The Constitution of India came into being on November 26th, 1949 which enshrined the powers of formation a new state to the Centre alone. This was done so as to ensure that reckless division of states for the petty motives driven by linguistic and cultural considerations of local leaders may not affect the ultimate goal of 'national integrity' which our nation strives for. So the Article 3 of our constitution laid down the rules of balkanization of a state, the powers of which are vested in the Parliament which subject to consideration may pass the law after careful deliberation.
Laws regarding these issues have been clearly laid down in Article 2 and Article 3 of the Indian Constitution.
Article 2 reads as, “Admission or establishment of new States.—Parliament may by law admit into the Union, or establish, new States on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit”.
The text of article 3 says, “Formation of new States and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing States.—Parliament may by law—
(a) Form a new State by separation of territory from any State or by uniting two or more States or parts of States or by uniting any territory to a part of any State;
(b) Increase the area of any State;
(c) Diminish the area of any State;
(d) Alter the boundaries of any State;
(e) Alter the name of any State:
If the Parliament acts as per these provisions of the Constitution, it will automatically effect a change in the Schedules, without necessitating a separate Constitutional Amendment. The Bill approved by the Parliament would change those schedules to suit the new state. Hence Constitutional Amendment is also not required.
Reference of The Bill to The State Legislature :
The Constitution explicitly provides the procedure for the formation of new States in Article 3.
The legislation creating Telangana comes under the ambit of Article 3(a) as it seeks to form the State of Telangana by separating territory from the State of Andhra Pradesh. Therefore, it is essential that the legislation strictly complies with the procedure laid down under Article 3.
The proviso appended thereto postulates :
(1) A Bill not being introduced in Parliament except on the recommendation of the President; and
(2) Where the proposal contained in the Bill affects the areas, boundaries or names of any of the States, reference of the Bill by the President to the Legislature of that State for expressing its views thereon.
The States have only the right to be afforded an opportunity to express their views. Thus it is imperative that the President refer the Bill to the concerned Legislature.
The exceptional circumstances during which the President need not ascertain the views of the concerned State are :
(a) When a state legislature is suspended by the President under Article 356, the question of ascertaining the views of the State Legislature does not arise. E.g. Punjab Reorganization Act, 1966 which was passed when the State of Punjab was under President’s rule. The President had, in exercise of his powers under Article 356(1)(c), suspended the operation of the proviso to Article 3 in so far as it related to the sending of the Bill to the State Legislature for its views.
(b) Where the original Bill has been referred to the State Legislature but modifications to the Bill have not. E.g. The Bombay Reorganization Bill as introduced in Parliament provided for the creation of Maharashtra and Gujarat and the Union Territory of Bombay. The President had sent this Bill to the Bombay Legislature in order to ascertain its views. The Bombay Legislature, after expressing its views, sent the Bill back to Parliament where the Bill was modified in that the proposal for the creation of the Union Territory of Bombay was jettisoned. The Bill was passed as modified.
In Babulal Parate v State of Bombay, the Act was challenged on the ground that as on the amended Bill the views of the State Legislature had not been ascertained, it was unconstitutional. In this case, the Supreme Court held that the original Bill should be referred to the State Legislature concerned; it does not require fresh reference everytime an amendment of the proposal contained in the Bill is moved and accepted in Parliament.
Telangana
The historical perspective of the demand for creation of the state of Telangana could not have been neglected. If we go to the etymology of the word, it means, “Land of Telugu people”. The name itself suggests its association with the Telugu heartland, its geographical status. The geographical status of this state dates back to Puranic times where it has been extensively discussed as Tailangana Desha, the land of till, or oil seeds.
Right from the 14th Century to 1956, Telangana was never a part of Andhra. Six centuries of separate existence has led Telangana to acquire an identity of its own. The Fazal Ali Committee whose recommendations led to the redrawing of the provincial boundaries of India had specifically commented on Telangana. It stated that it would be wrong to merge Telangana with Andhra once the old Hyderabad state (comprising of modern day North Karnataka, Marathwada and Telangana) was abolished.
