Late 2009-early 2010 The Republic of India was overwhelmed by the wave of formation of the so-called small states. We are talking about a radical change in the political map of the country, the emergence of 20-30 new administrative-territorial units and the actual collapse of such giants as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

The beginning of this process was the decisive round of the struggle for Telengana and the Gurkhaland movement.

INDIAN FEDERALISM-UNITY IN DIVERSITY

The procedure for forming new states is legislated in Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of 1950. The Constitution declared India a sovereign democratic republic and established it as a Union of States.

The Basic Law gave broad powers to Parliament to create new states by separating part of the territory of an existing state, joining a territory to part of another state, or combining two or more states. At the same time, the parliament can increase or decrease the territory of the state and change its borders and name. A necessary condition for this is the relevant recommendation of the President of the country and the opinion of the state legislature, whose interests are affected by the above-mentioned changes, expressed within the time limit set by them1.

A decision on the formation of a new state is considered adopted if it is supported by a majority of the total number of members of both houses of Parliament and at least two-thirds of the number of chambers present at the meeting, and it has received the approval of the President.

Unlike the American-style federal union, which was established on the basis of a voluntary agreement of independent states, India was created by turning a unitary state, which was a former colony, into a federal one. The entry of the provinces of British India was mandatory, and the principalities were voluntary.

According to the Russian indologist M. Pleshova, the Indian constitution was based on the idea of a strong center and capable states enjoying real, but not unlimited autonomy.²

The powers of the center and the states are clearly delineated. Thus, the Union's competence includes an extensive list of 97 items: defense, relations with foreign states, monetary circulation, foreign trade, nuclear energy, etc. The list of issues referred to the competence of the states consists of 66 items: ensuring public order, local government, health, forest protection, markets and fairs, etc. The list of issues of joint competence covers 47 points: criminal law, legislation on marriage, family and guardianship, economic and social planning, labor legislation, etc.

The most important principle of the Indian federation is to deprive the states of the right to secede from India. The 16th Amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1963, emphasizes that any action aimed at secession from the Union does not enjoy the protection of basic ^law3. In the event of a threat to the integrity of the country, the central authorities have the necessary arsenal of means to combat it, including the introduction of a state of emergency, the institution of presidential rule, etc.

The Indian Federation has proven its viability and has stood the test of time. Over the 60 years of its existence, the Republic of India has built relations that have allowed ensuring the integrity of the Union and the diversity of states.

This made it possible for its peoples to preserve their identity, language and traditions and contributed to the economic, social and cultural development of the regions, which was clearly reflected in the national doctrine "unity in diversity". Many large and small ethnic groups, linguistic communities and individual territories of India have already used the right to self-determination and the creation of autonomous units, while others are actively seeking this.

STATE REORGANIZATION-FEDERALISM IN ACTION

The political map of India began to change immediately after the adoption of the constitution, and this process continues to this day.

In 1951, the Union consisted of 27 states, divided into groups A, B and C. Group A included the former provinces of British India, Group B-former

large principalities and alliances of principalities, and Group C united smaller principalities.

The first changes were related to the renaming of states and the exchange of territories. So, in 1950. The united provinces were named Uttar Pradesh. In 1953, an act was passed to create Andhra State by separating Telugu-speaking districts from Madras. In 1956, part of Bihar was ceded to West Bengal.

The largest territorial reorganization took place in 1956. It consisted in reorganizing on a linguistic basis according to the formula "one state - one language".

The borders of a number of states were revised, many language requirements were met, and the division into groups A, B, and C. All 14 newly formed states - Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Kerala, Madras, Madhya Pradesh, Mysore, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh-were equalized in rights and became full subjects of the federation.

At the same time, 6 union territories were created, administered from the center-Delhi, Manipur, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, as well as the Laccadive and Amindive Islands.

