During Sreeramulu's death procession, people shouted slogans praising his sacrifice. Later, they went into a frenzy and began to destroy public property. The news spread quickly and created an uproar among the people in far off places like
Chirala,
Srikakulam,
Visakhapatnam,
Vijayawada,
Rajahmundry,
Eluru,
Bhimavaram, Ballary,
Guntur,
Tenali,
Ongole and
Nellore. Seven people were killed in clashes with police in
Anakapalle and Vijayawada. The popular agitation continued for three to four days disrupting normal life in the Madras and Andhra regions. On 19 December 1952, the
Prime Minister of the country
Jawaharlal Nehru made an announcement about the formation of a separate state for the
Telugu-speaking people of Madras State. The central government appointed
K. N. Wanchoo, Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court, to look into issues related to formation of Andhra State. Parliament passed the
Andhra State Act in September 1953. On 1 October 1953, 11 districts in the Telugu-speaking portion of
Madras State became the new Andhra State with
Kurnool as the capital.
Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu (also known as Andhra Kesari – "The Lion of Andhra") became the first Chief Minister of the new state. Formation of this first "linguistic state" paved the way to creation of more and provided an opportunity for these states to develop independently, linguistically and economically, each of them having a state to support. ==See also==