Now, T-backers invoke Ambedkar to claim Hyd

NEW DELHI: If there is Telangana, the proponents of statehood say that fate of Hyderabad is a fait accompli.
Rejuvenated by the midnight announcement by Congress, champions of the new state have armed themselves with quotes of the father of the Constitution, BR Ambedkar, to lay a non-negotiable claim on the capital of undivided Andhra Pradesh.

The feud over Hyderabad mirrors the claim which Gujarati community made over Bombay when Maharashtra was being carved out on linguistic basis.

The key protest — that Andhra people have invested and built up Hyderabad as a megapolis and they control trade and commerce — was similar to what Gujaratis argued against Bombay’s inclusion in Maharashtra.

Ambedkar came up with a trenchant rebuff to those seeking the trade city outside the new state. “The claim of Maharasthra to include Bombay cannot be defeated by the argument that the trade and industry of Bombay is owned by Gujaratis.” Said Jayashankar, who would be part of the Telangana negotiating team, “Business investments are no argument to exclude Hyderabad from Telangana. The businessmen will be free to carry on their trade as they were under AP. Where is the problem ?”

The fact that Andhra entrepreneurs have had a role in its development is central to the argument against its being kept by Telangana.