It recommended a separate Hyderabad State that may join Andhra at its own option later. This was however overlooked by the Govt. of India in view of a Gentlemen’s Agreement entered into by Telangana and Andhra leaders.
Why people of Telangana were demanding seperate states :
1. There are 10 districts in Telangana, 9 in Andhra and 4 in Rayalaseema. Out of these Districts, 7 are in Telangana, 3 are in Andhra and 1 in Rayalaseema are considered as severely backward districts which means 70% of districts in Telangana are backward while in Andhra it is 35% and in Rayalaseema it is 25%. Apart from these there are some areas in all parts of the state which are also backward.
2. 45% of the state income comes from Telangana region. When it comes to utilization of funds, the share of Telangana is only 28%.
3. Normally canals are dug to supply water to the crops from rivers for cultivation. The amount of land cultivated through canals in just Guntur district is MORE THAN the land cultivated with canals in entire Telangana region.
4. Nagarjuna sagar dam is built in Nalgonda district which is in Telangana but majority of the water from the dam is used for Krishna and Guntur district. The original dam was supposed to be build much ahead of its present location but the location was changed so that it falls in the Telangana region. Due to the construction of the dam several hectares of Lime stone mines vanished as part of the dam back waters. Everyone knows that lime stone is used for producing cement. Even the natural resources were not allowed to remain.
5. Two major rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra enter the state of AP in the district of Mahaboobnagar (the biggest district in Telangana) but the district always remains the worst draught hit areas along with Anantapur because there is no project and process with which the water can be utilized. The plan for utilization has been pending for decades.
6. 3 TMC of water from Gandipet is sufficient to supply drinking water to our city. Every year 1700 TMC of water is wasted and is flown into Bay of Bengal from river Godavari. Starting from Nizamabad to Bay of Bengal there is no project allowed to build on Godavari. If it is built leaders in Godavari districts fear that the fertile lands in the area may fall short of water. If the Godavari water is utilized properly, there will be no scarcity for food grains in our state.
7. Government issue G.O.'s for implicating its decisions. G.O number 610 is the longest non implicated G.O in the history of AP. The G.O was issued in 1986 by late NTR who was then the CM of AP, which is not yet implicated. The G.O speaks about the share of Telangana employees in Government jobs in Telangana region.
8. It was also feared that the people of Andhra, who had access to higher standards of education under the British Rule, would have an unfair advantage in seeking Government and Educational jobs.
Timeline of EVENTS
# Central government appointed a civil servant, M K Vellodi, as the first Chief Minister of Hyderabad state on 26 January 1950. In 1952, Burgula Ramakrishna Rao was elected Chief Minister of Hyderabad state in the first democratic election.
# Andhra was the first state to be carved out (from erstwhile Madras state) on linguistic basis on 1 November, 1953. It had Kurnool town (in Rayalaseema region) as its capital after the death of Potti Sriramulu who sat on a 53-day fast-unto-death demanding the new state.
1. Telangana would benefit from the planned dams on the Krishna and Godavari rivers
2. Telanganites would be given preference in jobs
3. 40% of ministers to be from Telangana.
# Eventually, under the States Re-organisation Act, Telugu-speaking areas of Hyderabad state were merged with Andhra state, giving birth to the state of Andhra Pradesh on 1 November, 1956.
The city of Hyderabad, the then capital of Hyderabad state, was made the capital of Andhra Pradesh state.
# In 1969, an agitation began in Telangana region as people protested the failure to implement the Gentlemen’s Agreement and other safeguards properly.
Marri Channa Reddy launched the Telangana Praja Samiti espousing the cause of a separate state. The agitation intensified and turned violent with students in the forefront of the struggle and about 300 of them were killed in violence and police firing that ensued.
Following several rounds of talks with leaders of the two regions, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi came up with an eight-point plan on April 12, 1969. Telangana leaders rejected the plan and protests continued under the aegis of Telangana Praja Samiti.
