The political and administrative reorganization of states and territories has been a continuous ongoing process since the mid-nineteenth century. Discuss with examples.
Approach · directive: “discuss / with examples”
What it asks · Trace how internal boundaries have been redrawn in colonial and independent India, giving examples and the drivers behind each phase.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Discuss reorganisation of states and territories as a continuous process since the mid-nineteenth century: its phases and the drivers behind each
- Illustrate every phase with examples
Open with · From the partition of Bengal in 1905 to the formation of Telangana in 2014, India's internal map has never been fixed.
Cover
- Colonial changes: Assam separated (1874), NWFP created (1901), Bengal partitioned (1905) and reunited (1911); Bihar and Orissa (1912); Orissa and Sindh provinces (1936); Burma separated (1937).
- Integration, 1947–50: princely states merged or acceded into Part A, B and C states; Junagadh by plebiscite and Hyderabad by police action (1948).
- Linguistic reorganisation: Andhra formed in 1953 after Potti Sriramulu's fast; the States Reorganisation Act 1956 created 14 states and 6 Union territories.
- Later splits: Maharashtra and Gujarat (1960), Nagaland (1963), Punjab and Haryana (1966), and Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura (1971–72); Sikkim joined in 1975.
- Late-1980s: Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa attained statehood in 1987, reflecting ethnic and tribal aspirations.
- New millennium: Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand (2000), Telangana (2014); Jammu and Kashmir became two Union territories (2019); Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu merged (2020).
- Drivers: language, ethnic identity, administrative convenience, regional development gaps and security; Articles 3 and 4 let Parliament redraw states by ordinary law.
Close with · Reorganisation is a continuing federal bargain; each new demand should be tested for viability and consensus, not identity alone.
Add value (verified)
- Article 3 lets Parliament form new states or alter areas, boundaries and names by ordinary law, the basis of every reorganisation since 1950. The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2024), Article 3 — Legislative Department ↗“Parliament may by law— (a) form a new State by separation of territory from any State or by uniting two or more States or parts of States or by uniting any territory to a part of any State”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2022, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 352 words (UPSC limit 250) · Minimalist IAS
From the partition of Bengal in 1905 to Telangana in 2014 and the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, India's internal map has been redrawn in every generation, by rulers with very different motives.
Colonial phase: convenience and control
- Provinces were carved for administration, revenue and security: Assam was separated from Bengal (1874), the North-West Frontier Province created (1901), Bengal partitioned (1905) and reunited (1911) with Bihar and Orissa detached (1912), and Orissa and Sindh made provinces while Burma was separated under the 1935 Act (1936–37).
- Popular will counted little, yet identity already stirred: Bengali protest reversed the partition, and the Odia language movement won a province of its own.
Integration and the linguistic principle, 1947–56
- The princely states were merged into Part A, B and C states by 1950, Junagadh after a plebiscite and Hyderabad after police action (1948).
- Potti Sriramulu's fast forced the creation of Andhra (1953); the Fazl Ali Commission led to the States Reorganisation Act 1956, which redrew the map into 14 states and 6 Union territories on a broadly linguistic basis.
Continuing readjustment after 1956
- Language: Bombay was split into Maharashtra and Gujarat (1960); Punjab was reorganised into Punjab and Haryana, with hill areas going to Himachal (1966).
- Tribal and ethnic identity: Nagaland (1963); Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura (1971–72); Sikkim's merger (1975); Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa as states (1987).
- Development and governance: Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand (2000) and Telangana (2014) answered regional neglect; Jammu and Kashmir was converted into two Union territories (2019) on security and integration grounds, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu were merged into one Union territory (2020).
The constitutional mechanism
- Articles 3 and 4 let Parliament create, merge or rename states by ordinary law after the President refers the bill to the affected state legislature, whose view is not binding; no state can veto its own division, which keeps the process flexible.
Reorganisation is a continuing federal bargain that has moved from imperial convenience to language, identity and development; each new demand, whether Vidarbha, Gorkhaland or Bodoland, must be judged on viability and consensus rather than identity alone.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.