Eminent citizens of Hyderabad submitted a representation to the Chairperson of the UPA and the President of the Congress Party, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, suggesting a model for establishing the temporary capital of the Seema-Andhra region in Hyderabad. The representation has also been forwarded to the A.K. Antony Committee for its consideration.
The representation states that “any decision on adopting a model of governance for Hyderabad as a common capital must note that the Common Capital Region for Telangana and Andhra states must be restricted to the area that physically encompasses the offices and meeting places of both the governments”.
The representation makes a crucial distinction between capitals and cities and notes that while capitals may govern states or countries, many capitals do not have all the branches of government in a single city. Pointing out that cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status, it notes that almost all offices of the state government are located in more or less contiguous areas of the city within the Saifabad area.
The representation also points out that the history of India and indeed that of the world, teaches us that cities have remained as cities while capitals have moved from one city to another. In fact from 1956 to 2000, there have been 13 countries around the world which have shifted their capital cities.
The representation has been endorsed by the following individuals:
1) Syed Azeez Pasha, Ex-MP, Rajya Sabha
2) Chukka Ramaiah, MLC & educationist
3) Burgula Narsing Rao, Freedom Fighter
4) Velichala Kondal Rao, Freedom Fighter
5) Dr. Shyam Sunder Prasad, Opthalmologist
6) Dr. A. Gopal Kishen, Director, Mediciti Hospitals & Convenor, Telangana Coordination
Committee
7) Nawab Mahabub Alam Khan, Fmr Chairman, AP Minorities Commission
8) M. Veda Kumar, Forum for a Better Hyderabad
9) Zaheeruddin Ali Khan, Managing Editor, The Siasat Daily
10) D.P. Reddy, President, TDF-India
11) Dr. Gautam Pingle, Frmr Dean, Administrative Staff College of India
12) Maulana Hameed Mohammed Khan, Movement for Peace and Justice
13)Prof. Rama Melkote, Osmania University (retd), AP State Advisor to the Supreme Court
Commissioner on the Right to Food
14) Prof. Sreedhara Swamy, Osmania University (retd), Telangana Senior Citizens’ Association
15) Dr. Chenna Basavaiah, Osmania University
16) Dr. K. Srinivasulu, Osmania University
17) Dr. Harinath Polasa, Osmania University (retd)
18) Dr. Biksham Gujja, Founder Director, Agsri Ltd.
19) Dr. R. V. Ramana Murthy, University of Hyderabad
20) Dr. A Suneetha, Anveshi Research Centre for Women’s Studies