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5Question:
Merger of Telangana and the Formation of Andhra Pradesh 1956. |
Ans: Andhra State and Andhra
Pradesh
Introduction
The reorganization of states
in post-independence India was driven by powerful linguistic, cultural, and
economic aspirations. Among the most complex and emotionally charged state
reorganizations was the formation of Andhra Pradesh in 1956 through the merger
of Telangana (part of the erstwhile Hyderabad State) with the Andhra region
(separated from the Madras Presidency). While this union was intended to be a
celebration of shared linguistic identity, it was fraught with regional
anxieties, political calculations, and conflicting economic interests. The road
to Andhra Pradesh was neither smooth nor universally welcomed—particularly in Telangana,
where fears of domination by the more politically and administratively
experienced Andhra elites were widespread. The Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1956
was designed to allay such fears, but its failure to fully safeguard
Telangana’s interests sowed the seeds of future regional discontent. . www.osmanian.com
In 1802, Governor General Lord Wellesley
merged Andhra in to Madras presidency.
1914 – In 2nd Andhra Mahaa Sabha
meeting, Nyapathi Subba Rao made a resolution proposed that, Andhra should be
separated from Madras. Some Raayala Seema leaders and leaders from Nellore
opposed his proposal.
16 November 1937 – Sree Bhaagh Agreement
Sri Bhaagh was the house of a Telugu leader
Kaashinaathuni Nageshwar Rao. It is located in Madras. Some leaders from Andhra
and Raayalaseema met in Sree Bhaagh.
Desh Bhaktha Konda Venkatappaiah, Pattabhi
Seetharaamayya, Deshi raju Peda Baapayya from Andhra, and Kdapa Koti Reddy,
Rama Krishna Reddy, Seetha Raami Reddy, Subbi Rami Reddy, and Varadaachaari
from Raayalaseema attended this meeting.
Important points of Sree Bhaagh Meeting
1. Either capital or High Court of Andhra
state should be set up in Raayala Seema.
2. After the formation of State, for the
first 10 years, in terms of irrigation, priority should be given to
Raayalaseema.
3. Andhra University supervising center
should be established in Raayalaseema.
4. A special university should be established
in Tirupathi.
S.K. Thar Commission
Under the leadership of S.K. Dhar, a
commission was appointed regarding the formation of language oriented states.
Members of Thar Commission:
1. B.C. Banjal 2. Lal Jagath Narayan 3. Pannalal.
In December 1948, Thar commission submitted
its report. Thar commission did not give positive report regarding language
oriented state. Dissatisfied Andhra leaders requested for another committee.
Congress Government appointed JVP Committee.
1949 JVP Commission:
Members of JVP Commission.
1. Jawahar Lal Nehru 2. Vallabai Patel 3.
Pattabhi Seetha Ramayya.
JVP committee suggested postponing the issue
of Language Oriented State. As a special case, JVP Committee suggested that,
Andhra State can be formed without including Madras in it.
15 August 1951 – 20 September 1951 Swami Seetharam Fast
unto Death
Swami Seetha Ram’s original name was Gollapudi
Seetharama Shastri. He wanted to fight
for separate state in Gandhian style. To achieve Andhra State he started fast
unto death on 15 August 1951. On the advice of Acharya Vinoba Bhave, Swami
Seetha Ram on 20th September 1951.
Khosla committee advised to stop the
construction of Krishna Pennar Project.
Puchalapalli Sundaraiah was the first person
to talk about Vishaalaandhra. Sundaraih wanted to form Vishaalandhra by merging
Hyderabad State and Andhra State.
Puchhalapalli Sundaraiah started Vishaalaandhra
News Paper on 22 June 1952 in Vijayawada. He also authored a book named
‘Vishaalaandhra lo Prajaa Raajyam’. In this book he explained about the
benefits of unification of Andhra and Hyderabad States.