However, the 1956 reform did not solve all the problems. Since then, movements have continued in some areas to create new states, redefine state boundaries, and further reorganize on a linguistic basis. In 1959, part of Rajasthan passed to the state of Uttar Pradesh. In 1960, the state of Bombay was divided into two separate states - Maharashtra and Gujarat.

In the first half of the 1960s, a noisy campaign was launched demanding the reorganization of Punjab and the separation of a state with a predominantly Sikh population from it. It was supported by many political and public figures of the country. In 1966. Punjab was divided into two states - Punjab and Haryana, and the city of Chandigarh became a union territory and the capital of these two states.

The process of self-determination of ethnic groups within the Union sometimes took place in a sharp struggle associated with bloodshed and internecine clashes.

This primarily applies to the northeast of India, which resembles a patchwork of 8 states, most of which stand out from Assam. The most dramatic was the struggle of the Naga people. It lasted for several years and ended in 1963 with the formation of the state of Nagaland.

The right to self-determination of the Mizo people and the establishment of the State of Mizoram in 1987 were also won by force of arms.

Other states were formed with smaller losses - Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura in 1972 and Aru Pradesh in 1987. In 1975, Sikkim became part of India, which became a state in the same year.

At the same time, the borders of the states and their names were clarified, and the union territories were transformed into states. Madras was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969, and Mysore became Karnataka in 1973. In 1971, the Union Territory of Himachal Pradesh was transformed into a state of the same name. In 1987, Goa, formerly a union territory, acquired the status of a state.

In November 2000, the 26th, 27th and 28th states of Chhattisgarh, Uttaranchal and Jharkhand appeared on the map of India in the territories of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, respectively.⁴

Their creation should be considered in the context of the realization of the rights of small peoples and historical and cultural areas to self-determination within the framework of the current Constitution.

ECONOMIC PRAGMATISM AND THE NEW ELITE

Late 2009-early 2010 the question of forming several dozen "small" states was raised with all the urgency. At their core, they are economically less developed districts of large states, which the Indian media figuratively call "pockets of poverty"*.

In terms of its scale, the new reorganization is comparable to the territorial reorganization of 1956.We are talking not only about the emergence of 20 to 30 "small" states at once, but also about the actual collapse of such giants as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

Despite the fact that India has different views on this scenario, most analysts and government officials believe that the formation of new administrative-territorial units is a natural process in the evolution of federalism and democracy. The alternative of greater autonomy no longer suits the regions.

If the division of 1956 was based on the principle of linguistic belonging, today the factor of economic expediency comes to the fore.

The 1991 reform aimed at freeing the economy from state control and liberalizing it actually widened the gap between rich and poor states and led to greater disparities within the states themselves.

Private investment and capital-intensive technologies came mainly to regions with developed infrastructure. Even in a seemingly prosperous state like Maharashtra, the lion's share of financial resources is accumulated in the districts of the Pune - Nasik belt, while Vidarbha and Marathwada remain on starvation rations. As for state subsidies and support programs, their volume has decreased by 2 times in comparison with the 1990s. In addition, they are distributed by officials in the center and at the local level.

* In English, especially in the American dialect, this expression has become a long-established phraseology, meaning " the area (center, concentration) of poverty "(editor's note).

This opens up great opportunities for all kinds of abuse, corruption and parochialism.

Backward regions do not want to put up with the current situation and are hatching plans to separate them into independent administrative divisions.

The experience of the young states serves as an example for them. Thus, in the 10th five-year period (2002 - 2007), the growth rate of annual gross domestic product (GDP) was 11.1% in Jharkhand, 9.2% in Chhattisgarh and 8.8% in Uttaranchal, while in Bihar-4.7%, in Uttar Pradesh-4.6% and in Madhya Pradesh - 4.3% per year ⁵. The achievements of the former allow them to concentrate their efforts on solving the main social problems-poverty, unemployment and illiteracy.

The carrier of the idea of regional separatism is a new political elite, the emergence of which was caused by the processes of economic modernization and democratization of society. Its ranks are supplemented by groups represented by people from unprivileged castes. They have grown stronger economically, but they occupy a low place in the traditional social hierarchy.

