It was a pleasant surprise when my friend from school days Richard invited my family and myself to ‘The Grand Hockey Dinner Dance’ at the St. Bede’s School Grounds on Saturday, the 9th January 2010. This dance was the culmination of a 2-day long hockey tournament of Anglo-Indian teams from all over the country.

I was not surprised that a dance would signal the end of the tournament because in all Anglo-Indian social occasions, dance plays a very crucial role. Whether it is a wedding or a community event or a party, great importance is given to the ball-dance, to the presence of an orchestra and the ambience of the dance floor. This expression of community spirit through dance is but a small fraction of the larger sense of gaiety, camaraderie and joyfulness that the Anglo-Indian community stands for – they are a colorful and proud people who trace their traditions to hundreds of years of the interaction between European and Indian civilizations.

My first interaction with Anglo-Indians was through my primary school teachers most of whom were Anglo-Indian women: the images of Mrs. Grant, Ms. Tina, Mrs. Johnston and Mrs. Devotta can never be forgotten for their dedication to the children whom they had under their care. One of the myths that is propagated about Anglo-Indians is that they are more European than Indian. Many have missed out the hyphenated identity “Anglo(-)Indian.” As a result of a lack of acceptance in mainstream Indian society and appropriate employment opportunities, there has been a mass migration of Anglo-Indians to places as far as Australia, Canada, England and the USA.

The history of the Anglo-Indian community is a testimony to the struggle of a sub-minority within India’s evolution as a post-colonial nation-state [Article 366(2) : Constitution of India]. While it is true that the earliest Anglo-Indian families were the by product of relationships between Europeans and Indians, the community has come a long way since. It is characteristically Indian in several ways while retaining some cultural traditions of yore. Most Anglo-Indian communities, it is famously known, lived near railway cantonments where many of them worked as engine drivers.

Again, sports like hockey, football etc had good Anglo-Indian representation. In many ways, Anglo-Indians were the backbone of the Indian educational system in the form of committed and strong educationists and teachers.

The Indian Constitution guarantees their right to retain English as their medium of instruction. Further, both the Lok Sabha and the State assemblies have place for nominated seats for the Anglos [Article 334]. With a dwindling population (almost like the Parsis), the Anglo-Indians struggle to retain their firmament in Indian society and not get completely marginalized or non-existent. A remarkable feature about the Anglo-Indians is their open-mindedness as a people, one dimension being several inter-marriages with other castes and communities in Indian society. Among the most famous Anglo-Indians of post-independent India was Frank Anthony, a Supreme Court lawyer (also a member of the Constituent Assembly) who represented Mrs. Indira Gandhi during most of her trials and tribulations. Other prominent Anglos on the national scene were/are A.E.T. Barrow (educationist and brain behind the ICSE board of education), Lt. Gen Henderson-Brook (who prepared a classified report on the Oct-Nov 1962 debacle), Roger Binny (cricketer), Diana Hayden (former Miss India), Leslie Claudius (hockey legend) and Ruskin Bond(writer).

Anglos in the wind is the name of a magazine edited by Harry MacLure whoalso led the organizational effort of the Hockey event. Being in the midst of the Anglos at The Grand Hockey Dinner Dance was a poignant experience.

Not only were there representatives of the community from places overseas mentioned above, there were Anglo-Indians from all over India at the dance, as it was an extension of the tournament. Many would have heard of the ‘Bow Barracks’ of Kolkata, an Anglo-Indian synonym for a place. Nowhere else have I seen the aged 50/60 and above take to the dance floor with such an enthusiasm and sustain it over long hours. Young and old were at it into the wee hours of the night.

Wishing that the moments with the Anglos on a Chennai Saturday night would last longer, not to miss their love of dance, I was reminded of the album Saturday Night Fever by the Bee Gees (1977). The following lines from that album were evocative:
“Here I am
Prayin’ for this moment to last
Livin’ on the music so fine
Born on the Wind
Making it mine “

What I was grateful to Richard for inviting me to the Grand Dance was that it gave me an opportunity to join one segment of India in its celebration of the nation. This is a beautiful community and that came across at The Grand Hockey Dinner Dance.