Ayyadevara Kaleshwara Rao in a meeting held in
Vijayawada, spoke about conducting Vishaalaandhra meetings. 1st
Vishaalaandhra meeting was conducted in Warangal. Hayagreevaa Chaari was the
president of 1st Vishaalaandhra meeting..
19 October 1952 Potti Sree Ramulu Fast unto
Death
Demanding for Vishaalaandhra, Potti Sree
Raamulu started fast unto death on 19 October 1952, in the residence of Balusu
Saambha Moorthy, which is located in Madras. After fasting for 58day, Potti
Sree Ramulu died on 15 December 1952. People started agitating in large number after
his death. On 19th December 1952, Jawaharlala Nehru announced that
with the non controversial place, a separate Telugu State would be formed.
Kailasanath Wanchu Committee – 1953
This committee was appointed to study the
adverse results of forming a separate Telugu state.
On 10 August 1953, Andhra State bill was
submitted in parliament.
1 October 1953- Andhra State was
formed.
Andhra was separated from Madras State and
evolved as Andhra State.
Kurnool was the capital of Andhra State.
After the formation of Andhra State, people
from remaining part of India started demanding for more language oriented
states.
Congress Government appointed States Reorganization Commission under
the leadership of Fazl Ali, on 22
December 1953, to study this issue.
Members of Fazl Ali Commission:
Fazl Ali
HN Kunzru. www.osmanian.com
K.M. Panikkar
June 1954 – 2nd Vishaalaandhra
Mahaa Sabha meeting was held in Hyderabad. Sri Sri was the president of this
session.
July 1954 – Fazl Ali commission visited Hyderabad.
K.V. Ranga Reddy and Marri Chenna Reddy
demanded that Telangana State should be continued as a separate state.
30 September 1955 – Fazl Ali Commission
submitted its report in favor of forming language oriented states.
Fazl Ali Commission suggested that voting for
Vishaalaandhra in Assembly should be conducted in 1961Assembly Elections.
Andhra leaders did not want to wait till 1961.
Total MLAs from Hyderabad State were
174.
147 MLAs expressed their views in the
meeting.
103 MLAs expressed their view in favour of
Vishaalaandhra.
29 MLAs opposed Vishaalaandhra.
16 MLAs remained neutral.
Voting in assembly regarding the formation of
Telangana did not take place on the resolution because Telangana proponents
insisted on including the phrase "As per the wishes of people" in the
resolution.
February 1956 - Gentlemen’s Agreement
To convince the leadership of Telangana a
meeting was held in Andhra Bhavan, Hyderabad.
|
Andhra leaders – Bejawada Gopala
Reddy (CM) Neelam Sanjeeva
Reddy Sardar Gouth
Lachhanna Alluri Satya
Narayana |
Telangana leaders – Boorgula
Ramakrishna Rao (CM) K.V. Ranga Reddy Marri Chenna
Reddy J.V. Narsinga Rao |
. www.osmanian.com
An agreement was reached between the leaders
of both sides.
Gentlemen’s Agreement was signed by all the
above eight leaders. With this Andhra Pradesh was formed on 1st
November 1956.
Minutes of Gentlemen’s Agreement
1. Either Chief Minister of Deputy Chief Minister should be from Telangana.
2. For the more convenient transaction of the business of Government with
regard to some specified matters the Telangana area will be treated as one
region.
3. Urdu should be continued as official language for the next 5 years.
4. None should be forced to learn Telugu.
5. Liquor should be banned only on the consensus of people of Telanagana.
6. Regional Standing Committee should be formed with 20 members to deal
with specified matters of Telangana. It should consists of members of State Assembly belonging to that region
including the Ministers from that region but not including the Chief Minister.
7. Legislation relating to specified matters will be referred to the
Regional committee. In respect of specified matters proposals may also be made
by the Regional Committee to the State Government for legislation or with
regard to the question of general policy not involving any financial
commitments other than expenditure of a routine and incidental character.
