SHAPE OF INDIA (1947-2014)

SHAPE OF INDIA (1947-2014)

At the time of the British withdrawal, 565 princely states were officially recognised in the Indian subcontinent, apart from thousands of taluqdars, zamindaris and jagirs. In 1947, princely states numbering 555 covered 48% of area of pre-Independent India and constituted 28% of its population.

The grouping of states at the time was done on the basis of political and historical considerations rather than on linguistic or cultural divisions, but this was a temporary arrangement. On account of the multilingual nature and differences that existed between various states, there was a need for the states to be reorganized on a permanent basis.

In 1948, SK Dhar - a judge of the Allahabad High Court - was appointed by the government to head a commission that would look into the need for the reorganization of states on a linguistic basis. However, the Commission preferred reorganisation of states on the basis of administrative convenience including historical and geographical considerations instead of on linguistic lines.

In December 1948, the JVP Committee comprising Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabh bhai Patel and Pattabhi Sitaramayya was formed to study the issue. The Committee, in its report submitted in April 1949, rejected the idea of reorganisation of states on a linguistic basis but said that the issue could be looked at afresh in the light of public demand.

In 1953, the first linguistic state of Andhra for Telugu-speaking people was born. The government was forced to separate the Telugu speaking areas from the state of Madras, in the face of a prolonged agitation and the death of Potti Sriramulu after a 56-day hunger strike. Consequently, there were similar demands for creation of states on linguistic basis from other parts of the country.

On December 22, 1953, Jawaharlal Nehru appointed a commission under Fazl Ali to consider these new demands. The commission submitted its report in 1955 and it suggested that the whole country be divided into 16 states and three centrally administered areas. The government, while not agreeing with the recommendations entirely, divided the country into 14 states and 6 union territories under the States Reorganization Act that was passed in November 1956. The states were Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Mysore, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The six union territories were Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands, Manipur and Tripura.

Timeline to formation of 28 Indian states:

Uttar Pradesh (1947): The state has been a confluence of culture, religions and art. To improve administration, the British united Oudh and Agra regions and called it United Provinces. In 1950, it was renamed Uttar Pradesh.

West Bengal (1947): Winning the Battle of Plassey gave British the entry to India and Bengal was their administrative capital. In 1905, Bengal was partitioned into East and West Bengal but by 1911 it was reunited. The Hindu-Muslim riots in the run-up to the partition hastened the division of Bengal, with East Bengal becoming East Pakistan and West Bengal becoming a state of the Indian Union.

Rajasthan (1948): Known as the Rajputana under British India, the princely states came together in 1948 to form the United State of Rajasthan. In May 1949, it was renamed United State of Greater Rajasthan and in 1956, the state of Rajasthan was born.

Assam (1950): Ruled by the Ahoms for over six hundred years, Assam became a British protectorate in 1826 when the Burmese handed the territory to the British. Assam was separated from Bengal in 1874 and in 1912 it was made Assam province under British rule. Greater Assam included Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram, amongst other areas, before they became independent states.

Odisha (1950): Orissa was made a separate province in 1936 by the British and in 1950 became a state. It was renamed Odisha in 2011.

Bihar (1950): Formed as a state in 1950, Bihar has remained a politically important state.

Tamil Nadu (1950): Erstwhile Madras Presidency was reorganized as a state in 1950 and renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969.

Madhya Pradesh (1956): What was Central Provinces and Berar under British India merged with Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh and Bhopal to form India’s second largest state in 1956.

Kerala (1956): Former states of Travancore and Cochin were merged along with Malabar to form the state of Kerala in 1956.

Karnataka (1956): Mysore state was created by bringing together all Kanada speaking regions together in 1956. The state was renamed Karnataka in 1973.

Andhra Pradesh (1956): Post independence, in 1953, all Telugu speaking regions were separated from the erstwhile Madras Presidency and unified as Andhra Pradesh. In 1956, at the time of reorganization of states, Hyderabad state was merged with Andhra Pradesh and the state officially came into existence. Post formation of Telangana in 2014, Amravati is the new capital of Andhra Pradesh.

