Hyderabad: The Congress’s government decision to change Telangana’s emblem has kicked-up a storm. The move to remove or alter the Kakatiya Thoranam (arch) and the Charminar from the existing emblem has become controversial and has even drawn criticism. However, sources from the state government told Siasat.com that the new emblem will definitely have a symbolic representation of the monument, if not the whole thing.
“The new emblem is not yet finalised, as some symbolic representation of the Charminar will be there. The concern is that you can’t have one or two kingdoms and finish the emblem. A logo of Telangana should reflect a specific identity of its people,” said the source, who is also amongst the people advising the government on the emblem.
The Charminar is Hyderabad’s foundation, being built in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, the fourth king of the Qutb Shahi or Golconda dynasty (1518-1691). It was built as the centre of the city, which was founded as the king decided to move out of the Golconda fort, which was the capital of the kingdom until Hyderabad came into existence. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah’s grandfather Sultan Quli had founded the kingdom, and had originally come from Hamadan in Iran to India in the late 15th century as a refugee.
A picture claimed to be the new state emblem has been going viral on social media. The reported emblem has the matryrs memorial under the Ashokan emblem, two twigs with leaves rising from the martyrs memorial, with the Government of Telangana written in four languages including Hindi, Telugu and Urdu. It wasn’t known whether or not the picture was the final design before approval.
Another reason why the removal of Charminar has caused an issue is that it is seen by Muslims as a slight – to remove the identity from th emblem. After Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy dropped news of the emblem being changed, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president and ex-IT minister KT Rama Rao (KTR) earlier this week visited the Charminar to protest against the move.
“No one will remove something that symbolises the Muslim identity of Hyderabad. The emblem is a small space on which everything has to be done, so it will not be done hurriedly. The media reports were correct that what is there is the existing emblem will go, but the government really wants to reflect the culture of the land. The artist brought on board felt that the existing emblem was not up to the mark,” the source told Siasat.com.
He added that the Qutb Shahi Dynasty has always strived for unity of different religions and that’s a very important thing, with regard to the Charminar being on the emblem. Earlier this week, Revanth Reddy announced that the song ‘Jaya Jaya He Telangana’ has been finalised as the state’s anthem, and that the new emblem will be decided over after more discussions.
Political analysts believe that the decision to change Telangana’s emblem has caused a stir, that is enough to be concerned about for the Congress.
