Telangana: History and the formation of a new state

When the states’ reorganisation took place in 1956, Andhra Pradesh, enlarged by inclusion of Telangana, faced two contrary pulls. On the one hand, there was widespread pride in the Telugu language and culture, prevailing over the whole state, and, on the other, there was the legacy of the different histories of its two major parts, namely, coastal Andhra, long held under direct British administration, and Telangana, which had been a part for over two centuries of the largest princely state of India, Hyderabad. The paper examines how owing to this divergent legacy of the past, a union lasting for over half a century (1956–2014) proved unworkable, and separation became inevitable