The story of the 29th Indian state-Telangana
The story of the 29th Indian state-Telangana
In the last few days, if there has been one word which hasn’t failed to create headlines daily, it has to be Telangana- the new 29th state of India which has been formed by bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
But the formation of this state raises several questions as to why there were constant demands for this state? What factors led to the Telangana Movement? Since development can’t be the only bone of contention. Let’s find out the whole story behind Telangana formation -
It all started from the independence of India when several kings refused to merge their provinces in India including the Nizam of Hyderabad. The region which was covered by 93% Hindus started the “Join India” movement and later on Hyderabad state was merged with India after army was sent to the province under “Operation Polo” in 1948.
Telangana was a part of Hyderabad at that time where 9 Telugu speaking districts of Telangana were in Hyderabad. While in 1946 a peasant revolt started in Telangana, led by the communist party of India. This revolt was against the priorities being given to non locals in the administration of the state.
Now, Telugu speaking nationals people were distributed in about 22 districts, 9 of them in the former Nizam's dominions of the princely state of Hyderabad, 12 in the Madras Presidency (Andhra region), and one in French-controlled Yanam.
Meanwhile, after huge agitations and protests, the Telugu speaking regions were carved out of the then Madras and made as a separate state called Andhra Pradesh. Later in 1953, State Reorganization Committee was formed which wasn’t in the favor of merging Telangana with Andhra on the basis of Telugu language.
The commission proposed that the Telangana region be constituted as a separate state with a provision for unification with Andhra state, after the 1961 general elections, if a resolution could be passed in the Telangana state assembly with a two-thirds majority. The Chief Minister of Hyderabad State, Burgula Ramakrishna Rao, expressed his view that a majority of Telangana people were against the merger. Despite that, Telangana was merged in Andhra because of the central government. In 1969, Telangana agitation arose after students felt betrayed and ensuing battle with the government and the students, 369 students were killed in police firing.
Since then there has been issues about Telangana because it remained under developed even though Andhra Pradesh is a revenue rich state. Within the state of Andhra Pradesh, 68.5% of the catchment area of the Krishna River and 69% of the catchment area of the Godavari River are in the plateau region of Telangana and flowing through the other parts of the state into Bay of Bengal.
Similarly, there were many issues regarding the distribution of other natural sources in the region. Amid huge protests and struggle for a very long time, the parliament gave its nod to the formation of the new state and with the President’s assent, thus, the 29th state of India was formed.
