INDIA: Jai Andhra!

At the village of Sher Mohammed Pet, on a main thoroughfare leading into the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, all traffic must come to a halt these days. A handmade green-and-yellow flag flutters over the makeshift roadblock as youths wearing badges demanding statehood for Andhra step out to tax the traveler: "Hey, you pay two rupees for Andhra." The traveler pays or he does not pass. Shouts of "Jai Andhra! Jai Andhra!" (Hail Andhra) go up as he is waved on.

The roadblock is a highly visible symbol of the latest of many statehood movements that have plagued India since...

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