Tweet
Pre-1956
The Indian Subcontinent has been ruled by many different ethnic groups throughout its history, each instituting their own policies of
administrative division in the region.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] During the British Raj, the original administrative structure was mostly
kept, and India was divided into provinces that were directly governed by the British and princely states which were nominally controlled by a
local prince or raja loyal to the British Empire, who held de facto sovereignty (suzerainty) over the princely states.
Post-1956
Several new states and union territories have been created out of existing states since 1956. Bombay State was split into the linguistic states
of Gujarat and Maharashtra on 1 May 1960[23] by the Bombay Reorganisation Act. Nagaland was made a state on 1 December 1963.[24] The
Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966 divided the Punjab along linguistic lines, creating a new Hindi-speaking state of Haryana on 1
November,[25] transferring the northern districts of Punjab to Himachal Pradesh, and designating Chandigarh, the shared capital of Punjab
and Haryana, a union territory.[26]
Statehood was conferred upon Himachal Pradesh[27] on 25 January 1971, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura[28] on 21 January 1972 the
Kingdom of Sikkim joined the Indian Union as a state on 26 April 1975.[29] In 1987, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram became states on 20
February, followed by Goa on 30 May, while Goa's northern exclaves of Daman and Diu became a separate union territory.[30]
In 2000 three new states were created; Chhattisgarh (1 November 2000) was created out of eastern Madhya Pradesh,[31] Uttaranchal (9
November 2000), which was renamed Uttarakhand in 2007,[32] was created out of the Hilly regions of northwest Uttar Pradesh,[33] and
Jharkhand (15 November 2000) was created out of the southern districts of Bihar.[34]
In 2014, the new state of Telangana was carved out from the North-Western regions of the state of Andhra Pradesh. The city of Hyderabad
became the joint capital of the two states.
Current Proposals
In November 2011 Mayawati, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, proposed dividing it into four states, Avadh Pradesh, Bundelkhand, Paschim
Pradesh, and Purvanchal. On 21 November this movement was backed through a "voice vote" by the state assembly, despite criticism from
the opposition and claims that the move was made to gain support for the next state election. It must gain the approval of the federal
government, however this may be difficult due to the opposition to the creation of Telangana.
The Indian Subcontinent has been ruled by many different ethnic groups throughout its history, each instituting their own policies of
administrative division in the region.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] During the British Raj, the original administrative structure was mostly
kept, and India was divided into provinces that were directly governed by the British and princely states which were nominally controlled by a
local prince or raja loyal to the British Empire, who held de facto sovereignty (suzerainty) over the princely states.
Post-1956
Several new states and union territories have been created out of existing states since 1956. Bombay State was split into the linguistic states
of Gujarat and Maharashtra on 1 May 1960[23] by the Bombay Reorganisation Act. Nagaland was made a state on 1 December 1963.[24] The
Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966 divided the Punjab along linguistic lines, creating a new Hindi-speaking state of Haryana on 1
November,[25] transferring the northern districts of Punjab to Himachal Pradesh, and designating Chandigarh, the shared capital of Punjab
and Haryana, a union territory.[26]
Statehood was conferred upon Himachal Pradesh[27] on 25 January 1971, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura[28] on 21 January 1972 the
Kingdom of Sikkim joined the Indian Union as a state on 26 April 1975.[29] In 1987, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram became states on 20
February, followed by Goa on 30 May, while Goa's northern exclaves of Daman and Diu became a separate union territory.[30]
In 2000 three new states were created; Chhattisgarh (1 November 2000) was created out of eastern Madhya Pradesh,[31] Uttaranchal (9
November 2000), which was renamed Uttarakhand in 2007,[32] was created out of the Hilly regions of northwest Uttar Pradesh,[33] and
Jharkhand (15 November 2000) was created out of the southern districts of Bihar.[34]
In 2014, the new state of Telangana was carved out from the North-Western regions of the state of Andhra Pradesh. The city of Hyderabad
became the joint capital of the two states.
Current Proposals
In November 2011 Mayawati, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, proposed dividing it into four states, Avadh Pradesh, Bundelkhand, Paschim
Pradesh, and Purvanchal. On 21 November this movement was backed through a "voice vote" by the state assembly, despite criticism from
the opposition and claims that the move was made to gain support for the next state election. It must gain the approval of the federal
government, however this may be difficult due to the opposition to the creation of Telangana.