The formation of a new elite began in the regions. There, local leaders are backed by big money, family, caste, and community.

Entering the power structures encourages the active part of the lower classes to organize themselves and create various public associations and political parties. Today, these parties have a significant impact on the alignment of political forces in the center and in the field. At least none of the governing coalitions in India over the past 15 years could do without the participation or support of regional parties.

The new political elite is actively trying to displace the old one, which gained advantages in the post-colonial period and was recruited from higher castes. Referring to the neglect and backwardness of their region, new leaders often put forward a demand for its allocation to an independent state. They are trying to rely on broad segments of the population and translate the legitimate aspirations of discontented people into the channel of an acute political conflict.

India's political parties have different views on the idea of" small " states. The conservative Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in opposition, and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which represents backward strata, support it. Regional parties of the old elite - the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh and the Trinamool Congress (TC) in West Bengal, as well as the Maratha Nationalism Party Shiv Sena in Maharashtra-oppose the fragmentation of the states.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) - CPI(m), which leads left-wing governments in West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala, has a dissenting opinion. It considers it inappropriate to divide the states after their reorganization on a national and linguistic basis.

The leader of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UGA), the Indian National Congress (INC) Party, is making compromises and calling on the parties to negotiate.

There are a lot of extremists among the leaders who advocate the allocation to an independent state. Recent events in Andhra Pradesh, especially the Telengana movement, are a typical example of the confrontation between the new and old elites. In this particular case, mutual grievances and grievances took precedence over common linguistic affiliation and extremely confused the situation.

TELENGAN TO BE

My plane landed at the international airport. Rajiv Gandhi in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, at noon on December 7, 2009.

It was Monday, but government offices, firm offices, and markets remained closed. Deserted streets, metal shutters on doors and windows, and squads of police with bamboo sticks at intersections only added to the sense of unease. When asked what was going on in the city, the officer politely replied: "Today is Telengana Day! It would be best, sir, if you returned to the hotel. It's not safe in the city!"

The evening news reports repeated that there were clashes between students and police in the area of the Ottoman University.

The chairman of the Telengana Rashtra Samiti Party (TRP), 56-year-old K. Chandrashekhar Rao, went on a death hunger strike. 22 supporters of the separation of Telengana from Andhra Pradesh attempted suicide, of which 5 were fatal.

Following the suicides of farmers who failed to pay off their loans, the unique Indian phenomenon of "suicide bombers" who try to achieve the fulfillment of the aspirations of their ethnic group by suicide without harming other people has become quite widespread. This phenomenon caused a shock in India and attracted the attention of the international community. From 2006 to 2008, the number of such suicides doubled. The impact of the glorification of politically motivated suicides on society, especially young people, is also a matter of concern.⁶

The next day, many universities in Hyderabad disbanded for the holidays. About 2 thousand students of the Ottoman University refused to obey the order of the authorities and barricaded themselves in the building of the Art College. The police closed in on the campus. 9 battalions of the rapid deployment force were deployed from Delhi and Karnataka to help the law enforcement officers. The state of health of the TRS chairman has sharply worsened. Television reported that he was about to die.

On Wednesday, December 9, police entered the College of Arts and arrested 169 students, activists of the Telengana movement.

With each passing hour, the tension in the city grew.

In the early morning hours of December 10, I was woken up at the Krishna Hotel

loud sirens and horns of cars, motorcycles and scooters. Telengana flags were flying everywhere. The "pink" sea seemed to flood Hyderabad. The main centers of popular jubilation were the squares adjacent to the College of Arts and the Institute of Medical Research, where TRS leader Chandrashekhar Rao was staying all the time. The night before, he announced the end of his 11-day hunger strike. This became possible after the statement of the Minister of Internal Affairs of India P. Chidambaram, who promised to "soon begin the process of separating Telengana from Andhra Pradesh" and submit this issue to the legislative assembly.

