Hyderabad:
The struggle for a separate Telangana has moved beyond the political sphere to Osmania University, where many students look at this as a historic opportunity to correct the wrongs of the past and build a better future.
NDTV meets one such student who sees himself as a "peaceful revolutionary".
Ratna Teja is among the hundreds of students in Osmania University for whom the dream of a separate Telangana is intrinsically linked to the dream of a better future. "There are cultural benefits of a separate Telangana - employment benefits, sociopolitical benefits. Ultimately it is about self-respect," he says.
Life is not easy for people like Ratna. He is a BPO employee by night and a journalism student by day. And now, he has taken on this new role.
"We strongly believe that we are the only people here who can shake the Parliament or Assembly so that they have to introduce the Bill in Parliament for a separate Telangana keeping the concerns of the Telangana people in mind," Ratna Teja says.
But has the volatile situation not scared the students' parents? The students say their parents share their sentiments on Telangana and they feel it is now or never. So they have told them to be careful but stay on and support the cause. "Separate Telangana is our birthright. We have to fight because we have been exploited for the last 40-50 years,'' Ratna says.
There are historical reasons why Osmania University has become the focal point in the struggle for a separate Telangana. Even during the 1969 struggle for a separate state, this very campus became the battleground. But this time, the students hope, the outcome will be different.