Linguistic Reorganisation of States

At a Glance

• Dhar Commission June 1948; opposed linguistic provinces
• JVP Committee December 1948; Jawaharlal, Vallabhbhai, Pattabhi
• Andhra Created 1 October 1953 after Sriramulu’s death
• SRC Appointed August 1953; report October 1955; Act November 1956
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Modern History: The Nehru Era, 1947-64

Where Does It Fit?

This is the second topic of the category on the Nehru era. The previous topic covered the debate over the national language. This topic covers the linguistic reorganisation of states. The next topic covers the growth of other political parties. Previous topic: Debate Over the National Language.

Why Did the Demand Arise and Why Was It Refused at First?

The demand for reorganising states on the basis of language came from linguistic pluralism and surfaced immediately after independence. The boundaries of provinces before independence resulted from British conquest: they were drawn for administrative convenience or simply coincided with territories annexed by the British or ruled by the princely states. The Congress had already recognised regional linguistic identities in its Nagpur session of the 1920s, dividing India into 21 linguistic units for its own organisation, and many provincial Congress committees were set up on linguistic zones.

When the demand for linguistic provinces arose in the Constituent Assembly in 1946 and after independence, the national leadership under the Congress opposed it for the sake of national unity. Partition had created serious administrative, economic and political problems, the post-war world had economic and law-and-order difficulties, and Kashmir and a war-like situation with Pakistan needed attention. The situation is described in First Day of Independent India and the First Government and in India and Pakistan, 1947-64.

How Was Andhra Created?

The first demand for a linguistic province came from the Telugu-speaking region of Andhra. In August 1951 Swami Sitaram, a Congressman and Gandhian leader, began a fast unto death and broke it after thirty-five days. The movement was renewed in December 1952 by another Gandhian, Potti Sriramulu, who died after fasting for fifty-six days. His death was followed by rioting, demonstrations, hartals and violence all over Andhra, and the government conceded the demand. Andhra was formed on 1 October 1953, separated from the Tamil-speaking Madras state. A note on dates: Sriramulu began his fast in October 1952 and died on 15 December 1952; some accounts give only the number of days and the month of death. The method of the fast recalls Gandhian protest as in Gandhi’s Fast and the Famine of 1943.

What Did the States Reorganisation Commission Do?

The creation of Andhra encouraged other linguistic groups to press for their own states or for boundary changes on linguistic grounds. Under popular pressure the Nehru government appointed the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) in August 1953, with Justice Fazl Ali, K.M. Panikkar and Hridaynath Kunzru as members. It reported in October 1955, and its recommendations were accepted with some modifications and implemented quickly. The States Reorganisation Act of November 1956 provided for fourteen states and six centrally administered territories, though many states still had sizeable linguistic minorities and regional economic disparities. The states themselves, as they stood in 1950, are in Integration of the Indian States, 1947-49.

What Remained Unsettled?

The SRC had opposed splitting Bombay and Punjab, and widespread rioting broke out in Bombay city in January 1956. In May 1960 the government agreed to divide Bombay into Maharashtra and Gujarat, with Bombay city in Maharashtra and Ahmedabad as the capital of Gujarat. The Nagas, the first to raise the issue of ethnic identity, forced the government to concede a state of Nagaland in 1960, inaugurated in 1963. Punjab remained a trilingual state of Punjabi, Hindi and Pahari speakers, and the demand for a Punjabi Suba, a Punjabi-speaking state, took on communal overtones because of Sikh and Hindu communalists; it stayed unsolved in Nehru’s time and was addressed later under Indira Gandhi, as in Indira Gandhi, 1966-77: Political Developments and Socio-Economic Policies. Many new states have been formed since, not always along linguistic lines.

As an analytical point, the outcome showed that the fear of 1948 was not borne out: linguistic states did not weaken national unity, and the Congress, having first resisted, then led the change when the pressure became too strong, which kept the movement within the system. The same pattern of conceding after a crisis, and not before, marks the Nehru era’s handling of the language question in Debate Over the National Language.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Commissions and dates Dhar, JVP and SRC are standard Prelims facts
• Andhra and Sriramulu The first linguistic state is a frequent question
• Federal politics A GS Paper 2 theme on regional identity and national unity

What Came Next?

The next topic covers the growth of other political parties during the Nehru era. Next topic: Growth of Other Political Parties.

Key People and Terms

• Dhar Commission Linguistic Provinces Commission of 1948
• JVP Committee Nehru, Patel and Pattabhi’s committee
• Potti Sriramulu Gandhian who died after a 56-day fast
• States Reorganisation Commission Fazl Ali, Panikkar and Kunzru
• States Reorganisation Act, 1956 Created fourteen states and six territories
• Punjabi Suba Demand for a Punjabi-speaking state

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask about the reasons and course of reorganisation. These points add depth.

• Resistance National unity first
• Pressure Fasts and riots
• Outcome Linguistic states without disunity