The same old saga of cast equations is also now on 'The road ahead'. An interesting account of statistics in the T given in THE TIMES OF INDIA dt.6.08.13 [at page 5, under ASAL HYDERABAD]
The full text is as below : [Courtesy : The Times of India, as in the above pic]
THE ROAD AHEAD
Power equations unlikely to change in T
Mir Ayoob Ali Khan TNN
Hyderabad: Telangana, the only region in India where the combined population of
backward castes, Scheduled Castes and Tribes and minorities form an
overwhelming majority, might not see these groups in the seats of power when
the new state is formed. The same old communities that have held power in the
past are likely to retain their strong foothold, at least for the next couple
of general elections.
According to analysts and activists there is no hope of
repetition of the UP or Bihar experiment in Telangana in the 2014 elections as
the backward castes are sharply divided and lack formidable leadership.
Over 50% of the Telangana population of about four
crore comprises OBCs while the share of Scheduled Castes is 17%, Scheduled
Tribes 7%, minorities 15% (13% Muslims and 2% Christians and others).
Traditionally the Congress has been led by the Reddys
and the Telugu Desam by Kammas. The TRS supremo, K
Chandrasekhar Rao is a Velma, a forward cast, and BJP’s state president is G
Kishan Reddy. With the Kammas out of competition as their population is
concentrated in Seemandhra the Reddys are likely to coopt the Velmas or the
Doras who are less than two per cent, like Brahmins, but wield considerable
political clout. The other three groups that the Reddy have carried along in the past are
the dalits, Muslims and Christians. More or less this conglomeration led by the
Congress will hold during the next round of elections.
On the other hand, the TRS, if not merged with the
Congress, would try to poach the traditional voters of both the Congress and
the TDP. The reiteration of TRS chief KCR that his party, if it comes to power,
would make a dalit chief minister of Telangana might cut some ice with the SCs
and STs. In the past he had also said that the deputy chief minister of the new
state would be a Muslim, but lately he has stopped repeating this
statement.
The Reddy-led BJP has laid its eyes on the OBC voters
that have been the mainstay of the TDP. But with all parties vying for the OBCs
the possibility is that their votes would be heavily divided. It could take
several years for the BJP to make a real impact on the OBC vote in Telangana. The major
subgroup castes among the OBC are Yadavas, about 9 per cent, Goudas 5 per
cent, Mudiraj 4.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent Padmashalis. The Munur Kapus that
are categorized as forward caste (Kapus) in Seemandhra are only two per cent in
Telangana but have been able to corner considerable political power. Then there
is a group of different castes that goes by the generic name of Vishwa Brhamins
that stake about 5% share in the total OBC population. There are also some
smaller but politically conscious groups of Mangalis (barbers) and Chakalis
(dhobis or washermen). S Simhadri of Osmania University, a
keen observer of caste equations in the country, said that the lack of strong
leadership among the OBCs, SCs and STs allows a free run to those who have
always been in power.
Bhangiya Bhukiya, an authority on the history and
culture of Lambadas, agrees with Simhadri but is hopeful of the future. “The
biggest contribution of T struggle is that it has created political
consciousness among the all the marginalized sections. The next stage in this
consciousness is to work for political and economic empowerment. I am sure many
of the marginalized communities would be think hard on how to achieve unity so
as to counter the traditional power blocks,” he said.
Analysts believe that emergence of leadership is a long
drawn process. Therefore, continuation of struggle for social justice is the
only option left for the marginalized sections of T society to get their due
share in power in the future.