Chak De, Anglos !
- – - – -
References:

1. Frank Anthony, Britain’s Betrayal in India: The Story of the Anglo-Indian Community (Paperback, 2007);
2. Hostages to India: or The Life Story of the Anglo Indian Race : by Herbert Alick Stark
3. These are the Anglo-Indians: James Reginald Maher
4. Bow Barracks Forever is a 2004 Indian film directed by Anjan Dutt (the real life story of a tiny but resolute Anglo Indian community right in the heart of bustling north Kolkata)

We’re pleased to introduce another writer, MD Ramesh to this Blog. He’s a former colleague & a good friend of mine for the past 15 years. In his spare time, MD moon-lights as the editor of a local Newsletter in Iowa. Please encourage him with your comments. – Sukumar.

This summer, I was teaching my six-year old son to ride a bike. We usually go to the trail by the freeway near where we live. Last year, he rode with two training wheels and this year, before the school started, he asked me to take out one of them. Hmm! I thought he is becoming brave. Whenever we go biking, I used to walk or jog behind him depending on his speed. I never had any difficulty since he never went fast and he constantly kept falling down and I had to be there to hold him. Then after the school started, may be due to peer pressure at school (!), he asked me to take off both the wheels. I obliged and took him the first day without any training wheels. He could not even move one inch without me holding the bike! I thought, “Ok, he is still young. It is going to take him a while and I had to be with him and be prepared to hold the bike and run with him”.

Teaching him reminded me of the days when I learnt to ride back home. For me, mostly my brothers and my uncle taught me to ride during the hot summer holidays in India. I learnt mostly on the streets. The streets were a lot safer then. Like these instances, lots of fond memories floated by and I failed to notice my son’s improvements. He started gaining balance and all of a sudden, he said, “Papa, please take your hands off! I will do it myself”. I took my hands off, but I still continued to jog behind him. I was afraid, and also concerned that he would lose his balance, fall off the bike and hurt himself. After a couple of sessions, he gained confidence, started pedaling faster and took off. I was no longer able to catch up (age shows when you jog!) with him and I fell behind. There he is, my son, pedaling away, on his own, without training wheels, and me, I am puffing and panting and walking faster to make sure I can see him, to make sure that he does not fall and hurt himself.

Also this summer, some of my friends are in the same shoes as myself. Their sons and daughters have grown up, completed school and are going away from home to pursue their careers, ambitions and dreams. They have taken off their “training wheels” and are pedaling away towards their future, leaving us behind. We, as parents, are concerned that they should not “loose their balance” and get hurt along the way. We want to make sure we can see them, even though they are riding just fine. We also can’t believe that our children don’t need us to baby-sit them anymore. They are excited about their newfound freedom, about the new things they are going to learn and about the new experiences they are going to have. Us, we have the same old routine of mowing, cleaning and of course our jobs.

I tried to remember the time I left home for my higher studies. It was an exciting moment for me since I was going far away and will be studying in one of the best institutions. I was looking forward to the two-day train journey and the hostel life with my own independent hostel room. I will be working on the latest computers and will have access to the latest research in my subject. Among all this excitement, I failed to realize how my parents would have felt when I took off my “training wheels” and pedaled away towards my future.

No Training Wheels was published in a local Indian Association News Letter on September 2003 by M.D. Ramesh

On the occasion of Republic Day this year, it is important to recall that this day in 1950 we gave to ourselves our Constitution.

The Constitution of India is the most sacred and central legal document. It is on the basis of this document that many other laws are derived and that we learn to uphold the ‘rule of law’ in a democracy under all circumstances.

