Focus: Mango, The 'King Of Fruit' Is Now In Indian Markets

By Dabu Sadaf | INNLIVE

SPECIAL REPORT Summer in India for foodies is synonymous with the mango season. In our country, each state boasts of different varieties of mangoes, all hailed as delicacies. Some are meant to be eaten ripe, while others are best eaten when they're green and raw.

While this season starts as early as the last weeks of March, it is only around the last week of April that the many varieties make their entry in the fruit bazaars across the country. This season lasts up to the end of June. In certain areas, it lasts up to the first week of August.

Is Majlis Party Playing Safe With Provocative Politics?

According to a media report the Hyderabad court has admitted a petition against All India Majalis-e-Iteehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi for alleged provocative remarks during his public speech in Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh that “Get the police out of the way for 15 minutes and we will show you who is more powerful”.

If we examine the past records of the majlis party which is a new incarnation of its parent organisation Majalis-e-Iteehadul Muslimeen (MIM) which had mobilised about 1,50000 Razakars under the leadership of a militant Islamist Qasim Rizavi to resist the accession of the former Hyderabad State to Indian Union, there is nothing to be surprised with the provocative speech of the Owaisi.

The present speech of Owaisi appears to be  a part of the party’s political game on the issue of the Islamic monument -Charminar in Hyderabad. The most unfortunate part of the AIMIM like many  of the Muslim organisations in India, is that its leaders continue to be suffering from the medieval mindset of the Muslim rulers who gave more importance to monumentalisation of the Indian sub-continent than to the development of the region. It is a historical fact that except Sher Shah who constructed Grand Trunk road from Peshawar to Calcutta no medieval ruler contributed to any development for the public welfare.

After the end of Muslim rule when the British established a department of archaeology for the conservation of the ancient architectural monuments of the country including the monuments of the medieval era it was a big relief for the descendents of the ruling Muslim class as they had apprehended the destruction of the Islamic structures.

The descendents of the medieval ruling class who were the immediate losers of royal privileges after the end of Islamic rule in the sub-continent adopted a strategy to communalise the native converts who constituted over 90% of Muslim population in the region and instil Jihadi spirit among them in the name of religion.

All the movements in the name of Islamic revivalism launched by various schools of Sunni Islam like Deobandi, Barelvi, Nadavi, Tabliqi and Jamaat-e-Islami which were led by the Muslims of foreign origin focused on convincing the Muslim masses that their security in a non-Islamic government lies in defending the traditional Islamic structure and institutions.

Like many other Muslim organisations , the AIMIM also carried forward the communal legacy of the pre-Independence Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) which was “regarded as remarkably aggressive and a violent face of Muslim militancy as it organized the Razakars to defend the independence of this Muslim State with Indian Union”. Therefore, the AIMIM is also known as “an Islamic, fundamentalist, secessionist, communal political party in India that was founded by the radicals among the Muslim population of Andhra Pradesh and the Muslim dominated areas of Hyderabad though it has units in some parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra” (Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia). The sole objective behind this Islamist character of the party is to blackmail the ruling establishment in Andhra Pradesh for the self seeking interest.

To understand the communally provocative character of the AIMIM it may be desirable to have a brief discussion over the pre-Independence role of the MIM, a pro-Nizam organisation which was vehemently opposed to the accession of the Hyderabad State to the Union of India.

Founded in 1927 by a group of Islamists of Hyderabad initially as a socio-religious organization, its successive religio-political activist presidents particularly Nawab Bahadur Yar Jung and Qasim Rizvi, gradually turned it into an Islamic fundamentalist, secessionist, communal organisation which came in hot news in August 1942, the eventful month of Indian History, when it had opposed ‘Quit India’ movement against the colonial British power and mobilized the Muslims of then Hyderabad State for defending the Islamic rule of Nizam.

For MIM “the ruler throne (Nizam) is the symbol of the political and cultural rights of the Muslim community …. (and) this status must continue for ever”. Under the leadership of Bahadur Yar Jung, the party “proclaimed Muslims as the monarchs of Deccan with Nizam as only the symbolic expression of their political sovereignty. 

