State Reorganization Act passed in which year?
VerifiedAnswer: 1956
Explanation:
The State Reorganization Act was passed in 1956, marking a significant milestone in India's administrative and political history. This landmark legislation came into effect on November 1, 1956, fundamentally transforming the map of independent India by reorganizing state boundaries based on linguistic lines.
The need for this act arose from the growing demand for states to be formed on the basis of language rather than the existing arbitrary boundaries left by the British colonial administration. After independence in 1947, India inherited a complex patchwork of provinces and princely states that often did not align with the linguistic and cultural identities of the people living there.
The movement for linguistic states gained momentum with the sacrifice of Potti Sriramulu, who went on a hunger strike demanding the creation of a separate state for Telugu-speaking people. His death in 1952 after 58 days of fasting sparked widespread protests and forced the government to create Andhra State in 1953, which became the first state formed purely on linguistic basis.
To address the growing demands systematically, the government established the States Reorganization Commission in 1953, headed by Justice Fazal Ali. The commission submitted its report in 1955, recommending the reorganization of states based on linguistic considerations while also keeping administrative efficiency and national security in mind.
The Act resulted in several major changes to India's political map. It reduced the number of states from the existing 27 to 14 states and 6 union territories. Some notable changes included the merger of Travancore-Cochin with Malabar to form Kerala, the creation of Karnataka (then called Mysore), and the formation of Gujarat and Maharashtra from the bilingual state of Bombay.
This reorganization had far-reaching consequences for Indian democracy and administration. It helped preserve linguistic diversity while maintaining national unity, allowed for better governance as people could interact with the government in their native languages, and reduced administrative confusion that existed due to multilingual states.
The 1956 State Reorganization Act established a precedent for future state formations in India. Even today, demands for new states often cite linguistic, cultural, or administrative reasons, following the principles established by this historic legislation. The Act demonstrated India's commitment to unity in diversity and remains one of the most significant constitutional developments in post-independence India.
