Letters: The state of a city

In extolling the importance and history of Hyderabad, the editorial “State, city and city-state” (December 30) seems to elicit public opinion in favour of making the city a union territory.

Hyderabad has great geographical importance and its development cannot be ignored by any political dispensation, whether as a part of a separate Telangana region or the capital of Andhra Pradesh. It is mischievous to propagate the idea that the city would lose its importance if it is assigned to Telangana.

The editorial states that “from Hyderabad’s point of view, a status under which its own future development would not remain hostage to the provincial and caste politics of a smaller state would be the best option”. It also prescribes that Hyderabad be formally declared India’s second capital, created and administered by a locally elected government. This, however, would mean taking away from the left hand what the right hand may give. At this moment, Andhra Pradesh needs a statesmanlike solution and not the one that is seemingly attractive, clothed in history and geography, which may result only in continued dissatisfaction among the people. The media should not have succumbed to this bait and should have waited for the verdict.

S Subramanyan, Mumbai