It demanded the creation of an independent Hyderabad to synchronise with the lapse of British paramountcy”. 

After the death of Bahadur Yar Jung, Qasim Rizvi a militant and powerful Islamist in the establishment of Nizam became the president of the MIM. He organised a large number of Muslim youths as Razakars to fight against the freedom fighters of Congress, Arya Samaj and Hindu Mahasabha and emerged as “champion of Muslims and protector of a Muslim State”. The militancy of the party reached  its peak on the eve of independence, when Nizam was virtually put on hold by the MIM and was not allowed to sign the instrument of accession of Hyderabad State with Indian Union. In fact about 150,000 Razakars led by Rizvi created a reign of terror  and forced the Nizam to buy time under the cover of negotiation.

When the talk of the accession of Hyderabad State to Indian Union was in process, Rizvi during one of his talks to V.P.Menon, the then Secretary in Ministry of States threatened “ if Government of India insisted on a plebiscite , the final arbiter could only be the sword”.

His Jihadi speeches in public like “The day is not far off when the waves of the Bay of Bengal will be washing the feet of our sovereign” and that “he would plant the Asaf Jahi flag on the Red Fort in Delhi” (Ibid. page 352) gave an impression that he was virtually the ruler of Hyderabad State. However, the sword of Rizvi failed to protect the end of the autocratic rule of Nizam, who surrendered at 1700 hours on September 17, 1948 and integration of Hyderabad State with Indian Union became a reality. MIM was proscribed and Razvi was jailed. 

He was released only when he gave an undertaking to migrate to Pakistan within forty-eight hours of his release.

On the eve of his departure to Pakistan in September 1957, Rizvi handed over the command of the MIM to Abdul Wahid Rizvi who was an eye witness to the atrocities of the Razakars in Hyderabad State before its merger with Union of India. Retaining the name of the MIM which carried the baggage of the bloody history of Hyderabad and becoming its president by simply prefixing All India to it was a kind of courage which is hardly seen in the political history of post-partition India. It was not only a bold step of Owaisi but also a reflection of his loyalty to Rizvi and pro-Nizam mindset which he started expressing in his public speeches. He was therefore taken into custody on March 14, 1958 under the order dated 13-3-1958 made by the Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad under Section 3(1) read with Sub-section (2) of the Preventive Detention Act, 1950 (Act IV of 1950) on the grounds that he had been "rousing or attempting to rouse communal passions and creating or attempting to create panic, resentment or hatred in the minds of the Muslims against the State and the non-Muslims as disclosed by his speeches made by him in public meetings"

Abdul Wahid’s son Sultan Salehuddin Owaisi filed a writ against the detention of his father in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh but the honourable court in its order maintained: “Since we are of the opinion that the grounds, whether taken individually or otherwise, are not irrelevant, the argument of the learned counsel will fail. It is clear to our mind that there has been no infringement of the right vouchsafed by the constitution under Article 22 (5). We therefore dismiss this petition”. 

Detention of Owaisi hardly changed his attitude as after his release in 1959 he re-started en-cashing the hidden anger of Muslim society against the loss of Islamic power in the state. “Majlis played passion politics by trading on hate-Hindu sentiments and cashed on the angry Muslim electorates” (Party Politics in Andhra Pradesh – Hanumantha Rao, 1983, Page 164). “In 1957 the MIM was revived in Hyderabad and a decade later was petitioning the Government of India for the foundation of a purely Muslim State on India’s eastern coast”.

Even though, the situation in Andhra Pradesh was under control for about a decade following the arrest of Qasim Rizvi, the city of Hyderabad remained under perpetual communal strife and religious tension particularly after the revival of the MIM in the new name of AIMIM by Abdul Wahid Owaisi.

After the death of Abdul Wahed Owaisi when Salehuddin became the president of the party in 1976, he criticized the Indian state for allegedly abandoning the Muslims to their fate.  Increasingly aligning the party with the fundamentalist ideology of the MIM, he replayed the Islamist and militant politics of Razvi and launched aggressive communal campaign to such an extent that he was popularly known as ‘Salar-e-Millat’ (Commander of the community). He reminded his community members of their past glory and “compared the Majlis to the Black Power Movement of America”.