Telengana is a historical region in the north-west of the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is home to the Andhra people, who use the Teyaugu language of the Dravidian language family. The region got its name from the 3 lingams, phallic symbols of the supreme god Shiva, located on its borders.

From 1724 to 1948. Telengana was ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad. Thus, for more than 200 years, it was isolated from the rest of Andhra, which was under the rule of the British colonial administration.

Modern Telengana consists of 10 districts, including Hyderabad. Its territory is 114.8 thousand square kilometers (41.7% of the territory of Andhra Pradesh), its population is 31 million people (40% of the population of Andhra Pradesh). The area is rich in coal. There are reserves of iron, copper, manganese, chromite, graphite, uranium and diamond deposits. The main agricultural crop is rice. Water resources are represented by the largest rivers of the Deccan, Godavari and Krishna.

The Government of Andhra Pradesh ignores the needs of Telengana. The district remains one of the poorest in South India.

Successful implementation of 26 irrigation projects has resulted in 5.9 million hectares of land being irrigated in the state, but only 1.6 million hectares in Telengan and the remaining 4.3 million in Andhra.⁷ Since the intensity of irrigation directly affects agricultural productivity, it remains extremely low in Telengan. The same pattern is observed in the industrial sector. Businesses are mainly concentrated on the coast of the Bay of Bengal.

More than 2 million people leave Telengana every year in search of work. able-bodied men. The salary of women working in the chili and tomato fields in Karimnagar district under the scorching sun is barely Rs 50 * per day ⁸.

Natives of Andhra monopolized the management of the state and the education system. Of the 49,000 local officials, only 7,000 are Telengans. While Andhra has 190.7 thousand primary schools and 1.2 million teachers, Telengan has 73 thousand schools and 0.3 million teachers.⁹ Hyderabad is home to the largest film studio in the country, where there is not a single actor from Telengana.

The first Prime Minister of India, J. R. R. Tolkien Nehru opposed the unification of Andhra and Telengana ¹⁰. He believed that the new state would be backward and would not be able to rely on help from the center. The concerns of the Head of Government were shared by the State Reorganization Commission headed by Judge F. Ali. In a report submitted in October 1955, it concluded that the Telugu-speaking districts of the former Hyderabad Princedom should remain a ^{separate state until 1961.11}

However, pressure from Andhra's politicians and the heated debate over the issue of creating linguistic-based states forced Nehru to concede. On 1 November 1956, Andhra and Telengana were merged into Andhra Pradesh.

This fact was greatly facilitated by a lengthy agreement signed in Delhi on February 20, 1956, by representatives of the public of Andhra and Telengana. It promised the latter to save their income, improve the education system, attract Telengans to work in government agencies, etc.

The history of the struggle for Telengana goes back more than 40 years.

It began with protests by students of Hyderabad in January 1969, caused by Andhra's violation of the terms of the aforementioned agreement. The movement "Long live Telengana!" covered 8 districts. His main demand was the creation of a separate state. In the cities there were clashes of students-

* $1 is equal to approximately 44.5 rupees (ed. note).

a series of police clashes in which 370 people were killed. To normalize the situation, the government of Indira Gandhi introduced presidential rule in Andhra Pradesh. It was valid for 11 months.

The stormy prologue was followed by a period of calm that lasted for several decades. The radicals left the movement and joined the Naxalite Maoists. A politically active part of the new elite joined the ranks of INC. The liberal intelligentsia dispersed to clubs according to their professional interests - the Telengana Writers 'Forum, the Telengana Teachers' Forum, the Telengana Professorship, etc. When discussing the situation in the region, liberals used the terms "colonialism"and " exploitation".