# In 1972, Jai Andhra movement started in Andhra-Rayalaseema regions as a counter to Telangana struggle.
# On September 21, 1973, a political settlement was reached with the Centre and a 6-point formula put in place to placate people of the two regions.
# In 1985, employees from Telangana region cried foul over appointments in government departments and complained about ‘injustice’ done to people of the region.
The then Telugu Desam Party government, headed by N T Rama Rao, brought out a Government Order to safeguard the interests of Telangana people in government employment.
Till 1999, there was no demand from any quarters for division of the state on regional lines.
# In 1999, Congress demanded creation of Telangana state. Congress was then smarting under crushing defeats in successive elections to the state Assembly and Parliament with the ruling Telugu Desam Party in an unassailable position.
# Yet another chapter opened in the struggle for Telangana when Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao, who was seething over denial of Cabinet berth in the Chandrababu Naidu government, walked out of TDP and launched Telangana Rashtra Samiti on 27 April, 2001.
# Following pressure applied by Telangana Congress leaders, the Central Working Committee of Congress in 2001 sent a resolution to the then NDA government seeking constitution of a second States Re-organisation Commission to look into Telangana state demand, which was rejected by the then Union Home Minister L K Advani saying smaller states were “neither viable nor conducive” to integrity of the country.
# TRS started gradually building the movement for a separate state.
Congress forged an electoral alliance with TRS by promising to create Telangana state.
Congress came to power in 2004, both in the state and at the Centre, and TRS became part of the coalition governments at both places.
# Protesting delay in carving out the separate state, TRS quit the coalition governments in the state and at the Centre in December 2006 and continued an independent fight.
# In October 2008, TDP changed its stance and declared support for bifurcation of the state.
# TRS launched an indefinite hunger-strike on 29 November, 2009 demanding creation of Telangana. The Centre budged and came out with an announcement on 9 December, 2009 that it was “initiating the process for formation of Telangana state”.
# But the Centre announced on 23 December, 2009 that it was putting Telangana issue on hold. This fanned protests across Telangana with some students ending their lives for a separate state.
# The Centre then constituted a five-member Committee on 3 February, 2010, headed by former judge Srikrishna, to look into statehood demand. The Committee submitted its report to the Centre on 30 December, 2010.
# Dec 28, 2012: Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde announced after an all-party meeting that a decision will be announced in a month.
# July 1, 2013: Congress leader Digvijaya Singh announced that a decision on Telangana is in final stages.
# July 12, 2013: Congress core group met on Telangana to discuss reports by the chief minister, deputy chief minister and state Congress chief.
# July 26, 2013: Congress core group held another meeting, Digvijaya Singh said Congress Working Committee (CWC) and UPA will take a final decision.
# July 30, 2013: UPA coordination panel and CWC met and decided to carve out Telangana state.
Here are some points highlighting the road ahead for the state.
Pending State Demands
1. Vidarbha ( out of Maharashta )
2. Harit Pradesh (out of UP )
3. Poorvanchal , Bundelkhand ( out of UP and MP )
4. Kosala ( out of Orissa )
5. Gorkhaland (out of West Bengal)
Laws regarding these issues have been clearly laid down in Article 2 and Article 3 of the Indian Constitution.
Article 2 reads as, “Admission or establishment of new States.—Parliament may by law admit into the Union, or establish, new States on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit”.
The text of article 3 says, “Formation of new States and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing States.—Parliament may by law—
(a) Form a new State by separation of territory from any State or by uniting two or more States or parts of States or by uniting any territory to a part of any State;
(b) Increase the area of any State;
(c) Diminish the area of any State;
(d) Alter the boundaries of any State;
(e) Alter the name of any State:
If the Parliament acts as per these provisions of the Constitution, it will automatically effect a change in the Schedules, without necessitating a separate Constitutional Amendment. The Bill approved by the Parliament would change those schedules to suit the new state. Hence Constitutional Amendment is also not required.
