Celebrations erupted in southern India to mark the creation of the new state of Telangana on Monday at the culmination of a separatist campaign stretching back nearly six decades.
Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao, who at one stage went on hunger strike as part of the push to create what is India's 29th state, was sworn in as chief minister during a morning ceremony in Hyderabad.
Residents broke into celebrations on the stroke of midnight, with a fireworks display lighting up the skies over the city.
India's new Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to congratulate Rao, promising his "complete support to the people & Government of Telangana" in a message on Twitter.
"India gets a new state! We welcome Telangana as our 29th state. Telangana will add strength to our development journey in the coming years," Modi added.
"Telangana's birth comes after years of struggle and sacrifices by several people. We pay our respects to them today."
Telangana has been created by splitting the state of Andhra Pradesh in two. Hyderabad, an IT hub, will serve as the capital of both states for the next decade.
The campaign to create a separate state in one of India's most economically deprived regions began in the late 1950s, with its champions arguing it has been neglected by successive state governments.
However wealthier coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh fiercely opposed the split, fearing that it would trigger economic upheaval.
Andhra Pradesh's chief minister resigned earlier this year on the eve of a vote by parliament to approve Telangana's creation.
The build-up to the vote was marred by chaotic scenes in parliament, with lawmakers coming to blows while one representative even squirted pepper spray at colleagues.
Analysts had seen the decision by the then Congress government to back the state's creation as a strategic move designed to increase its support in the south in a general election year.
However Congress won only two of the 42 seats in the undivided Andhra Pradesh when the election results were announced last month.
India last redrew its internal boundaries in 2000, with the creation of three new states in economically deprived areas in the north.
Critics say the bill could open a "Pandora's box" of demands for statehood by other regional groups in the ethnically diverse nation, which also has a host of separatist movements.
AFP
Mon Jun 02 2014
Indian supporters of Telangana watch as fireworks explode to celebrate India's 29th state, Telangana, in Hyderabad early on June 2, 2014. -AFP PHOTO / Noah SEELAM
Penunjuk perasaan pro-Palestin di Paris kepung universiti
Penunjuk perasaan pro-Palestin mengepung bangunan dan kawasan hadpaan Universiti Sciences Po yang berprestij di Paris pada Jumaat.
Piala Thomas: Zii Jia pamer magis tarik perhatian ramai di Chengdu
Zii Jia merekodkan kemenangan ke atas Lee Cheuk Yiu dalam aksi yang mengambil masa 45 minit menghadirkan saat-saat terbaik dalam saingan pembukaan ini.
Youth All Girls raih gangsa di Amerika Syarikat
Pasukan sorak Malaysia Youth All Girls raih gangsa di The 2024 International Cheer Union World Cheerleading Championships (ICU JWCC) di Florida, Amerika Syarikat pada Khamis.
Perkembangan proses penamaan calon PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu
Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB) membuka tirai hari ini dengan bermulanya proses penamaan calon pagi tadi di Dewan Serbaguna Dan Kompleks Sukan Daerah Hulu Selangor.
Firdaus Azil ada perincian untuk dikongsikan jam ini.
Firdaus Azil ada perincian untuk dikongsikan jam ini.
Malaysia-China bincang perkukuhkan kerjasama sektor pendidikan
Malaysia dan China membincangkan inisiatif strategik bagi memperluas serta memperkukuh jalinan kerjasama sektor pendidikan tinggi antara Kuala Lumpur-Beijing sempena sambutan ulang tahun ke-50 hubungan diplomatik Malaysia-China.
Perdana Menteri ke Riyadh sempena mesyuarat khas Forum Ekonomi Sedunia
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim akan mengadakan lawatan kerja ke Riyadh, Arab Saudi sempena mesyuarat khas forum sedunia World Economic Forum (WEF) bermula 27 hingga 29 April ini.
Kerajaan Persekutuan kaji cadangan wujud hospital di Pengerang - Azalina
Hospital tersebut akan memudahkan penduduk mendapatkan rawatan memandangkan Pengerang semakin pesat membangun.
AWANI Ringkas: Reformasi gaji di Malaysia
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Piala Thomas: Lee Zii Jia beri mata pertama buat Malaysia!
Kemenangan straight set benarkan Malaysia raih mata pertama dalam aksi peringkat kumpulan saingan Piala Thomas berdepan Hong Kong.
AWANI Pagi: Filem Oppa semai mesej PDRM banteras jenayah scam
Ikuti diskusi bersama Pengarah Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Komersial (JSJK) Bukit Aman, Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf akan berkongsi mesej disemai PDRM dalam membanteras jenayah scam yang berleluasa ketika ini.
Anggota kumpulan 'Kool & The Gang' Dennis Thomas meninggal dunia
Dia dilaporkan menghembuskan nafas terakhir semasa tidur pada Sabtu di New Jersey, menurut kenyataan wakilnya.