India Reverberates with Voices for Separate Statehood after Telangana

Centre’s decision to concede Telangana has triggered renewed demands for separate statehood all over the India.

A bandh was called in Darjeeling by Gorkhaland supporters for their own separate state while RLD leader Ajit Singh threatened to restart agitation for a separate Harit Pradesh.

Telangana, when it is created, will be 29th state in the Indian Union. It has renewed demands for at least seven states all over the country. With this, the Centre has been put to a hard test.

GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said that since Telangana has been approved by the Centre on the lines of the Gorkhaland statehood demand, their demand for a separate state carved out from West Bengal should also be conceded.

“Ours is a 102-year-old demand,” said Giri.

Besides, muted calls were heard for creation of Mithalanchal in Bihar, Coorg in Karnataka and Saurashtra in Gujarat.

At the same time, Ministry received demands for Bhojpur state comprising of areas of eastern UP and Bihar, and new Greater Cooch Behar state out of parts of West Bengal and Assam.

Hagrama Mohillary, chief of the erstwhile Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT), said that on Thursday that his party, Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), would now launch a vigorous campaign demanding statehood for the Bodos.

Home Ministry officials said that the demands were mostly from political parties and organisations like Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) and some individuals.

Though no state government has given any recommendation which is mandatory for carving out a new state the demands continue to pour in.