States Reorganisation Commission

Also called: Fazl Ali Commission, SRC · Topic: Challenges of Nation Building: Partition, Princely States and Reorganisation · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 7 "Federalism"; Class 12, Ch 1 "Challenges of Nation Building"

Meaning

The States Reorganisation Commission (SRC), also called the Fazl Ali Commission, was a three-member body. The Union government set it up in December 1953 to study how state boundaries should be redrawn. Its chairman was Justice Fazl Ali, and its members were K.M. Panikkar and H.N. Kunzru [5]. Its report of 30 September 1955 accepted language as the main basis for states but rejected 'one language, one state' [5].

It matters because it shaped India's political map. Its report led to the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 and the Seventh Amendment, 1956, which together replaced the old colonial patchwork with states and Union Territories.

Explanation

Why the commission was needed

• The 1950 map had four classes of states (Part A, B, C and D). Each class came from a different colonial-era unit.
• Part A: the former governors' provinces, such as Bombay and Madras.
• Part B: princely states and unions of princely states. Each was headed by a Rajpramukh (usually a former ruler acting as head of a state union). 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.

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

• Andhra started a chain reaction.
• Potti Sriramulu died in December 1952 while fasting for a separate Andhra state.
• In 1953, Telugu-speaking areas were taken out of Madras to form Andhra state.
• Other regions began making similar demands, so the Centre needed one rule for the whole map.

What the SRC recommended

• Main recommendation: state boundaries should follow the boundaries of the languages people speak.
• It rejected 'one language, one state'.
• Language was an important basis for a state, but not the only one.

• One language group could be split across two states, and one state could hold more than one language, if other factors required it.

• The four factors it weighed:

Factor	Simple meaning
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 recommendations:
• End the Part A-D classification. Keep only two kinds of units: states and centrally run territories.
• Abolish the office of Rajpramukh.
• Give constitutional safeguards to linguistic minorities (smaller language groups living inside a state). The Seventh Amendment later did this through Art. 350A [2].

Dissent and limits

• Panikkar's dissent: Panikkar wanted the very large Uttar Pradesh split. He thought its size gave it too much weight in the Union.
• Ambedkar's similar view: in Thoughts on Linguistic States (1955), Ambedkar supported 'one state, one language'. He also warned that very large states would dominate the Union and urged that UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra be split.
• The SRC was only advisory. Its plan had legal force only after Parliament passed the 1956 Act and the Seventh Amendment.
• NCERT cartoon "Coaxing the Genie back" (5 February 1956): it shows the SRC trying to push the "genie" of linguism (strong political loyalty to one's own language group) back into its bottle. The cartoon asks whether a commission could control the demands that Andhra had already set loose.

In the Constitution and practice

• States Reorganisation Act, 1956 (Act No. 37 of 1956): Parliament passed this law to put the SRC plan into effect [7].
• It came into force on 1 November 1956.
• It created 14 states and 6 Union Territories. A Union Territory is an area governed directly by the Centre.
• Kerala was formed from Travancore-Cochin plus the Malabar district of Madras.
• Mysore was enlarged with Kannada-speaking areas from Bombay, Hyderabad, Madras and Coorg. It was renamed Karnataka in 1973.
• Andhra Pradesh was formed from Andhra state plus Telangana, the Telugu-speaking part of Hyderabad.

• Bombay stayed bilingual, with Marathi and Gujarati speakers in one state. The Samyukta Maharashtra and Maha Gujarat movements opposed this, and Bombay was split into Maharashtra and Gujarat in 1960.

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

• They grew out of Nehru's suggestion, made during the 1956 debate on the SRC report, to group states into zones "to develop the habit of cooperative working" [6].
• The chairman is the Union Home Minister [6].
• The vice-chairman is one of the zone's Chief Ministers, by rotation, one year at a time (Section 16) [6][7].

• They discuss border disputes, linguistic minorities, inter-state transport and economic planning. Their advice is not binding [6].

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

• It abolished the Part A-D classification, leaving only States and Union Territories [2].
• It rewrote the First Schedule to list the new states and UTs.
• It allowed one person to be Governor of two or more states, and Parliament to set up one High Court for two or more states.
• It inserted Art. 350A: states must try to provide mother-tongue teaching at the primary stage for children of linguistic minorities, and the President may issue directions to a state to secure this [2][3].

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

• Legal power behind redrawing (Art. 3): Parliament can form, merge or rename states by ordinary law [8]. 1. A bill can be introduced only on the President's recommendation [8]. 2. If the bill affects a state, the President refers it to that state's legislature for its views, within a time limit the President fixes [8]. 3. The state's views are not binding on Parliament [8]. 4. Parliament passes the bill by a simple majority.

• Later reorganisations: Nagaland (1963), Punjab-Haryana (1966), Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura (1972), Sikkim (1975), Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa (1987), Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand (2000), Telangana (2014), and the J&K and Ladakh UTs (2019). After 1956, new states came more from regional, ethnic and development demands than from language alone.

• Lasting effect (NCERT's verdict):
• Nehru and other leaders had feared that language-based states would lead to separatism (a region's wish to break away from India). This did not happen.
• Running state government in local languages opened power to people beyond the English-speaking elite.
• Meeting regional demands strengthened national unity.

Don't confuse with

• JVP Committee (1948-49): its members were Nehru, Patel and Pattabhi Sitaramayya. The SRC was Fazl Ali, Panikkar and Kunzru (1953-55) [5].
• Dar Commission (1948): an earlier body on the language question. The SRC came later, after Andhra was formed in 1953.
• Mahajan Commission (1966-67): it dealt with one border dispute, Belagavi (Belgaum) between Maharashtra and Mysore, and largely upheld Mysore's claim. The SRC redrew the whole map.
• Zonal Councils vs SRC: Zonal Councils are permanent statutory bodies created by the 1956 Act [6]. The SRC was a temporary commission that ended after it gave its report.

Prelims Hooks

• SRC: appointed December 1953, reported 30 September 1955. Chairman Fazl Ali, members K.M. Panikkar and H.N. Kunzru [5]. Panikkar dissented and wanted UP split.
• SRC accepted language as the main basis for states but rejected 'one language, one state'. It weighed four factors: unity and security, linguistic and cultural homogeneity, viability, and welfare and planning.
• States Reorganisation Act 1956 came into force on 1 November 1956, creating 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].
• Zonal Councils are statutory (Part III, SRA 1956), not constitutional. The chairman is the Union Home Minister, and the vice-chairman rotates among the zone's Chief Ministers one year at a time [6].
• Trap: under Art. 3, the state legislature's views are sought but are not binding, and the bill needs the President's prior recommendation [8].

Mains Points

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

• India shows that diversity can be managed by recognising it rather than suppressing it.

• Federalism trade-off (GS-II):

• Art. 3 lets Parliament redraw states without their consent [8]. This kept the Union flexible from 1956 to 2019, which is why India is called "an indestructible Union of destructible states".
• Critics say this weakens state autonomy, a point raised over Telangana (2014) and J&K (2019).

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

• Unfinished agenda and reforms:

• Problems remain: linguistic minorities inside states, 'sons of the soil' politics, the Belagavi border dispute, and river-water disputes such as Cauvery and Krishna.
• Possible reforms: a stronger Art. 350B Special Officer [4], more active Zonal Councils [6], and a standing States Reorganisation Commission that judges new demands on the SRC's four factors rather than on language alone.

Related concepts

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

Read more

• The States Reorganisation Commission and the 1956 reorganisation