The mindset of the AIMIM was truly reflected when its legislators opposed the motion which AP Assembly had placed for condemning the 9/11 attack on America.

Sultan Salehuddin while taking over the presidency of the party from his father in 1976, stepping down from his Lok Sabha seat in 2004 for his eldest son Asaduddin Owaisi and making his second son Akbaruddin as leader of legislative party in Andhra Pradesh Assembly, the respective three generations of Owaisis have not only converted the AIMIM into a family trust but have also kept the Muslims of Hyderabad under siege.

As far as the communalisation of Charminar and the location of Bhagyalaxmi temple abutting this Islamic monument is concerned, the issue was first raised by Abdul Wahid in 1960s. His objection to an addition of a temporary shed in the temple during some Hindu festivals was a pointer to his mindset.  Considering this 

Islamic monument which was constructed by Qutub Shah “in 1591 AD to commemorate the beginning of the second Islamic millennium year (1000AH) as a symbol of the might of a Muslim ruler, the AIMIM under the leadershiop of Salahuddin gave a new dimension that existence of temple abetting Charminar was a threat to the Islamic heritage. 

Accordingly, in 1979 the AIMIM gave a call for Bandh to protest against this issue. But “when the local Hindu traders refused to shut down their shops, some extremists desecrated the temple on 23 November 1979, looted the shops and set fire to them”(Ibid.). During Ganesh festival celebration in 1983 when a Muslim threw a stone at the temple, it led to a communal tension in the area.

The fundamentalist character of the AIMIM was further exposed on August 9, 2007, the same eventful day of Indian history when the MIM, the parent organisation of the party had opposed Quit India Movement in 1942. 

Some of its MLAs along with their supporters roughed up Tasleema Nasreen, the exiled Bangladeshi writer living in India while she was in Hyderabad for releasing the  Telugu translation of her work. The behaviour of AIMIM MLAs reflects a pattern emerging from these incidents that it is totally against the democratic and secular constitution of India and needs careful examination by the government.

So much so even a Muslim leader Amjad Ullah Khan of Mjlis Bachao Tahriq, a break away group of AIMIM while criticising the latter said that its leader Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi came into power by hyping Babri Masjid demolition issue.

Thus, keeping the restive Muslim masses of the state under siege by politicisation of Charminar and taking advantage of their poll dynamics that resonated the vote-bank mindscape of most of the political parties in the country; the AIMIM is retaining the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat since 1984 and having seven MLAs in the AP legislative assembly presently; besides about one hundred members elected to various municipal bodies, over forty Corporators in Hyderabad city including the post of Mayer.

Like every year when on October 31 the temple management started preparation for celebrating Deepavali festival and erecting a tarpaulin canopy for protection of the devotees from sun and rain, the AIMIM activists raised objection on the plea that it was in violation of the provision of the law for the protection of the heritage.

The history of this temple may be a debatable issue in media and the political parties but a book entitled ‘The Elephant, The Tiger, and Cellphone written by Union Minister Shashi Tharoor suggests the existence of this temple for long, It says: “But at the foot of the city’s most famous monument, the four-turreted Charminar, sits a Hindu temple to the goddess Mahalakshmi, the priests chanting their mantras for centuries under the celebrated Islamic minarets”.

Similarly, G. Niranjan, General Secretary, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee in a letter to Sonia Gandhi appealed her not to have any kind of adjustment or alliance with AIMIM. Confirming the existence of Bhagyalaxmi temple during the period of Nizam’s rule he said, "It is fresh in the memories of citizens of Hyderabad, the communal flare up on the eve of kaba (Mecca) incidents in the year 1979 and damage caused to the Matha Idol by deliberate attempt of hitting it by a bus. The renovation of temple took place at the instance of State Government headed by Dr Marri Channa Reddy Ji, the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, he said. It clearly proves its long history and its existence even before the formation of AIMIM party in the State. The AIMIM party which did not raise any objection all these years suddenly raised objections on the midnight of October 31, 2012, when temple committee initiated arrangements for Diwali festival by replacing the tarpaulin intended to save the devotees from scorching heat and rain”.

