The political and administrative reorganisation of Indian states has been an ongoing, evolutionary process shaped by colonial imperatives, linguistic identities, administrative convenience, economic needs, tribal aspirations, and security concerns.
Reorganisation Under British Rule (Mid-19th Century to 1947):
(a) 1833–1858: Early Provincial Consolidation:
- Government of India Act 1833: Created a centralised administrative structure. Bengal, Bombay, Madras presidencies weakened.
- 1858 transfer to Crown: Reorganised provinces for direct control. For e.g., creation of Punjab Province in 1859.
(b) Late 19th Century: Territorial Carvings by Administrative Need:
- North-Western Provinces merged with Oudh (1902) creating United Provinces.
- Chief Commissioner Provinces created in Ajmer-Merwara (1871), Coorg, Delhi (1912).
(c) Early 20th Century: Ethno-linguistic Pressures Begin:
- Partition of Bengal (1905) on administrative-ethnic grounds even though annulled in 1911.
- 1911: Creation of Bihar and Orissa Province.
- 1936: Creation of Sindh and separation of Orissa from Bihar.
(d) 1935 Government of India Act: Reorganised British India into 11 Governor’s provinces and several Chief Commissioner provinces while Princely states remained separate political entities.
Post-Independence Early Reorganisation (1947–1956):
(a) Integration of 550+ princely states (1947–1950): Sardar Patel & V.P. Menon integrated princely states into Part A, B, C, D States as seen in PEPSU (Patiala & East Punjab States Union), Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh, Saurashtra, Travancore-Cochin
(b) 1950 Constitution:
o Four-fold Classification where states are categorised into Part A, B, C, D.
o States Reorganisation Act 1956: States Reorganisation Commission (SRC), 1953 recommended reorganisation mainly on linguistic, administrative, economic criteria. It resulted in abolition of Part A/B/C categories and India got reorganised into 14 States and 6 UTs. For example, Kerala formed with the merger of Travancore-Cochin and Malabar District
Post-1956 Reorganisation Waves:
- In 1960, Bilingual Bombay split into Maharashtra & Gujarat as a result of Samyukta Maharashtra and Mahagujarat movements.
· In 1966, Punjabi Suba movement led to creation of Punjab (Punjabi/Sikh majority), Haryana (Hindi-speaking) and Chandigarh (UT)
1971–1987 – Northeast restructuring:
- Himachal Pradesh acquired statehood in 1971.
- Manipur, Tripura & Meghalaya achieved statehood in 1972.
- Sikkim integration & statehood in 1975.
Economic & Administrative Reorganisation: Chhattisgarh (from MP) Jharkhand (from Bihar) Uttarakhand (from UP) were formed for better governance & development of backward regions:
Security & Political Reorganisation (2014–2019):
· In 2014, Telangana state was formed due to developmental concerns and river water disputes from Andhra Pradesh.
- In 2019, Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act led to creation of UT of J&K
and UT of Ladakh due to security challenges.
Conclusion:
The reorganisation of states and UTs is not a one-time event but a continuous, adaptive process responding to India’s linguistic diversity, regional aspirations, administrative needs, and national security considerations.
‘+1’ Value addition:
- Potti Sriramulu’s fast unto death (1952) directly led to the creation of Andhra State (1953).
- Reorganisation Commissions: Dhar Commission (1948), JVP Committee (1948), States Reorganisation Commission (Fazl Ali, 1953), Srikrishna Committee (2010–11) for Andhra/Telangana.
- Article 3 vests Parliament with power to form, alter and name states.
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