VZCZCXRO2561
RR RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHNE #2472/01 3441425
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101425Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8851
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 8135
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1489
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 7078
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 3822
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 2026
RUEHVI/AMEMBASSY VIENNA 0447
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 8725
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 8679
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHMCSUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEIDN/DNI WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 002472 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL PINR KDEM IN
SUBJECT: TELANGANA - A NEW STATE IS BORN 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  Faced with mounting protests from students and 
supporters of a new state of Telangana and the deteriorating health 
of a regional politician who was in the 11th day of a hunger strike 
 
to death, GOI abruptly caved on December 9 and gave the go-ahead for 
formation of a new state in the northern part of Andhra Pradesh.  In 
doing so, the Congress Party appears to have opened a can of worms. 
It is likely to be faced with a floodgate of similar demands from 
other statehood movements across the country; it has created a split 
within the Andhra Pradesh unit of its own party; and it appears to 
come across as weak and feeble, a party that can be easily bullied 
and intimidated by threats just six month after winning a decisive 
electoral mandate.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) The GOI announced late on December 9 that it would initiate 
the process of formation of a new Telangana state, to be carved out 
of the existing state of Andhra Pradesh.  The announcement comes 
following intense pressure on the government due to a hunger strike 
undertaken by K. Chandrasekhar Rao, a member of parliament and 
president of the regional party Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS). 
Rao's fast had entered its 11th day and his health had deteriorated 
considerably.  In support of Rao's fast, students of the state's 
largest university had decided to go on a strike and take to the 
streets on December 10.  Street demonstrations in Hyderabad and 
other parts of Telangana region have been occurring over the last 
few days.  Several self immolations by Telangana supporters have 
also taken place.  The December 10 demonstration in Hyderabad 
promised to be a particularly large, impassioned and unpredictable 
one that forced the GOI to cave to Rao's demands. 
 
The Mechanics 
------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) The process of creating Telangana state will take time.  The 
first step, announced by Home Minister Chidambaram on December 9, is 
consideration by the Andhra Pradesh state legislature of a 
resolution approving the creation of Telangana.  The GOI will then 
draft enabling legislation, which will need approval of both houses 
of parliament.  The minimum time required to carve out a new state 
is 18 months.  Telangana is likely to take longer, according to 
contacts. 
 
Small party - Big Success 
------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The TRS is a single issue party, formed in 2001 by Rao 
with goal of carving out a Telangana state that comprises the 
northern region of Andhra Pradesh.  Rao joined hands with the 
Congress Party in the 2004 elections in return for the Congress 
Party's pledge to support formation of Telangana.  Subsequently, 
however, the Congress Party back-tracked on its promise and Rao lost 
ground amongst his supporters because he was unable to deliver.  In 
the 2009 elections, the Congress Party played both sides, finessing 
the issue by supporting it sometimes and at some places, opposing it 
at other times and places.  The Congress Party did spectacularly 
well in the 2009 elections in Andhra Pradesh.  Rao's decision to 
embark on the fast in support of his demand for Telangana was 
triggered by the fact that the Congress Party appeared to be have 
little incentive to move forward on the issue.  For Rao and the TRS, 
a party with just two members currently in the Lok Sabha and only 
six in the state assembly, picking and winning the confrontation 
with the UPA represents a huge success. 
 
A Can of Worms 
------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) By conceding on Telangana, the Congress Party has 
potentially opened up a can of worms.  The party in the state was 
just emerging from the crisis it faced in Andhra Pradesh following 
the death of its Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy in September. 
Rao's demand for Telangana split the Congress Party in Andhra with 
many state legislators and members of parliament supporting his 
demand and others opposing it.  Contacts tell us that also at play 
behind the scenes was an intense battle for the top spot in the 
state government between the incumbent chief minister, K. Rosiah, 
 
NEW DELHI 00002472  002 OF 002 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  Faced with mounting protests from students and 
supporters of a new state of Telangana and the deteriorating health 
of a regional politician who was in the 11th day of a hunger strike 
to death, GOI abruptly caved on December 9 and gave the go-ahead for 
formation of a new state in the northern part of Andhra Pradesh.  In 
doing so, the Congress Party appears to have opened a can of worms. 
It is likely to be faced with a floodgate of similar demands from 
other statehood movements across the country; it has created a split 
within the Andhra Pradesh unit of its own party; and it appears to 
come across as weak and feeble, a party that can be easily bullied 
and intimidated by threats just six month after winning a decisive 
electoral mandate.  End Summary. 
 
and his rival, Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy's son.  The latter, not unhappy 
that Rao's fast was creating discomfort for his rival, has 
encouraged the split within the party on the Telangana issue. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Carving out Telangana also raises the thorny question of 
the status of Hyderabad.  The state capital falls in the Telangana 
region and the TRS has clearly said that there could be no Telangana 
without Hyderabad.  However, Hyderabad is a hub for major businesses 
of the state including software and pharmaceuticals.  Hyderabad 
business is dominated by the Reddy and Khamma communities of the 
state but their base is the non-Telangana region of the state. 
These politically powerful communities are unlikely to cede 
Hyderabad to Telangana easily. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Within hours of Home Minister P. Chidambaram's 
announcement of GOI's Telangana decision, 36 members of the state 
assembly tendered their resignations in protest.  Some members of 
parliament too have threatened to resign over the decision.   In the 
face of such a division within its ranks, it may be in the interest 
of the Congress Party and the GOI to go slow on the process of 
creating Telangana.  The principal opposition party in Andhra 
Pradesh, the Telugu Desam Party, has announced that it would oppose 
any move to divide the state. 
 
Comment: Repercussions Beyond Andhra 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The ramifications of the Telangana surrender may go beyond 
Andhra Pradesh.  There are many other statehood demands simmering in 
India.  These demands are likely to get a fresh impetus from the 
overnight success of the Telangana movement.  Within hours of the 
GOI's Telangana decision, the Darjeeling -based Gorkha movement has 
called for a 96-hour Darjeeling closure and a fast unto death by its 
some of it members to press its demand that a separate Gorkha state 
be carved out of West Bengal.  Similar demands could come from the 
Vidharba region of Maharashtra; the Bundelkhand and the Poorvanchal 
regions of Uttar Pradesh; and more obscure nascent statehood 
movements in other parts of the country.  The Congress Party (and 
the UPA government) may already be regretting its Telangana decision 
as more demands for statehood come out of the woodwork, the party 
splits in its stronghold of Andhra Pradesh, and as it is portrayed 
in the media as weak and spineless, caving at the first signs of 
trouble at the hands of a politically desperate has-been regional 
politician. 
 
ROEMER