Amaravati to be symbol of AP’s pride & progress

Amaravati is set to be an amalgamation of ‘navaratnas’ meaning a capital city of knowledge, finance, health, tourism, government, sports, electronics, justice, and education. The intention is to preserve it as a heritage city while developing the nine fields on most modern lines. However, preoccupation with this ‘capital project,’ one has to hope, will not eat the entire time and resources of the AP government. There are backward tracts and cyclone-prone districts and dry Rayalaseema craving for attention in a smaller Andhra Pradesh. Their claims cannot be kept waiting in the enthusiasm to build a dream capital and display symbols of pride and progress. Real progress lies in an even development of the entire State

The foundation stone for a new capital for Andhra Pradesh was laid with great pomp and show last week on Vijaya Dasami, traditionally considered by the Hindus as an auspicious day for starting anything new. The occasion marks an ambitious venture of Andhra Pradesh to build a dream capital of unparalleled elegance and utility.

Andhra Pradesh comprises the residual part of the earlier linguistic State with the same name after the bifurcation separating Telangana. The capital, Hyderabad, has gone to Telangana due to its location, creating need for developing a capital city. It has virtually opened an opportunity for AP to manifest its best in all creative arts and science though initially, there were grievances over the loss of Hyderabad which has been developed as an IT capital by the united AP.

The new capital is coming up on the banks of the River Krishna between Vijayawada and Guntur and is named as Amaravati – the name of an ancient town famous for a temple. The place was once the capital of mighty Satavahana rulers (3rd and 2nd century BC) and had strong Buddhist connections, with the famous stupa of Dyana Buddha erected by Emperor Ashoka. Its historical and cultural heritage is expected to make the people happy and proud about the choice of the site.

The foundation-laying ceremony presided over by Prime Minister Modi was celebrated on a grand scale. Over 20,000 farmers whose lands were acquired for building the capital were included among the invitees – a rare gesture shown with immense political sagacity. The government has to respect and reward besides giving compensation to those who make building of a new capital possible.

A green-field capital city in independent India, Amaravati will have to go through many hurdles. But, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has already created a record with a plan for pooling over 30,000 acres of land from farmers and actually pooling already 17,000 acres. Still, the problem of land cannot be considered as a closed chapter.

Specially designed and “purpose-built” capitals are not rare. Many of these are also cases of shifting of capitals from one city to another. New Delhi replaced Calcutta as the capital of the country in 1912. Lutyen’s architectural genius produced Parliament, the secretariat, the Supreme Court and residential bungalows for high-level officials. Radial roads, circular colonies, and broad avenue roads are the specialities of the capital.

Amaravati’s contemporary is the proposed new capital of Egypt – a project announced six months ago. Planned to be constructed about 45 km from the present capital Cairo, the place is said to be largely an undeveloped area. It will be a “smart city” with “residential districts” and what is called “dedicated districts”. A park double the size of New York’s Central Park, artificial lakes, technological and innovation park, a major theme park bigger than the Disneyland, hundreds of educational institutions and mosques are being planned. It goes to prove that Amaravati is not a unique venture of an over-enthusiastic Naidu.

Purpose-built capitals include Washington DC in the US and Canberra in Australia. In several countries, capital cities have changed for various reasons. Tokyo is the third major shift of the capital for Japan. Russian capital moved from Moscow to Saint Petersburg in 1712 and returned to Moscow after two centuries in 1918. The capital city of the Philippines moved from Manila to Quizon City and returned to Manila in less than 30 years. Nigerian capital moved from Lagos to Abuja in 1991. The Malaysian capital was shifted from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya in 2000. The US capital was originally Philadelphia and moved to Washington DC in 1800.

Shifting the capital is done many times as a strategy of nation-building. When Kazakhstan shifted its capital from Almaty to Astana in 1997, it is reported to have been done particularly to deal with acute State and nation-building challenges. Observers even commented that it was “mystifying”.

Between 1950 and 1990, 13 countries shifted their capitals though it was in every case, a radical and highly expensive project. The shift was mostly part of the State and nation building effort and not a “Tughlaquian” phenomenon.

Amaravati has made big news, but its predecessors in the sense of planned State capitals have also made a mark. Chandigarh (Haryana and Punjab), Gandhinagar (Gujarat), Naya Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Bhubaneswar (Orissa) have undergone planning process to function as capital cities.

Sentiments played a significant role in inaugurating the Amaravati project. Holy water collected from several rivers and soil brought from several holy places including Mecca, Jerusalem, Mansarovar, and Tirumalai were sprinkled all over the proposed capital. Modi too is reported to have brought soil from Parliament complex, the temple of democracy, and water from the holy Yamuna. A master stroke indeed! Sentiments do bring people together and act as a cementing force. It was surely an opportunity to take people of all faiths in the task of development.

Amaravati is set to be an amalgamation of “navaratnas” meaning a capital city of knowledge, finance, health, tourism, government, sports, electronics, justice, and education. The intention is to preserve it as a heritage city while developing the nine fields on most modern lines.

The concept replaces the established notion about the role of the capital cities as the seat of government. The capital is being designed to be “the driver of the economy” of the State. Opinion may be divided on the advantages of crowding so many vital activities in the State capital. Even without deliberate planning, many State capitals have become centres of more than “navaratnas” by attracting entertainment and sports industry also.

The combination seems to fit the State Government’s ambition to build a “people’s capital” and not just its headquarters. From the start, this capital-building exercise exhibits our attachment to sentiments, our commitment to development, and our abilities to arouse people’s interest and support. Symbols do play a role in taking the people along. But, caution must be applied in over-playing cultural moorings and religious affiliations when the primary object should be to build a “functional capital” and present a model of development.

Importantly, the occasion brought together the two Chief Ministers of AP and Telangana, who had been openly fighting over several issues. This too is a wise political gesture and contributes to forget for a while contentious issues. The friendship has to continue between neighbours who have common resources to share, common language they speak, and friends and relatives split in the two States. The bifurcation should be treated as an administrative arrangement though it may have been brought about in the play of politics. It cannot divide the people of the two States.

Andhra Pradesh is looking towards the East for developing the capital. A master-plan is received from Singapore. Japan and China are invited to be associated in a big way in industrial development. Re-inventing Amaravati’s links with Buddhism is seen as a strategy to attract entrepreneurs and tourists from the East.

Preoccupation with this “capital project,” one has to hope, will not eat the entire time and resources of the AP government. There are backward tracts and cyclone-prone districts and dry Rayalaseema craving for attention in a smaller Andhra Pradesh. Their claims cannot be kept waiting in the enthusiasm to build a dream capital and display symbols of pride and progress. Real progress lies in even development of the entire State.

By Dr S Saraswathi