Samaikya Andhra Movement or Samaikyandhra Udyamam (Telugu: సమైక్యాంధ్ర ఉద్యమము; United Andhra Movement) is a people's movement organized to keep the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh united, and to prevent the division of the state - separating theTelangana districts of the state into a separate Telangana state.This movement also referred as anti-Telangana movement.
The movement took shape on 9 December 2009, when as a result of a 11-day fast by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram announced that the Indian government would start the process of forming a separate Telangana state pending the introduction and passage of a separation resolution in the Andhra Pradesh assembly. The announcement resulted in widespread protests across Andhra and Rayalseema regions.
In the Indian Parliament, MPs belonging to Telugu Desam Party (TDP) & Congress parties along with Jagan Mohan Reddy protested by holding placards favoring a United Andhra Pradesh state.Lagadapati Rajagopal began an indefinite hunger strike demanding that the state be kept united. His strike received support from leaders and activists of all political parties and several elected representatives and leaders of the Congress went on a relay hunger strike extending their support to the MP.
Students, workers, lawyers & various organizations in the regions launched agitations and peaceful demonstrations (dharnas) demanding that the state be kept united. MLAs from these regions also submitted their resignations in protest seeking a reversal of the home minister's statement.Two activists also allegedly committed suicide in protest against the division of the state.
TDP leaders including MLAs Devineni Uma and Paritala Sunitha, who were on a fast-unto-death as an act of protest in Vijayawada, Ananthapur, Guntur, Ongole etc. were arrested and forcibly shifted by the police to hospitals. However, these leaders continued their strike by refusing medical treatment. In Kadapa, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy (YSR)'s brother and Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Y. S. Vivekananda Reddy also fasted in support of united Andhra accompanied by his wife and followers who sat on a relay hunger strike. Another Congress leader who was fasting was also forcibly taken to hospital. A Praja Rajyam Party leader whose condition turned critical on the sixth day of his fast was rushed to hospital in Tadipatri.
Four students of Andhra University became critical when their indefinite fast continued for 11 days. The TDP organised a half-naked procession in Vishakapatnam.At Sri Venkateswara University, actor Mohan Babu sat on a day-long fast in the campus expressing solidarity with the students who were already on a hunger strike.
On 23 December, keeping in view the reactions of people of other regions, the Government of India announced that no action on Telangana will be taken until a consensus is reached by all parties and groups in the state. Samaikyandhra movement proponents continued the movement demanding a clear stand from the central government that the state will remain united and will not be divided. On 3 February 2010, the government announced a five-member committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Srikrishna to look into the issue.It also announced Terms of Reference to the Srikrishna Committee, with a deadline of 31 December 2010 to submit its report.
Proponents of the Samaikyandhra Movement argue that a division of the state will be detrimental to the other regions as majority of the state's income comes from the capital Hyderabad and the implementation of welfare programmes would not be possible in other regions if the state is divided.Students feel that in case of a division, educated youth of other backward regions like those in Rayalaseemawill be denied employment opportunities.Further, due to the division, many top engineering colleges such as CBIT, MGIT, Vasavi, Mathrusri falling under the purview of Osmania University will become unavailable for students of Andhra & Rayalaseema regions.Engineering graduates fear that several government and private institutions for training in job-oriented courses are located in Hyderabad and if the state is divided the residual state will not have any of these institutes. They also feel that losing a software hub like Hyderabad will cost a lot to the students. Medical students also fear that since 85 per cent of super specialty course seats were allotted to colleges in Telangana, students from other regions may not be able to pursue important PG courses like cardiology.
They also believe that the demand to carve out a separate state of Telangana is unreasonable, since far greater development took place in many towns and cities of Telangana region while other parts of the State were lagging behind in many aspects. This was validated by the Srikrishna Committee in its report.Similarly they also feel that the myth that smaller states develop faster is wrong, since many states are currently facing a whole lot of problems because of lack of sufficient resources and exploitation.They demand that a proper survey needs to be conducted to establish the backwardness of each region before taking a decision over the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. They feel that all the areas of north Andhra region barring Visakhapatnam city would come under backward area.
Division of the state, they argue, would also result in water problems in Andhra & Rayalaseema since Telangana was on the upstream of Krishna & Godavari rivers.Farmers & water-users associations express fear that division of the state would render upland areas in Krishna delta into a desert and force farmers to migrate as daily wage earners.
People in Andhra & Rayalaseema regions express worries about the safety of their friends and relatives who have settled in the state capital, Hyderabad and the fear that they would be considered ‘non-locals’ in their own state. They also opine that they are not ready to lose Hyderabad since they had contributed more for the development of Hyderabad.Several people also mention that small states would lead to problems of Naxalism.
Eminent Journalist Kuldip Nayar also felt that small states do not necessarily bring about prosperity. He went on to say that the people in Punjab are now realising that bifurcation of the state was a big mistake.India's social activist and anti-graft crusader Anna Hazaresaid that creation of Telangana state will not only encourage the demand for newer states, but also new districts which will weaken the country.
