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It is 10 years since Andhra Pradesh was divided into two States
If the Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1956 had been followed, the bifurcation of composite Andhra Pradesh may not have happened
Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1956
The Gentlemen's agreement of Andhra Pradesh was signed between Telangana and Andhra leaders before the formation of the state of Andhra Pradesh of India on 20 February 1956
The Agreement was signed to provide safeguards to the people of Telangana.
The safeguards included distribution of revenue and industries, representation in the Cabinet, domicile status, and importance to the local language and culture.
But they were never implemented in letter and spirit.
Under the agreement, Regional Standing Committees were formed independent of the Chief Minister to ensure that development is decentralised and every region in Telangana gets its share of development. But these failed too.
The failure of the Gentlemen’s Agreement is evident from the fact that of the 17 Chief Ministers who ruled composite Andhra Pradesh, 14 were from the Andhra region and a majority of them were either from the Reddy or Kamma community.
Despite the share of these communities being relatively low in the State, they have ruled the political landscape.
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