LANGUAGE AND BIOGEOGRAPHY

The Logic for a Separate Telengana State

Our Understanding

We would like to begin with some ideas about languages. We will first define the term language, standard language and link language. In the popular terminology, standard language is just called language and other languages are called dialects. We will use the example of Telugu to clarify. For us, Telugu represents a set of languages whose broad divisions are the four broad divisions of AP, namely – 1) North Coastal AP, 2) South Coastal AP or Kosta, 3) Telangana and 4) Rayalseema. The standard accent free Telugu is from somewhere between Khammam and Guntur. It also has full Sanskrit alphabet and many Sanskrit words. For example, in spoken language in Telangana, aspirants like kha, gha, etc., are often dropped. All these regions have been brought together somewhat artificially due to a political understanding of language and viable economic size of the state. Language (or dialect) is defined biogeographically. Thus, Telangana is a biogeographic region separated from the Coastal Andhra by the Eastern Ghats in the East and from Rayalseema by Tungabhadra and Krishna rivers in the south. Within this, broad region one can still detect smaller subdivision, both biographically and language wise. Also, language and accent change occur in a continuum and bilingualism exist across all borders.

Standard language on the other hand, is a political power entity. That is why; it is sometimes called language with a gun. It can stretch or be imposed on widely different regions. Such is the case of Standard Telugu, Official Hindi and English. Children in Telangana region fail in Telugu because they make ‘mistakes’ in the use of standard Telugu used in school. People from Telangana are looked down because they cannot speak ‘proper’ Telugu. Sometimes people from Telangana themselves say that they do not speak proper Telugu just as people from Bidar say that they do not speak proper Kannada!

Link language is a language, which spreads over a well defined large biogeographic region due to trade, travel, religious and cultural communication. We will consider Dakhni as an example. Dakhni is spread across Deccan. Deccan is a well-defined biogeographic region bounded by the Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats both of which almost meet near Nilgiri hills. In the North it is bounded by Satpura range (and the river Narmada) and in the West Vidarbha (Nagpur) or the river Mahanadi appears to be its border. Deccan Plateau as such is a bigger region. Here, we are also limiting it by the spread of Dakhni language.

Now Dakhni, linguistically is of the same origin (Khari boli of Meerut division) as are Hindi and Urdu. It came to South through Nirgunia wandering Sadhu, Sufis, armies of Allauddin Khilji, Malik Kafur, Tughlaq and Aurangazeb and traders, artisans who came along with them. Even some gypsy communities like Lambadas, Pardhis, etc., brought the language to the South. It acquired specific literary characters of its own from 12^th Century onward through the writing of Nirgunia and Sufi saints. Gulbarga, Bidar, Golconda, Bijapur and Aurangabad appeared as the major literacy centers between 14^th to 17^th Centuries. Today, it is the common lingua franca of all Muslims in this Deccan region, the language of Sufis and traders and understood by almost all people and spoken as a bilingual language by most urban dwellers.

Dakhni is significantly different language compared to its origin in Meerut region. It has borrowed vocabulary from Marathi, Kannada and Telugu in varying quantities in the different sub regions. These languages, in turn, have borrowed phrases and words from Dakhni in the Deccan region.

Another example of a link language is Nagpuria or Sadan spoken in Chhota Nagpur/ Jharkhand region. Although linguistically it is quite different from any of the tribal languages spoken in the region it is understood by all. And like Dakhni, there is a mutual exchange of vocabulary in different sub regions of the area.

The Logic for Separate Telangana State

Thus, there is a biogeographic logic for the demand for separate Telangana state. A biogeographic region defines its flora, fauna and human society. Thus, Telangana defines a people, a speech community or if you like a nation. They are defined in terms of the food they grow and eat, the kind of houses they live in, kind of dresses they wear, kind of religious/ local deity festivals they have. There are even festivals across religion such as pir panduga where the ancestors are brought alive and carried around to a common worship ground, fed and appeased with dances and songs! All communities take part in it.

The Federal Republic of  Deccan

Using the similar logic, we can propose a Federal Republic of Deccan. The region is linked together with a common language, Dakhni, and is comprised of Republics of Telangana, Rayalseema, Hyderabad Karnataka and Bombay Karnataka regions of Karnataka, Marathwada, Khandesh, and Vidarbh regions of Maharashtra. Let me hasten to add that this is just a general utopian proposal. There can be more or less regions or republics in it and of course, people of each region have to agree to it and have a right to secede. Generally again, it will be like the 1924 constitution of USSR (the later version strengthened the center under Stalin’s leadership), which is indeed a model federal document.

Concluding Remarks

The alternatives proposed here are not viable in today’s world. They are possible only in a non-capitalist and more egalitarian, peaceful world where love replaces power! The idea of proposing these alternatives is to answer question like, “Ok. Capitalism is bad. But what do you want?”

If Telangana is created today, it will go the same way as Jharkhand and Chattisgarh have gone. These mineral rich regions are attracting rapacious capitalist sharks. The ruling politicians in these states are not equipped to deal with them and will sell the resources cheap. Thus, the exploitation of natural and human resources will increase enormously. So the demands for these identities can give good results only if they are achieved along with socialist or libertarian demands of freedom from exploitation, equality and rational uses of resources.

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Published in Frontier, March 2-8, 2008, Kolkata