Hyderabad:
"The brand equity of Hyderabad is lost. Who will want to come and invest here? People are laughing at us." Damning words from the man once famous as the CEO of Andhra Inc, Chandrababu Naidu.
The union government's midnight proposal to carve out a separate state of Telangana took everyone by surprise at home in Andhra Pradesh. One of the immediate concerns: whom will Hyderabad belong to?
The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRs), which has led the Telangana movement, says it will not accept a state without Hyderabad. Those opposed to the new state, and there are many of them, have said that giving up Hyderabad is impossible. There have been references to a proposal that would turn Hyderabad into a Union Territory, and amid that speculation, what seems decided is that Hyderabad's economic profile will take a hit. Industry leaders went on record to say that they expect investment to slow down considerably.
Hyderabad owes much of its investment to agricultural surpluses from Andhra's coastal region, and to mining from Rayalaseema. Slogans like 'Jago Telangana, Bhago Andhra' that came up during the struggle for a separate Telangana has shaken investors in Hyderabad. Pro-Telangana activists argue that Hyderabad will remain a safe destination for investors from other parts of Andhra. "They need not worry. This place welcomes people from outside. After all, Hyderabad was ruled by Nizams who came from Iran."
Hyderabad has overcome the odds to win as a much-wanted destination for new-age software and other companies. The references to identity, region and culture that are now echoing in the city could damage the carefully-cultivated City of Now as one that cannot escape the divisions of its past.