Critics of our Constitution have been silenced as the document has shown its strength and mettle for more than 60 years. This just goes to show that it is critical to salute and reaffirm our faith in the Constitution because around us in South Asia and other parts of the world we see ‘failed’ if not ‘almost-failed’ states where the rule of law has broken down and anarchy prevails. Again, in the media when there are references made to ‘banana republics’ it’s a vicarious reminder to the achievement of our founding fathers in consolidating the ‘rule of law’ and state in India in what they envisioned would befit generations of Indians to come.

The history of the forming of this Constitution goes back to several decades of legal debates under British rule. The defining debate and draft was the Government of India Act of 1935 which functioned as the backbone of the later-to-be Constitution of India. With the Constituent Assembly in place, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar was appointed the chairman of the drafting committee of the Constitution.

In the transition between colonial rule and freedom, our leaders showed a remarkably global outlook in learning from the political and constitutional experiences of other countries and this has stood us in remarkably good stead. Some highlights of the borrowings for our Constitution are as follows:

Chapter on Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution [Part III] which are enforceable if a citizens rights has been infringed by any action of the State : modeled on the American Constitution notably the American Bill of Rights (contained in the first Ten Amendments to the Constitution of USA).

Parliamentary System of Government which is based on that of Britain [Part V]: The system has three main institutions, the Parliament, the Executive and Judiciary each with their roles and responsibilities cut out for them. This was adopted because our leaders had some experience with this system during years of British rule.

Directive Principles of State Policy based on that of Ireland (Eire )[Part IV] : These are broad guidelines of action for the state and society in India but they are not enforceable in a court of law. Despite this, these principles are considered fundamental to the governance of the country and achieving social and economic justice in Indian society.

Emergency Provisions based on that of the German Reich [Part XVIII] : clause 48 of the Weimar Constitution.

It was a continuing testimony to the Indian historical experience, even post-independence, that we have never been an insular people. East or West, what would work is what needed to be retained, borrowed and built upon into the fabric of our national life. The members of the Constituent Assembly showed tremendous acumen and foresight in the melee that was partition and the transfer of power. I suppose this is why in all the countries mentioned above and other like-minded ones continuing generations refer to the ‘wisdom’ and ‘sagacity’ of the ‘founding fathers’. Cheers to them !!!

Prolog

Happy Pongal/Sankranti to those that celebrate it.  We have been celebrating the Pongal festival on the same day since the days of the  Indus Valley Civilization (according to my research) making it a 4,500+ year old tradition. On this blog, we have been celebrating it with a  harvest festival of our own – the annual Blog Pongal – a harvest of the best posts on this blog. Here are the previous editions – 2004-5 , 2006, 2007, and 2008 . 

5th Edition of Blog Pongal – Best posts of 2009

Choosing the best posts out of 48 is a tough task. I have tried my best to present you the best dozen (one per month approx).  Hope you like them.

1.  Ganesh Vaideeswaran’s thought provoking post – American Politics and Religion – on the occasion of Obama’s swearing in, a historic occasion for the USA.

2. In India, Satyam’s Ramalinga Raju created history of a different kind.  Priya Raju’s unusual take on the event – Satyameva Jayate.

3. Slumdog Millionaire created more reams of writing than possibly what the movie making team did. Sibu Kutty with his insightful post on the movie.

4.  I never expected my post Soul of Success to garner so many insights from the community. Personally, a very enriching post.  

5. The Indian elections threw many a surprise. Priya Raju called it the Great Indian Rope Trick  stirring a great debate amongst the readers. Considering the scope and scale of it, i guess only India can pull such a thing off.

6. Dr. Abdul Fakhri’s thought provoking question – does friendship have value in the new millennium.

7. Kumaran ponders the existential question – types of actions and concludes as three buckets of actions.

8. Sultana’s beautiful tribute to the Teachers on Teacher’s Day.

9. My post on the Aha Moment and its connection to Learning.

10. Abdul Fakhri’s provocative post for Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday – what can we celebrate on Gandhi Jayanthi?

