Why it is Telangana that holds the key

The results in the region may determine the outcome of the elections in Andhra Pradesh

Telangana has been a traditional electoral battleground,and 2009 is no exception.Before every election,public sentiment is roused with the promises of transforming the backward region by separating it from Andhra Pradesh.Once the polls are over and a new government is in place,the issue is conveniently relegated to a far corner of the political agenda - untill the next elections.

This cycle has been going on since 1969.Marri Channa Reddy reaped a rich politicalharvest by leading a violent Telangana agitation,going on to become Chief Minister twice.Other champions of Telangana have since come and gone but none has suceeded in bringing a separate State as close to reality as Telangana Rashtra Samithi president K.Chandrasekhar Rao has.

A shrewd politician,KCR,as he is known,has a single point agenda - bifurcation of the State - ever since he fell out with Telugu Desam Party president N.Chandrababu Naidu and floated his own party in 2001.He outwitted his erstwhile mentor by joining hands with the Congress in the 2004 elections and contributed to the TDP's rout.

The Telangana region comprises 10 districts,most of them former dominions of the Nizam of Hyderabad.It never progressed in tandem with districts on the coast where a network of dams,canals and drains contributed to prosperity,thanks to the vision of legendaries like Sir Arthur Cotton,M.Visveswaraya and K.L.Rao.The entrepreneurial farming class in the region did the rest,making best use of the oppurtunity.

The seeds of unrest in Telangana were sown in 1955 when the recommendation of the States Reorganisation Commission to retain Hyderabad as a separate state went unheeded.Telanagana leaders accused people of Andhra Pradesh of colonising the region by grabbing their jobs and land and the government of not investing sufficient funds in the infrastructure .The result was the 'Jai Telangana' movement in 1969 and a counteragitation some three years later for a separate Andhra.

Where Channa Reddy,the rabble-rousing ,mass leader of Telangana Praja Samithi(TPS) failed,KCR has succeeded.Where there was prolonged violence and discord during Dr.Reddy's leadership,there is near consensus among political parties.KCR made a series of deft political moves to ensure that Telangana was on top of every party's agenda.The choice before them was to support the cause or lose out in the elections.

The BJP has promised Telangana within 100 days of coming to power at the Centre.The CPI,always a votary of 'isalandhra'(a united Andhra),has now pledged support to the aspirations of the Telangana people while the CPI(M),though opposed smaller states,says it can do little if the parties want a separate State.The TDP,in a complete turnaround from the philosophy of its founder,N.T.Rama Rao,calling for unity among all Telugus,has promised Telangana if it is returned to power.

Praja Rajyam president Chiranjeevi also chose to sail with the prevailing wind by saying he would prefer 'a peaceful parting pf ways among brothers'.In its 2004 election manifesto,the congress - led United Progrssive Alliance said a decision on Telangana would be taken at an appropriate through constitutions and consensus and has constituted a sub-committee headed by Pranab Mukherjee to seek the views of political parties.

However,recently ,Chief Minister Y.S.Rajasekhar Redyy declared that his government has no objection to the formation of Telangana State in principle.The TRS has gravitated towards the TDP in a 'grand alliance'that includes the Left.The alliance is poised to give the congress a tough fight in Telangana which accounts for 119 Assembly and 17 Lok Sabha seats;the Praja Rajyam has not made much impact in this region.

In the last elections,the Congress,TRS and the Left crushed the TDP,leaving it far behind with just one Lok Sabha and 11 Assembly seats.The boot is now on the other leg as the Congress' political friends have turned foes.Although the TRS and the TDP have squabbled over seats,the Congress may find it difficult to win even half the seats in Telangana.
Unless it wins 50-60 seats here,its chance of retaining power in Andhra Pradesh will be poor.

Lighting A Billion Lives

Over 1.6 billion people in the world lack access to electricity;roughly 25% are in India alone.For these people life comes to a standstill after dusk.Inadequate lighting is not only an impediment to progress and development oppurtunities,but also has a direct impact in health,environment,and safety of millions of people,as they are forced to light their homes with kerosene lamps,dung cakes ,firewood and crop residue after sunset.

Resognizing the need to change the existing scenario,TERI,with its vision to work for global sustainable development and its commitment towards creating innovative solutions for a better tommorow,has undertaken an initiative of 'Lighting a Billion Lives' (LaBL) through use of solar energy.

The Campaign aims to bring light into the lives of billion rural people by replacing the kerosene and parrafin lanterns with soler lighting devices.This will facilitate education of children;provides better illumination and kerosene smoke-free indoor environment for women to do their household chores;provide oppurtunities for livelihoods both at the individual level and at the village level.

