The crowds have not stopped pouring in to Professor Kothapalli Jayashankar's hometown Hanamkonda in Warangal.
The death of Professor Kothapalli Jayashankar has come as a setback for those striving for a Telangana state. However, his supporters say that their resolve to attain a separate state had only become stronger.
Jayashankar had been part of the movement since the start of the Telangana movement in 1956. He had made it clear that there was no other option but to grant statehood to the region.
Hence, while a section of the people are pondering over how to take the movement forward, there are many who are asking, "Who will control K Chandrasekar Rao now?"
In an interview to rediff.com in January, Jayashankar had said, "The Sri Krishna commission has indiscriminately gone into several issues, which were not required. They appear to have succumbed to industrialists and money bags, and hence we question the very credibility of the commission as well as the report. How much more time should we wait? This struggle is on since the past 50 years. How many agreements, how many more discussions should we have on this?"
Lateef Mohammad Khan, convenor of the Muslim Forum for Telangana, remembers Jayashankar as the one person who united the movement.
"Language does not need a reglion. Religion needs a language, Jayashankar would always say. The Muslims had doubts at first, but he is the one who insisted that I add the Muslim tag to the name of our organisation. When this movement was re-kindled yet again, it was he who had made it clear that there should be no differences between religion and caste and all of us should unite," Khan says.
"More importantly he was the only one who could control KCR. In fact, whenever KCR was going wrong, only Jayashankar could stop and correct him. Today, I don't know how things would be dealt with," he added.
"Jayashankar had in depth knowledge of the social and economic issues of Telangana. He was treated as a spiritual leader and today in his death the movement is orphaned. However the movement will not die down, as Jayashankar had ensured that it has been safely placed in the hands of the people. The people today will take it forward with more resolve since they would want the dream of their leader to be achieved."
Jayashankar had died on Tuesday after battling cancer for five months. A simpleton, he remained a bachelor and stayed in a one-room house.
He was a professor in economics and became the Vice Chancellor of Kakatiya University. He formed the Telangana Development Forum in USA in the year 1999 and played a key role in the formation of Telangana Rashtra Samiti in 2001 under the leadership of K Chandrasekhara Rao.
The students, who have been spearheading the movement, say that they will never forget the sacrifice made by Jayashankar.
His speeches and writings were an inspiration to all of us, says K Srinivas, a student leader who has been fighting for Telangana.
"The show will go on. And this time around, it would be with more resolve. We are extremely sad today that a leader has gone, but let the government be assured that the movement is very much alive and that we shall fulfil our dream very soon," he says.
