TELANGANA - A HUNGER STRIKE RESUSCITATES A SEPARATIST

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HYDERABAD 000121 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL PINR KDEM IN SUBJECT: TELANGANA - A HUNGER STRIKE RESUSCITATES A SEPARATIST MOVEMENT HYDERABAD 00000121 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. SUMMARY: The Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh (AP) experienced civil unrest following the arrest of K. Chandrasekhar Rao, the leader of a local political party focused on winning statehood for the region. After 11 days of an indefinite hunger strike and the threat of a significant escalation of the protests, the Government of India (GOI) announced its intention to initiate the process of granting separate statehood. END SUMMARY. Eleven Days of Unrest -------------- ¶2. The Telangana region of AP experienced eleven days of sporadic, but potentially escalating, civil unrest centered on university campuses following the November 29 arrest of K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR),the leader of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) opposition party. Prior to his arrest KCR announced his intention to start an indefinite hunger strike to press for the creation of a separate state in Telangana, the northern region of AP with 10 of the state's 23 districts. ¶3. News of the arrest prompted small-scale protests by students at Osmania University (Hyderabad) and Kakatiya University (Warangal) which led to clashes with the local police. These events, in conjunction with the TRS's call for a "bandh" (strike) on November 30, led educational institutions throughout the region to close voluntarily. Additionally, regional and local transportation was limited as protesters disrupted bus and rail lines. Still, state government and local media contacts predicted that the intensity of protests was likely to gradually decline, but noted that "no accurate assessments" could be made at that time. ¶4. Principal Secretary (Political) of the AP state government R.M. Gonela said on November 30 that the state government's response to the events was dictated by the desire to "avoid untoward instances" and that local electronic media had been asked "to show restraint" in their coverage. Asked whether transportation links would be restored, he said that they were never shut down, but that local conditions prevailed upon local management to limit service as the state "could not provide security to all buses" without resorting to convoys during the strike. ¶5. Following the "bandh" on November 30, the region experienced relative calm as people again took their morning commute to work or school. The next few days witnessed only occasional reports of student protests or attacks on regional infrastructure. However, daily front page news stories regarding KCR's worsening health condition continued to keep Telangana on top of the state's agenda. Over the next few days other political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Prajarajyam Party and the Communist Party of India, began to voice their support for the KCR and the TRS's call for Telangana statehood. Soon thereafter the TRS called for another strike. The 48-hour "bandh" from December 6-7 again brought Hyderabad and much of the region to a standstill as businesses, schools, and transportation links closed to avoid being targeted by protesters. No major incidents were reported the first day, but on the second day protesters organized a series of demonstrations which clashed with local police. ¶6. The seeming success of the protesters on December 6-7 and press reports that KCR's health had significantly deteriorated led the various groups supporting Telangana statehood to call a for a "Chalo Assembly" protest march to the State Assembly building on December 10. Reports surfaced that a "Joint Action Committee" of students were amassing large crowd and appealing to TRS supporters from the districts to converge on Hyderabad. The new AP Chief Minister K. Rosaiah flew to New Delhi to meet with Congress Party leaders regarding the local turmoil. ¶7. In an effort to lower the number of protesters, press HYDERABAD 00000121 002.2 OF 002 reports indicated that the state-managed bus company canceled 75 percent of the buses traveling to Hyderabad from outlying districts. Local police also set-up roadblocks on the major arteries entering the city in order to turn back anyone self-identified as a protester. To ensure law and order, the state government called in an additional 23,000 police officers to support Hyderabad's normal contingent of 9,000 officers. ¶8. At midnight on December 10, Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram announced that the process to carve the region out of AP and form separate state would be initiated. Additionally, the GOI requested that the state government drop all charges against any students and other protesters arrested during the unrest. Additionally, the Home Minister called for the cessation of all further demonstrations. Following this announcement, the TRS leader ended his 11-day hunger strike and declared victory. TRS and student activists called off the planned protest march and instead held a commemoration ceremony at Osmania University for the 34 individuals whose deaths are associated with the unrest. ¶9. COMMENT: In spite of the strong showing by Congress in recent GHMC elections, the events of the past few days illustrate how rudderless the AP state party is following the death of former Chief Minister YSR Reddy and the subsequent succession struggle. His enormous popularity effectively marginalized local opposition parties, who were unable to find an issue which resonated with voters during the last election. However, recent events show that the sentiment for Telangana statehood was just dormant - not dead. The opposition jumped at this "now or never" moment to wrest the initiative from Congress. Still, it is the Congress Party's national leadership which will determine whether or not to push forward and finish the process leading to statehood. Given the AP Congress party's difficulties, a top priority will be providing the most fertile ground for rebuilding party unity in order to maintain and eventually return the largest state-bloc of Congress parliamentarians in the Lok Sabha. END COMMENT. WURR