States Reorganisation Act, 1956
The States Reorganisation Act, 1956, which gained legal force on 1 November, was a bill passed by the Indian Parliament legislative package, which regulated the reorganization of the Indian territory in individual states according to ethnic-linguistic principles.
The background: Indian independence and the dissolution of the princely states
On 15 June 1947, the British Parliament passed by the Indian Independence Act was enacted, which provided for the division of British India into two states, one predominantly Hindu state of India and a Muslim state of Pakistan. On August 14, 1947, formally by the chief representative of the British colonial power, the Governor-General and Viceroy of India, Louis Mountbatten in Karachi, Pakistan, and the following day in Delhi India to independence dismissed (as Dominion within the British Commonwealth ). Right after serious riots broke out between Hindus and Muslims, which led to civil war- like conditions.
In India, the political power was taken by representatives of the Indian National Congress. The Indian National Congress aimed at the establishment of a Republic of India. In the days of the British colonial power, it was, however, been the case that a significant portion of India was not directly under British rule, but was ruled by more than 560 indigenous Indian princely dynasties, who were in contractual and personal allegiance to the British crown. The ratio of these princely states to the newly formed Indian republic was unclear. Some princes agreed to in the Indian Union voluntarily and of patriotic sentiments of the integration of their countries. The rulers of single larger princely states, like the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Raja of Travancore and the Nawab of Bhopal attempted to pursue an independent policy between India and Pakistan, but eventually had to partly under military pressure from the Indian Union their countries in the Indian Republic integrate. The Nawab of Junagadh declared the connection of its majority of Hindus lived in the Principality of Pakistan, after which it was occupied by Indian troops. The Maharaja of Kashmir and Jammu also tried to preserve its independence, joined his country, however, under the impression of a Muslim rebellion against his rule in India.
Ultimately, all the princes were forced to give up their political power and incorporated their state territories in the newly formed states of India and Pakistan. In the Indian Union, the administrative division of the British colonial power was continued at the stage of stabilization after the Declaration of Independence. The smaller the former princely states were integrated into the formerly British provinces. The new Indian Constitution of January 26, 1950 distinguished between three categories of states:
- Class A: The former British provinces, governed by elected governors.
- Class B: Former princely states or associations of princely states, ruled by Rajpramukhs (recognized by the President of Maharajas or other princes, such as Hyderabad, Travancore )
- Class C: Former British provinces and princely states, governed by an appointed governor of the central government.
The prelude: the States Reorganization Commission
The division into classes A, B, C states was neither sensible nor sustainable in the long run, it had been intended from the outset as a transitional solution. The borders were purely historical reasons, and took no account of the ethnicity of the population. In December 1953, the States Reorganization Commission was called into being by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, whose job it was to develop recommendations for new, educated according to ethno- linguistic characteristics of states. Chairman of the Commission of Indian judges and Muslim Fazal Ali.
The formation of new states
The States Reorganisation Act led to the formation or reorganization of the following states:
The following Union Territories were formed: