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Demands for the creation of new states have been a chronic feature of the Indian polity since the inception of the republic. Such agitations typically base themselves on claims of neglect or discrimination meted out to them by the central or relevant state governments. Some such ongoing agitations are chronicled here.

Contents 1 Vidarbha 2 Telangana 3 Bodoland 4 Gorkhaland 5 Delhi and Pondicherry 6 Central Travancore 7 Kodagu 8 And also

Vidarbha comprises the Amravati and Nagpur divisions in eastern Maharashtra. The demand for the creation of a separate Vidarbha state is based on allegations of neglect by the Maharashtra state government. Two politicians, N.K.P. Salve and Vasant Sathe, have been leading recent attempts to bring in legislation creating a Vidarbha state[1]. The demand has not succeeded in gaining much popularity [2].

Telangana comprises the northern, non-coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, and includes the state capital, Hyderabad. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which is the chief proponent of this demand, alleges discrimination of the area by the state government. In 2004, the TRS contested parliamentary elections in alliance with the Congress party (which does not support the demand) and won 5 of 16 seats in the region. This rendered it a member of the coalition ruling India, and a carefully worded sentence about considering the demand for the creation of a new state "at an appropriate time" was duly included in the Common Minimum Programme [3]. However, no progress towards meeting the goal of state-creation has been made since then.

The agitation for the creation of a separate Bodoland state resulted in an agreement between the Indian Government, the Assam state government and the Bodoland Liberation Tigers. Per that agreement of February 10, 2003, the Bodoland Territorial Council, an entity subordinate to the government of Assam, was created to govern four districts covering 3082 Bodo-majority villages in Assam [4]. The text of the agreement can be found here. Elections to the council were held on May 13, 2003, and Hagrama Mahillary was sworn in as chief of the 46-member council on June 4, 2003. [5]

Gorkhaland enjoys a measure of autonomy under the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council. It has been headed by Subhash Ghising since 1988. However, demands for full statehood have emerged once again, with the Gorkha National Liberation Front as its chief proponent [6].

Both Delhi and Pondicherry are Union Territories with their own legislatures and chief ministers, but they are not yet full states. A plea for full statehood has been passed by the legislative assembly of Pondicherry.[7] The National Democratic Alliance government have introduced a bill in parliament to grant full statehood to Delhi, but the legislation has yet to be passed.[8]

There is a demand for statehood or the status of Union Territory to the Central Travancore (Madhya Tiruvitamkure) region of South Central Kerala. The Central Travancore consists of the districts of Kottayam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Idukki and and parts of Kollam (Pathanapuram, Punalur, Anchal, Ayur, Kottarakkara, Neduvathur, etc).

The Central Travancore region is pro-Congress and pro-UDF unlike Rest of Kerala, which is pro-Communist and pro-LDF. This region have a substantial number of Christian populations and Hindu Nairs, both are supporting the separation from Kerala.

The demand for creation of a separate Kodava state is based on the region having a distinct culture, rather than on allegations of discrimination and neglect. The demand, which has intermittently been raised since the 1950s [9], has never gained much popularity [10], one reason being the prosperity that the district enjoys.

• Purvanchal in Uttar Pradesh. [11]
• Harit Pradesh in Uttar Pradesh.[12]
• Bundelkhand, which encompasses parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.[13]
• Karbi Anglong in Assam.
• Bhilkhand, from Gujarat and Maharashtra and Ichikanchal from Bihar.[14]
• Gondwana, which would include portions of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.