Everything about States Reorganisation Act totally explained
The
States Reorganization Act of 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries and governance of
India's
states and territories. The act reorganized the boundaries of India's states along linguistic lines, and amended the
Indian Constitution to replace the three types of states, known as Parts A, B, and C states, with a single type of state.
Although additional changes to India's state boundaries have been made since 1956, the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 remains the single most extensive change in state boundaries since the independence of India in 1947.
Political integration after independence and the Constitution of 1950
British India, which included most of present-day India as well as
Pakistan and
Bangladesh, was divided into two types of territories:
provinces, which were governed directly by British officials, responsible to the
Governor-General of India; and
princely states, under the rule of local hereditary rulers who recognised British sovereignty in return for local autonomy, as established by treaty. As a result of the reforms of the early 20th century, most of the provinces had elected legislatures and governors, although some of the smaller provinces were governed by a chief commissioner appointed by the Governor-General. The 20th century reforms of British India also established the principle of
federalism, also known in British India as "dyarchy", which was carried forward into the governance of independent India.
On
August 15 1947, British India was granted independence as the separate dominions of
India and
Pakistan. The British dissolved their treaty relations with the over 600 princely states, who were encouraged to accede to either India or Pakistan. Most of the states acceded to India, and a few to Pakistan.
Bhutan and
Hyderabad opted for independence, although the armed intervention of India brought Hyderabad into the Indian Union.
During the 1947-1950 period, the territories of the princely states were politically integrated into the Indian Union. Most were merged into the existing provinces; others were organised into new provinces, like
Rajputana,
Himachal Pradesh,
Madhya Bharat, and
Vindhya Pradesh made up of multiple princely states; a few, including
Mysore,
Hyderabad,
Bhopal, and
Bilaspur, became separate provinces. The
Government of India Act 1935 remained the constitutional law of India pending adoption of a new Constitution.
The
Constitution of India, which went into effect on
January 26 1950, made India a sovereign, democratic republic, and a union of states (replacing provinces) and territories. The states would have extensive autonomy and complete democracy in the Union, while the
Union territories would be administered by the
Government of India. The constitution of 1950 distinguished between three types of states.
Part A states, which were the former governors' provinces of British India, were ruled by an elected governor and state legislature. The nine Part A states were
Assam,
West Bengal,
Bihar,
Bombay,
Madhya Pradesh (formerly Central Provinces and Berar),
Madras,
Orissa,
Punjab, and
Uttar Pradesh (formerly United Provinces).
The eight Part B states were former princely states or groups of princely states, governed by a
rajpramukh, who was often a former prince, along with an elected legislature. The rajpramukh was appointed by the
President of India. The Part B states were
Hyderabad,
Saurashtra,
Mysore,
Travancore-Cochin,
Madhya Bharat,
Vindhya Pradesh,
Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU), and
Rajasthan.
The ten Part C states included both the former chief commissioners' provinces and princely states, and were governed by a chief commissioner. The chief commissioner was appointed by the President of India. The Part C states included
Delhi,
Kutch,
Himachal Pradesh,
Bilaspur,
Coorg,
Bhopal,
Manipur,
Ajmer-Merwara, and
Tripura.
Jammu and Kashmir had special status until 1957. The
Andaman and Nicobar Islands was established as a union territory, ruled by a lieutenant governor appointed by the central government.
The movement for linguistic states
Political movements for the creation of new, linguistic-based states developed around India in the years after independence. The movement to create a
Telugu-speaking state out of the northern portion of
Madras State gathered strength in the years after independence, and in 1953, the 16 northern, Telugu-speaking districts of Madras State became the new
State of Andhra.
Other small changes were made to state boundaries during the 1950-1956 period. The small state of Bilaspur was merged with Himachal Pradesh on
July 1 1954, and
Chandernagore, a former
enclave of
French India, was incorporated into
West Bengal in 1955.
The States Reorganisation Commission
In December 1953, Prime Minister
Jawaharlal Nehru appointed the States Reorganisation Commission to prepare for the creation of states on linguistic lines. This was headed by Justice
Fazal Ali and the commission itself was also known as the
Fazal Ali Commission. The efforts of this commission was overseen by
Govind Ballabh Pant, who served as
Home Minister from December 1954. The commission created a report in 1955 recommending the reorganisation of India's states.
The States Reorganisation Act
The States Reorganisation Act of 1956, which went into effect on
November 1, eliminated the distinction between part A, B, and C states. It also reorganised the state boundaries and created or dissolved states and union territories.
Changes to states and union territories
On
November 1,
1956, India was divided into the following states and union territories:
States
Union territories
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Delhi
Himachal Pradesh
Lakshadweep
Pondicherry
Tripura
ManipurFurther Information
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