HYDERABAD: “I am sure we are achieving Telangana state this time,’’ said an elated senior citizen with as much enthusiasm as the young Telangana activists.
While the focus on Thursday was on Tank Bund, the main culmination centre for Million March, a significant meeting was held at Koti. The 1969 Telangana activists assembled at the Turre Baaz Khan statue in Koti and shared their views on the present movement and the incidents that took place in 1969. The meet was organised by the Telangana Samanvaya Samithi and Telangana Cultural Forum.
M.Satyanarayana Rao, former transport minister and ardent supporter of Telangana state said: “In 1955 itself I had penned down a poem where I talked about the importance of a separate state. Now what we are seeing is a long cherished wish.’’ He also felt that the movement now is being steered by the people and not by the political leaders.
A.Gopal Kishan, chairman, Telangana Samanvaya Samithi, who had played an active role in the 1969 agitation recalled the incidents that took place that time. “A group of seven young activists were instrumental in giving a direction to the 1969 movement, and I was one among them. I still remember the first meeting that we held at Reddy hostel.
It went on for two days and throughout the night.” He criticised the attitude of the government in using force to curb the movement.
“Today’s march was meant to be a peaceful protest. But the police is making the whole city look like a war zone. What was the need for so many restrictions and forces,” he questioned.
The senior members even had a word of advice for their young counterparts who are playing a pivotal role in the present agitation.
“We trusted political leaders and were betrayed.
We almost achieved Telangana but our leaders loved money more than the movement,’’ said Raghuveer Rao, senior journalist and 1969 activist. “If we want to achieve Telangana this time, the political leaders should not be trusted since they have their own agendas.
It is the people who can achieve a separate state and they need to fight it with dedication,” he said.
Rao also felt that the people of the region were more determined this time than they were in 1969.