The Talk
In November 1956, a unified Telugu-speaking state of Andhra Pradesh came into being. In February 2014, Parliament bifurcated it to create two Telugu-speaking states: Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Old History, New Geography, a book authored by Jairam Ramesh, provides the context, text and subtext to the bifurcation, which continues to be contentious and controversial.
Jairam Ramesh was a key member of the group of ministers to prepare the legislation for the bifurcation and he knows more than anyone else.
For seven months, he became the GoM’s prime mover and its public face and was thus always in the crossfire as it strove to balance competing claims and differing demands to ensure a just and equitable outcome.
Blending sharp commentary and humour and drawing on his meticulously maintained personal records, parliamentary debates and a variety of undisclosed primary sources, Ramesh recounts this momentous event as it unfolded. He brings to the Andhra bifurcation story the kind of authority and authenticity only an insider can.
This is a narrative of history told first-hand by someone who was not just a witness to it but one who actually shaped it.
PS : This talk has no video
Jairam Ramesh, Former Member of the Parliament, India
Mr Jairam Ramesh has held key ministerial portfolios during 2006-2014: rural development, drinking water and sanitation, and environment and forests, apart from commerce and power (as minister of state). Besides this, in his capacity as an economist and policy expert, he has been the adviser to the prime minister and the finance minister. He has also served in the Planning Commission of India, Ministry of Industry, and the Advisory Board on Energy.