Reference of The Bill to The State Legislature :
The Constitution explicitly provides the procedure for the formation of new States in Article 3.
The legislation creating Telangana comes under the ambit of Article 3(a) as it seeks to form the State of Telangana by separating territory from the State of Andhra Pradesh. Therefore, it is essential that the legislation strictly complies with the procedure laid down under Article 3.
The proviso appended thereto postulates :
(1) A Bill not being introduced in Parliament except on the recommendation of the President; and
(2) Where the proposal contained in the Bill affects the areas, boundaries or names of any of the States, reference of the Bill by the President to the Legislature of that State for expressing its views thereon.
- Parliament is not bound to accept or act upon the views of the State Legislature.
- Even, one or the other view had been expressed in the State Legislature, the same is not binding upon the Parliament.
- Furthermore, if a Bill has once been referred to the State Legislature, it can be later amended by the Parliament without fresh reference to the State Legislature.
The States have only the right to be afforded an opportunity to express their views. Thus it is imperative that the President refer the Bill to the concerned Legislature.
The exceptional circumstances during which the President need not ascertain the views of the concerned State are :
(a) When a state legislature is suspended by the President under Article 356, the question of ascertaining the views of the State Legislature does not arise. E.g. Punjab Reorganization Act, 1966 which was passed when the State of Punjab was under President’s rule. The President had, in exercise of his powers under Article 356(1)(c), suspended the operation of the proviso to Article 3 in so far as it related to the sending of the Bill to the State Legislature for its views.
(b) Where the original Bill has been referred to the State Legislature but modifications to the Bill have not. E.g. The Bombay Reorganization Bill as introduced in Parliament provided for the creation of Maharashtra and Gujarat and the Union Territory of Bombay. The President had sent this Bill to the Bombay Legislature in order to ascertain its views. The Bombay Legislature, after expressing its views, sent the Bill back to Parliament where the Bill was modified in that the proposal for the creation of the Union Territory of Bombay was jettisoned. The Bill was passed as modified.
In Babulal Parate v State of Bombay, the Act was challenged on the ground that as on the amended Bill the views of the State Legislature had not been ascertained, it was unconstitutional. In this case, the Supreme Court held that the original Bill should be referred to the State Legislature concerned; it does not require fresh reference everytime an amendment of the proposal contained in the Bill is moved and accepted in Parliament.
Telangana
The historical perspective of the demand for creation of the state of Telangana could not have been neglected. If we go to the etymology of the word, it means, “Land of Telugu people”. The name itself suggests its association with the Telugu heartland, its geographical status. The geographical status of this state dates back to Puranic times where it has been extensively discussed as Tailangana Desha, the land of till, or oil seeds.
Right from the 14th Century to 1956, Telangana was never a part of Andhra. Six centuries of separate existence has led Telangana to acquire an identity of its own. The Fazal Ali Committee whose recommendations led to the redrawing of the provincial boundaries of India had specifically commented on Telangana. It stated that it would be wrong to merge Telangana with Andhra once the old Hyderabad state (comprising of modern day North Karnataka, Marathwada and Telangana) was abolished.
It recommended a separate Hyderabad State that may join Andhra at its own option later. This was however overlooked by the Govt. of India in view of a Gentlemen’s Agreement entered into by Telangana and Andhra leaders.
Why people of Telangana were demanding seperate states :
1. There are 10 districts in Telangana, 9 in Andhra and 4 in Rayalaseema. Out of these Districts, 7 are in Telangana, 3 are in Andhra and 1 in Rayalaseema are considered as severely backward districts which means 70% of districts in Telangana are backward while in Andhra it is 35% and in Rayalaseema it is 25%. Apart from these there are some areas in all parts of the state which are also backward.
2. 45% of the state income comes from Telangana region. When it comes to utilization of funds, the share of Telangana is only 28%.
3. Normally canals are dug to supply water to the crops from rivers for cultivation. The amount of land cultivated through canals in just Guntur district is MORE THAN the land cultivated with canals in entire Telangana region.
