Mixed Reactions to Announcement of New State in India

Since independence in 1947, India has faced the challenge of integrating different ethnic and linguistic groups into one federal system and strike the right balance in the relationship between the capital, New Delhi, and the states.

More and more states have been established since independence. In the last reform in 2000, three new states were formed, bringing the total number to 28. But now, with New Delhi's plan to award Telangana the status of a new state, both protests and demands for more and more new states have suddenly erupted.

A region that has felt neglected

The Telangana region comprises the 10 northern districts of Andhra Pradesh. Calls for a state of Telangana are not new and were first voiced decades ago. Zaheeruddin Ali Khan is the managing editor of Siasat, a daily Urdu newspaper published in Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh - which is now likely to be included in Telangana. He says there has been a lot of mismanagement:

"70 percent of the water from Godavari and Krishna flow from Telangana, and we just get 10 percent or 15 percent of the water in Telangana. Now five districts of Telangana have turned out to be drought-torn districts. The only reason is the whole of the Telanagana water has been diverted to the Andhra area."

Moreover, Khan maintains that as most lands in Telangana are owned by rich people from other regions of the state, the natives are left with menial jobs. They work as cobblers, carpenters, or plumbers for instance. Telangana's economic development has been neglected for a long time and priority has been given to the richer regions of Andhra Pradesh, according to advocates of the new state like Zaheeruddin Ali Khan.

Advocates of more states feel encouraged

While supporters of the new state continue celebrating, many in India fear that this move will fuel demands for many more Indian states. Political analyst Yogendra Yadav says the central leaders lack political vision and that’s why they announced a right decision at the wrong time. "The problem is that the issue was dealt with at the last minute and has been hurried, which has created a political rift."

Although New Delhi has decided to give Telangana the status of a new state, there has been a wave of protests in Andhra Pradesh as lawmakers and others protest against the move. Not all of it is legitimate, Khan claims: "The land mafia who have invested a lot of money in real estate in and around Hyderabad, which is going to be a part of Telangana, are very keen that the state should not be divided."

Political scientist Yogendra Yadav says smaller states offer better chances for good governance.

"If the USA, which has one fourth of India's population, can have 50 states, I see no problem in India going beyond 29. I suspect sometimes Indians begin to discuss reorganisation of states as if they were discussing disintegration of India. If Uttar Pradesh gets divided into two or three, if Maharastra gets divided into two that would only make India more united, bring government closer to the people, make India more democratic."

Some parliamentarians from Andhra Pradesh have already suggested that the largest city Hyderabad, which is geographically in the Telangana region, be turned into a separate union territory. With more than four million inhabitants, Hyderabad is among India's largest cities and especially well known for its information technology sector.

Author: Debarati Mukherjee
Editor: Grahame Lucas