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India lawmakers oppose new state India lawmakers oppose new state
(about 3 hours later)
There has been uproar in southern India's Andhra Pradesh assembly in protest against the government's decision to create a new state.There has been uproar in southern India's Andhra Pradesh assembly in protest against the government's decision to create a new state.
Lawmakers have shouted slogans against the decision to carve out a new state of Telangana in its north.Lawmakers have shouted slogans against the decision to carve out a new state of Telangana in its north.
An estimated 35 million people will live in the new state, Telangana.An estimated 35 million people will live in the new state, Telangana.
Separately, a four-day strike called by a regional political party demanding a separate state has begun in India's tea-producing Darjeeling hills. Separately, a four-day strike called by a regional political party demanding a separate state has been called off in India's tea-producing Darjeeling hills.
The strike - called by the regional Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) - has disrupted normal life in the state. The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) is demanding a separate state and fairer treatment for Darjeeling's Nepali-speaking Gorkha community.
The GJM is demanding a separate state and fairer treatment for Darjeeling's Nepali-speaking Gorkha community. The movement got a boost after the Indian government announced a new state of Telangana last week.
The movement has got a boost after the Indian government announced a new state of Telangana in southern Andhra Pradesh.
Hunger strikeHunger strike
Dozens of members of the Andhra Pradesh state assembly have already stepped down, ministers have handed in resignations and there have been violent demonstrations and a strike in southern and coastal areas.Dozens of members of the Andhra Pradesh state assembly have already stepped down, ministers have handed in resignations and there have been violent demonstrations and a strike in southern and coastal areas.
Hundreds of women in Kurnool city, outside the Telangana area, have gone on a hunger strike in protest against the decision.Hundreds of women in Kurnool city, outside the Telangana area, have gone on a hunger strike in protest against the decision.
INDIA'S NEWEST STATE Population of 35 millionFormed from 10 districts of Andhra Pradesh, including city of HyderabadLandlocked, predominantly agricultural areaOne of the most under-developed regions in IndiaCulmination of 50-year campaignMore than 400 people died in 1969 crackdown India's 'Tiger of Telangana' feted Biswas: New states needed? INDIA'S NEWEST STATE Population of 35 millionFormed from 10 districts of Andhra Pradesh, including city of HyderabadLandlocked, predominantly agricultural areaOne of the most under-developed regions in IndiaCulmination of 50-year campaignMore than 400 people died in 1969 crackdown India's 'Tiger of Telangana' feted Biswas: New states needed?
"We will lay down our lives for the sake of a united Andhra Pradesh state," Hem Lata, 45, from Kurnool said."We will lay down our lives for the sake of a united Andhra Pradesh state," Hem Lata, 45, from Kurnool said.
Fearing trouble, Indian cricket authorities have shifted the venue of Friday's one-day international match against Sri Lanka from the coastal city of Visakhapatnam to Nagpur city in western Maharashtra state.Fearing trouble, Indian cricket authorities have shifted the venue of Friday's one-day international match against Sri Lanka from the coastal city of Visakhapatnam to Nagpur city in western Maharashtra state.
Separately, hundreds of Gorkha volunteers have already gone on indefinite fast in the Darjeeling region to press the demand for a separate state. Separately, hundreds of Gorkha volunteers have begun an indefinite fast in the Darjeeling region to press the demand for a separate state.
Public transport was not plying from the Darjeeling hills to the plains of Bengal, says the BBC's Subir Bhaumik in Calcutta.
Shops and markets are closed. Attendance government offices is thin. Work in the area's tea gardens has been affected.
"Ours is as old a demand for separate state as that of Telangana. This is our last battle and we must get our Gorkhaland," said Bimal Gurung, chief of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (literally Gorkha Peoples Liberation Front).
"We will not stay in West Bengal because we are different."
The Indian government has called for a meeting on 21 December that would involve representatives of the federal and the West Bengal state government and GJM.The Indian government has called for a meeting on 21 December that would involve representatives of the federal and the West Bengal state government and GJM.
"But this meeting is useless because we don't want to waste time with the West Bengal government. They oppose our demand for a separate state and we only want to discuss that," Mr Gurung told the BBC over phone. Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has already said a separate Gorkha state was not "possible and feasible".
Indian finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has already said a separate Gorkha state was not "possible and feasible." "That is his personal view. We want to know what his government thinks," GJM chief Bimal Gurung said.
"That is his personal view. We want to know what his govermment thinks," Mr Gurung said.
The Gorkhas in Darjeeling ran a long campaign for a separate state in the 1980s but then settled for considerable autonomy.The Gorkhas in Darjeeling ran a long campaign for a separate state in the 1980s but then settled for considerable autonomy.
But now their leaders say the autonomy deal has not worked and they blame the Left coalition government of West Bengal for its failure.But now their leaders say the autonomy deal has not worked and they blame the Left coalition government of West Bengal for its failure.
The demand for separate state status for the underdeveloped and drought-prone area of Telangana dates back 50 years. More than 400 people died in violence in 1969. The demand for separate state status for the underdeveloped and drought-prone area of Telangana dates back 50 years.
More than 400 people died in violence in 1969.
Campaigners say Telangana's economic development has been neglected in favour of the richer and more powerful Andhra region - and that a new state is the only solution.Campaigners say Telangana's economic development has been neglected in favour of the richer and more powerful Andhra region - and that a new state is the only solution.
The last three new states in India were formed in 2000: Chhattisgarh was created out of eastern Madhya Pradesh; Uttarakhand was created out of the hilly areas of northern Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand was carved from Bihar's southern districts.The last three new states in India were formed in 2000: Chhattisgarh was created out of eastern Madhya Pradesh; Uttarakhand was created out of the hilly areas of northern Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand was carved from Bihar's southern districts.