Formation of the 29 States in India
Before independence, India was divided into 3 types of states, 1. Territories of British India – which were under the governance of the British Government , 2. Princely States – these states were governed by the ruling kings/princes, 3. The Colonial Territories of France and Portugal – which were under the governance of French and Portugal government.
“In total there were 565 princely states before Independence.”
These states were under independent governance, which means the state head was taking all the decisions of the entire state. This was the biggest obstacle in building a strong nation as each head had their own thoughts and needs for their states.
Post independence; 562 princely states agreed to join the Indian Confederation except Hyderabad, Junagadh, Bhopal and Kashmir.
Until the Independent India, the boundaries of the states kept on changing as the rulers were constantly indulging in war against each other. In the year 1956, the Reorganization of States was done under the constitution which consisted of 14 States and 6 Union Territories. In the year 2014, there were in total 29 States and 7 Union Territories.
“Since October 31st, 2019; India comprises of 28 States and 9 Union Territories.”
Now let’s understand the formation of the States in India:
1. West Bengal (1947):
Calcutta was the capital of British India. In 1947, the Bengal Legislative Assembly and Council voted for separation of the state based on religion lines are West Bengal and East Bengal (today its known as Bangladesh).
2. Rajasthan (1948):
The state was formed on 30 March 1949. Its known as “The Land of Kings”.
3. Jammu and Kashmir (1948):
The then king, Hari Singh signed the “Instrument of Accession” to India and became part of Indian Union. In 1956 J&K completed the process of merging with the Indian Union.
In August of 2019, the Government of India had proposed the bifurcation of Jammu & Kashmir into two union territories. The formation of the two union territories namely Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir will come to effect from October 31st, 2019.
4. Uttar Pradesh (1950):
The history of the formation of the state goes back to the 1st of April 1937, where it was named the United Provinces of Oudh and Agra. It was named Uttar Pradesh on 26th January, 1950. This state is popularly known as the land of the powerful empires. Lucknow is the capital city.
On the 9th of November 2000, the Himalayan region of the state was carved out from it to from a new state called Uttarakhand.
5. Bihar (1950):
Bihar was formed by the British on 22nd March 1912. But it got its full statehood on 26 January 1950. The land that covers Bihar was considered a center of power, learning and culture during the ancient and classical India.
On 15th November 2000, parts of Bihar was divided and a new state of Jharkhand was formed.
6. Assam (1950):
Assam became a British protectorate in 1826. Assam was separated from Bengal in 1874. In 1912, it was reformed as Assam province under British rule and it was one among the major eight provinces of British India. It got its full statehood on 26 January 1950.
In the year 1963, the parts of Naga hills was divided from Assam and the 16th State was formed as Nagaland. In 1972, the hills of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo were separated from Assam to be named Megahalaya. In the same year Assam was again subdivided into Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram and were made as Union Territories. In 1986, they were named as independent states.
7. Odisha (1950):
Orissa was made a separate province on 1st of April 1936 under British India. In 1950 Orissa formed as a state under Independent India. On the 9th of November 2011, Orissa was renamed as Odisha.
8. Tamil Nadu (1950):
It is one the first place where the British rule started in India. In the year 1640 the East India Company started its first Trading Post at Madraspatnam. Post independence the state was named Madras.
In the year 1953, the Telugu speaking areas were separated to form Andra Pradesh. In 1956 few parts of Madras became a part of the neighbouring states like Kerala and Karnataka. The Madras state was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969.
9. Andhra Pradesh (1953):
Although the telugu speaking region had separated from the Madras province in 1953, it was given statehood on 1 November 1956. Andra Pradesh was the first state to formed after the bill was passed on the state reorganisation act in 1956.
The north-western part of Andhra Pradesh was separated to form Telangana state on 2 June 2014.
10. Madhya Pradesh (1956):
On the 1st of November, 1956 with Madya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh and Bhopal with Nagpur as the capital of the state. It was the largest state by area until 2000.
In 2000, the southeastern part of Madya Pradesh was separated and a new state was formed called Chhattisgarh.
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11. Kerala (1956):
Kerala was formed as a state in 1956, with the merger of regions from Travancore district of Cochin, Malabar district of Madras State and Kasaragod taluk of Dakshina Kannada. It has a rich history as the Europeans reached the state for the first time in 1498 by Vasco Da Gama.
12. Karnataka (1956):
Under State Reorganization Act in 1956, the state of Mysore came into existence on 1st of November,1956. Mysore state was together by the long standing Ekikarana Movement by bringing together all Kannada speaking regions which included some places in Madras, Hyderabad and Bombay. The state was renamed Karnataka in 1973.
