India Has New State

New State Telangana in India

Celebrations including fireworks and drumming ushered in India's newest state Monday.

Telangana - created from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh - is the country's 29th state and represents the culmination of a decades-long separatist campaign.

Regional political leader K. Chandrasekhar Rao was sworn in as Telangana's chief minister in a ceremony in the technology hub, Hyderabad.

Hyderabad will serve as the capital of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for the next 10 years, after which Andhra Pradesh will develop a new capital city.

Telangana, with a population of 35 million, is comprised of 10 districts.

Telangana supporters say the area had remained undeveloped and its residents faced discrimination in the allocation of funds, water and jobs.