Hyderabad is eerily quiet today. After returning from a weekend in Delhi, I expect to find Hyderabad in its normal manic Monday state of affairs. But today there are few cars on the roads, all the shops are closed, public transportation non-existent, and all gas stations resemble ghost-towns.
I've arrived to the second day of a city-wide strike, and as such, get a lesson in geography, politics, statehood, and modern-day hunger strikes.
The 48-hour shutdown has been called by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), which is demanding a separate state of Telangana in Andhra Pradesh -- which would be the white region below.
The TRS party chief, K. Chandrasekhara Rao (called KCR -- gotta love all the acronyms in India!), began a hunger strike (or "fast-unto-death", as they call it here) a week ago. To avert his fast and the fast's potential to turn KCR into a martyr, the government arrested KCR the day before his strike was set to start.
Instead, KCR began his fasting in jail, and is now in his ninth day of fasting. Over the course of these nine days, there have been numerous suicides by hanging and self-immolation protesting his arrest. Meanwhile, the government gave KCR saline by force to end his fast after 36 hours, although he continued with the fast.
From what I've heard, there have been riots around the city, although everything feels quiet and safe over here in Banjara (although I keep receiving texts saying not to leave my house unless I'm in a car). In fact, the day seems almost happier and more carefree than usual, with a group of schoolboys playing cricket in front of my apartment and girls playing badminton, taking advantage of schools being closed.
No comments:
Post a Comment