The Campaign targets all communities across the world that lack access to modern and clean sources of lighting.Through this campaign,local entrepreneur-driven delivery channels are created for distribution and servicing of solar lanterns to rural communities,for whom kerosene is the predominant feul for lighting - not only in households but also in small enterprises such as shops,local bazars,tution and coaching centres,and cottage industries.The campaign is being implemented according to a necessity index that has been developed for each state in India.

We living in metro cities never understand the hardships faced by our fellow humans.We never think when we use a light,fan or A/C or other electronic consumerables,we only think about our comforts.Even i agree that we actually need all this,but some basic awareness,like switching off unwanted power like laptop or garden lamps when not in use.This move will save electricity and even our earth from global warming.And we can save our earth to our future generations.Stop being selfish and start thinking wise.The less we use electricity,the more we are co-operating for preserving our earth for future generations and providing light to people who never saw bright evenings.Lets us come together and save electricity by basic awareness and some responsibility.I know what u must be thinking by nw,may be u thinking that we alone cannot change anything.Well the truth is we alone cannot bring 100% change but we alone can bring 0.00001% of change.And thats what i believe in.So stop giving excuses and start acting.We must do this,not for someone else but for ourselves.We must save our mother earth and her beauty atleast thinking about our future children or future grandchildren..

The Road to Extinction

THE NAME - common leopard

- i s a fallacy,giving birth to the myth that this beautiful 'Prince of cats' is common.Cast a glance at these statistics to lat that fiction to rest.over just three days -- February 11 to 14 -- this year.the Wildlife Crime Control Burea(WCCB)seized eight leopard skins.From january 1,2009 till date we've lost 69leopards - ensared ,poisoned,or recovered as skin and bone.Last year,we lost close to 150 officially.And this is just a fraction of the actual trade;most of it goes undetected.
Yet,there's none of the outrage the leopard's celebrity cousin ,the Bengal Tiger,inspires.So what if it's endangered,if not more ?The WCCB reckons ,for every tiger skin.20leopard skins are seized.The killing has escalated,boosted by spiralling demand and increasing returns on the leopard derivatives.The bones are used as subtitles in traditional Chinese medicine ,as tigers numbers dwindle.Leopard claws are considered a lucky charm.It's a good market evidently:one seizure in January 2000 yeilded 18,080 claws-over 1,200 dead animals.
As for the skin,blame it (at least partially)on Jacqueline Kennedy who draped a leopard skin across her shoulders,signifying the world that the spotted fur with its 'wonderful fall' was chic.Everyone wanted it.Thousands of leopards were sacrificed in the early 1960's to feed fashion.leopard numbers plummeted.Cosequently ,a ban was imposed on commercial trade in leopard derivatives.
But the black market continues to flourish.And so does the slaughter.
The curse of the leopard goes beyond fur and bones.It is at the centre of severe man-animal conflicts .If you were to map conflict zones in Indian,you'd find it spreads from the hills in Uttarkhand,Himachal Pradesh,Jammu & Kashmir,the sugarcane fields if junnar in Maharashtra to the dry scrub forests of Andhra Pradesh,and even Mumbai,with a fragmented national park Borivli,etched in its heart.
The leopard is essentially a solitary animal ,a rare sight in the wild.Not a top predator,it lives on the fringes of the forests,preying on small game like barking deer,cheetal,langur and,in times of stress,even frogs and hare.A survivor ,it can eke out a living in toughest conditios.But this very adaptability has proved to be its bane.As its habitat is degraded and prey base depleted,the leopard is forced into human habitation,where it preys on goat,chicken and dogs,and if all else fails,man.In Pauri Garwal,62 people were killed from 1990-2001;a higher number of leopards lost thier lives.When cats maul man,people understandably bay for its blood.They Stone the beast to death.Sometimes in revenge ,at others,for wandering into human habitation.
Permits to hunt 'maneaters'are doled out.Hunters jostle for 'licenses to kill'.To appease the public ,the first animal that crosses thier path is slayed.If it's the wrong one ,another meets its end.Often,bad shot injure the animal,breeding man-eaters.However,there are solutins:a good prey base,like Gir or Bandiput in Karnataka.Here,cases of mortality are nil.
The situation is so precarious,the Ministry of Environment and Forests,otherwise adept at denial,has acknowledged that its virtually out of hand and the WCCB has alerted Uttarakhand,Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Predesh to be more vigilant.Pity is,there are no champions for the leopard's cause.It's the paupered prince.