The demand for a separate Telangana state carved out of the big state of Andhra Pradesh is an old one though the Central government’s decision forced by yet another hunger strike has, for now, put it on the back burner because of a bigger counter-agitation. However, a new separate state of Telangana is very much a certainty in the not too distant future.

The government cannot now totally abandon the idea that has been announced earlier this month in view of the fast-unto-death by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader K Chandrasekhar Rao, popularly known as KCR.  Only the hasty process has been halted for now as the agitation by the opponents of Telangana threatened to go out of control. Those who think power was slipping out of their hands, and a separate state would divide their assets, had gone on the offensive but will have to yield sooner or later.

Yes, the Chandrasekhar fast forced the Central government to concede the demand. It’s not that the Central government was inherently opposed to it, as the agitation for the separate state is nothing new. The only point of dispute was that the government did not consult other parties and first allowed the fast to go on and then suddenly announced their decision to start the process of creation of the separate state.

Of course, there have been demand for creation of other states also out of larger states like Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government created Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand dividing Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in 2000 and was committed to create Telangana also. However, at that time, the NDA constituent, TDP of Chandrababu Naidu, was opposed to it and Telangana issue was put on the back burner. Later, this year TDP changed its old stand and supported a separate Telangana. Many Congressmen have also supported the demand as it is according to the original Congress decision to have states based on regional languages.

There are also economic and developmental aspects to the separation demand. Those demanding a separate Telangana state have genuine grievances as all the previous agreements, accords, formulas, plans and assurances by the legislature and the Lok Sabha since more than 50 years have not been honored for one reason or the other.

Telangana, they say, is neglected and underdeveloped and is exploited to benefit other regions. A united Andhra Pradesh has not developed evenly and Telangana region remained backward. Therefore a separate state is the best solution for Telanganas.

History has the tendency to repeat itself. The state of Andhra Pradesh itself was carved out for Telugu-speaking people because of the agitation and a fast-unto-death by one of the respected local leaders, Potti Sreeramulu who sacrificed his life. The resulting agitation forced the Central government and on October 1, 1953 Andhra Pradesh was created out of the huge Madras presidency, comprising parts of the princely state of Hyderabad and some parts of the big Madras area where Telugu was the main language.

Telangana region wanted a separate state but despite the States Reorganization Commission’s recommendations, that did not happen. Disappointed Telangana people consistently demanded a separate state and their off-again-and on-again agitation has continued for more than a half century. The more fertile regions like Rayalaseema and also the economically developed coastal regions are the beneficiaries in Andhra Pradesh.

Hyderabad, India’s then the largest and the most populous princely state, was carved out of the Mughal empire that had started disintegrating during the latter part of the 18th century. [The area of Telangana is roughly the Hyderabad state plus a few more districts.] It later signed a treaty of subsidiary alliance with the British and thus Telangana area was never under direct British rule, unlike the coastal areas and Rayalaseema region of today’s Andhra Pradesh which were parts of Madras Presidency.

Telangana region had its genuine grievances, as stated earlier and the broken promises/assurances created an unpleasant situation of unrest. The new agitation started in 1969 was spearheaded by students of the Osmania University that continued on-and-off for the last four decades. Over 1500 people have lost their lives in the agitation out of which about 360 were students.

Decades later around the start of the 21st century the Telangana movement gained new strength with the formation of Telangana Rashtra Samithi by Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR). The party had a single agenda of a separate Telangana state with Hyderabad as its capital.

TRS had joined hands with the Congress party, that had supported a separate Telangana state initially, but it got disillusioned within a couple years and withdrew from the alliance.

In the elections of 2008 TRS did not fare well but after the Telangana movement was intensified, in October of that year the TDP turnaround with their support for Telangana. A month later, another group went on to declare Telangana as a separate state with flag-hoisting and release of 10 pigeons symbolizing 10 districts of the ‘new’ Telangana state. That also sparked off aggressive agitation and arrests etc.

Early this year the state government said it had no objection, in principle, to the formation of separate Telangana. However, the then Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy was totally against the separate Telangana state as his ‘empire’ world have been divided. So the Congress party came up with some reservation on the issue saying that the major minority, Muslims, are opposed to it. The CM cleverly played this ‘Muslim card’ to keep the issue on the back burner.

However, a few months after returning to power again, Reddy died in a chopper crash in September. In a couple months TRS Chief KCR re-started the agitation and went on a fast in the first week of this month. Student groups, unions and several other organizations joined the movement. Things turned terrible when scores of supporters committed suicide. A massive demonstration/rally was called by agitators for Dec. 10. Meanwhile fasting KCR’s health worsened forcing the Central government on Dec. 9 to announce its decision to start the process of the creation of the new state.

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram announced that soon a resolution in the Andhra Pradesh assembly for the creation of a separate Telangana state would be introduced. KCR then broke his fast after 11 days and hailed the announcement as a true victory of the people of Telangana.

While Telangana celebrated the announcement, non-Telangana regions started protesting with big demonstrations and resignation of lawmakers. By December 16, at least 147 legislators (including Praja Rajyam Founder Chiranjeevi, 22 Ministers from the Andhra State Cabinet and many Members of Parliament had resigned in protest of the decision to carve out the new Telangana state.

Geographically Telangana would include Telugu-speaking parts of the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad, with the northwestern interior districts of Warangal, Adilabad, Khammam, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Rangareddy, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Medak, and the city of Hyderabad, the current capital of Andhra Pradesh. The two important rivers, Krishna and Godavari, flow west to east through this region.

The fight for Telangana has not ended and might be delayed indefinitely. The question of the capital (Hyderabad) is also crucial with the non-Telangana people unhappy at leaving Hyderabad. However, Telangana has a claim over it as the city is surrounded by Telugu-speaking Telangana people, and not others.

There are several suggestions already on the table about the future capital of the rest of Andhra Pradesh such as Vijayawada, Vizag and Tirupati with their strong points. Some also suggested Hyderabad as the joint capital, just like Chandigarh is for both Punjab and Haryana as a Centrally administered territory. But the move will not be accepted by Telangana people and their leaders.

In any case, with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati writing to the Prime Minister for dividing her state to create at least three separate smaller states for Eastern, Western Uttar Pradesh and Bundelkhand, things have become more complicated. Gorkhaland demand is already getting support and separate Vidarbha, out of Maharashtra has long been suggested and agitated for.

The Central government is indeed in a dilemma. While Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has ruled out more new states, the demand would not end. It might be prudent for the Central government to set up a fresh States Reorganization Commission and give it a very short time to submit a report on the feasibility of creating several new states out of larger states like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir, etc. The Commission should strictly adhere to a time frame of around six months for concrete suggestions on the issue. This will also given some badly-needed time to the government.