Spilt Of Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad, Dec 10 (PTI) The decision to carve out a separate state of Telangana, which will take the total number of states in the Union to 29, comes at the end of a 40-year- old struggle for a distinct identity. This comes after a gap of nine years when three new states were carved out. Jharkhand split from Bihar on November 15, 2000 to become the 28th state while Uttarakhand split from UP on November 9 and Chattisgarh was created on November one the same year.

Telangana to get statehood

Andhra Pradesh has 23 districts, including the state capital Hyderabad, in three regions coastal Andhra (nine), Rayalaseema (four) and Telangana (ten).

Since its inception in 2001, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) has been fighting for creation of a separate Telangana state. Telangana region now accounts for 119 of the 294 seats in the Assembly and 17 of the 42 Lok Sabha members. Telangan region comprises Hyderabad, Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Medak, Warangal, Rangareddy, Nalgonda, Khammam and Mahbubnagar.

The demand for a separate state began in 1969 but the Congress then had stoutly opposed any move for additional linguistic states. Disillusioned by it, firebrand Congress leader M Channa Reddy broke away and formed the Telangana Praja Samithi (Telangan Popular Association) in 1969. The first movement of a separate Telangana state started met with a gory end in 1971. As a counter, the "Jai Andhra" agitation was taken up in 1972-73.