A State in search of a different emblem

Artist Laxman Aelay from Telangana’s Nalgonda district, who has designed the insignia for Telangana, India’s 29th State to formally come into existence from June 2, shows his work, in Hyderabad on May 30, 2014. The logo is a collage of the lion capitol of Ashoka, the Kakatiyan Gateway and the Charminar.
| Photo Credit: P.V. Sivakumar

Sometime in May 2014, artist Laxman Aelay was asked to design the emblem of the new Telangana State. “I thought of two dynasties the Muslim Qutb Shahi dynasty and the Hindu Kakatiya dynasties which represent the culture of the State. I did many iterations before arriving at the one that was accepted within hours of it being presented to the then Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. It was the first file to be signed the by CM,” says Mr. Aelay an artist who grew up in Kadirenigudem in Nalgonda and now calls Hyderabad as his home.

“I used a border of red colour to set off against the green colour. KCR wanted the colour changed to golden and also incorporated Urdu words ‘Telangana Sarkar’. The composition was simplified so that it should be usable at even 1 centimetre size,” says Mr. Aelay. The golden colour was a tip of hat to ‘Bangaru Telangana’. There other minor changes to keep protocol.

A decade down the line, the new government wants to change the emblem. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy spoke on the floor of the Legislature: “It is unfortunate that the State’s emblem has Charminar and the Kakatiya symbols. It symbolises aristocracy and dictatorship of rulers in the past. Hence its has been decided to change the official symbol of Telangana.”

But does the emblem signify just aristocracy and dictatorship?

“I want to know what they want to replace it with. The government should come up with a new emblem and place it before the people and ask for people’s verdict. The Kakatiya arch and Charminar are historical images. The two symbols represent the rule of Kakatiyas and the Qutb Shahis. They ruled for a long period of time. They have their own currency,” says historian Vakulabharanam Ramakrishna, who has authored multiple books on the history of the region.

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But the question remains whether Charminar and the Kakatiya Kirti Toranas represent just aristocracy and dictatorship and nothing else. In a pre-democratic unequal society they do represent royal might and power. But beyond that they represent city planning. The plan of Charminar and Kirti Toranas have been identified as part of evolution of cities by historians. 

Evolution of cities

Haroon Khan Sherwani who wrote extensively about the ruling dynasty of Golconda is very clear. “In fact, Muhammad Quli and his architects followed the pattern of the layout of well-planned cities both ancient and modern. The tetrapylae of the old Greek towns, the military camps of the Romans, the Persians and the Mughals, the great central square of Hirat, the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and nearer still the Chaubara at Bidar and the layout of intersecting canals in Mughal gardens all over India are cases in point,” wrote Mr. Sherwani in the History of The Qutb Shahi Dynasty comparing the arches and the centrepiece of Charminar with cities across the world. 

Another historian Phillip Wagoner has connected the evolution and design of Charminar and the Char Kamans of Hyderabad to the Warangal palace complex of Kakatiyas. Instead of looking elsewhere for inspiration, the historian traces the similarities of the two cities.

“Like Warangal’s central plaza, Hyderabad’s was defined by four lofty gateways completed in 1592 and collectively known as the Char Kaman, or the ‘four bows’ a reference to their imposing arches. Like Warangal’s torahs, these gateways were free standing and had no surrounding enclosure wall,” writes historian Wagoner in Power, Memory, Architecture that surveys history of the Deccan.

Interestingly, both Hyderabad and Warangal follow the plan of a plaza and a palace complex. While the Kirti Toranas are not grand the craftsmanship on the stone is breathtaking. In contrast, the Char Kamans and the Charminar represent grandeur of the kingdom. Do the two monuments represent the rulers or the people who were ruled? Do they represent the genius of the people who built them or wealth of the rulers who financed their building? As Telangana searches for a new emblem these remain interesting questions.