India still struggles to define the states that make it one


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It was easy to recall India's struggle against British imperialism as the former cabinet minister K Chandrashekar Rao threatened to fast until death last month. This Gandhian act, with all its associated imagery, forced New Delhi to make concessions towards the break up of Andhra Pradesh and the separate state of Telangana. Underneath the media furore surrounding Mr Rao's successful fast, there are hidden issues about language, development and notions of the Indian state that are being re-examined.

Since 1956, states in India have been reorganised along linguistic lines. The drive to form states based on language started with the break away of Andhra, a Telugu speaking area, from Madras State. The Telugu speaking areas of, what was then, Madras were combined with the former princely state of Hyderabad to form modern Andhra Pradesh.  Most observers considered the linguistic divisions a success, based on the view that homogeneous states would spread development more evenly among their populations. But a look across the border to Pakistan shows that political boundaries based on language need not result in stability.

There is more to identity than language alone. Religious identity, such as the movement for the Sikh homeland of Khalistan, can also lead to a drive towards secession. Moreover, for many of the worst off in India, the larger issues of poverty and development provide a more important basis of identity than a common language. Andhra Pradesh is marked by large differences in development and wealth between its Andhra and Telangana portions. When the state was formed, there was a fear that Andhra, with higher levels of education and development and more arable land, would come to dominate the union. Certainly disparities in wealth did persist, with the majority of poverty-related suicides by farmers concentrated in Telangana. Economics, not the unifying factor of the Telugu language, were stronger in creating regional identities.

At the formation of Andhra Pradesh in 1956 a "gentlemen's agreement" was hatched to prevent discrimination against Telangana. There was discontent with the flawed application of the agreement, such as major irrigation projects benefiting Andhra disproportionately, but when the agreement was set to lapse in 1969, a movement to keep it going expanded into a demand for a separate state of Telangana. After 40 years of demonstrations, violence and finally the hunger strike of Mr Rao, the leader of the main separatist party, the central government led by India's Congress Party capitulated with the recent announcement that it would begin to work towards a separate state.

To understand the implications of this recent trend in favour of Telangana's separate statehood, there are a few major issues to consider. Firstly, the idea of linguistic states being necessary to prevent secessionist movements was born from the trauma of partition. With the separation of Pakistan, based on religious rather than linguistic grounds, identity began to be seen as a major threat to the unity of the country. Giving into demands for states based on language in many parts of India was seen as one way to defuse the threat of factional identity to the unity of the country.

Most of what India has seen as existential threats have been based on identity, from Pakistan to the Khalistan movement, but the Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh recently has said that the greatest threat is the Maoist insurgencies that have spread across rural areas under the loose affiliation of the Naxalites. The Congress Party's understanding of the issue was underscored by the defeat of its rival, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which was ousted from government partly because of its inability to answer the demands of the rural majority.

But this does not mean that the Congress Party is entirely behind such a shift. As the party in control of Andhra Pradesh, it has much to lose from the break-up of the state. The current backtracking on Telangana by the Congress Party, after its initial support after Rao's fast, needs to be seen in this light. And there is no assurance that moving away from language-based states towards those focusing on regional and local needs will result in progress towards development. Jharkhand was formed as an independent state separate from Bihar in 2000 based on the demands of tribal peoples of the area. The separation was justified on the grounds of better development and opportunities for those who felt they were not represented in Bihar. Yet little has changed and Jharkhand finds itself at the centre of the Maoist insurgency.

This movement from a system of states based on language to more regionalised needs is a domestic process that parallels the growing maturity of India on the world stage. The challenges that Telangana will face if it gains statehood will still be many, as evidenced by the states that have previously broken from the language-based model.  If the seduction to fall into mismanagement and corruption is avoided, there is no natural reason that it should fail. Despite its arid soil, Telangana will still have the major technology centre of Hyderabad, providing a solid base to create a financially viable state. What is at stake in Telangana may not be the exaggerated fears of India's dissolution, but a test case of the success of this new model of statehood.

Talha Aquil is a consultant who has compiled political risk assessments for companies seeking to invest in South Asia

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Why seagrass matters
  • Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
  • Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
  • Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
  • Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
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Ant-Man and the Wasp

Director: Peyton Reed

Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas

Three stars

Tuesday's fixtures
Group A
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Iran v Uzbekistan, 8pm
N Korea v UAE, 10.15pm
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction

Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.

Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.

Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.

Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.

Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.

What are the guidelines?

Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.

Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.

Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.

Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.

Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.

Source: American Paediatric Association
Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Brief scores:

Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first

Pakhtoons 137-6 (10 ov)

Fletcher 68 not out; Cutting 2-14

Sindhis 129-8 (10 ov)

Perera 47; Sohail 2-18

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

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- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

While you're here

TCL INFO

Teams:
Punjabi Legends 
Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan

Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
When December 14-17

The biog

Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists. 

Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.

Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic 

Super Saturday race card

4pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 | US$350,000 | (Dirt) | 1,200m
4.35pm: Al Bastakiya Listed | $300,000 | (D) | 1,900m
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 | $350,000 | (Turf) | 1,200m
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 | $350,000 | (D) | 1,600m
6.20pm: Dubai City of Gold Group 2 | $300,000 | (T) | 2,410m
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 Group 1 | $600,000 | (D) | 2,000m
7.30pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 | $400,000 | (T) | 1,800m

HOW TO WATCH

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