As many as 23 veterans of the 1969 Telangana movement have launched a ‘fast-unto-death’ here on Thursday, demanding pension and due recognition for their invaluable contribution to the Statehood movement that eventually led to the formation of Telangana in 2014.
Joint stir
The elderly persons, who had actively participated in the Telangana movement and some of whom spent months in jail in their youth, embarked on the stir under the aegis of the Joint Action Committee of Telangana Poratayodhula Sangham, Hyderabad, 1969 Telangana Udyamakarula Samkshema Sangham, Khammam, and 1969 Udyamakarula Sangham, Hyderabad, at the Dharna Chowk here.
Veterans of the 1969 Telangana movement from the erstwhile Khammam district and elsewhere in the State launched the joint stir in pursuit of their long-standing demands.
Addressing the gathering, the JAC leaders recalled that the hunger strike by Annabathula Ravindranath and others of Khammam demanding due share of jobs for people of Telangana way back in 1969 set the tone for the Statehood movement.
Tribute to martyrs
Paying tribute to around 369 persons who were reportedly killed during the 1969 Telangana movement, the veterans of the historical struggle deplored those who assumed the reins of power in the new State of Telangana in 2014, having failed to provide pensions to them as assured, till date. They vowed to continue the stir until their demands, including pensions and other welfare measures, were met.
Veterans including Nanumasa Swamy from Hyderabad, M. Srihari of Khammam, M. Satyanarayana of Kagaznagar and others sat on fast unto death.