Telangana witnessed its first independent Assembly elections on December 7, counting of which was scheduled on December 11. According to the latest vote count, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) looked set to form its second successive government in the state with a thumping majority after taking an unassailable lead in 86 seats, a ringing endorsement of party chief K Chandrashekar Rao's populist policies.
The state, which has been tagged as the newest state of India, has a long history of formation.
Once a part of Andhra Pradesh, the demand to create a separate state of Telangana had started in 1969 with the emergence of 'Jai Telangana' movement, as people of Telangana region had a grievance that the other regions were not only plundering their resources, but also insulting their dialect, culture and customs.
Over the years, the agitation intensified and gathered a lot of steam. But the important one took place in 1972 when the call for a separate state began in coastal Andhra as well, with the emergence of 'Jai Andhra' movement.
As the movements gained momentum, the Congress-led government in 1975 implemented a six-point formula providing safeguards to Telangana and to keep the two parts united. However, the effort turned futile.
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In 2001, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) was formed by K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) with a single point agenda of creating a separate Telangana state. The party continued the efforts to pave the way for the inclusion of Telangana issue by the central UPA government in common minimum programme in 2004.
In December 2009, the Centre announced its decision to initiate the process for formation of Telangana state.
However, the process to create a separate state had to be put on the backburner in view of protests in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions as well as resignations of MPs and MLAs of the regions.
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The process intensified once again on July 30, 2013. Looking at the long-standing demand, the Union cabinet approved the division of the state of Andhra Pradesh on October 3, 2013.
Subsequently, the bill for the creation of Telangana was passed both in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha on February 18, 2014. Pranab Mukherjee, the then President of India, provided his consent to the decision on March 1, 2014 and the Gazette Notification for the same was brought out on the same day. It was announced by the government of India on March 4, 2014 that the new state of Telangana would be created on June 2, 2014.
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Before the bifurcation was announced, the state went for a joint voting for AP and Telangana regions. The TRS emerged as the largest party and won the power to rule Telangana with KCR as its chief minister.
Key facts about Telangana:
> Telangana shares borders with 5 states – Chhattisgarh and Odisha in northeast, Andhra Pradesh in the south, Karnataka in the southwest and Maharashtra in the north.
> Telangana region covers an area of 112,077 square kilometres (43,273 sq mi), and has a population of 35,193,978, according to 2011 Census.
> The state has 54.09 lakh Scheduled Caste population and 31.78 lakh Scheduled Tribes.
> Official languages of the state are Telugu and Urdu.
> The most important rivers of this province are Musi, Krishna, Manjira and Godavari.
> Economy is mainly driven by agriculture. Rice is the major staple food crop of the state.
> Literacy rate in the state is 66.54 percent. Total number of literates is 206.97 lakh.
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