Why Marwari community in a Telangana town faces 'go-back' call

A strike called by local businessmen in Amangal, a municipality in the Rangareddy district of Telangana, on Monday, August 18, against the dominance of the Marwari business community in the region could have vast repercussions. The Marwaris, primarily from Rajasthan, have been accused of harming local businesses. And there is a political angle, adding to the socio-cultural dynamics.

Amangal, located around 80 km from the state capital, Hyderabad, and with a population of 19,000, is home to a bustling business community which makes heavy contributions to Rangareddy’s economy and boasts an impressive per capita income of Rs 9.47 lakh, nearly twice that of Hyderabad, which is a distant second in the state's list of rich districts.

Those protesting against the community’s dominance have come up with a slogan, ‘Marwaris go back’, complaining that they have taken over almost all business sectors in Telangana, ranging from textiles, diamonds, gold, wholesale, retail and even the local kirana shops.

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Marwaris accused of backing BJP

Although there is no empirical data to substantiate the element of truth in these allegations, the prevailing political perception has fuelled the controversy. The Marwaris are considered staunch supporters and financiers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

A section of the protesting local people thinks that the Marwaris use their profits from Telangana to fund the BJP, which many consider a ‘North Indian’ party.

Culture 'alien' to Telangana

It has also been alleged that besides business, the Marwaris are helping the BJP by promoting religious-cultural activities that they think are alien to Telangana. They have pointed out that celebrations surrounding festivals such as Ram Navami, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Durga Puja have grown in size over the years.

Huge pandals erected by northern communities are increasingly being seen as profit-seeking business ventures rather than just socio-cultural occasions.

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While Hindus in the state have been celebrating festivities such as Ram Navami and Ganesh Chaturthi with gusto, it is their ‘commercialisation’ that is not received happily by locals, who harbour a grudge that ''Marwaris have not assimilated the ethos of Telangana''.

Once, the BJP was perceived as a ‘bania party’ (party of merchants) in the north, dominated by the business community. But that was a long time ago. The party has now expanded nationwide and has managed to establish a substantial support base spanning castes and communities.

In Telangana, some of these old memories are being revived, and it is not without political motives.

Bandi Sanjay Kumar, a firebrand Union minister from Telangana, scoffed at the strike, saying it was directed against Hindus. Those who protest have hit back at him, saying he won elections with the help of Telangana Hindus’ votes. “He hasn’t got his votes from Rajasthan or Haryana,” they said.

It is believed that the state’s ruling Congress and Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) are backing the agitations tacitly.

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Bandi Sanjay, a leader of the dominant intermediate Kapu caste, had managed to carve a space for himself in the state politics as the local BJP chief. In 2023, he shifted to New Delhi as a national general secretary. It was then suspected that the BJP had an implicit understanding with the BRS.

What fuelled the speculation was that Bandi was regularly attacking BRS supremo and former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and members of his family. The scenario changed after the BRS came a cropper in the Assembly elections the same year.

Caste survey fuels controversy

Another factor which has added fuel to the controversy is the state’s caste survey early this year, which showed lower headcount for the Backward Classes (BCs) and a growth in the numbers of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minorities.

A sudden jump in other communities raised suspicions that the BC numbers were either suppressed or manipulated to increase the number of EWS (Economically Weaker Section) beneficiaries. The agitators suspect that the EWS benefits are mainly going to the forward communities.

It is often argued in a tone of complaint that Telangana doesn’t get a fair share in the Centre’s allocation of financial resources despite paying more taxes. The state, founded a little over a decade ago, is relatively richer compared to many of its northern counterparts.

While Telangana's grievances are similar to complaints of other southern states, what stands out is the assimilation of Hindi. Telangana has no qualms adopting Hindi as the state/region, once ruled by the Nizam, is familiar with the language, which is an interesting mix of Hindi and Urdu.

The new formulation of “Marwaris go out” should, however, sound alarm bells for the BJP and its extended saffron family. The aggressive push of the Hindutva brand of nationalism seems to be facing a backlash from Telangana sub-nationalism. Such a 'land and regional' agitation, in its first avatar in the past, had singed the Nizam’s rule.

Rise of BRS

In 2001, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (now renamed BRS) was formed by Chandrashekar Rao with a single-point agenda: to achieve statehood for Telangana. After 13 years, when the new state was carved out, he became its first chief minister, effectively wiping out the Congress party and relegating the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) to the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh.

The BJP has been targeting the Congress, using the Nizam's rule as a point of criticism, claiming that it perpetuated the inefficiencies introduced by the ruler. Rao, on the other hand, has been blaming both the Congress and TDP for the lack of development of Telangana, saying that Nizams were benevolent rulers — a ploy to get the minority votes.

It is a different matter that within a decade, the Congress managed to stage a comeback in Telangana. But what is, however, noteworthy is the success of the two agitations on the back of local identity and pride.

After Karnataka, Telangana has the highest unemployment rate in the South. The socio-economic condition and the perception of takeover of the local economy by the ‘migrants’, in this case the ‘Marwaris’, could prove significantly worrisome for the BJP.

‘Telugu Bidda’ or the ‘Pride of the Telugus’ has always played a significant role in Telugu politics. That was the reason NT Rama Rao, the TDP founder, could throw out the all-powerful Congress party in 1983.