11. Priya Raju’s poignant post on the Plight of the Invisible. Hard not to get teary-eyed after reading this.

12. Vamsi Poondla’s superb posts on the Telangana Crisis – Part 1 and  Telangana Crisis – Part 2 - a great piece of research. Vamsi did a timely yeoman service to this community by explaining the problem and the potential solution(s).

Epilog

Hope you all enjoy reading this blog as much as we enjoy writing it. Many of you read this blog without commenting. May i request you all that read, but don’t comment, to make an exception this time and write a comment on this post, so that our writers get some encouragement? Thanks in advance.

In the part 1 of this series, I narrated events that happened prior to late 1990s in the Andhra Pradesh.  In the second part, I will cover the evolution of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the changed political climate. I will start with background on Naxal violence in AP.

Even though Naxalism has roots in the Naxalburi area of Dargeeling district, West Bengal, it penetrated strongly in Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, United Madhya Pradesh, United Bihar and Maharashtra. Particularly in AP, around 1980s, one leader by name “Kondapalli Seetharamaiah” formed a group called People’s War Group (PWG). PWG has very natural support in the Telangana and Northern Coastal Andhra where landlords and contractors exploit uneducated farmers and tribals.  Few things here are to be noted – in 1992, PWG extremists assassinated a Deputy Inspector General of Police – Vyas few yards away from Police Control Room and State Assembly.  In 1999, they assassinated another IG – Umesh Chandra in Sajeev Reddy Nagar traffic signal – which is perhaps 3 miles away from the CMs residence. Then in 2000, they eliminated Madhava Reddy, ex-home minister around 30 minutes away from Hyderabad. (Of course finally in 2004, they targeted Chandra Babu Naidu in Tirupathi which is in Rayalaseema also). This is just a sample of how well organized this group is in particular in Telangana. When I visited Warangal in 1995, I felt like I was in an army barracks. Heavy security everywhere. Unbelievable to me. Maoist influence in Telangana is to be specifically noted in the background of Telangana struggle.

Coming back to KCR, after launching the party in 2001, very shortly he could create cadre across Telangana. In the 2004 general elections, YS RajaSekhar Reddy (YSR) reluctantly joined Congress with TRS. In 2004, YSR was not as powerful as he became later.  Congress took support of TRS, CPI and CPM for fighting against Chandrababu Naidu, who looked invincible.  TRS won 5 LS Seats and 26 assembly seats. Vote share – 6.83%.   After winning the elections, TRS joined both UPA at center and state governments. TRS as we know has only one agenda – to get separate state. But for YSR, being at heart supporter of Samaikyandhra (United Andhra), started his new line – “problems in AP are due to Mr Naidu not doing enough in irrigation front”.  Jala Yagnam – Water Projects of the scale unimaginable earlier were started with millions of rupees. He also sidelined TRS and forced them come out of the state government. KCR who was central labor minister also resigned in 2006 and withdrew support to UPA because the Telangana issue was kept with a committee headed by Pranab Mukherjee. But things did not move as fast as KCR desired but he used to promise to his cadres that Telangana is coming very soon.  KCR also resigned the LS Seat and in the 2006 by-elections in the Karimnagar constituency, KCR won back the seat he just resigned. He also got a very high majority.

Again the cat and mouse game started. In between, YSR started weakening KCR by splitting TRS. The split faction used to consistently criticize KCR for his lack of commitment and running the party like a family affair.  Meanwhile, Pranab Mukherjee kept sitting on the Telangana issue. Most of the Telangana ministers from Congress, never overtly supported Telangana to be on the good books of YSR.  The only dissident voices from Congress were those Telangana leaders who can never win a direct election all by themselves. There could be other Telangana committed leaders, but were not very vocal.  On the other side,  KCR was getting frustrated. In 2008 (just last year), he made all his 26 MLAs and 4 MPs resign (from his faction of TRS).  In the subsequent bye-election, TRS could just win 2 LS and 7 Assembly Seats.  After forming TRS, this is the worst performance for that party after it’s formation.

