Linguistic reorganisation of states

Also called: Linguistic states · Topic: Challenges of Nation Building: Partition, Princely States and Reorganisation · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 2 "Federalism"; Class 11, Ch 7 "Federalism"; Class 12, Ch 1 "Challenges of Nation Building"

Meaning

Linguistic reorganisation of states means redrawing state boundaries so that each state mostly holds people who speak one language. It started with the creation of Andhra state in 1953. The main step came with the States Reorganisation Act 1956, which followed the States Reorganisation Commission's (SRC's) advice. Language was the main basis, but it was not the only one.

It matters because it replaced the colonial and princely patchwork with one rule for drawing the map. It also showed that India could recognise its diversity without breaking apart.

Explanation

Why it began: the old map and Andhra

• The 1950 map had four classes of states, called Part A, B, C and D.
• Part A: the former governors' provinces, such as Bombay, Madras and the United Provinces.
• Part B: the former princely states and unions of princely states, headed by a Rajpramukh (usually a former ruler acting as head of a state union). Examples: Hyderabad, Mysore, Travancore-Cochin. Jammu and Kashmir was also in Part B.
• Part C: smaller units run more directly by the Centre, such as Delhi, Coorg and Ajmer.

• Part D: only the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

• The problem: these boundaries came from British convenience and the princes' old territories. They did not follow language or culture.

• The trigger: Andhra.
• Potti Sriramulu died in December 1952 while fasting for a separate Andhra state.
• In 1953 the Telugu-speaking areas were taken out of Madras to form Andhra state.
• This set off similar demands across the country. The Centre needed one rule for the whole map.

The States Reorganisation Commission (1953-55) and its four factors

• Set up: December 1953, by the Union government.
• Members: Chairman Justice Fazl Ali, with K.M. Panikkar and H.N. Kunzru [5].
• Report: submitted on 30 September 1955 [5].
• Main advice: state boundaries should follow the boundaries of the languages people speak.
• But it rejected 'one language, one state'.
• One language group could be split across two states.

• One state could hold more than one language, if other factors required it.

• The four factors it weighed:

Factor	In simple words
Unity and security of India	No new boundary should weaken the country or its defence
Linguistic and cultural homogeneity	People in a state should, as far as possible, share a language and culture ("homogeneity" means sameness)
Financial, economic and administrative viability	A state must be able to pay for itself and be run well
Welfare of the people and success of national plans	The new map must help the Five-Year Plans

• Other advice:
• End the Part A-D classes.
• Abolish the office of Rajpramukh.

• Give constitutional safeguards to linguistic minorities (smaller language groups living inside a state).

• Panikkar's dissent: he wanted the very large Uttar Pradesh split, because its size gave it too much weight in the Union.

How Parliament redraws a state: the Article 3 procedure

• Article 3 lets Parliament, by ordinary law, form a new state, join states, or change any state's area, boundaries or name [8].

• Steps in order: 1. Introduction: the bill can be introduced in either House only on the President's recommendation [8]. 2. Reference to the state: if the bill affects a state's area, boundaries or name, the President sends it to that state's legislature for its views. The President fixes the time limit and can extend it [8]. 3. Views are not binding: once that time ends, Parliament can go ahead. It does not have to follow the state's views [8]. 4. Passing: Parliament passes it by a simple majority (more than half of the members present and voting), like an ordinary law. Under Article 4, such a law does not count as a constitutional amendment under Article 368.

• What this means: the Centre can change a state's boundaries without the state's consent. This is why India is called "an indestructible Union of destructible states".

Limits and problems

• Linguistic minorities: every new state still has its own minorities, such as Kannada speakers in Maharashtra or Telugu speakers in Tamil Nadu. They can face pressure in schooling and jobs. This is why Art. 350B exists [4].
• 'Sons of the soil' politics: the demand that local people get jobs and benefits before outsiders. Example: Shiv Sena's campaigns in Bombay in the 1960s.
• Border disputes: the best-known is Belagavi (Belgaum) between Maharashtra and Karnataka.
• River-water disputes: language-based states also became rivals over shared rivers, such as the Cauvery and the Krishna.

In the Constitution and practice

• Constitutional base: Arts. 2-4, with Article 3 as the main tool [8]. The First Schedule lists the states and Union Territories.
• States Reorganisation Act 1956 (Act No. 37 of 1956): passed by Parliament to carry out the SRC plan [7].
• It came into force on 1 November 1956.
• Result: 14 states and 6 Union Territories (areas governed directly by the Centre).
• Kerala: Travancore-Cochin plus the Malabar district of Madras.
• Mysore (enlarged): brought together Kannada-speaking areas from Bombay, Hyderabad, Madras and Coorg. It was renamed Karnataka in 1973.
• Andhra Pradesh: Andhra state plus Telangana, the Telugu-speaking part of Hyderabad.

• Bombay stayed bilingual (Marathi plus Gujarati). The Samyukta Maharashtra and Maha Gujarat movements opposed this. In 1960 Bombay was split into Maharashtra and Gujarat.