4. Nagarjuna sagar dam is built in Nalgonda district which is in Telangana but majority of the water from the dam is used for Krishna and Guntur district. The original dam was supposed to be build much ahead of its present location but the location was changed so that it falls in the Telangana region. Due to the construction of the dam several hectares of Lime stone mines vanished as part of the dam back waters. Everyone knows that lime stone is used for producing cement. Even the natural resources were not allowed to remain.
5. Two major rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra enter the state of AP in the district of Mahaboobnagar (the biggest district in Telangana) but the district always remains the worst draught hit areas along with Anantapur because there is no project and process with which the water can be utilized. The plan for utilization has been pending for decades.
6. 3 TMC of water from Gandipet is sufficient to supply drinking water to our city. Every year 1700 TMC of water is wasted and is flown into Bay of Bengal from river Godavari. Starting from Nizamabad to Bay of Bengal there is no project allowed to build on Godavari. If it is built leaders in Godavari districts fear that the fertile lands in the area may fall short of water. If the Godavari water is utilized properly, there will be no scarcity for food grains in our state.
7. Government issue G.O.'s for implicating its decisions. G.O number 610 is the longest non implicated G.O in the history of AP. The G.O was issued in 1986 by late NTR who was then the CM of AP, which is not yet implicated. The G.O speaks about the share of Telangana employees in Government jobs in Telangana region.
8. It was also feared that the people of Andhra, who had access to higher standards of education under the British Rule, would have an unfair advantage in seeking Government and Educational jobs.
Timeline of EVENTS
# Central government appointed a civil servant, M K Vellodi, as the first Chief Minister of Hyderabad state on 26 January 1950. In 1952, Burgula Ramakrishna Rao was elected Chief Minister of Hyderabad state in the first democratic election.
# Andhra was the first state to be carved out (from erstwhile Madras state) on linguistic basis on 1 November, 1953. It had Kurnool town (in Rayalaseema region) as its capital after the death of Potti Sriramulu who sat on a 53-day fast-unto-death demanding the new state.
- The States Reorganization Commission (SRC) was not in favour of an immediate merger of Telangana region with Andhra state, despite the common language between the two.
- Paragraph 382 of States Reorganization Commission Report (SRC) said
- “opinion in Andhra is overwhelmingly in favour of the larger unit, public opinion in Telangana has still to crystallize itself. Important leaders of public opinion in Andhra themselves seem to appreciate that the unification of Telangana with Andhra, though desirable, should be based on a voluntary and willing association of the people and that it is primarily for the people of Telangana to take a decision about their future”.
- # The proposal for amalgamation of Hyderabad state with Andhra state came up in 1953 and the then Chief Minister of Hyderabad state, Burgula Ramakrishna Rao, supported the Congress central leadership’s decision in this regard though there was opposition in Telangana region.
- # Accepting the merger proposal, Andhra assembly passed a resolution on November 25, 1955 promising to safeguard the interests of Telangana.
- # An agreement was reached between Telangana leaders and Andhra leaders on February 20, 1956 to merge Telangana and Andhra with promises to safeguard Telangana’s interests. A “Gentlemen’s Agreement” was then signed by Bezawada Gopala Reddy and Burgula Ramakrishna Rao to the effect.
1. Telangana would benefit from the planned dams on the Krishna and Godavari rivers
2. Telanganites would be given preference in jobs
3. 40% of ministers to be from Telangana.
# Eventually, under the States Re-organisation Act, Telugu-speaking areas of Hyderabad state were merged with Andhra state, giving birth to the state of Andhra Pradesh on 1 November, 1956.
The city of Hyderabad, the then capital of Hyderabad state, was made the capital of Andhra Pradesh state.
# In 1969, an agitation began in Telangana region as people protested the failure to implement the Gentlemen’s Agreement and other safeguards properly.
Marri Channa Reddy launched the Telangana Praja Samiti espousing the cause of a separate state. The agitation intensified and turned violent with students in the forefront of the struggle and about 300 of them were killed in violence and police firing that ensued.