13. Maharashtra (1960):
After Independence the Deccan States were integrated to form Bombay Presidency. This included the present states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. As a result of Samyukta Maharashtra Movement, a separate state was formed for Marathi-speaking citizens and was named Maharashtra on 1st of May, 1960. It is now considered to be the most wealthiest and industrialised state in India.
14. Gujarat (1960):
Gujarat was once a part of the Bombay Presidency. As a result of MahaGujarat Movement by the Gujurati speaking citizens lead to the division and the formation of the state of Gujarat. It was formed on the 1st of May, 1960.
15. Nagaland (1963):
It is the 16th State that was formed in Independent India. And it came into existence from the 1st of December 1963. It was a part of Assam from 1947 to 1963.
16. Punjab (1966):
It is one of the ancient states in India and the first human inhibition has been found in Punjab region. In 1947, British Governance divided the Punjab province into East Punjab and West Punjab. Between 1948 and 1956 the Patiala and East Punjab States Union was formed by the eight princely states. And on the 1st of November 1956, the state of Punjab was formed.
17. Himachal Pradesh (1971):
Himachal Pradesh was created with the merger of 30 princely states in 1950. It was declared a Union Territory on the 1st of November 1956. Himachal Pradesh got full statehood on 25 January 1971 and became the 18th State to be formed under Independent India.
18. Manipur (1972):
In 1949, the then king Maharaja Bodhchandra signed the instrument of accession and joined the Union of India. In 1956, it became a Union Territory and got full statehood on 21st of January, 1972.
19. Meghalaya (1972):
In 1971, the Parliament passed the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganization) Act, 1971, which conferred full statehood on the autonomous state of Meghalaya. The hills of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo were separated from Assam to be named Megahalaya and was given full statehood on 21 January 1972.
20. Tripura (1972):
The princely kingdom of Tripura was merged with the Union of India on the 9th of September 1949. It became a Union Territory on 1st of July, 1963 and remained a Union Territory till 1972. On 21st January 1972, Tripura attained the status of full-fledged state.
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21. Sikkim (1975):
Sikkim is the second smallest state in India. Till 1975 Sikkim was able to maintain its autonomy. Due to the anti-royalist riots which started in 1973 which forced the then head of Sikkim to merge with the Indian Union. On 16th May 1975, Sikkim was declared an independent state and became the 22nd State of India.
22. Goa (1987):
Goa is where Vasco Da Gama first discovered India in the 16th Century. Goa was under the administration of the Portugese even after independence. On 19 December 1961, Indian Army invaded in an operation called “Operation Vijay”. It was then joined to the Indian territory as a Union Territory along with Daman and Diu. On 30 May 1987, Goa was made the twenty fifth state of India. It separated from Daman and Diu and Daman and Diu remained as a Union Territory.
23. Arunachal Pradesh (1987):
On 20 January 1972, the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) became a Union Territory and was renamed Arunachal Pradesh. On 20 February 1987, Arunachal Pradesh got its full state status.
24. Mizoram (1987):
The Mizo Hills was converted into a Union Territory in 1972 and this move was opposed by Mizo National Front (MNF). A peace deal was signed between the government of India and MNF called Mizoram Peace Accord in 1986 and it got the statehood on 20 February 1987.
25. Chhattisgarh (2000):
After a prolonged protest from the year 1920, Chhattisgarh was transformed into an independent state on 1st of November 2000. 15% of the total steel produced in India comes from this state.
26. Jharkhand (2000):
On 15 November 2000, Jharkhand was formed as a state after separation from Bihar. It’s a land with rich natural resources and it accounts to more than 40% of the mineral resources of India.
27. Uttarakhand (2000):
When the government of India passed the Uttar Pradesh Reorganization Act in 2000, the 27th state of the Republic of India was formed as Uttaranchal. The then President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam signed the bill to change the name of the state from Uttaranchal to Uttarakhand. Since the 1st of January 2007 the state has been known as Uttarakhand.
28. Telangana (2014):
The North Western parts of Andhra Pradesh was divided to form Telangana. It is the 29th State to be formed and came into existence from 2nd June 2014.
29. Haryana (1966):
The state of Haryana came into existence with the part of East Punjab was separated on 1st of November 1966. The city of Chandigarh was made a union territory. It is the capital of both Haryana and Punjab.
Along with these states where the state is governed by the elected parties, India has 9 Union Territories where the affairs of such territories are governed by the Central Government. The state of Jammu & Kasmir was divided and converted from an individual state to Union Territory as Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on 31st October,2019.