Telangana is born: What foreign media said

New Delhi, Feb 21: After days of unrest and protests, both the Houses of Indian parliament passed the Bill which aims to carve out a new state '

' out of

. Telangana, once created, will be India's 29th state.

Here is what international media wrote about the birth of Telangana.

Washington Post carried a report with a tongue-in-cheek headline, "India's 29th state born amid protest, pepper spray".

On Feb 20, BBC carried a report which said, "India's upper house of parliament has approved a bill to carve out a new state in the south of the country, following days of political turmoil".

India's 29th state born amid protest, pepper spray

"Lawmakers opposed to the division of Andhra Pradesh state chanted "No, no" as PM Manmohan Singh delivered a speech shortly before the vote. Telangana will become India's 29th state once the bill is signed into law by the president. The creation of the new state has proved bitterly controversial", said the report.

"Demands that the southern region be made a separate state have existed almost as long as independent India. Thursday's vote fulfils a promise made by the government in 2009, and comes just weeks before a national election in April", said a Reuters report, which was caried by a number of newspapers including Pakistan's Daily Star.

"The state capital Hyderabad, where Google, Microsoft and Dell have major sites, will remain the common capital for the two states for a period of 10 years. India's sixth largest city, it is also one of its most prosperous and a big generator of revenue. The city, which sits within Telangana, has suffered years of strikes and sometimes violent protests for and against the creation of Telangana", said the report.

"Apart from the emotional reasons for opposing the division of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad was also a bone of contention as it fell in the proposed new state carved out of the western part. India's sixth largest city, it is also one of its most prosperous and a big generator of revenue", said a Guardian (UK) report, published on Feb 18.

"A regional party that has been fighting for a separate state of Telangana would probably merge with Congress in the new entity. Congress may stand to benefit as it could gain parliamentary seats in Telangana in a show of gratitude for statehood", said the report.

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