States Reorganisation Act, 1956

The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 was a major reform of the

States Reorganisation Act,
boundaries of India's states and territories, organising them along
1956
linguistic lines.[1]

Although additional changes to India's state boundaries have been made

since 1956, the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 remains the most
extensive change in state boundaries after the independence of India.

The Act came into effect at the same time as the Constitution
(Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956,[2] which (among other things)
restructured the constitutional framework for India's existing states and
the requirements to pass the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 under the
provisions of Part I of the Constitution of India, Article 3.[a]

Political integration after independence

and the Constitution of 1950 Parliament of India
British India, which included present-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh Citation ACT NO. 37 OF
and Myanmar, was divided into two types of territories: the Provinces of 1956
British India, which were governed directly by British officials Enacted by Parliament of India
responsible to the Governor-General of India; and the Indian States, Enacted
31st August, 1956
under the rule of local hereditary rulers who recognized British
suzerainty in return for continued authority over their own realms, in Effective
1st November, 1956

most cases as established by treaty. As a result of the reforms of the early Status: In force
20th century, most of the British provinces had directly elected
legislatures as well as governors, although some of the smaller provinces were governed by a chief
commissioner appointed by the Governor-General. Major reforms put forward by the British in the 1930s also
recognized the principle of federalism, which was carried forward into the governance of independent India.

On 15 August 1947, British India was granted independence as the separate dominions of India and Pakistan.
The British dissolved their treaty relations with more than five hundred princely states, who were encouraged
to accede to either India or Pakistan, while under no compulsion to do so. Most of the states acceded to India,
and a few to Pakistan. Bhutan, Hyderabad and Kashmir opted for independence; Bhutan remains
independent, but Hyderabad was annexed by India, and the status of Kashmir became the subject of conflict
between India and Pakistan.

Between 1947 and about 1950, the territories of the princely states were politically integrated into the Indian
Union. Several states were merged into existing provinces; others were organized into unions, such as
Rajputana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Bharat, and Vindhya Pradesh, made up of multiple princely states; a
few, including Mysore, Hyderabad, Bhopal, and Bilaspur, remained separate states. The Government of India
Act 1935 remained the constitutional law of India pending adoption of a new Constitution.

The new Constitution of India, which came into force on 26 January 1950, made India a sovereign democratic
republic. The new republic was also declared to be a "Union of States".[3] The constitution of 1950
distinguished between three main types of states and a class of territories:

Part A states – which were the former governors' provinces of British India, were ruled by a governor
appointed by the president and an elected state legislature. The nine Part A states were Assam, Bihar,
 Bombay, Madhya Pradesh (formerly Central Provinces and
Berar), Madras, Odisha (formerly Orissa), Punjab (formerly
East Punjab), Uttar Pradesh (formerly the United
Provinces), and West Bengal.
Part B states – which were former princely states or
unions of princely states, governed by a rajpramukh, who
was usually the ruler of a constituent state, and an elected
legislature. The raj Pramukh was appointed by the
President of India. The eight Part B states were
Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Bharat, Mysore,
Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU),
Rajasthan, Saurashtra, and Travancore-Cochin.
Part C states – included both the former chief
commissioners' provinces and some princely states, and
each was governed by a chief commissioner appointed by
the President of India. The ten Part C states were Ajmer,
Bhopal, Bilaspur, Coorg, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Cutch,
Manipur, Tripura, and Vindhya Pradesh.
The sole Part D territory[4] – was the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, which was administered by a lieutenant
governor appointed by the central government.
In this classifications, Part A states had a Governor, Part B
states had a Rajpramukh and Part C states had a
Administrative divisions of India in 1951. Note that
commissioner.[5]
Sikkim was independent until 1975.

Movement for linguistic states

The demand for states to be organized on a linguistic basis was
developed even before India achieved independence from British rule. A
first-of-its-kind linguistic movement started in 1895, in what is now
Odisha. The movement gained momentum in later years with the
demand for a separate Orissa Province to be formed by bifurcating the
existing Bihar and Orissa Province.[6][7] Due to the efforts of
Madhusudan Das, the Father of Odia nationalism, the movement
eventually achieved its objective in 1936, when Orissa Province became
the first Indian state (pre-independence) to be organized on the basis of
common languages.

The post-independence period saw the ascent of political movements

for the creation of new states developed on linguistic lines. The South Indian states prior to the States
movement to create a Telugu-speaking state out of the northern portion Reorganisation Act
of Madras State gathered strength in the years after independence, and
in 1953, the sixteen northern Telugu-speaking districts of Madras State
became the new State of Andhra.

During the 1950–1956 period, other small changes were made to state boundaries: the small state of Bilaspur
was merged with Himachal Pradesh on 1 July 1954; and Chandernagore, a former enclave of French India,
was incorporated into West Bengal in 1955.

States Reorganisation Commission

The States Reorganisation Commission was preceded by the Linguistic Provinces Commission (aka Dhar
Commission), which was set up in June 1948. It rejected language as a parameter for dividing states. Later,
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru appointed the States Reorganisation Commission in December 1953, with
the remit to reorganise the Indian states. The new commission was headed by the retired Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court, Fazal Ali; its other two members were H. N. Kunzru and K. M. Panikkar. The efforts of the
commission were overseen by Govind Ballabh Pant, who served as the Home Minister from December 1954.

