Punjab Reorganisation Act 1966
Topic: Challenges of Nation Building: Partition, Princely States and Reorganisation · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 7 "Federalism"
Meaning
The Punjab Reorganisation Act 1966 is the law that split the old Punjab state on 1 November 1966. The split followed the Punjabi Suba demand of the Akali Dal, led by Master Tara Singh and Sant Fateh Singh, for a Punjabi-speaking state. The Centre had refused this demand in 1956. The new boundaries were drawn after the J.C. Shah boundary commission. This was a major case of drawing state borders by language after 1956.
Example
Under the Act, Hindi-speaking areas became the new state of Haryana. The hill areas went to Himachal Pradesh, which later became a full state on 25 January 1971. Chandigarh became a Union territory, which means an area run by the Centre. It also became the joint capital of both Punjab and Haryana.
Don't confuse with
- States Reorganisation Act 1956: the general law that redrew most states along language lines. It did not create a Punjabi-speaking state. The 1966 Act dealt with Punjab alone.
Related concepts
- Samyukta Maharashtra movement
- Bombay Reorganisation Act 1960
- North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act 1971