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Vidarbha presses for separate state

Mumbai - Similar events were held in other parts of the backward region, which sprawls over an area of 100,000 sq km in eastern Maharashtra.

The movement for a separate state of Vidarbha gained steam on Sunday, which is celebrated as Maharashtra Day all over the state, with the hoisting of a 'Vidarbha' flag in Nagpur and other cities across the region.
Sreehari Aney, who was recently forced to quit as advocate-general of Maharashtra following his demand for the separation of Vidarbha and Marathwada as different states, hoisted the 'Vidarbha' flag in Nagpur. Leading lights of the Vidarbha statehood movement were present at the function.
Similar events were held in other parts of the backward region, which sprawls over an area of 100,000 sq km in eastern Maharashtra. In places such as Yavatmal, state transport buses were attacked by protesters demanding separate statehood on Sunday.
The states of Maharashtra and Gujarat came into being on May 1, 1960, after the division of the then Bombay state. The Marathi-speaking parts of Hyderabad state and Central Provinces and Berar (Marathwada and Vidarbha respectively) also became part of Maharashtra.
However, there had been a strong movement for a separate Mahavidarbha, to be carved out of the former Central Provinces and Berar, and it pre-dated the formation of Maharashtra by more than 20 years.
nithin@khaleejtimes.com