Telangana Formation Day – the bloodiest state formation in modern Indian politics

India has had a long history of dividing states on the basis of language and culture. After 1947, Indian independence was encircled by various states demanding their separate statehood. Telangana is one such state which demanded a separate state for itself. But the division resulted in the darkest incident that ever happened in Indian politics.

Celebrating the anniversary of Telangana

Telangana became the newest state of India on the 2^nd of June 2014. This also marks the eighth foundation day of Telangana. The date, “2^nd June 2014” was the end result of a decade-long movement to form a new state with more representation of cultural factors belonging particularly to the state.

On the occasion of marking the 8th anniversary of Telangana, its Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao shared his greetings to the people of the state. CM KCR said that the formation of an independent Telangana was possible with the sacrifices made by the people for this region. He further added that the state has continued to progress and stood as a role model for the country.

Read more: After Punjab, it is now Telangana which has gone anti-Bihar

During the celebration of Telangana formation day, CM Rao said, Telangana has registered qualitative growth in agriculture, irrigation, power, education, and health, among others. The awards and rewards announced by the Union Government and other national and international agencies are testimony to the state’s development.

How was Telangana formed?

The youngest state- Telangana, was originally carved out of Madras in 1956 and was further merged with Andhra Pradesh in order to form a separate state comprising a Telugu-speaking population.  But soon, the people of Telangana felt neglected by the government of Andhra Pradesh.

The people of Telangana claimed that they were facing injustices from the Andhra Pradesh government. They inculpated the government for providing insufficient water supply, taking their jobs, not investing in their welfare, no employment opportunities, and no infrastructural development of their region.

In 2013, a resolution was passed for the formation of a separate state by the congress working committee. Finally, in 2014, the aspirations of the people of Telangana were achieved after the Indian Parliament passed the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 which led to the formation of this new state.

The bloodshed that caused a state

The formation of Telangana was not a serene incident. It took a long movement and an enumerable number of human lives were sacrificed for its formation. The fights for statehood included violent protests led by people in the Coastal Andhra area followed by hundreds of claimed suicides, strikes, protests, and disturbances caused to public life demanding a separate identity. It is also considered that it was the most long-lasting movement in south Indian history which was prolonged for almost five decades.

The insistent demand for a separate formation of Telangana was fulfilled under the Congress-led government. While the credit was instead taken by K. Chandrashekar Rao, which also made him the Chief Minister in 2014. After this fiasco, the Congress government faced a backlash for the division of the state. This one decision of the Congress party resulted in bloodshed which could have been controlled with the intention of preserving Andhra Pradesh as united.

Read more: Amit Shah went to Telangana and struck the first blow on the TRS empire

Why was Telangana formed?

The recognition of Telangana as a separate statehood was originally the initiation of K. Chandrashekar Rao as he wanted to establish his rule over the region. And for his petty politics, he sought the Congress party for his support which eventually was successful in making the youngest state deliberately. During the formation of Telangana, all the other opposition parties were against the decision of division while the Congress and KCR stood unaffected to establish their monarchial rule.

Basically, the state of Telangana was formed to satisfy one man’s egotism and hunger for power. The mishappenings of the 1947 partition were recreated by no other than KCR, who was desperate to manifest his supremacy in the state.

Read more: KCR is losing Telangana and the early signs are here

It is significant to note that the independence of Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and Chattisgarh didn’t face any misadventures or violent incidents while they were formed around the same time, during 2000. These three northern states recorded no violence during their separation under the BJP government. This poses a clear indication that the formation of Telangana was a mere result of inconsequential politics, which was specifically plotted for an egocentric man.

Amidst the existence of political propaganda which has sidelined all the limitations, it’s important to be reminded of the bloodiest formation of the Telangana state ever happened in the Indian political history.