The turning point came at the turn of the XX and XXI centuries. in connection with the formation of the states of Chhattisgarh, Uttaranchal and Jharkhand. The example of neighbors politicized the region and gave the movement for Telengana clear guidelines and organized character. It was headed by the Telengana Rashtra Sami Party ( TRP), the National Telengana Committee, established in 2000. The founder and permanent chairman of the party is former Congressman and Deputy Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly K. Chandrashekhar Rao. In the 2004 and 2009 parliamentary elections, the TRS declared itself an ally of the INC.

For her part, INC Chairman Sonia Gandhi supported the idea of establishing the state of Telengana. "We are basically in favor of creating a separate state of Telengana. But there are a number of problems along the way that require a careful approach. We will make a final decision only after hearing the opinion of all parties, " she stressed, speaking on March 1, 2009 at a rally in Hyderabad ¹².

In the last parliamentary elections in Andhra Pradesh, INC won 33 seats out of 42, and Sonia Gandhi postponed the Telengan issue for an indefinite future. All attempts by TRS to remind her of her earlier promise and draw the center's attention to the region's problems ended in failure, and on November 29, 2009, Chandrashekhar Rao went on a hunger strike "to the death".

The decision of Delhi, made public on December 9, caused a storm of enthusiasm in Telengan. It seemed that all the obstacles were removed, and nothing else could prevent the appearance of the 29th state on the map. But that wasn't the case. The issue of Hyderabad's status has become a stumbling block to Telengana's self-determination.

HYDERABAD-A BONE OF CONTENTION

Hyderabad is the country's 6th largest metropolitan city by population. It is home to 5.5 million people.

The city has 6 universities and several large institutes - information technology, medical research, foreign languages, and a business school. The city is famous for its cultural traditions and attractions, including the Char Minar minarets (1591), the Golconda Fort (XVI century), the Salarjang Museum, etc. It is distinguished by its cosmopolitanism and multilingual palette-Telugu, Urdu, Hindi, Marathi.

Hyderabad is considered the second "Silicon Valley" of India after Bangalore. Its annual software exports exceed $1 billion. It is one of the few Indian cities where large companies open their offices. It is also the center of the pharmaceutical industry. The famous pearl market is located not far from Char Minar. The city contributes 51% of all tax revenues to the state treasury ¹³.

Hyderabad was founded in 1591 by the Sultan of Golconda Muhammad Quli Qutbshah on the bank of the Musi River. Until 1948, it was the capital of the principality of the same name and the seat of its rulers, the Nizams, vassals of the British Crown. Thanks to the mining of precious stones, Hyderabad has become the richest state in Hindustan. It had its own currency, railways, and stamps.

In 1947, the nizam granted Pakistan a loan of 200 million rupees, and in return received a large shipment of weapons that he intended to use against independent India. On September 13, 1948, Indian troops under the command of Major General J. Chaudhary entered Hyderabad. Operation Polo lasted 108 hours. The Nizam's army was defeated and lost 807 soldiers, India's losses were 10 soldiers. In early 1949, the Nizam signed an agreement on the entry of the principality into the Indian Union.

From 1950 to 1956 Hyderabad was the capital of the state of the same name, and after unification with Andhra, it became the capital of Andhra Pradesh. Andhra did not have its own capital Its legislative assembly was located in Madras and was transferred to Hyderabad only in 1956

Hyderabad is located in the heart of Telengana and in the heart of Andhra Pradesh. If it remains in Telengana, Andhra will lose all the universities, the film industry, the main airport, the campuses of information technology companies, etc.

pharmaceutical industry. In turn, Telengana is deprived of access to the coast and seaports. According to most analysts, Andhra does not and cannot have a city that can adequately replace Hyderabad as an administrative center.

Several solutions to the Hyderabad problem are considered.

The first one assumes that the megalopolis will remain part of Telengana. The second one assumes that the city will be divided into two parts, proportional to the territories of Telengana and Andhra. Finally, the third option provides that the city will receive the status of a union territory and will be the common capital of Telengana and Andhra, as Chandigarh is for Punjab and Haryana.

