Bhuma Nagi Reddy - Rayala Telangana

Rayala Telangana

Bhuma was the first leader to propound the theory of 'Rayala Telangana' in January 2007 as a solution to state division. He said if the partition is must, Rayala seema should be with Telangana Only and not with Andhra. He argues that Rayalaseema people are culturally and emotionally similar to Telangana than Andhra. He would rather stay with unified Rayala Telangana than that of Seemandhra. He says The Rayalaseema people were cheated by the coastal Andhra leaders previously. He cites the example of the historical 'Sribagh pact' of 16 November 1937 between the gentlemen of the two reasons. The pact was sustained to a 'torn paper' only as coastal leaders never withstood to its provisions. Unlike Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema has its own history of draughts and backwardness. There is a similarity to the region of Telangana as both the areas were once ruled by the Nizams. As far as backwardness is concerned, Telangana and Rayalaseema are running parallel as most of the natural resources are being utilised by the coastal region. When 90% of cultivable land is being drained with river water resources in Coastal Andhra... only 45% is being irrigated in the rest of the areas. Supporting to his theory of Rayala Telangana he also recalls that...prior to the name of Rayalaseema the four districts of Bellary (now in Karnataka), Ananthapur, Cuddapah, and Kurnool were being called as 'Ceded districts' as they were ceded to the English Army by the Nizam (in a gratitudic action as the British helped him in the war against Kingdom of Mysore). When Bhuma announced this "Rayala Telangana theory" he was in TDP and there was an uproar in his Party. Immediate response came from the party president N.Chandrababu naidu stating that no leader of TDP should be allowed to make his own statement in this issue. Now that Bhuma and his wife Shobha Nagireddy are not in TDP they once again came forward to putforth the theory they most believed of. On the eve of New Years Day they announced with this effect as Rayala Telangana may the correct solution if the state is divided.