The power of language...

It often surprises me when I look at the strong bond that most people have with their mother tongue - especially in our southern states. I for one have hardly ever enjoyed Hindi (coz I could never quite get my vowel signs correct) nor I have ever gained any remote command over Punjabi...but maybe thats just me...

Anyways this is not the purpose of the post...right in the heart of the city is a funny sounding institution - Potti University. It happens to be among the few universities in the country that is devoted especially for the cause of languages and its training. Hmm...but why the name?

It turns out that the university is named after one Potti Sriramulu. Its a name that is probably forgotten outside AP but one that should have remain prominent. He is after all the primary reason on why states based on languages were created post independence...the government at the time was not in favour of any further regionalisation - based on any cultural grounds anyways. A large region of what today is AP was once part of the presidency of Madras a truly massive region.
Telugu is spoken by more people than any other Indian language besides Hindi and has a rich literary/cultural history. While India was still under British rule, the Andhra Mahasabha had worked hard to cultivate a sense of identity among the Telugu-speaking people of the Madras Presidency, whom, they claimed, had been discriminated against by the Tamils.
After Independence, demands for a Telugu region started gaining support. But the government was unimpressed. On October 19, 1952, Potti Sriramulu began a fast-unto-death in Madras - a strong follower of Gandhi he was determined that the fast will be carried out till the end, or until the Government of India relented.
Six weeks went by and there was scant recognition of his demand from the centre. As his ordeal went on, support for the cause grew. Strikes and processions were taken out...trains were stopped...On December 12, Jawahar lal Nehru relented - he wrote to C. Rajagopalachari (the CM of Madras), suggesting that the time had come to accept the Andhra demand. But the formal announcement was delayed, and Sriramulu continued his fast. On the 15th Potti Sriramulu passed away - his fast had lasted 58 days. There after the situation went out of hand - mobs came out on the streets and there were clashes with the police; several protesters were killed in police firings.
On the 16th, Nehru made a statement saying a state of Andhra would come into being, but its boundaries would be decided by an independent Commission. In March 1953, the Telugu districts of Madras were identified for separation; later, these were joined by Telugu-speaking areas of Hyderabad to constitute the present state of Andhra Pradesh.
Soon after the states of Gujrat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and others followed...
And no one seems to know about him...