Revision as of 22:25, 1 August 2013

In 2013

The Times of India 2013/07/31 [1] [2] [3]

Telangana

Telangana: the people. 2013

Telangana: the people. 2013

Telangana will be 29th state, Hyderabad to be common capital for 10 years

PTI | Jul 30, 2013

NEW DELHI: Telangana is the 29th state of India comprising 10 districts with plenty of water and some other natural resources in a backward region lacking development that was at the heart of the separate state demand.

The jewel in the crown is the city of Hyderabad, which may for some time, at least 10 years to start with, be the joint capital for the rest of Andhra.

With a population of over 3.5 crore in 2013, the new state comprising mostly the areas of the princely Nizam state will have 17 Lok Sabha seats and 119 assembly seats.

The Telangana movement

The demand for a separate identity for Telangana is virtually as old as the state of Andhra Pradesh, which came into existence in November 1956 through the States Reorganisation Act.

The united Andhra Pradesh government’s website said: "Telangana agitation was started by the people of the region when they felt that Andhra leaders had flouted the Gentlemen's Agreement which facilitated the formation of Andhra Pradesh.

"In the beginning, the movement demanded the implementation of the safeguards agreed upon earlier, but later it wanted the separation of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh."

Territory

The new Telangana state comprises of the 10 districts of Hyderabad, Medak, Adilabad, Khammam, Karimnagar, Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Rangareddy and Warangal.

According to the Backward Regions Grant Fund 2009-10, 13 districts in united Andhra Pradesh have been identified as being backward, of which nine are in Telangana.

Classified as a semi-arid region with a predominantly hot and dry climate, Telangana is not amongst the most fertile regions of the country.

Natural resources

But it does have its share of natural resources and notably contains 20% of the country's coal deposits.

Among other natural resources are mica and bauxite along with some limestone reserves.

The Naxalite movement

But given the lack of development, Telangana has served as a fertile ground for the Maoist insurgency to take root.

A clutch of leaders of the Naxalite movement hail from the region. Slain Maoist Kishanji, who was No.3 in the rebels' hierarchy, hailed from Karimnagar district.

Hyderabad

With the inclusion of Hyderabad, Telangana would find itself in control of one of the primary centres of India's tech story.

Offices of major national and international corporates houses are present in Hyderabad, drawing people from across the country to the city.

The people of Telangana argue that the seat of the Nizams was always an integral part of their region.

The Telangana agitation, as they point out, was started by the people of the region who complained that "Andhra" leaders had flouted the "Gentlemen's Agreement" which had facilitated the formation of the state, in November 1956.

Telangana: Economy

T will rank high on GDP table: Srikrishna report

Subodh Ghildiyal | TNN

The Times of India 2013/07/31

New Delhi: Telangana will be an economically viable state, with or without Hyderabad. This was the opinion of the Srikrishna Commission, which studied the vexed issue of Telangana statehood and made a regionwise study of economic parameters in Andhra Pradesh before concluding the new state would be able to sustain itself economically.

The official study attested to the claims of viability made by T-proponents — the sheer size of Telangana with 10 districts and 17 Lok Sabha seats makes it an independent entity.

Telangana would rank 15th among 29 states in terms of GDP and would be above Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Goa and the north-eastern states. This is without the jewel in the crown, Hyderabad, which is an employment and investment hub.

The per capita income in Telangana is “a notch higher” than the national average while with Hyderabad, it would rank 13th in GSDP and also in per capita terms.

The statistics may not tell the complete, or real, story but they do point to the potential of the proposed state, a reason why the commission vouched for its viability.

The T-advocates have long said an even-handed treatment would help the state exploit its irrigation and power potential and help increase farm output as well as industrialization in the dry patch of land.

In fact, Srikrishna Commission debunked the claim of “backwardness” as a reason for statehood, demonstrating that Rayalaseema was the worst off among the three regions of the state. In fact, while Telangana has a long distance to cover, statistics show it is not unviable in terms of economic parameters.

Instead, the challenge before Telangana would be to remove intra-regional disparity. Backwardness across Telangana is about the gap between “haves” and “have-nots” than about allround poverty.

Telangana will rank 15th among 29 states in terms of GDP and would be above Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Goa and the north-eastern states

The high ratio of dalits, tribals (24.7%) and weaker OBCs in T-population shows that wealth is concentrated in fewer hands and requires serious steps to remove inequities.

Telangana: A Factfile

IANS | Jul 30, 2013

The Times of India

HYDERABAD: Here are some of the facts about Andhra Pradesh's Telangana region, which is all set to become a separate state.

• • Telangana means "land of Telugus" and it was part of the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad.

• • Hyderabad State became part of India in 1948 after an operation by the Indian Army as Nizam wanted to keep the state independent. Telangana became a state of Telugu-speaking people and was known as Hyderabad State till 1956 when it was merged with Andhra State, carved out of Madras province, to form Andhra Pradesh.

• • Number of districts in Telangana: 10 — Greater Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Medak, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Warangal, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Adilabad and Khammam.

• • Geography: Has contiguous area bordering coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema (parts of the existing Andhra Pradesh), Karnataka, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

• • Area: 114,800 sq. km

• • Population: About 35.28 million

• • Languages spoken: Telugu and Urdu

• • The region situated at a high altitude in an up-land area. Two major rivers Godavari and Krishna flow through the region but most of the land is arid.

• • The region sends 119 members to the 294-member Andhra Pradesh assembly and also accounts for 17 of 42 Lok Sabha seats from Andhra Pradesh.

See also

Andhra Pradesh (1953-2013)

Telangana

Hyderabad Deccan 2

Hyderabad: History