8. The
Regional Committee will deal with following matters:
i)
Development and economic planning within the framework of the general
development plans formulated by the State Legislature.
ii)
Local Self Government, that is to say, the Constitutional powers of Municipal
Corporations, Improvement Trusts, District Boards and district authorities for
the purpose of Local Self Government or Village Administration.
iii)
Public health and sanitation, local hospitals and dispensaries.
iv)
Primary and secondary education.
v)Regulation
of admission to the educational institutions in the Telangana region.
vi)Prohibition
vii)
Sale of agricultural lands.
viii)
Cottage and small scale Industries, and
ix)
Agriculture, Cooperative Societies, Markets and Fairs.
Unless revised by agreement earlier this
arrangement will be reviewed after ten years.
9. Domicile Rules: Telangana is
regarded as a unit as far as recruitment to subordinate services is concerned;
posts borne on the cadre of these services may be reserved for being filled up
by persons who satisfy the domicile conditions as prescribed under the existing
Hyderabad Mulki Rules. ( 15 years of Stay in Telangana area and in written
document(affidavit) saying that he/she won't leave Telangana)
10. The position of Urdu. The Government of India would advise
the state Government to take appropriate steps to ensure that the existing
position of Urdu in administrative and judicial structure of the State is
maintained for a period of five years.
11. Retrenchment of surplus personnel
in the new State. The
Government of India do not anticipate any retrenchment. The intention is that
so far as possible, the service personnel from the Hyderabad State should be
automatically integrated into the services of the Andhra Pradesh without any
process of screening. Should, however, any retrenchment be found necessary, the
entire personnel of the services of the enlarged State will be treated on equal
footing.
12. Distribution of expenditure
between Telangana and Andhra Regions. Allocation of expenditure with the resources of the
state is a matter which falls within the purview of the State Government and
the State Legislature.. Since, however, it has been agreed to the
representatives of Andhra and Telangana that the expenditure of the new state
on central and general administration should be borne proportionately by the
two regions and the balance of income should be reserved for expenditure on the
development of Telangana area, it is open to the state government to act in
accordance with the terms of agreement in making budgetary allocations. The
Government of India propose to invite the attention of the Chief Minister of
Andhra to this particular understanding and to express the hope that it will be
implemented.
13. The
existing educational facilities including Technical Education in Telangana
should be secured to the students of Telangana and further improved-
14. The
cabinet will consist of members in proportion of 60:40 percent for Andhra and
Telangana respectively, out of 40% of Telangana ministers, one will be a Muslim
from Telangana. If the Chief Minister is from one region the other region
should be given Dy Chief Ministership.
Conclusion. www.osmanian.com
The merger of Telangana and
the Andhra region in 1956 to form the state of Andhra Pradesh was a momentous
event shaped by linguistic nationalism, political idealism, and regional
aspirations. While the vision of a united Telugu-speaking state was celebrated
in some quarters, it was also born of compromise and cautious consent,
particularly from Telangana. The Gentlemen’s Agreement, though
well-intentioned, proved inadequate in practice due to its lack of
enforceability and the unwillingness of the dominant political forces to uphold
its spirit.
In the decades following the
merger, Telangana’s people increasingly felt that their distinct identity,
economic interests, and administrative autonomy had been compromised. The
violation of promises, unequal distribution of resources, marginalization in
employment and education, and lack of genuine political representation fueled a
deep-rooted sense of alienation. These factors did not merely represent
administrative lapses but signified a systemic failure to build trust and
ensure justice within the framework of a united state.
In retrospect, the events of
1956 offer critical lessons in federalism, regional equity, and the importance
of honoring agreements in a diverse democracy. The formation of Andhra Pradesh
might have been envisioned as a harmonious integration of Telugu-speaking
regions, but it became a case study in how neglecting regional sensitivities
and breaking political assurances can destabilize unity. The eventual creation
of Telangana in 2014 was not an abrupt separation but a historical outcome of
unresolved grievances dating back to the very moment of merger. The story of
1956, therefore, is not merely about state formation but about the persistent
quest for dignity, equity, and rightful representation in India’s democratic
journey.
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