Telangana Formation Day: Date, History And Significance

Telangana, the 29th state of India, will celebrate its formation day on Friday (June 2). The state was officially formed on June 2, 2014, and since then, the day is celebrated as Telangana Day or Telangana Formation Day. According to Telangana government, the day marks significance in the state's history for the sustained Telangana movement through the years. All 33 districts in the state honour the day by honouring the people of Telangana for remarkable achievements in science, art and literature.

What is Telangana?

Originally, it was a part of the erstwhile Nizam's princely state of Hyderabad. The region accounts for 119 seats of 294 in the assembly.

When did Telangana merge with Andhra Pradesh?

In 1948, India put an end to the rule of the Nizams and a Hyderabad state was formed. In 1956, the Telangana part of Hyderabad was merged with then Andhra state (carved out of Madras Presidency in October, 1953). The remaining parts of the Nizam's empire merged with Karnataka and Maharashtra. Andhra Pradesh became the first linguistically carved state in the country after Gandhian revolutionary Potti Sreeramulu, on a hunger strike over the issue, died on December 16, 1952.

When did the movement for a separate Telangana kick off?

The first Telangana movement intensified in 1969. There was a distinct difference between Andhra and Telangana regions. Since Andhra was part of a colonial Madras Presidency, education levels and development of this region were better than in feudal Telangana. People from Telangana were against merger with Andhra state as they feared they would lose jobs to them.

There are cultural differences too. Under Nizam's, and before that, under the Qutb Shahi rule, the culture and language in Telangana bore influences of north India. Emphasis on festivals are also different.

Who became the first Chief Minister of Telangana?

After leading the Telangana movement to its desired end, Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao, popularly known as KCR, became the first Chief Minister of the state.

A member of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the 90s, KCR quit the party in 2001 to champion the cause of a separate Telangana state and founded Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS). His campaign was successful when Telangana was carved out as separate state in 2014.

His party was renamed Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in December last year.