, through the Mulki
Rules Repeal Act, 1973, which received President’s assent on December 31, 1973,
and the other was the abolition of the Telangana Regional Committee from January 1, 1974, under a Presidential Order issued on December 10, 1973.
since 1982, no leader from Telangana took reins of Andhra Pradesh as Chief Minister,
except Dr. M. Chenna Reddy who was Chief Minister for a brief period of one
year during December 1989-December 1990.
SPF was more state-centric as compared to
the Gentlemen’s Agreement, which was primarily Telangana-centric
It has been represented before the Committee that the unified state of Andhra Pradesh was maintained more through financial and political machinations than by giving equal and equitable opportunities to Telangana region and its people.
population of Hyderabad has grown three times after the formation of the state in 1956, basic amenities have not grown in the same proportion.
The industrial units that came up in the periphery of the city of Hyderabad by the efforts of migrants engaged largely their own “migrant” staff to man the industry, thus depriving the locals of employment opportunities at various levels.
Even the civic amenities planned were often diverted to meet the needs of the
migrants.
United Andhra advocates, on the other hand, insist that Hyderabad is
no longer merely a Telangana city
Presidential Order, 1975 -
The general criticism of the Telangana employees on
the Presidential Order itself and its implementation was:-
(i)
The Presidential Order which was introduced to assure justice in
Government employment and allay the fears of Telangana employees was
used to inflict further discrimination against them in practice, as reflected
in the changes of zones for employment (within the Telangana Zones);
misinterpretation of the definition of “locals” in the Presidential Order to
benefit “non-locals” and misuse of the exemption provided in the
Presidential Order for gazetted positions and Heads of the Departments
(HoDs) by upgrading several non-gazetted posts to gazetted level.
(ii)
The second point was that the Presidential Order was issued in 1975
and it took ten years for the Government to correct the anomalies and
bring out a comprehensive G.O. in 1985, popularly known as G.O. 610.
(iii)
Another issue which Telangana employees have been raising is that
although the Government has taken several measures in relation to the
reservation of employment of Telangana people, each measure stood as a
proof to the fact that the earlier measure was either not implemented fully
or wrongly implemented.
In view of the criticism by the Telangana employees, as mentioned
above, the state government in the year 1984 constituted an “Officers‟
Committee” headed by Shri K. Jayabharath Reddy,
Continued –
Reality views by sm –
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Suggested Reading –
Part One – Know and Understand Complete Justice B.N. Srikrishna
Committee report on Telangana –
http://realityviews.blogspot.com/2011/01/part-one-know-and-understand-complete.html
