The Logical Indian Crew

Looking Back At K Chandrashekhar Rao's 'Fast-Unto-Death' In His Fight For Telangana

When KCR ended his 11-day fast, he called it a 'victory of the people of Telangana'. In February 2014, Parliament bifurcated it to create two Telugu-speaking states: Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

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K Chandrashekhar Rao, popularly addressed as KCR, became the face of the 'Telangana Separatist Movement'. He was an unknown and less-spoken politician of the united Andhra politics until then. KCR was known as 'Dubai Shekhar' when he started his political journey with the youth wing of India's grand old party because he worked to send workers to Gulf nations. KCR shifted from Congress to Telugu Desam Party (TDP) that NT Rama Rao found in 1982. Even though he went on to win four consecutive elections and rose to become a minister, he was denied a ministry during N. Chandrababu Naidu's second term in office. Therefore, he resigned from TDP and launched Telangana Rashtriya Samiti in 2001.

Portrayed Himself As A Saintly Man

At that time, rural Telangana was in deep crisis due to decades of political ignorance. The people were frustrated enough to provide KCR with the much-needed political capital to reset his career. He portrayed himself as a saintly man with two children settled in the United States, humbly claiming that he bore no ambition for money or power, save for 250 grams of rice and a cup of lentil for himself and his wife, The Print quoted. However, in the 1990s, the second phase of the Telangana movement had reached a boiling point. The public provided consistent backing to the emerging political leader, fearing that his defeat would mark the end of their endeavour of having a new state.

CM Of The State Since Inception

While navigating his way through the political scenario by undertaking a fast unto death, KCR held onto the emotional aspect of the political struggle. Chandrasekhar Rao's failing health in the wake of his fast unto death was a significant factor that led to the UPA government conceding the demand for carving out Telangana from Andhra Pradesh on December 9, 2009, says former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh had said. KCR is credited for his efforts for achieving the statehood of Telangana. He took oath as the first Chief Minister of the state and was re-elected again in 2018.

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Writer : Ratika Rana
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Editor : Ankita Singh
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