November ended on a high note for Telangana. Hyderabad had successfully hosted the Global Entrepreneurship Summit that saw participation of some high-profile international figures including Ivanka Trump, advisor and daughter to US President Donald Trump (as bland as her father is not). It also saw the equally successful and perhaps more significant launch of the first phase of the Hyderabad Metro Rail, a decade in the making, connecting a 30km high traffic stretch between Nagole and Miyapur in the city.
Ten days later, the Metro has been embraced by the city, minor glitches, teething problems and incomplete works notwithstanding. And then, tragedy struck in the beginning of December, bringing home the disparity between what India’s youngest state has achieved since its formation in 2014 and how much further it has to go.
E Murali, a postgraduate student at the State’s historical Osmania University, currently in its centenary year, committed suicide. He left behind a note citing fear of failure in exams as the trigger. Students and soon political activists, however, alleged that it was unemployment that has pushed him to the act. Osmania University was rocked by student protests recalling the days of the Statehood movement when the varsity was the nerve centre of protests.
Suicide is a complex act and there are rarely singular triggers for it. Studies show that people commit suicide due to a network of factors that include mental health, socio-economic factors and more. This is not to dispute that there are indeed real-world triggers for people to take their lives but to point out the need for multisectoral, holistic interventions. At the same time, it is important to note that the response to Murali’s death indicates a level of distress among students and larger society. Unemployment indeed is an issue in Telangana.
The State cracked down on OU, arresting as many as 22 students for allegedly indulging in violence in the aftermath of Murali’s death. The ruling TRS has faced criticism for this. Murali’s death took place on the eve of the Telangana Joint Action Committee’s (TJAC) long-planned rally demanding jobs for the youth. The event itself, led by M Kodandaram, a former ally of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, brought together opposition parties but saw less public participation than expected. This, organizers blamed on the State’s crackdown. A week later, OU has returned to an uneasy calm. Murali has been laid to rest and the State has released a solatium to his family. However, the anger sparked by his death leaves behind questions that the State ought to answer.
Telangana has one of the highest per capita incomes in the country, at Rs 1,58,306 (2016-17) 52 per cent higher than the national average of Rs 1,03,818. However, it also has yawning income disparities. Hyderabad district’s per capita income is Rs 2,99,997 against just Rs 77,669 in Jagtial district, and at least two other districts fare as poorly. This trend can no doubt be seen in other parts of the country, if not the world, with development and investment being concentrated in urban, metropolitan pockets.
With regard to employment, the ‘Unemployment in India — A statistical profile’ prepared by the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) puts the State at number three when it comes to unemployment rate of graduates for the period between May and August 2017. The figure stands at 18.59 per cent, with the rate of unemployment in the 20-24 age group standing at 39.07 per cent.
While the figures may be tempered with the understanding that Telangana also has among the highest numbers of graduates in the country, it nonetheless presents a disturbing picture. The government’s political opponents have targeted it for failing to fulfil its promise of filling some 1 lakh vacancies in its first term out of which only some 27,000 vacancies have been filled so far.
The government says it has faced several hurdles in meeting these targets and that it is determined to follow through by 2019, the fact remains that the government cannot employ everyone, definitely not the reportedly 30 lakh unemployed graduates in the state. What it does need to do is focus on skilling these youths to ensure that they are employable to begin with.
It needs to invest in education at various levels, fill teaching vacancies and update syllabi to ensure a word-class Education is within the reach of its youth. It needs to look at ways and means to engage the youthful energies of the young state, lest those who championed its birth become embittered and disillusioned. It needs to show its commitment to realising their dreams in meaningful ways.
(Note: This article has been corrected to reflect that the Telangana per capita is 52 per cent higher than the national average rather than 52 times higher as originally stated.)
Ranjitha Gunasekaran
Assistant Resident Editor, Telangana
Email: ranjitha@newindianexpress.com