Reorganisation of States

Part 1

• Provincial Congress Committees of INC were restructured and expanded on linguistic basis following the INC’s Nagpur Session in 1920.
• This can be considered as the origin point for the demand for Linguistic division of states.

Post-Independence Period (1947-1950)

• The time between 1947 and 1950 was fraught with power struggles between the independent princely states and the Indian union.
• The princes wanted to hold on to as much powers as possible and get as many concessions as possible from the Union.
• The union government wanted to unify the nation while reducing inequalities and privileges to the few.
• The Princely states were integrated into the nation by 1950 and the new constitution was also enacted.

The states in the infant nation were divided into 4 categories.

1. Part A states
2. Part B states
3. Part C States
4. Part D states

Part A states

• These were the former governors’ provinces of British India.
• They were to be governed by an elected governor and state legislature.
• Part A states were Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Madras, Madhya Pradesh (earlier Central Provinces and Berar), Orissa, Punjab (earlier East Punjab), Uttar Pradesh (earlier the United Provinces), and West Bengal.

Part B States

• These states were the former princely states or groups of princely states
• These states were to be governed by a Rajpramukh.
• Rajpramukh usually was the ruler of a constituent state and an elected legislature who would be appointed by the President of India.
• Part B states were Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Bharat, Mysore, Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU), Rajasthan, Saurashtra, and Travancore-Cochin.

Part C States

• They were created from both the former chief commissioners’ provinces and some princely states,
• These states were to be governed by a chief commissioner
• The chief commissioner’s appointment was done by the President of India.
• Part C states were Ajmer, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Coorg, Cutch, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, and Vindhya Pradesh.

Part D States

• This state was administered a lieutenant governor appointed by the central government.
• Part D category was created solely for Andaman and Nicobar Islands.