The first option is more in the interests of Telengana, the second - Andhra, and the third is a compromise. Theoretically, other options are possible, for example, "my airport is your ports" or "my city is your investment", but for politicians such arguments seem unlikely.

For a long time, TRS refrained from making statements about the problem of megalopolis. The silence was suddenly broken by the son of party chairman K. T. Rama Rao. On the night of December 10, 2009, he stated that Hyderabad had been the capital of Telengana for 400 years and would remain so forever.¹⁴ His claim that the palaces of Andhra politicians and their property in the city are not in danger was not believed.

The view of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the leading party in Andhra, was voiced by its Chairman, N. Chandrababu Naidu. He denounced TRS's unilateral claims to Hyderabad, while at the same time criticizing the position of the INC leadership, which, in his opinion, "forces events". In the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly, the TDP has 92 seats out of 294 and is second only to the INC with 156 seats. He recalled that 39 of the 92 TDP deputies were elected from Telengana, where the TRS won only 10 seats.¹⁵

A survey conducted among Hyderabad residents in December 2009 by the popular Indian magazine Outlook gave the following results. To the question: "What is your first reaction to the news that Hyderabad would become the capital of Telengana?" 50.1% of respondents answered: "Expected this", 34.3% - "Shocked", 9.2%- "Depressed", 6.4% rejected this idea ¹⁶.

In order to sort out the difficult situation, calm public opinion and find a reasonable compromise, Sonia Gandhi proposed to convene a party conference in Delhi and invite two representatives from each interested party. The meeting was held on January 5, 2010 and ended without any results. On January 20, students of the Ottoman University organized a protest march on the campus, which turned into clashes with the police. 30 students and 10 policemen were injured.

In early February 2010, the Government took another initiative by announcing the establishment of a 5-member Telengana committee chaired by Judge B. N. Srikrishna. He promised to conduct a broad survey of all population groups in Andhra Pradesh and prepare a report by December 31, 2010. The TRS called this initiative a "betrayal of the people", while the TDP supported it in principle.¹⁷ Obviously, the government is trying to buy time, so in the current situation, it seems logical to expect new proposals from Delhi.

..I flew from Hyderabad to Kolkata with a mixture of satisfaction and anxiety. What will happen to the beautiful city and Telengana, which I frankly sympathized with?

Ahead of me was a meeting with Gurkhaland, which, like Telengana, claims to be a state. There, too, passions were boiling, but the intensity of events was less. However, a general strike announced by Gurkhaland supporters prevented me from visiting this mountainous area.

GURKHALAND: SMALL SPOOL, BUT EXPENSIVE

Unlike Telengana, the state of Gurkhaland is planned to be created mainly within the boundaries of one district of Darjeeling.

It is located on the southern slopes of the Eastern Himalayas at an altitude of 2100-3600 m and is part of the state of West Bengal. The district covers an area of 3,149 square kilometers (3.6% of West Bengal) and has a population of 1.6 million (2.0% of West Bengal). The capital is the city of Darjeeling, 136.6 thousand people.

18 ^{The district's economy is based on tea production, forestry and tourism. 86 plantations produce a total of 24% of Indian tea and 7% of world tea. The unique aroma and taste make local tea one of the most expensive varieties. Annual total sales of tea and timber reach 30 billion rubles. Rs}.

Evergreen pines, purple rhododendrons, magnolias and orchids of various shapes and sizes

shades cover the mountain slopes and create a spectacular picture. The region's attractions attract many visitors from all over the world.

A landmark event in the history of Darjeeling was 1902, when a Gurkha recruitment center for the British Army was opened here. They were recruited from the Magars, Gurungas, Limbu and other tribes of Central Nepal. In 1908, there were 20 Gurkha battalions in India, organized into 10 infantry regiments. The Gurkhas fought bravely in world and local wars and proved to be excellent soldiers.

