In spite of rail rokos, auto and bus strikes and other agitations on the streets, the Vaddera Basti a.k.a Manikeswar Nagar, is silent. Situated right behind Osmania University police station, it has been a hotbed of the Telangana movement because of the presence of thousands of students of the university. At any given time, Vaddera Basti houses around 2000 students hailing from the T region who are either non-boarders of OU or those who have just passed out of the university and are preparing for various competitive exams.
    In 2009, when the OU campus turned into a war zone, it was the Vaddera Basti that sheltered the Telangana students and the residents, themselves hardcore supporters of a separate state, stood guard against any police raid on the students because every house lets out a portion to the students and treat them as part of their families. But, for the past two weeks, in spite of the Sakala Janula Samme, the basti has been silent. This is because while the agitation is raging all around them, these students have been packing their brunches and rushing to the OU library to prepare for competitive exams and are returning only late in the night.
    Ask Gane Rajender Kumar why this sudden change? “It is because every student in the basti is busy either writing the ongoing APPSC Group-1 exams or burning the midnight oil for the Group-II exams, scheduled to take place in October. An M Phil holder from Nalgonda, Rajender’s family wants him to secure some job as early as possible, all the more because age is not on his side. “We have not given up the Telangana cause. Telangana is in my blood. But, at the same time, livelihood is also a problem. Since government is not ready to postpone the APPSC exams, there is no option for me but to withdraw from the movement for the time being,” said Rajender, son of a small farmer.
    Rajender is not alone. In fact, many like him have been encouraged by the results of the sub-inspector exams released just four days ago. “What is heartening is that at least 175 students have been selected as SIs from the campus. And majority of them are from Vaddera Basti,” Rajender said.
    Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy’s announcement that the state government would provide 1.15 lakh jobs is having its impact on the students. “We know this is a diversionary tactic by the state to dilute the T agitation. But at the same time, we do need the jobs,” said S Ajay, who is expecting a notification for the junior lecturers jobs soon. As a result, while the T agitation is peaking, it is back to college for these students. “I am 31, and a doctorate. I do not have a job yet. Soon, I will not be eligible for the APPSC or any other competitive exam. Before it is too late, I have to secure some government job to take care of my parents,” said P Rajender from Warangal.
    Some say that the police cases registered against the students and the presence of too many groups among them also are the reasons for the diminished interest in the ongoing agitation. “If the Kiran Kumar Reddy government goes back on the recruitment of 1.15 lakh government jobs, we will have no option but to jump into the movement again,” he said. The CM is enthused by the change. “The students are interested in their future and writing competitive exams. This was proved beyond doubt by the attendance at the ongoing APPSC exams as it was 25% more than all the previous years,” Kiran Kumar Reddy told TOI.