Despite a known communal background of the party, the AIMIM continued to be a trusted ally of the Congress till November 12 this year when it withdrew support to it in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly as well as from the UPA at Centre on the issue of the Bhagyalaxmi temple abutting Charminar.

Since AIMIM is thriving on communalisation of the Muslims of Andhra Pradesh, its objective behind communalisation of Charminar is to make it an All India issue and also to continue pressure on the Congress party also to close communal history-sheets and suspect-sheets against Muslim youths involved in various riots.

How does one deal with the provocative speech of Akbaruddin Owaisi types? What is the remedy? The Remedy lies in the political will of the ruling establishment at centre as seen on the eve of the accession of Hyderabad to Indian Union. The second remedy has to be from the Muslims of Andhra Pradesh themselves. If they want to live a peaceful and dignified life they will have to guard themselves from fundamentalists among them under the patronage of the parties, which are still obsessed to the pre-Independence mindset of All India Muslim League, Nizam of Hyderabad and Rizvi, the leader of Razakars, who were opposed to integration of Hyderabad with Indian Union.

Eat Your Way With These 14 Varieties Of Indian Mangoes

It’s that time of year when everything is bathed in a warm, fuzzy, honey glow and there’s a sweet fragrance in the air. That might be partly due to summer setting in across India but it’s also because the best (and India’s national) fruit is making the rounds. 

For most Indians, summer is synonymous with mangoes; climbing trees to pluck those sunshine-coloured fruits or watching our grannies prepare mango pickles for the year. Mangoes are a habit that many of us find hard to give up.

Bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh: Almost a Fait Accompli?

By M H Ahssan / INN Live

The fears being created and played upon by the politicians in the Seemandhra movement about the bifurcation of the state of Andhra Pradesh are overblown and unrealistic. 

Andhra Pradesh (AP), the first state formed on the linguistic basis in India, is on the verge of bifurcation. The reasons and factors for this development might be many, but even after coexistence of 57 long years; the sense of same language has failed to keep the people of the state united. The only conclusion is that the “conditional formation” of a state based on language appears to be a failed experiment.

The Telangana Conundrum: Will Hyderabad Be The Stumbling Block?

At the meeting convened in the Union Home Ministry last Thursday, the Andhra Pradesh chief secretary, DGP and Intelligence chief besides the irrigation and power secretaries were quizzed about the possible reaction in the state to two scenarios. One, Hyderabad remains a separate entity and two new capitals are announced for Telangana and Seemandhra. The second, if Hyderabad was retained as a common capital for a minimum period of ten years. More than a year after the Srikrishna committee gave an exhaustive report on the development, or rather the lack of it in all three regions, the secretaries were also reportedly asked questions on the backwardness of Rayalaseema.

What response the officers from Andhra Pradesh gave is not known (apart from making a case for deploying extra security forces to handle the fallout of the decision) but what it shows is that the last word has not yet been said on the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. Though political quarters in Delhi indicated last week that “Telangana is inevitable”, even leaders from the region are now wary of a googly being bowled by Delhi.

Whispers in the corridors of power indicate the decision on the status of Hyderabad will prove to be a stumbling block. Geographically Hyderabad belongs to Telangana but the Centre is equally concerned about the safety and well-being of the large number of people from other parts of Andhra Pradesh and the country who are settled in the city, potentially in the Telangana state.

In the midst of all this, K Chandrasekhar Rao has bowled a beamer by suggesting a referendum in Hyderabad. Given that all along KCR has talked of Hyderabad being built with the sweat, blood and tears of the people of Telangana, his offer has left many of his supporters bewildered. More so, since his Telangana Rashtra Samiti has never done well electorally in the city constituencies. What is the plan behind KCR making the status of Hyderabad open-ended and seeking to a referendum?
 

KCR obviously knows a referendum will not take place because there is no provision for it under law and it will only create further fissures in an already polarised society, that is divided on regional lines. It will create more hostility and there will be tremendous pressure on every voter. KCR knows he has nothing to lose while agreeing to a referendum in principle.

