Source: dc-epaper.com | dailypioneer.com | zeenews.india.com

Telangana will be India’s 29th State. Facing a political washout in Andhra Pradesh (AP), the Congress on Tuesday decided to divide the southern State to offset its losses in next year’s Lok Sabha polls.

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh, in the shape it existed for nearly 57 years, will now be cast into history with the centre Tuesday deciding to carve out Telangana state.

The state came into being on Nov 1, 1956, with the merger of Hyderabad State, as Telangana was then known, with Andhra State, which was the first Indian state to be formed on linguistic basis.

Telangana, a part of erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad, is inhabited by Telugu-speaking people. Within Andhra state, the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions have cultural dissimilarities.

All the three regions were part of unified kingdom under Qutub Shahi rulers during 16th and 17th centuries. The Nizams, the rulers of Hyderabad State, ceded Rayalaseema and Circar districts (as the coastal Andhra was then known) to the British. They became part of Madras Presidency during British rule and Madras State after India’s Independence.

Spread over 275,000 square km, the present Andhra Pradesh ranks fourth among Indian states in terms of geographical area. It is the fifth most populous state with a population of 84.6 million as per 2011 Census data. 

A new chapter will open in the history of Andhra Pradesh with Andhra and Rayalaseema retaining the name.

With some organizations demanding separate statehood to Rayalaseema and threatening to launch a movement, political observers say Andhra Pradesh may witness another period of violence and bloodbath.

However, this new State “Telangana” will now have ten districts of Telangana region while Hyderabad will be the joint Capital for ten years. The Centre will assist the residuary State of Andhra Pradesh to build a new Capital within that period, according to the CWC resolution adopted after an hour-long meeting.

The new State will have 17 Lok Sabha seats and 119 Assembly seats out of 42 Lok Sabha and 294 Assembly seats of undivided AP.

The districts that will be part of the new State will be Adilabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahbubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Rangareddy and Warangal besides Hyderabad. A Group of Ministers may consider the demands for inclusion of more areas, Digvijay Singh said after the CWC meeting.

He even reminded Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) of its earlier offer to merge with the Congress if Telangana is granted and said that the Congress is expecting TRS to honour its promise.

Meanwhile, a special Cabinet meeting will be held on Wednesday to formally approve the decision to create Telangana which the Centre will then refer to the AP Assembly for an appropriate resolution.

The new State will be born after the draft Bill is presented in Parliament and Presidential assent is obtained… continue reading at dailypioneer.com

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