Come 2009 General Elections, TRS formed alliance with TDP. TDP for the first time included Telangana in their manifesto due to pressure from the Telangana TDP leaders.  In the elections, TRS won 2 LS seats and 27 Assembly Seats. Congress fared OK but one should agree that Congress won primarily because of splitting of opposition vote by a new party – Praja Rajyam Party(PRP) – launched by film actor Chiranjeevi. PRP won 18 assembly seats (and 16% vote share). Then came YSRs tragic death. I think that changed entire equation.  Dr Rosaiah is a very good No.2 but is not an effective No.1. I think Congress High Command would have thought he would be a good consensus candidate as YSR did not groom any leader of his own stature.  Meanwhile in November 2009, (just last month), elections were held for the Greater Hyderabad City Council. Considering the fact that TRS is traditionally weak in the Hyderabad Urban region and the fact that Hyderabadis are mostly against a separate state, TRS did not even contest the election. TRS argument is different. They thought enough is enough with the political games – let us try something new – fast until death by KCR.  KCR also toured across the Telangana region and prepared the cadres for the big fight. An interesting side note – KCR did a fast until death near Jantar Mantar, New Delhi back in August 2006 as soon as he withdrew support to the UPA government. But he ended the fast just in 2 days at the insistence of Sharad Pawar. So, everybody in the state and center, including the media thought this is another such fast which may go at most 3 days.

Once he started the fast, as expected on the second day of this fast, KCR withdrew the fast and accepted a glass of OJ before the cameras. But what changed the entire scene is the Osmania University Students Joint Action Committee(JAC). These kids were also in the fast in support of KCR. When KCR withdrew they burned the effigies of KCR and projected him as an incapable leader. KCR then told some funny stories which nobody with right mind would believe, and again restarted the fast. KCR is moved to Khammam and eventually to Nizam Hospital, Hyderabad (for better access to National Media, of course which will add pressure). On the other hand, his health situation was deteriorating. There were reports that extremists(Maoists) penetrated into the JAC in Osmania University(proven to be correct).  KCR’s fast soon caught the Congress High Command attention. They convened an all-party meeting inside the State Assembly where TDP, PRP, CPI agreed for announcing T-State. CPM, Lok Satta and MIM(Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) did not support the idea. With TDP and PRPs agreement, P. Chidambaram made the announcement. As soon as this was announced, the coastal andhra and Rayalaseema areas people got really pissed off.  They started pressurizing their elected reps to do something. They announced the resignations and the state entered a political crisis.

One thing that can be inferred from this entire episode – the police intelligence in the state failed completely.  They underestimated everything from end to end.  The reports that OU JAC has outside elements including ex-naxalites is a fact and proven by recent attacks on TDP legislator Nagam Janardhan Reddy who visisted the Osmania University to support the JAC leaders. Even in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, many rowdy elements created havoc. This is a really deplorable situation where police could not control the events.

We have to do a small political analysis on who will benefit if a new T-State is formed -

1) Telangana Congress Leaders – With 4.5 more years Assembly term left until next general elections, even if the state is formed 1 year from now, they will get 3.5 years of ministries and power.  It will be gold mine.

2) KCR/ TRS – KCR will become Father of Telangana and TRS will become an alternate party to reckon with in future. I dont know whether it is good or bad. He is not a trustworthy leader according to even Telanganites. He promotes hate and talks imbalanced.

3) TDP – They have strong cadre in Telangana. They have nothing to lose at least as they do not have power now anyway. So they will work towards strengthening the party.

