Ans. Efforts to reorganize the states based on languages: – Well before independence, there was a demand to create provinces based on language in India, and in 1920 the Congress itself accepted this demand. But after independence, when the Congress government at the center did not pay attention to this and started forming new units of the republic like the British, then the demand for the reorganization of the provinces based on language and culture started among the people. In the first three-four years of independence, the Congress government did not pay special attention to this demand of the people. Many senior Congress leaders, including Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, and Pattabhi Sitaramayya, were apprehensive that the reorganization of the states based on language and culture would give rise to disruptive tendencies, which would lead to the development of the country. threat to the political and cultural unity of the In 1948, the Constituent Assembly appointed Justice S. Of. A commission was constituted under the chairmanship of Dar, which rejected the demand for the formation of linguistic states. But after this, the problem took the form of a widespread movement. The movement in Andhra demanding the establishment of the Andhra state based on language took a fierce form. Potti Sri Ramalu, a top leader of the national movement in the Telugu-speaking region, immediately intensified the demand for the establishment of the state of Andhra from the Government of India. In protest against the government’s refusal to do so, Shri Ramlu sat on a fast unto death and died on 15 December 1952, the 58th day of his fast. After his death, riots started in Madras province as well. When the situation could not be controlled even after the cycle of repression, the Government of India was forced to separate some Telugu-speaking parts of Madras province and establish a new Andhra state in October 1953. In this way, the first success was achieved by the people’s movement demanding the reorganization of the states based on language.

In December 1953, the government decided to appoint a State Reorganization Commission. were its members. Justice Fazal Ali, K. M. Panikkar and Hriday Nath Kunzru. This commission submitted its report in 1955. This commission eventually directed the formation of provinces on a linguistic basis. This commission advocated the creation of 16 states and 3 union territories. But this commission did not make any separate arrangements for Punjabi-speaking state and Marathi-speaking states. In November 1956, the Indian Parliament passed the States Reorganization Bill. Accordingly, 14 states and 6 union territories emerged.