Maharashtra (1960): At the time of independence, Bombay Province covered a large part of western India. In 1960, the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat were formed as independent states.

Gujarat (1960): Part of Bombay Presidency in British India, Gujarat was separated and formed as an independent state in 1960.

Goa (1961): This Portuguese colony was liberated in 1961 by the Indian Army and made part of the Union Territory along with Daman and Diu. The state of Goa was formed in 1987, while Daman and Diu continue to remain as Union Territories.

Nagaland (1963): In 1957, the Naga Hills Tuensang Area was brought under central control and administered from Assam. With increasing calls and protests for a separate identity to preserve its unique culture, the region was separated from Assam and the state of Nagaland was formed in 1963 with Kohima as its capital.

Punjab (1966): Post independence, the princely state of Patiala was merged with eight other similar states to form Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU). In 1956, this region was merged with rest of Punjab and in 1966, Haryana was separated as an independent state. Both Punjab and Haryana share Chandigarh as its capital, which is a Union Territory.

Haryana (1966): Created from Punjab in 1966.

Himachal Pradesh (1971): Himachal Pradesh was created with the merger of 30 princely states in 1950, and in 1956, was declared a Union Territory. It became an independent state in 1971 with Shimla as its capital.

Manipur (1972): While Manipur gained independence along with India in 1947, it joined the Indian Union as a C state in 1950. In 1956 it became a Union Territory and became an independent state in 1972 with Imphal as its capital.

Tripura (1956): Surrounded by Bangladesh on three sides, The erstwhile princely states of Tripura had merged with India in 1949 and become union territories before getting the status of full-fledged state on January 21, 1972.

Meghalaya (1972): The northeastern state of Meghalaya was formed as an autonomous state within Assam in 1970. It became a separate state in 1972 with Shillong as its capital.

Arunachal Pradesh (1972): The strategically important state of Arunachal Pradesh was part of the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) and controlled by the Central government but was part of Assam region. In 1972, it became a Union Territory and in 1987 became an independent state of India with Itanagar as its capital.

Sikkim (1975): This peaceful state was an Indian protectorate until it merged with the Indian Union as an independent state in 1975 with Gangtok as its capital.

Mizoram (1987): This was a district of Assam and was declared a Union Territory in 1972. After the peace accord was signed with the Mizo National Front in 1986, Mizoram was declared an independent state in 1987 with Aizawl as its capital.

Chhattisgarh (2000): The central Indian state of Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh and formed as an independent state in 2000 with Raipur as its capital.

Jharkhand (2000): This tribal dominated state was carved out of Bihar and made an independent state in 2000 with Ranchi as its capital.

Uttarakhand (2000): The hilly state of Uttaranchal was carved out of Uttar Pradesh as an independent state in 2000 with Dehradun as its capital. In 2007, the state was renamed Uttarakhand.

Telangana (2014): The state was carved out of Andhra Pradesh as an independent state in 2014 with Hyderabad as its capital. The demand for an independent Telangana dates back to the time of reorganization of Indian states in the post-independence period.

Union Territories (8 Nos)

1956: Delhi (as Union Territory)

1956: Lakshadweep

1956: Andaman and Nicobar Islands

1961: Dadar and Nagar Haveli + 1987: Daman and Diu (earlier part of Goa, Daman & Diu).

1963: Puducherry (original name Pondicherry – under Indian control since 1954; renamed Puducherry in 2006)

1966: Chandigarh

2019: Jammu and Kashmir

2019: Ladakh

In August 2019, the Parliament of India passed Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. The act contains provisions to reconstitute the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, one to be eponymously called Jammu and Kashmir, and the other Ladakh on 31 October 2019.

In November 2019, the Government of India introduced legislation to merge the union territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli into a single union territory to be known as Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

**Source: https://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/government/how-india-got-its-29-states.

Why language was used as the criteria for the division of states?

It would lead to the local people participating in the administration in larger numbers because of being able to communicate in a common language.

Governance would be made easier in areas, which shared linguistic and geographical features.