Battleground Telangana

When the state of Andhra Pradesh was formed in 1956, the people of Telangana (the region ruled by the Nizams at the time of independence) did not want to be a part of it, fearing that they would be displaced by the more enterprising and better educated migrants from the Andhra region. In 1969, massive agitations for a separate Telangana left 400 people dead but the movement petered out. With the creation of new states like Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Uttaranchal in 2000, the battle for Telangana began once again. In 2009, the Indian government announced that Telangana would be a separate state, but is now dilly-dallying, worried about the backlash from the Andhra region. At the heart of the problem is the city of Hyderabad, which lies bang in the middle of Telangana but is being claimed by both sides. Is the upsurge in Telangana so strong that the Indian government will be unable to resist it? Is there a middle course? This book explores the complex issues, and the underlying causes of the Telangana movement.