India gets a new state, Telangana formed
February 20, 2014, 2:01 pm

People celebrate after the Indian parliament’s lower house passed the bill for the creation of new state called ‘Telangana’ in Hyderabad, India [AP]

The bill, which was passed in the lower house earlier this week, will now be sent for Presidential assent.

After more than five decades of debate, the Indian government agreed to create the new state carved out of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Telangana is the 29^th Indian state and will have a population of around 35 million.

Indian Parliament witnessed chaotic scenes this week as protestors against the decision tried to stall proceedings of the house.

The major bone of contention among the supporters and the anti-split protestors is the wealthy capital city of Hyderabad which is to be the joint capital for the next decade but will finally be given to the new state of Telangana.

To placate those opposed to the split, the ruling Congress party  president Sonia Gandhi had asked the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to grant special status for Andhra Pradesh’s prosperous coastal region, Seemandhra for five years after the bifurcation.

“This will put the state’s finances on a firmer footing,” the Indian Prime Minister told lawmakers while announcing the special package in Parliament today.

The vastness of Indian states have made administration challenging and many such demands to split them along regional/linguistic lines have gained prominence.

Supporters of the bill have said people residing in the 10 districts that would make up the new 29th state of Telangana have long been neglected by the administration.

India has several other statehood movements including in the ethnically diverse north-east, the Bundelkhand region in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha in western Maharashtra state and Gorkhaland in the eastern West Bengal state.

TBP