Syed Alam Shah, 28, is part of this third group, but in many other aspects, his life is one of firsts. For three generations, his family has packaged and sold itr; he was the first to go to Australia to study engineering. His family has always lived and worked in the old city; yet every day he drives his car, past the Charminar, navigating the jewellery stores in Shalibanda, to the expressways and glass facades of new Hi-tech city, where he works as an IT engineer. There is only one thing that he has never done different from the rest, until now. He points to the unique sign that hangs above Purana Pul Road, the outline of a kite in fluorescent green.
"I have always voted for the AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen). This time, I'm thinking about it," he said.
Hyderabad has always been central to Telangana's identity. It is a city that saw the most strident protests for the creation of the new state in 2014. It is by far its largest urban centre, a bustling metropolis in its own right, nurtured by multiple chief ministers. It is a symbol for syncretism, with more than 40% of its population Muslim. It is perhaps the most important district politically; it has 15 of the 119 seats in the state.
In those 15 seats, for the last 15 years, there has been one constant. Everything else has changed; in 2018 the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (now known as Bharat Rashtra Samithi) won 7 and the Bharatiya Janata Party 1; in 2014, the BJP won 4, Telugu Desam Party 3, the TRS 1; in 2009 (undivided Andhra Pradesh), the Congress won 7 and the BJP won 1. But over all these three elections, the AIMIM won 7 seats in Hyderabad's biggest city and always the same seats -Malakpet, Nampally, Karwan, Charminar, Chandrayangutta, Yakutpura, and Bahadurpura. Still looking at the sign, Syed Alam Shah said, "It has always been the one political constant in our lives."
Denne historien er fra November 26, 2023-utgaven av Hindustan Times.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra November 26, 2023-utgaven av Hindustan Times.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Palestinian PM Resigns Citing 'New Reality' Of War In Gaza
The United States and other powers have called for a reformed Palestinian Authority to take charge of all Palestinian territories after the end of war
Future Perfect: The Kids Are All Right
Gill and Jurel hold out promise by simplifying a challenging chase to help India seal series
Akshay feels 'blessed' to have worked with OG Ramayan cast
Director Akshay K Agarwal shot a music video, Humare Ram Aaye Hai, with the cast of the 1987 TV show, Ramayanactors Arun Govil, Dipika Chikhlia and Sunil Lahri - in Ayodhya recently.
Musk's firm gets nod for Sat Net; joins Jio, Bharti
Starlink, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has been allowed to offer satellite broadband services in India, two officials aware of the development said.
A temple, 169 years in the making
Through decades of design and reworks, hurdles in engineering and construction, HT pieces together how the grandeur of the Ram Temple was reclaimed
'Political interference' forces Vihari to quit Andhra cricket
After Andhra bowed out of the Ranji Trophy at the quarter-final stage with a four-run defeat to Madhya Pradesh in Indore on Monday, senior batter Hanuma Vihari launched a scathing attack on the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA), saying he will never turn up for the state again.
Shafali, Kapp lead Capitals to a 9-wicket win over Warriorz
A blazing fifty by Shafali Verma (64₹, 43 balls) helped Delhi Capitals make a mockery of a target of 120 and open their account in the second edition of the Women's Premier League (WPL).
Making 'unbelievable things believable', the Ayhika way
The India No. 7 was an inspired pick for the world team event and she repaid the faith, beating the Chinese world No.1
'Connected TVs to reach 45 mn by 2024-end in India'
With improvement in broadband penetration, Indian households are increasingly opting for connected or addressable TVs.
India chip strategy makes progress as $21 billion in proposals received
The Indian government, after years of watching from the sidelines of the chips race, now has to evaluate $21 billion of semiconductor proposals and divvy up taxpayer support between foreign chipmakers, local champions or some combination of the two.