• Zonal Councils (Part III of the 1956 Act): five councils were set up [6].

• Idea: Nehru suggested them "to develop the habit of cooperative working" [6].
• Chairman: the Union Home Minister [6].
• Vice-Chairman: the Chief Ministers of the zone, by rotation, one year at a time (Section 16) [6][7].
• Work: they discuss and make recommendations on planning, border disputes, linguistic minorities, inter-state transport and matters left over from the 1956 reorganisation [6].

• Their advice is not binding. They are tools of cooperative federalism (the Centre and the states working together).

• Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956: changed the Constitution to fit the new map [2].

• Abolished the Part A, B, C (and D) classes. Only States and Union Territories remained [2].
• Allowed one person to be Governor of two or more states.
• Allowed one High Court for two or more states (or for a state and a UT).
• Art. 350A: every state and local authority must try to provide teaching in the mother tongue at the primary stage for linguistic minority children. The President may direct a state to do this [2][3].

• Art. 350B: a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities, appointed by the President, checks whether the safeguards work and reports to the President [2][4].

• Later changes, 1960-2019: Maharashtra and Gujarat (1960); Nagaland (1963); Punjab reorganised, with Haryana and Himachal Pradesh separated (1966); Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura (1972); Sikkim (1975); Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa (1987); Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand (2000); Telangana (2014); Jammu and Kashmir reorganised into two UTs, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh (2019).

• The pattern: after 1956, most new states were made on regional, ethnic, tribal and development grounds, not language alone.

• Border dispute in practice: the Mahajan Commission (1966-67) largely upheld Mysore's claim over Belgaum. Maharashtra rejected the report.

• Lasting effect (NCERT's verdict):
• Nehru and others feared that language-based states would encourage separatism (a region's wish to break away from India). That did not happen.
• State politics and administration began to work in local languages. Power opened up to people beyond the small English-speaking elite.
• Meeting regional demands strengthened national unity.

Don't confuse with

• 'One language, one state': the SRC rejected this strict rule. Ambedkar (Thoughts on Linguistic States, 1955) supported it, and he also wanted large states such as UP, Bihar, MP and Maharashtra split.
• JVP Committee (1948-49) and Dar Commission (1948): these came earlier. The JVP Committee was Nehru, Patel and Pattabhi Sitaramayya. The SRC (1953-55) was Fazl Ali, Panikkar and Kunzru.
• Zonal Councils vs Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities: Zonal Councils are statutory (set up by the SRA 1956) [6]. The Special Officer is constitutional (Art. 350B, added by the Seventh Amendment) [4].
• Linguistic states (1956) vs the states of 2000: Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand were formed on regional, tribal and development grounds, not language.

Prelims Hooks

• SRC: appointed December 1953, reported 30 September 1955. Chair Fazl Ali, members K.M. Panikkar and H.N. Kunzru [5]. Panikkar's dissent: split Uttar Pradesh.
• SRA 1956 came into force on 1 November 1956 and created 14 states + 6 UTs [7].
• Seventh Amendment, 1956: abolished Part A-D states, allowed a common Governor and a common High Court, and inserted Arts. 350A and 350B [2].
• Art. 350A = mother-tongue teaching at the primary stage [3]. Art. 350B = Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities, appointed by and reporting to the President [4].
• Zonal Councils: statutory, not constitutional. Chairman is the Union Home Minister. Vice-Chairman is the zone's Chief Ministers in rotation, one year each [6].
• Art. 3 trap: the bill needs the President's prior recommendation. The state legislature's views are sought but are not binding. It passes by a simple majority [8].

Mains Points

• Accommodation as nation-building (GS-I):
• Nehru first feared that language-based states would lead to separatism.
• The 1956 reorganisation showed the opposite. It deepened democracy, brought non-English-speaking groups into power and strengthened unity.

• India manages diversity by recognising it, not suppressing it.

• Federalism trade-off (GS-II):

• Under Art. 3, Parliament can redraw states without their consent [8]. This kept the Union flexible from 1956 to 2019.
• Critics say it weakens state autonomy, as the debates on Telangana (2014) and Jammu and Kashmir (2019) showed.

• A balanced answer pairs this central power with consultative bodies such as Zonal Councils [6].

• Unfinished agenda and reforms:

• Linguistic minorities, 'sons of the soil' politics, the Belagavi dispute and the Cauvery and Krishna water disputes remain.
• Possible reforms: make the Special Officer under Art. 350B stronger [4]; use Zonal Councils actively to settle disputes [6]; set up a standing States Reorganisation Commission to judge new demands on clear criteria.
• The SRC's four factors, Ambedkar's call to split large states, and the new states of 2000 and 2014 all show that viability and governance now matter as much as language.

Related concepts

• Part A, B, C and D states
• States Reorganisation Commission
• States Reorganisation Act 1956
• 7th Constitutional Amendment Act 1956

Read more

• The States Reorganisation Commission and the 1956 reorganisation