Factfile on Telangana

Here are some of the facts about Andhra Pradesh's Telangana region, which is all set to become a separate state.

** Telangana means "land of Telugus" and it was part of the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad.

** Hyderabad State became part of India in 1948 after an operation by the Indian Army as Nizam wanted to keep the state independent. Telangana became a state of Telugu-speaking people and was known as Hyderabad State till 1956 when it was merged with Andhra State, carved out of Madras province, to form Andhra Pradesh.

** Number of districts in Telangana: 10 -- Greater Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Medak, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Warangal, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Adilabad and Khammam.

** Geography: Has contiguous area bordering coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema (parts of the existing Andhra Pradesh), Karnataka, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

** Area: 114,800 sq. km

** Population: About 35.28 million

** Languages spoken: Telugu and Urdu

** The region situated at a high altitude in an up-land area. Two major rivers Godavari and Krishna flow through the region but most of the land is arid.

** The region sends 119 members to the 294-member Andhra Pradesh assembly and also accounts for 17 of 42 Lok Sabha seats from Andhra Pradesh.

--Indo-Asia News Service

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