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| India’s 29th state born amid protest, pepper spray | India’s 29th state born amid protest, pepper spray |
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| NEW DELHI — After several days of noisy and even violent debate, India’s Parliament cleared the way Tuesday for the creation of a new state in the country’s southeast. | NEW DELHI — After several days of noisy and even violent debate, India’s Parliament cleared the way Tuesday for the creation of a new state in the country’s southeast. |
| The plan approved by India’s lower house of Parliament calls for splitting the existing state of Andhra Pradesh — home to 84 million people and about the size of Germany — into two parts. The new half, where many residents speak the Telugu language, will become Telangana. | The plan approved by India’s lower house of Parliament calls for splitting the existing state of Andhra Pradesh — home to 84 million people and about the size of Germany — into two parts. The new half, where many residents speak the Telugu language, will become Telangana. |
| The bifurcation plan has been hotly debated since it was officially introduced in 2009 and over time has inspired waves of violent street protests and strikes. | The bifurcation plan has been hotly debated since it was officially introduced in 2009 and over time has inspired waves of violent street protests and strikes. |
| Telangana’s final march toward statehood was similarly difficult. Last week, debate in the Lok Sabha, the country’s elected house of Parliament, dissolved into a messy brawl after one minister doused his opponents with pepper spray, sending a handful to the hospital. Sixteen other ministers were eventually suspended. | Telangana’s final march toward statehood was similarly difficult. Last week, debate in the Lok Sabha, the country’s elected house of Parliament, dissolved into a messy brawl after one minister doused his opponents with pepper spray, sending a handful to the hospital. Sixteen other ministers were eventually suspended. |
| On Tuesday, as the final vote neared, extra guards were stationed around the Parliament in Delhi. An ambulance stood by in case of another pepper attack. On the house floor, opponents shouted, wielded signs demanding a unified state and staged a protest walk-out. Then, as the vote began, the television feed was mysteriously cut off, reportedly at the order of the body’s speaker, Meira Kumar. This caused another uproar. | On Tuesday, as the final vote neared, extra guards were stationed around the Parliament in Delhi. An ambulance stood by in case of another pepper attack. On the house floor, opponents shouted, wielded signs demanding a unified state and staged a protest walk-out. Then, as the vote began, the television feed was mysteriously cut off, reportedly at the order of the body’s speaker, Meira Kumar. This caused another uproar. |
| “Today is a black day in the history of this country. Today we have seen with our own eyes how democracy could be killed in broad daylight,” Telangana opponent Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, a minister of parliament, said after the vote. He called for a state-wide protest bandh, or strike, for Wednesday. | “Today is a black day in the history of this country. Today we have seen with our own eyes how democracy could be killed in broad daylight,” Telangana opponent Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, a minister of parliament, said after the vote. He called for a state-wide protest bandh, or strike, for Wednesday. |
| Reddy, the son of the state’s late chief minister, has been a vocal critic of the split for months. He waged an “indefinite fast” against the bill last fall, which the weekly magazine Tehelka noted drolly was launched in front of his “Lotus Pond mansion in the tony Jubilee Hills area” of the state’s capital, Hyderabad. | Reddy, the son of the state’s late chief minister, has been a vocal critic of the split for months. He waged an “indefinite fast” against the bill last fall, which the weekly magazine Tehelka noted drolly was launched in front of his “Lotus Pond mansion in the tony Jubilee Hills area” of the state’s capital, Hyderabad. |
| Reddy and other opponents have argued that the split could put pressure on scarce water resources and hurt the region’s economy. | Reddy and other opponents have argued that the split could put pressure on scarce water resources and hurt the region’s economy. |
| They also were reluctant to give up the state’s crown jewel, the ancient city of Hyderabad, which now falls in Telangana’s boundaries. Hyderabad was once a princely state ruled by nizams but is now a thriving tech hub that generates the majority of the state’s sales tax and is home to such global companies as Google and Facebook. The two states will share the capital for the next 10 years, after which Andhra Pradesh is on its own. | They also were reluctant to give up the state’s crown jewel, the ancient city of Hyderabad, which now falls in Telangana’s boundaries. Hyderabad was once a princely state ruled by nizams but is now a thriving tech hub that generates the majority of the state’s sales tax and is home to such global companies as Google and Facebook. The two states will share the capital for the next 10 years, after which Andhra Pradesh is on its own. |
| Tuesday, in Hyderabad, 958 miles to the southeast of the capital, people danced and celebrated in the streets. They waved the new Telangana flags, sprayed each other with fuchsia paint and passed around sweets. | Tuesday, in Hyderabad, 958 miles to the southeast of the capital, people danced and celebrated in the streets. They waved the new Telangana flags, sprayed each other with fuchsia paint and passed around sweets. |
| The country’s upper body still has to put its stamp of approval on the plan Wednesday, but for supporters, Tuesday’s vote sealed Telangana’s future. Heightened security was in force after the vote; a wave of protests in the fall lead to a government workers’ strike that left thousands without power and disrupted train schedules for days. | |
| On the campus of Osmania University, student leader and Telangana proponent Krishank Manne celebrated in a crowd of about 6,000 other students. | On the campus of Osmania University, student leader and Telangana proponent Krishank Manne celebrated in a crowd of about 6,000 other students. |
| “It’s unbelievable,” Manne said. “For 60 years we have been struggling, so it’s exciting to know that Telangana is a reality.” | “It’s unbelievable,” Manne said. “For 60 years we have been struggling, so it’s exciting to know that Telangana is a reality.” |
| A few years after India’s independence, the Telangana region was merged with southern districts to form a new state of Andhra Pradesh in 1956. Telangana supporters had long hoped to separate, but the movement did not gain traction until 2009, when it was officially backed by the governing Congress Party. | A few years after India’s independence, the Telangana region was merged with southern districts to form a new state of Andhra Pradesh in 1956. Telangana supporters had long hoped to separate, but the movement did not gain traction until 2009, when it was officially backed by the governing Congress Party. |
| Richard Rossow, senior fellow and Wadhwani Chair in India-U.S. Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that with national elections approaching in May, the Congress party has its eye on the 17 parliamentary seats in the new state. | Richard Rossow, senior fellow and Wadhwani Chair in India-U.S. Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that with national elections approaching in May, the Congress party has its eye on the 17 parliamentary seats in the new state. |
| “By creating Telangana, the party hopes to save a majority of the seats in the new state, increasing its chance of retaining power,” Rossow said. | “By creating Telangana, the party hopes to save a majority of the seats in the new state, increasing its chance of retaining power,” Rossow said. |