Those who are in the thick of arguing for or against Telangana also point to the trust deficit between the Congress and the TRS as another stumbling block. The Congress wants KCR to agree to a merger before the announcement on Telangana. KCR wants the announcement to come first and see how the Congress handles the fallout of the decision in Seemandhra before agreeing to merge the TRS with the Congress. Given the U-turn the Congress made on forming the separate state in December 2009, TRS leaders say KCR is once bitten, twice shy. Even Congress leaders are not sure if KCR will keep his word on merging the two parties. After all, why would KCR after doing all the hard work, let Congress eat the fruit.

Another critical factor will be YS Jaganmohan Reddy. Vayalar Ravi let the cat out of the bag during the recent Chintan Shivir in Jaipur that the Congress could look for an alliance or understanding with YSR Congress. Given that the YSRC, its wishy-washy stand notwithstanding, is more in favour of the existing structure of Andhra Pradesh, the Congress might find it difficult to bifurcate and at the same time, try to befriend Jagan before the polls.

With the decision on Telangana to be announced by 28 January, the Seemandhra leaders are giving it all they can, in the last over of the Andhra Pradesh match. It is a difficult situation for the Congress. If it plays defensively, it could lose the match in Telangana. If it decides to hit out, it is likely to be stumped in Seemandhra. The manner in which it is raining trouble for the party, its only hope would be to somehow save face through a complicated Duckworth-Lewis method.

The Telangana Conundrum: Will Hyderabad Be The Stumbling Block?

At the meeting convened in the Union Home Ministry last Thursday, the Andhra Pradesh chief secretary, DGP and Intelligence chief besides the irrigation and power secretaries were quizzed about the possible reaction in the state to two scenarios. One, Hyderabad remains a separate entity and two new capitals are announced for Telangana and Seemandhra. The second, if Hyderabad was retained as a common capital for a minimum period of ten years. More than a year after the Srikrishna committee gave an exhaustive report on the development, or rather the lack of it in all three regions, the secretaries were also reportedly asked questions on the backwardness of Rayalaseema.

What response the officers from Andhra Pradesh gave is not known (apart from making a case for deploying extra security forces to handle the fallout of the decision) but what it shows is that the last word has not yet been said on the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. Though political quarters in Delhi indicated last week that “Telangana is inevitable”, even leaders from the region are now wary of a googly being bowled by Delhi.

Whispers in the corridors of power indicate the decision on the status of Hyderabad will prove to be a stumbling block. Geographically Hyderabad belongs to Telangana but the Centre is equally concerned about the safety and well-being of the large number of people from other parts of Andhra Pradesh and the country who are settled in the city, potentially in the Telangana state.

In the midst of all this, K Chandrasekhar Rao has bowled a beamer by suggesting a referendum in Hyderabad. Given that all along KCR has talked of Hyderabad being built with the sweat, blood and tears of the people of Telangana, his offer has left many of his supporters bewildered. More so, since his Telangana Rashtra Samiti has never done well electorally in the city constituencies. What is the plan behind KCR making the status of Hyderabad open-ended and seeking to a referendum? 

KCR obviously knows a referendum will not take place because there is no provision for it under law and it will only create further fissures in an already polarised society, that is divided on regional lines. It will create more hostility and there will be tremendous pressure on every voter. KCR knows he has nothing to lose while agreeing to a referendum in principle.

Those who are in the thick of arguing for or against Telangana also point to the trust deficit between the Congress and the TRS as another stumbling block. The Congress wants KCR to agree to a merger before the announcement on Telangana. KCR wants the announcement to come first and see how the Congress handles the fallout of the decision in Seemandhra before agreeing to merge the TRS with the Congress. Given the U-turn the Congress made on forming the separate state in December 2009, TRS leaders say KCR is once bitten, twice shy. Even Congress leaders are not sure if KCR will keep his word on merging the two parties. After all, why would KCR after doing all the hard work, let Congress eat the fruit.

Another critical factor will be YS Jaganmohan Reddy. Vayalar Ravi let the cat out of the bag during the recent Chintan Shivir in Jaipur that the Congress could look for an alliance or understanding with YSR Congress. Given that the YSRC, its wishy-washy stand notwithstanding, is more in favour of the existing structure of Andhra Pradesh, the Congress might find it difficult to bifurcate and at the same time, try to befriend Jagan before the polls.

