India's 'Tiger of Telangana' KCR
From tension and fear to excitement and celebration and then to confusion and uncertainty, the people of Telangana region have seen many shades of emotions during the last few hours.
Ever since the Indian government made its dramatic announcement to accept their 50-year-old demand to make Telangana a state, the people of Hyderabad and the other nine districts of the region have endured a roller-coaster ride.
Thousands of supporters of Telangana came out on the streets late on Wednesday night to see history being made as the word spread like wildfire that the government had met their long-standing demands.
Men, women and the young and old came out of their homes in the dead of the night and gathered at the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences where the leader of the regional Telangana Rashtra Samiti party, K Chandrasekara Rao was under observation by doctors.
Emotional
After 11 days of a "fast unto death" to press the demand for Telangana state, Mr Rao had emerged as a hero for the local masses.
The 55-year-old MP lost almost half of his original weight and has been suffering from many ailments and complications.The news that his demands had finally been accepted came just as doctors were pressurising him to break the fast because his life was in grave danger. But gritty Mr Rao steadfastly refused.
It was to see this man that people had thronged around the hospital where he was being treated. Emotional youngsters armed with drums, crackers and banners descended on the building shouting slogans in honour of "KCR" - the man now known as the "Tiger of Telangana".
"No other leader endangered his life for the poor people of Telangana like KCR has done and achieved his goal," said an emotional youngster, Tayyab, who is unemployed.
"I am sure after Telangana is formed, nobody will be unemployed."