Following several rounds of talks with leaders of the two regions, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi came up with an eight-point plan on April 12, 1969. Telangana leaders rejected the plan and protests continued under the aegis of Telangana Praja Samiti.
# In 1972, Jai Andhra movement started in Andhra-Rayalaseema regions as a counter to Telangana struggle.
# On September 21, 1973, a political settlement was reached with the Centre and a 6-point formula put in place to placate people of the two regions.
# In 1985, employees from Telangana region cried foul over appointments in government departments and complained about ‘injustice’ done to people of the region.
The then Telugu Desam Party government, headed by N T Rama Rao, brought out a Government Order to safeguard the interests of Telangana people in government employment.
Till 1999, there was no demand from any quarters for division of the state on regional lines.
# In 1999, Congress demanded creation of Telangana state. Congress was then smarting under crushing defeats in successive elections to the state Assembly and Parliament with the ruling Telugu Desam Party in an unassailable position.
# Yet another chapter opened in the struggle for Telangana when Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao, who was seething over denial of Cabinet berth in the Chandrababu Naidu government, walked out of TDP and launched Telangana Rashtra Samiti on 27 April, 2001.
# Following pressure applied by Telangana Congress leaders, the Central Working Committee of Congress in 2001 sent a resolution to the then NDA government seeking constitution of a second States Re-organisation Commission to look into Telangana state demand, which was rejected by the then Union Home Minister L K Advani saying smaller states were “neither viable nor conducive” to integrity of the country.
# TRS started gradually building the movement for a separate state.
Congress forged an electoral alliance with TRS by promising to create Telangana state.
Congress came to power in 2004, both in the state and at the Centre, and TRS became part of the coalition governments at both places.
# Protesting delay in carving out the separate state, TRS quit the coalition governments in the state and at the Centre in December 2006 and continued an independent fight.
# In October 2008, TDP changed its stance and declared support for bifurcation of the state.
# TRS launched an indefinite hunger-strike on 29 November, 2009 demanding creation of Telangana. The Centre budged and came out with an announcement on 9 December, 2009 that it was “initiating the process for formation of Telangana state”.
# But the Centre announced on 23 December, 2009 that it was putting Telangana issue on hold. This fanned protests across Telangana with some students ending their lives for a separate state.
# The Centre then constituted a five-member Committee on 3 February, 2010, headed by former judge Srikrishna, to look into statehood demand. The Committee submitted its report to the Centre on 30 December, 2010.
# Dec 28, 2012: Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde announced after an all-party meeting that a decision will be announced in a month.
# July 1, 2013: Congress leader Digvijaya Singh announced that a decision on Telangana is in final stages.
# July 12, 2013: Congress core group met on Telangana to discuss reports by the chief minister, deputy chief minister and state Congress chief.
# July 26, 2013: Congress core group held another meeting, Digvijaya Singh said Congress Working Committee (CWC) and UPA will take a final decision.
# July 30, 2013: UPA coordination panel and CWC met and decided to carve out Telangana state.
Here are some points highlighting the road ahead for the state.
- 1. The Union cabinet will take up the issue on Wednesday and share its plans with the President
- 2. Government will refer the proposal to the Andhra Pradesh legislature for a resolution
- Proposal will be sent back to the cabinet
- 3. A Group of ministers (GoM) will address the concerns of the three Andhra Pradesh regions on sharing water, land, electricity and revenue
- 4. GoM will ask the law ministry to draft a legislation, which will be sent to the AP assembly and home ministry
- 5. Bill cleared by the cabinet will go the President, who will forward it to Parliament
- 6. Both the Houses of Parliament will have to pass a resolution by a simple majority
- 7. Telangana will be born after the President's assent to the bill
Pending State Demands
1. Vidarbha ( out of Maharashta )
2. Harit Pradesh (out of UP )
3. Poorvanchal , Bundelkhand ( out of UP and MP )
4. Kosala ( out of Orissa )
5. Gorkhaland (out of West Bengal)