With the decision on Telangana to be announced by 28 January, the Seemandhra leaders are giving it all they can, in the last over of the Andhra Pradesh match. It is a difficult situation for the Congress. If it plays defensively, it could lose the match in Telangana. If it decides to hit out, it is likely to be stumped in Seemandhra. The manner in which it is raining trouble for the party, its only hope would be to somehow save face through a complicated Duckworth-Lewis method.

Naidu's TDP And BJP Coming Together In Andhra Pradesh?

By Sarika Kumar / INN Live

At the risk of sticking one's neck out, let me predict that Chandrababu Naidu will ally with the BJP ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh. While the former chief minister is yet to make up his mind on whether to return to a working relationship with the NDA, there is tremendous pressure on him from several Telugu Desam leaders and cadre not to spurn the overtures from the saffron party. 

'Andhra Pradesh Special Status Goes Void On Bifurcation'

By M H Ahssan | INN Live

Attorney General G E Vahanvati is learnt to have told the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Telangana that once a new state is carved out of Andhra Pradesh, the special status enjoyed by united Andhra Pradesh under Article 371-D of the constitution would not be applicable to the remaining part of the state.

In other words, AG Vahanvati has told the GoM that for Telangana to be created, Parliament would have to pass a constitutional amendment, and that the two new states would lose the special status provided under this article.

Under Article 4, any law that provides for bifurcation of a state is not deemed to be an amendment to the constitution even if it amends certain provisions of the constitution. However, in the case of Andhra Pradesh, due to Article 371-D, the situation is different.

Cabinet Cleared Telangana, Makes Hyd'bad Joint Capital

By Ramesh Reddy | INNLIVE

A special Union cabinet meeting today cleared the draft Telangana Bill paving the way for the government to place it in Parliament. There are expectations that the bill will be introduced in Parliament next week. "A special meeting of the Union cabinet is being held on Friday to consider the Telangana bill," unnamed government sources were quoted as saying by INNLIVE earlier in the day.

The Story Of Media Baron 'Ramoji Rao & Eenaadu Group'

This is how the undisputed media baron Ramoji Rao of Eenadu Group wrested control of power and politics in Andhra Pradesh. INNLIVE delves into the historic prespective and recounts the growth and empowerment of  Eenaadu Group.

|ONE | - ON A COLD DAY IN DECEMBER 1994, Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, universally known as NTR, woke, of long habit, at 3 am. Once a movie star, the hugely popular NTR had changed the very character of Andhra Pradesh politics over the previous decade.

Focus: Cyclone Phailin Hammers Coast Of Andhra, Odisha

By Nidhi Rupal / INN Live

Cyclone Phailin  today struck the Odisha coast, bringing in its wake torrential rains and wind speeds of over 200 kmph in the state and  neighbouring north coastal Andhra Pradesh. Darkness enveloped wide swathes of the coastal districts of Odisha, especially Ganjam, whose Gopalpur-on-sea was the entry point for the storm uprooting trees and electric poles. 

The pounding rains forced people to remain indoors and vehicular traffic came to a grinding halt. Heavy to very heavy rainfall was also widespread in the districts of Gajapati, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Nayagarh, Cuttack, Bhadrak and Kendrapara in coastal region besides state capital Bhubaneshwar.

Focus: Unleashing Kiran Reddy's Gameplan In Seemandhra

By M H Ahssan | INNLIVE

As Kiran Kumar Reddy and the assortment of four ex-Congress MPs and a former state minister joined hands and raised them in the air, one couldn't help thinking - "How Third Frontish". After all, this 'Hands Up' style is patented by the group of the Lefties, the Mulayams and the Deve Gowdas that comes together once every five years, driven by the common ambition to put their hand up to become the next prime minister of India.

Kiran Reddy is also the Third Front in the new divided state of Andhra Pradesh, determined to stop the Jaganmohan Reddy juggernaut and the Chandrababu Naidu bicycle in their tracks. Given that the Congress fort is in shambles and certain to lose its deposit in a majority of the 175 assembly and 25 Lok Sabha constituencies, the three men from Rayalaseema will be in the race for the top job at the temporary Andhra Pradesh secretariat within the municipal limits in common capital Hyderabad.

