ABSTRACT
Evoking Rajni Kothari’s conceptualisation that the grassroots activism for regional formations needs to be seen as local responses to national crises, this chapter discusses one of the longest movements for a separate statehood – the movement for Telangana. It traces the long history of this regional movement and its dramatic culmination on 2 June 2014, when Telangana became the 29th state of India. The case study of Telangana offers an interesting case to understand various shades of the struggle for regional identity. Far from harming national unity and integrity, the regional and (sub) regional movements, as argued in the chapter, broaden the scope of democratisation of regional institutions.
