This refers to the article, “Telangana may trigger more statehood demands” (August 2) by Kalyani Shankar.
‘Telangana' was a long-standing and genuine demand. Indeed, Andhra Pradesh was the product of a forced marriage between one overbearing and the other unwilling spouse. There should be nothing to fear about such demands if firm and justifiable grounds exist for the creation of smaller States. Not only will it be far easier to effectively govern and develop a small State but it will also lead to the emergence of a new and young leadership from all sub-regions and ethnic representations, instead of entrenched dynastic personae.
If the US, with one-fourth of India's population, can have 50 States, why can’t we have a United States of India with that many States, and a strong Union Government which cannot be held hostage to regional satraps, whose interference and sundry interests invariably have a bearing, often detrimental, on larger national interests.