Tuesday, June 3, 2014

A New State, A New State of Mind

We are now part of a new state - Telangana. There is much celebration at the new reality. I did not go out and watch the celebrations, being rather busy with my work at home, but the celebrations were widespread and spontaneous. Finally the people of Telangana achieved what they struggled for and can now shape their destinies themselves.

Mr. K. Chandrasekhara Rao was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of Telangana, along with 12 ministers. He has promised to make Telangana a model state which is a good vision to have. However he chose not to invite or make overtures to the just-parted Andhra Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to the ceremony, and Mr. Naidu did not attend it. Coming in the wake of Narendra Modi's gigantic step of reaching out to his neighbours and observing common courtesies, this was a huge let down and sends all the wrong signals to the people. Leaders must show more maturity especially at such junctures when people's minds are unsure. I hope that this technical misunderstanding will not come in the way of Mr. Naidu inviting Mr. Rao for his swearing in and that both states will go forward together. One cannot keep fighting with one's neighbour all the time because it takes all teh energy and focus off development.

As with any new born, one wishes Telangana well in its long journey ahead, and every effort must be put in to make the new vision a new reality. The blame game of the past is now over, and the time is now ripe for constructive work. There is much to look forward to in both states, Telangana and Andhra and one wonders where they will rank after a period of ten years. It is a story that will unfold with all the drama of a movie of two brothers who are on the path of their own destinies.

2 comments:

Rajendra said...

Happy birthday! I got a new identity/birth state now.

Harimohan said...

Jai Telangana. The vehicle numbers seem to begin with TS in the new state - snippet.