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The auction of 400 acres of land belonging to the University of Hyderabad has become a contentious political issue in Telangana. To fully understand its significance, one must examine both its historical context and contemporary implications.

During the peak of the Telangana agitation in the 1970s, hundreds of students sacrificed their lives in the fight for statehood and the protection of Telangana’s interests. The movement, which began in Khammam in 1969, swiftly spread across the region. A key demand was the implementation of the Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1956 to safeguard Telangana’s rights.

Concurrently, a parallel Jai Andhra movement was underway. At the time, the Congress was in power both at the state and central governments. As the agitation intensified, then prime minister Indira Gandhi visited Hyderabad multiple times to negotiate with local leaders, ultimately announcing the Six-Point Formula as a compromise, on September 21, 1973. This formula aimed to address the backwardness of Telangana. To ensure its implementation, the 32nd Constitutional Amendment was enacted, incorporating Articles 371(D) and 371(E). On October 18, 1975, then-president Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed issued a Presidential Order, officially known as the Andhra Pradesh Public Employment (Organisation of Local Cadres and Regularisation of Direct Recruitment) Order, 1975.

A crucial provision of the Six-Point Formula was the establishment of a central university in Telangana, which was subsequently incorporated into the constitution. The Andhra Pradesh government led by the Congress, in its commitment to the formula, issued an administrative order allocating 2,300 acres for the University of Hyderabad. However, the land was never officially recorded in the university’s name.........

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