The States Reorganisation Commission submitted a report on September 30, 1955, with recommendations
for the reorganisation of India's states, which was then debated by the Indian parliament. Subsequently, bills
were passed to make changes to the constitution and to administer the reorganisation of the states.[8]

Related changes by other legislation

The States Reorganisation Act was enacted on 31 August 1956. Before it
came into effect on 1 November, an important amendment was made to
the Constitution of India. Under the Seventh Amendment, the existing
terminology of Part A, Part B, Part C, and Part D states was altered. The
distinction between Part A and Part B states was removed, becoming
known simply as "states". A new type of entity, the Union Territory,
replaced the classification as a Part C or Part D state.

A further Act also came into effect on 1 November, transferring certain

territories from Bihar to West Bengal.[9]

Effect of the changes Political map of India, 1956, after

the States Reorganisation Act, 1956
The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 was a major step towards dividing
India into states and Union Territories. The following list sets out the
states and union territories of India as reorganised on 1 November 1956:

States
1. Andhra Pradesh (1956–2014): formed by the merger of Andhra State with the Telugu-speaking areas of
Hyderabad State.
2. Assam: No change of boundary in 1956.
3. Bihar: reduced slightly by the transfer of minor territories to West Bengal (Purulia from Manbhum district,
Islampur from Purnea district).
4. Bombay State: the state was enlarged by the addition of Saurashtra State and Kutch State, the Marathi-
speaking districts of Berar Division and Nagpur Division of Central Province and Berar and Aurangabad
Division of Hyderabad State. The southernmost districts of the Bombay Presidency were transferred to
Mysore State.
5. Jammu and Kashmir: No change of boundary in 1956.
6. Kerala: formed by the merger of Travancore-Cochin state with the Malabar district and Kasaragod taluk of
South Canara district of the Madras Presidency. The southern part of Travancore-Cochin, Kanyakumari
district, along with Sengottai Taluk, was transferred to Madras State. The Laccadive and Minicoy Islands
were separated from Malabar District to form a new Union Territory namely Laccadive, Amindivi, and
Minicoy Islands.[10]
7. Madhya Pradesh: Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh, and Bhopal State were merged into Madhya
Pradesh; the Marathi-speaking districts of Nagpur Division were transferred to Bombay State.
8. Madras State: Malabar District was transferred to the new state of Kerala, South Canara district was
bifurcated and transferred to Mysore State and to Kerala and a new Union Territory, Laccadive, Minicoy
and Amindivi Islands, was created. The southern part of Travancore-Cochin - Kanyakumari district, along
with Sengottai Taluk was added to Madras State.
9. Mysore State: enlarged by the addition of Coorg State and the Kannada speaking districts from western
Madras Presidency, southern Bombay Presidency and western Hyderabad State.
10. Orissa: No change of boundary in 1956.
11. Punjab: enlarged by addition of the Patiala and East Punjab States Union.
12. Rajasthan: enlarged by the addition of Ajmer state and parts of Bombay and Madhya Bharat states.
13. Uttar Pradesh: No change of boundary in 1956.
14. West Bengal: enlarged by addition of Purulia district, previously part of Bihar.

Union territories
The Part C and Part D territories that weren't merged into other states, were converted into Union
Territories:

1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands

2. Delhi
3. Manipur
4. Tripura
5. Himachal Pradesh
6. Laccadive, Minicoy & Amindivi Islands

See also
Unification of Karnataka
Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960
Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966
North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971
Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000
Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000
Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000
Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014
Himachal Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 1970
List of proposed states and territories of India
Administrative divisions of India
States and union territories of India
Political integration of India
Union Territory
Indian Constitution
Partition of India
Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019

Notes
a. Article 3 deals with the "Formation of new States and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing
States".

References
1. "Explainer: The reorganization of states in India and why it happened" (http://www.thenewsminute.com/art
icle/explainer-reorganization-states-india-and-why-it-happened-52273). 2 November 2016.
2. "Seventh Amendment" (https://web.archive.org/web/20170501011646/http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amen
d/amend7.htm). Indiacode.nic.in. Archived from the original (http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend
7.htm) on 1 May 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
3. "Article 1". Constitution of India (https://web.archive.org/web/20120402064301/http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/
coi/coi-english/coi-indexenglish.htm). Archived from the original (http://lawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/
coi-indexenglish.htm) on 2 April 2012.
4. "The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956" (https://web.archive.org/web/20170501011646/http://i
ndiacode.nic.in/coiweb/amend/amend7.htm). Archived from the original (http://indiacode.nic.in/coiweb/am
 end/amend7.htm) on 1 May 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
5. Indiapedia: The All-India Factfinder (https://books.google.com/books?id=LS9nAQAAQBAJ). Hachette UK.
2013. ISBN 9789350097663.
6. "Demand of separate province for Oriya" (https://archive.today/20131112115802/http://www.telegraphindi
a.com/1110401/jsp/orissa/story_13795031.jsp). The Telegraph. Archived from the original (http://www.tele
graphindia.com/1110401/jsp/orissa/story_13795031.jsp) on 12 November 2013.
7. Sharma, Sadhna (1995). States Politics in India (https://books.google.com/books?id=i0HdDbdKa8UC&pg
=PA249). ISBN 9788170996194.
8. "Reorganisation of states" (http://www.epw.in/system/files/pdf/1955_7/42/reorganisation_of_statesthe_ap
proach_and_arrangements.pdf) (PDF). Economic Weekly.
9. Bihar and West Bengal (Transfer of Territories) Act, 1956
10. "The States Reorganisation Act, 1956" (https://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/A1956-37.pdf) (PDF).
legislative.gov.in. Government of India.

External links
Text of the Act (http://www.liiofindia.org/in/legis/cen/num_act/sra1956250/)

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