Published Feb 20, 2026 | 7:00 AM ⚊ Updated Feb 20, 2026 | 7:00 AM
New Telangana Thalli statue. (Supplied)
Synopsis: The statues will be erected at all district headquarters, embedding the cultural personification of Telangana within the administrative nerve centres of the State. The works will be executed by the Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department. The Chief Engineer (R&B), Buildings, Hyderabad, has been directed to take necessary steps for implementation.
The Telangana government has fast-tracked the installation of ‘Telangana Thalli’ statues across all 33 Integrated District Office Complexes (IDOCs) in the State, marking a significant symbolic move by the ruling Congress.
Administrative sanction for ₹5.80 crore was accorded through G.O. Rt. No. 100 issued by the Transport, Roads and Buildings (Buildings) Department on Thursday, 19 February.
The statues will be erected at all district headquarters, embedding the cultural personification of Telangana within the administrative nerve centres of the State. The works will be executed by the Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department. The Chief Engineer (R&B), Buildings, Hyderabad, has been directed to take necessary steps for implementation.
‘Telangana Thalli’ has long been a powerful emotional symbol of the separate statehood movement. During the agitation for Telangana, her image was invoked at rallies, protests and public meetings as a representation of regional pride, identity and self-respect.
However, the current design conceptualised by the Congress government differs markedly from the version created during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) regime between 2014 and 2023.
Soon after assuming office in December 2023, the government led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy began reworking several symbolic markers associated with the earlier dispensation.
The Congress version of Telangana Thalli was presented as a representation of the ordinary rural woman of Telangana. The party argued that the earlier design reflected a feudal and elite image rather than the aspirations of the common people.
On December 9, 2024 — a date that coincides with the birthday of Sonia Gandhi and with the Congress party’s historic announcement in 2009 initiating the process for Telangana’s formation — the government installed its redesigned Telangana Thalli statue at the State Secretariat. The move was widely seen as both commemorative and politically assertive.
The February 19 government order formalises the expansion of this initiative statewide. It recalls that prior approval had been accorded for erection of the statues.
Under the BRS government, the Telangana identity narrative was systematically institutionalised through official iconography, memorials and large-scale cultural projects. With the change in regime, the Congress has sought to recalibrate that narrative, positioning itself as the ideological and political architect of statehood.
The installation of Telangana Thalli statues at all district headquarters is more than an administrative exercise. It carries layered political messaging. By placing the symbol at the heart of district administration, the Congress is reinforcing its claim as the party that delivered Telangana, while simultaneously reshaping the visual and cultural vocabulary of state identity.
As Telangana moves deeper into its second decade, the battle over ownership of its political narrative continues. With this latest government order, the Congress government has made a calculated symbolic intervention — embedding Telangana Thalli in the administrative heart of every district, while simultaneously reinforcing its claim as the party that brought the State into existence.
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