In addition to military service, Nepalese were recruited to work on tea plantations. They make up 90% of the residents of the mountainous part of the district and a third of the residents of the valleys, behind Bengalis, Biharans and Tibetans. In total, there are 778.5 thousand Nepali-speaking people in Darjeeling.¹⁹ In 1992, Nepal was recognized as one of the 23 official languages of India.

The idea of creating a state of Gurkhaland was put forward in 2007 by B. Gurung, chairman of the Gorkha Janmukta Morcha Party (Gurkha People's Liberation Front) - GDM.

Gurung and GDM rely on veterans of Gurkha units who served in the Indian Army and local youth. In May-June 2008, they blocked the national Highway No. 31 leading to Sikkim several times. This caused a great response in the north-east of India and attracted the attention of a wide range of public circles to the GDM. Along with giving Gurkhaland the status of a state, Gurung requires the inclusion of the city of Siliguri with a population of 850 thousand people, of which 100 thousand are residents. - ethnic Nepalis, as well as the surrounding areas.

On 11 December 2009, the GDM declared a general strike in Darjeeling. From December 14 to 17, the district was completely isolated from the outside world. At the same time, several pro-Gurkhaland rallies were held in Kolkata and Delhi. R. Giri, General Secretary of the GDM, arrived in the capital to conduct negotiations with the Indian government. "If a Telengana can be created, why is Gurkhaland denied? We call on the center to move this process forward, " he told reporters ²⁰. After negotiations with the government, the GDM announced the end of the strike from December 21.

However, India's leading parties, including the INC, BJP, CPI (m) and regional parties-the TK and Forward Bloc-do not approve of the formation of the state of Gurkhaland.

This did not prevent former BJP leader Jaswant Singh from running for parliament from the Darjeeling district in April 2009 and winning with the support of the GDM with a margin of 253,000 votes. According to informed sources, in gratitude, he promised the GDM to lobby the parliament for the idea of Gurkhaland ²¹.

AND ALSO IN THE QUEUE...

Following Telengana and Gurkhaland, about 30 regions and oblasts have declared their claims for state status.

So far, the virus of regional separatism has manifested itself in 12 existing Indian states. Madhya Pradesh (Vindhya Pradesh, Gondwana, Rivanchal) and Uttar Pradesh (Purvanchal and Harit Pradesh) were the most affected. In some cases, separatist-minded regions cover the territory of two or more contiguous states-Bundelkhand (Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh) and Bhojpur (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh).

Among the contenders there are giants-Purvanchal (27 districts) and Gondwana (26 districts), and dwarfs - Kodagu (1 district). Some already have a history of struggle for self-determination (Telengana, Bodoland, Gurkhaland), others are still writing its first pages (Harit Pradesh, Bundelkhand, Rivanchal).

Here are some of the contenders::

Vidarbha-East Maharashtra, 11 districts, 26.3 million people. Agricultural region. It produces 20% of India's cotton. From 1997 to 2006 almost 36.5 thousand suicides of cotton farmers who failed to pay off their loans were registered here22. There are many BJP members among the politicians who support the idea of Vidarbha.

Bodoland-North Assam, 4 districts, 3 million people. Part of the tribal belt. The main source of income is agriculture, including cattle breeding. The People's Front of Bodoland, Inc. ' s partner in the recent parliamentary elections, is leading the fight for sovereignty. Popular among students are the Bodo Liberation Tigers, which have been used for a long time.

From 1997 to 1999, they waged an armed struggle against the central Government.

Bundelkhand - 14 districts, 50 million people. A backward agricultural region. Soil erosion and frequent droughts. The lowest percentage of irrigated land is in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. There is no significant industrial production, with the exception of the Damoh cement plant. INC. has gained a great reputation in the region. INC Secretary General Rahul Gandhi has proposed a series of projects to build a 300 million irrigation and energy complex in Bundelkhand. Rs ²³.

Bhojpur - 23 districts, 120 million people. Agricultural region. Low land use and poverty of the peasantry. Several sugar factories.

