By Omer Farooq BBC correspondent in Hyderabad

A region of India's Andhra Pradesh state has caused political waves that are likely to be felt across the whole country.

High profile speakers attended the TRS rally

More than half a century ago the remote region of Telangana demanded that it should be a separate state.

An estimated one million people attended a rally in the historic city of Warangal in support of the two-year-old regional party Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) on Sunday.

It was a huge show of strength which has brought the issue to a head and is likely to change the political focus.

The area was drowned in pink - the colour of the TRS flag - with supporters chanting emotional slogans in favour of Telangana.

Revival

"This is beyond our wildest dreams. I knew there was a strong under current building up in favour of Telangana but I had no idea it will reflect in this manner," said TRS President K Chandrashekhar Rao as his voice was drowned out by drums.

Mr Rao was a top leader of the ruling Telugu Desam party until he resigned as the deputy speaker of the state assembly and revived the dormant Telangana movement in 2001.

Having successfully built the organisation from grassroots level and mobilised support throughout the region, Mr Rao has now managed to take his fight to a national level.

The significance of the rally was made more significant by the support of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and agriculture minister Ajit Singh at the rally.

"It is clear that the masses are behind the demand for Telangana. Nobody can stop such a demand," said Mr Gowda.

Ajit Singh blamed successive governments in Hyderabad and Delhi for suppressing the rights and hopes of the people of the poor region.

"The demand for a separate Telangana state has been crushed all these years for no reason. But now no force on earth can stop this," he said.

Suffering

People in the surging crowds shared the feeling. Muttaiah, a 35-year-old farm labourer who came all the way from Sircilla town in neighbouring Medak district - said: "Enough is enough.

Telangana facts Telangana is the northern part of Andhra Pradesh Population is about 30 million The region is educationally and economically under-developed The region is rich in coal reserves, minerals and forest cover Telangana is the stronghold of the outlawed People's War Group

"We have suffered a lot but no more. We will not keep quiet until our demand is met."

Sircilla was once known as the "Manchester of the south" but now lies silent as the old power looms were turned off.

Some weavers have even been driven to suicide because of economic hardships.

Pullela Rajender, a 22-year-old former student in Warangal was very angry.

"It is the people of Andhra who have deprived us of our rights. Our jobs have been taken away by them. The water we should have is going to them. How long we should keep quiet?" he asked.

Mr Rao echoed such feelings at the rally.

"In Sircilla it is the weavers. In Warangal and Mehbubnagar it is farmers. The people have become so hopeless and frustrated that they are resorting to killing themselves. The continuous exploitation by the rulers from Andhra has not left any hope in them," he said.

But the leaders of the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) disagree.

Cheering crowds

Senior minister in the TDP government, Kadiam Srihari, said: "It is a political stunt in view of the next year's elections. The work the TDP government has done during last nine years for the development of the region is unprecedented. He is trying to mislead the people."

The rally drew huge crowds

Mr Rao spoke to the cheering crowds about the promise of irrigation projects the Krishna and Godavari rivers.

"How much water has been allocated for Telangana all these years?" he asked.

"How much money has been spent on Telangana projects?"

The TDP has no reply.

The struggle for a Telangana state is different from other similar demands in that Telangana was already a state between 1948 and 1956 before being merged with the coastal Andhra region to form Andhra Pradesh.

As next year's elections draw nearer the success of the TRS movement has sent ripples across all major political parties.

The TDP is standing firm against the proposal for a state of Telangana. But its ally, the BJP, is confused.

Congressmen from Telangana have pressurised the main opposition Congress party leadership to take a clear a stand in support of Telangana, causing huge splits in the party.

Telangana will undoubtedly be the most important issue in the 2004 elections in Andhra Pradesh and the TRS is fast emerging as the key player.