4) Maoists - From what I know about these groups, they think of new revolution and controlling the country in a single party system with new democracy/ communism etc. Why the hell should they support a split state in Telangana and Goorkhaland? I infer one thing – a new and weak state is easy to have their influence. Not good for Indian Union in any way.

Now what about aam-aadmi – Let us go with the assumption that there is an injustice and Coastal Andhrites are exploiting them. This will not change. With the present state and structure, with the same administrative support – common man in T-state will not see any change in quality of life except a feel-good factor that they got a state of their own. It will be practically impossible to remove the population who migrated and mixed deeply into the Telangana. They will continue to exploit (if they are as smart as they are projected to be) the Telangana region. Next comes the encroachers in Hyderabad. A very large percentage of encroachers in Hyderabad and surroundings are rowdy sheeters who are from Telangana itself not some Coastal Andhrites. Coastal Andhra people really hiked up the market by trading plots around Hyderabad for exorbitant prices.  After real estate crash, they are also impacted.  It is also a proven fact that telanagana rurals were exploited by Telanagana landlords more than anybody else.

Issues which needs consensus even before we think of a new T-state

Hyderabad – Just like we have at least one person from every single district in India at US, we have  at least one person from every Andhra Pradesh village in Hyderabad. I myself have personally at least 25 families of relatives in Hyderabad. If moron leaders/ goons pressurize and threaten, I dont think they will leave. Their life and property is to be protected. They should have equal rights and respect as any native Telanganite. This again is not a charity. This is a fundamental right.  Period.

Water Agreements- I think it is an opportunity for making some innovative agreements between the new state and Andhra. Like KG Basin Energy for river water etc. Both water and energy are going to be scarce. Leaders in both sides should sit together with engineering and scientific community and finalize such agreements.

New Capital- Instead of all departments to be in both capitals, there should be some rational agreements to continue departments that can be run together.  For example, Police, judiciary and marine departments can be shared. know it sounds crazy but I question why not. Whatever reduces the wastage of public money should be thought.

Even before a new state – there should be hard look at the issues that prevented development in Rayalaseema and rural Telangana so far. If they declare in haste – the only benefited parties will be politician and contractor class. Common man’s life may not change. And 30 years down the lane, Adilabad may ask for a separate state.

Hyderabad as a common capital is being discussed a lot. I don’t think it will be practical. But some people
will say – even today everyone will travel all the way to Hyderabad to get things done. Why not in future? It needs broader discussion. One thing is certain majority of Hyderabadis doesnt want to join Telangana. If Telangana people think their sentiment is not respected, I have the same question – should we not respect Hyderabadis sentiment? If not, then it amounts to double standards, which we should be ashamed of.

All in all, what I wanted to say is – if there is a way to really spread the development without dividing the state, it should be strongly explored. If common man in T is going to be under the clutches of same/ similar exploiters, then it is not really a good idea to divide the state for the heck of dividing it.  With Maoist resurgence and the reports that they have equipped latest arms through Nepal connection,  a Telangana state is going to be not a good idea now. I am for a United Andhra for the benefit of entire AP rather than one section. I think it is the responsibility of entire Telugu people to strive for the benefit of the entire state not looking after our own resources we control. It is easy to divide and very difficult to join back. We lose all the leverage we have in the federal system.

I attempted this series because I was pained by the casual nature with which many of my friends from other states took this issue. I thought it could be because of lack of awareness on this issue and thought of explaining to the best of my knowledge. I am also not much politics person and had to research on this a lot to make sure it is as correct as possible.

As we know, the Telangana state cannot be formed by what happens inside Andhra Pradesh. It can be issued by a parliament act which will be voted by all our Lok Sabha reps. As you can see, with so much complexity involved and so many problems unresolved, a new state cannot be formed in haste due to black mail politics or violence spurred by some goondas. It will have impact on the entire country. So, I encourage people to understand this and help people of Andhra Pradesh. Your representatives’ votes and your opinion impacts lives of 8 crores of Andhrites.