Gondwana - Central and Eastern Madhya Pradesh, 26 districts, 26.5 million people. The main branch of the economy is mining. Deposits of iron, manganese, bauxite, coal, and limestone. In the area of the Revsky plateau, diamonds are mined near Panna. Forests have been preserved, but they are unproductive. Forests provide for the existence of tribes and small nations.

Purvanchal-Eastern Uttar Pradesh, 27 districts, 66.6 million people. Low agricultural productivity. Low level of industrial production and energy capacity. Unemployment and mass migration of the population.

Mahakoshal - North Orissa, 10 districts, 9 million people. A zone of poverty, drought and child trafficking. Steel and cement plants, coal mines. Mining of iron, graphite, refractory clays, and bauxite.

Saurashtra - West Gujarat, 7 districts, 12.5 million people. A relatively prosperous area. It provides 52% of the state's agricultural output -rice, wheat, millet crops, and dairy farming. Fishing and vegetable oil production are developing. The coast of Saurashtra has the largest number of medium and small ports in the country.

Kodagu - South Karnataka, District 1, 600 thousand people. Located on the slopes of the Western Ghats, a renowned coffee producer.

* * *

Some political scientists interpret statomania in India as the result of the irresponsible activities of a narrow group of regional politicians who use populist slogans in the struggle for power and corporate interests and mislead people who are dissatisfied with the existing situation. They consider the "small" states unviable, ignoring the positive experience of Chhattisgarh, Uttaranchal and Jharkhand.

Other analysts, comparing India with the United States, where 50 states and the Federal District of Columbia operate with a population of just 300 million people, note that India has only 28 states, 6 union territories and the National Capital Territory of Delhi for 1,150 million people. At the same time, these experts are concerned that if the requirements of the regions are met, the central government will have to spend heavily on creating new administrative centers, forming new local legislative and executive bodies, and changing existing toponyms.

The majority, including the author of this article, believe that regional separatism has deep economic, social and political roots. This is another stage in the development of modern Indian federalism, which does not pose a threat to the unity of the country. Although the search for a reasonable compromise is occasionally complicated by regional strikes, hunger strikes, and student unrest, the central government monitors events and seeks to resolve the problem through negotiations involving all stakeholders.

Hyderabad - Moscow

¹ Constitution of India, Moscow, 1956, pp. 55-56.

² Federalism: theory and History of Development, Moscow, 2000, p. 203.

³ India. 2009. A Reference Annual. New Delhi. 2009, p. 1219.

⁴ See: Kashin V., Pleshova M. How new states appeared in India / / Asia and Africa Today. 2001, N 7.

⁵ Mainstream, 6 - 12.03.2009.

⁶ New York Times, 30.03.2010.

⁷ India Today, 28.12.2009.

⁸ The Times of India, 15.04.2009.

^Adiraju 9 V.R. Telangana. Saga of a Tragic Struggle. Hyderabad. 2009, p. 227.

^{Nehru J.} 10 Selected Works. New Delhi. 1998. Vol. 24, p. 267.

¹¹ Telangana. The State of Affairs. Annexure II. Hyderabad. 2009, p. 193.

¹² Sunday Express, 01.03.2009.

¹³ Outlook, 28.12.2009.

¹⁴ The Times of India, 10.12.2009.

¹⁵ The Times of India, 20.12.2009.

¹⁶ Outlook, 28.12.2009.

¹⁷ The Hindu. 13.02.2010.

¹⁸ India Today, 28.12.2009.

^{Kar D.P.} 19 Gorkhaland Movement. A Clandestine Invasion. Siliguri. 2009, p. 37.

²⁰ Frontline, 19.12.2009 - 1.01.2010.

^{Ghosh A.} 21 Gorkhaland Redux // Economic and Political Weekly. 6.06.2009, p. 12.

²² Frontline, 19.12.2009 - 1.01.2010.

²³ Hindustan Times, 15.09.2009.

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