‍‍‍How Badminton Star Sindhu Makes Telugu States United With Her Medal Achievement?

At a time when the Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana bicker about their share of river waters, the phenomenon called P.V. Sindhu makes all of them and their leaders forget these issues a while with her athletic exploits and Olympic medals.

Sindhu is a major unifying factor and is equally celebrated by both the Telugu states every time she wins.

When she won the badminton silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Telangana government rewarded her with a sum of Rs 5 crore, while Andhra Pradesh gave her Rs 3 crore and a plum state government job.

Former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu offered her the job of a Deputy Collector, which is the top job through the state public service commission's recruitment process.

In fact, a Deputy Collector's job leads one to become a conferred Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer later on in their career.

As an employee of the Andhra Pradesh government, Sindhu says she is always encouraged and helped with working leave when needed.

Will Sindhu also go on to become a senior official in the state government after completing her badminton conquests, taking a leaf out of former fast bowler and inaugural 2007 T20 world cup winning Indian team member Joginder Sharma? Will have to wait and watch for some more years.

Sharma bowled the last over of the T20 world cup to trounce Pakistan and went on to become a senior officer in the Haryana state police department.

After winning her historic second medal at the Tokyo games, becoming first Indian woman to do so, Andhra Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy hailed her as the lone Indian woman to do it.

"All good wishes and congratulations to our Telugu girl Sindhu for winning Bronze for India at Tokyo Olympics 2020," said Reddy.

He did not stop with the wishes but proceeded to reward the state government employee and Olympian with a cash award of Rs 30 lakh.

The Andhra government handed over the cheque to the badminton superstar on Friday after she met Reddy along with her family.

Minister Avanti Srinivas handed over the cheque to Sindhu in the presence of special chief secretary Rajat Bhargava and I & PR Commissioner Vijay Kumar Reddy.

Even before leaving for Tokyo, Reddy met Sindhu and handed over a cash incentive of Rs 5 lakh, along with a copy of the government order allocating 2 acre of land to Sindhu to set up a badminton academy in the port city Visakhapatnam, which will soon become the executive capital of the southern state.

On being asked when she would set up the academy, the much loved shuttler said she would do it soon.
"I am so grateful for your continuous support Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, thank you sir," said Sindhu.

She said the Chief Minister is constantly supporting her and even assured that they are always behind her, including offering whatever she needs to make sure she keeps winning.

"I am very happy. He (Reddy) congratulated me. The Chief Minister blessed and told me to definitely bring a medal and I brought a medal. The whole state has been congratulating me. Thanks to all of them," she said.

In fact, Reddy himself urged her to start the academy soon to nurture more youngsters like her.
The ace shuttler also praised the Andhra Pradesh government for introducing schemes to encourage sports-persons.

Appreciating the state government for reserving 2 per cent jobs for sports-persons in government posts, Sindhu said: "It is appreciable to know that the state government is giving YSR awards to sportspersons to encourage them."

After reaching Hyderabad from Tokyo via Delhi, Sindhu received a rousing welcome in Telangana state as well. V. Srinivas Goud, the Telangana Sports Minister, was present at the airport to personally welcome her along with other senior officials.

Goud also met Sindhu before leaving for Tokyo and playfully engaged in a short badminton game with her.

Several Tollywood actors celebrated the badminton superstar's success with equal zest, including Lakshmi Manchu, Mahesh Babu, Varun Tej, Sharat Chandra and others.

Telugu film legend and megastar from Mogalturu village Chiranjeevi said: "Congrats Sindhu on winning the medal and creating history for being the first Indian woman to bring Olympic medal twice in a row."

Outside the sporting realm, the badminton virtuoso unites both the states by embracing and revering deities in the Telugu states.

She is a regular at Lal Darwaza Mahankali temple Bonalu celebrations. Like a traditional Telangana girl, Sindhu carries the �Bonam' during the popular festival in Hyderabad.

Similarly, she has great devotion for Kanakadurgamma at Indrakeeladri in Vijayawada. She visited Kanakadurgamma temple on her return from Tokyo along with her family members.

Sindhu said she is a devotee of the deity and visits the temple regularly.
The shuttler not only unites but has also inspired a generation of young people with her sporting excellence, resulting in more youngsters taking up the sport nowadays in the Telugu states. Sindhu and her victories are leaving a lasting positive effect on both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as well as the whole nation. #KhabarLive #hydnews

Is Anything Cooking Between PM Modi And CM KCR?

This could be the tricky mid-game in political chess being played between Delhi and Telangana & Andhra Pradesh.

K Chandrasekhar Rao meets Narendra Modi = Telangana Rashtra Samiti joins NDA government?

True or False? The two men who know the answer to the question aren't talking but the grapevine has been good enough to set many a heart aflutter. It was the Congress in Telangana that spread the "news" by suggesting that getting his daughter Kavitha - a first-time MP from Nizamabad - a ministerial berth was the real reason for the CM-PM meeting in New Delhi.

Telangana History: Congress Will Win But TRS May Lose?

By Sanjay Singh / INN Bureau

After initial belligerence, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy has made a complete about turn over the creation of a separate Telengana state. Reddy seem to be doing what Lalu Prasad Yadav did 13 years ago when then NDA government decided to bifurcate Bihar and carve out Jharkhand. “Over my dead body”, a defiant Lalu  then said but soon allowed a resolution for the creation of Jharkhand to be moved in the Bihar assembly and also have it passed.

Reddy is doing the same after threatening to resign over the “destructive decision”, he now wants to abide by the party high command decision and “move on”.

Exclusive: Why India Needs More States And A Bigger Govt

By Kajol Singh / INN Bureau

Our states are bloated and this is one reason they are not manageable. If India’s states were nations, 10 of the world’s top 21 countries would come from India. Uttar Pradesh, with more people than Pakistan, would be the world’s fifth largest country. The chief minister of that state rules as many people as the Chancellor of Germany and the prime ministers of France and Britain put together.

Andhra Pradesh's New Capital Amaravati's Old Heritage: Can Ancient Be Turned Into Contemporary?

Andhra Pradesh's new capital has an old heritage of co-existence but can ancient be turned into contemporary?

When Andhra Pradesh parted with its discontented districts in June 2014, the big question was which of its cities would inherit the hallowed place that was once reserved for Hyderabad. Last week, top guesses such as Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur and Tirupati were brushed aside for a small temple village on the banks of the river Krishna. Amaravathi, it was revealed, will be the truncated state’s capital city.

How Cong Plan To Gain From 'Strong' Telangana Protests?

By M H Ahssan / INN Live

A party with a famously centralised power structure has batted for federalism – not everywhere in India, not in response to all demands for statehood that are perceived as economically viable and maybe advisable, but only in Andhra Pradesh, which gives the UPA as many as 33 Congress Members of Parliament. 

That this was a purely political decision is a given, coming as it does with months to go for polls – and Andhra Pradesh has Assembly polls scheduled in 2014 alongside the Parliamentary elections.

After Telangana, Demands For 'Rayalaseema' Get Louder

By Ramesh Reddy / INN Bureau

With Telangana being awarded statehood, the demands for separate states in all corners of India have been stoked. While the Congress might have been prepared for most of them, they were probably not expecting trouble from a new quarter of a freshly-split Andhra Pradesh. While the UPA might not have been completely unfamiliar with a demand of this nature, the government was probably not expecting demands of a separate Rayalaseema state to get louder so soon.

Congress’ Telangana Foes: Kiran Kumar Reddy, TRS & GJM

By Ramesh Reddy / INN Bureau

While the definition of success and failure in politics lends itself to endless arguments, one has to agree that the division of a state puts the said state’s chief minister’s political career in more trouble than any number of scams can. Political victory is usually measured by the efficacy with which a party or a leader quashes dissent in a constituency – and in the case of a state splitting, a politician’s talent at the same starts looking questionable.

Understandably, therefore, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy has refused to align himself with the sentiment of a majority in the Congress – that of letting Andhra Pradesh to be split and let Telangana be formed as a separate state.