States Reorganisation Act, 1956 and the Fazl Ali Commission

The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 is the law that redrew India's internal map, mainly on the basis of language. It came into force on 1 November 1956 and created 14 states and 6 Union Territories. It was based on the report of the States Reorganisation Commission, often called the Fazl Ali Commission after its chairman. Together with the Seventh Constitutional Amendment of 1956, it gave India the basic shape of states we know today.

Why did India need it?

The states India had in 1950 were accidents of history. British provinces had been drawn for the convenience of rule, not for the people living there. Princely states were joined into unions in a hurry. So one state often had people speaking several languages, while one language group was split across many states. For example, Telugu speakers lived partly in Madras state and partly in Hyderabad.

People wanted to be governed, educated and served by courts in their own language. This demand had grown over decades.

Where did the idea come from?

The Indian National Congress had accepted the idea of linguistic provinces long before independence. In 1920 (Nagpur session), it organised its own provincial committees on the basis of language. But after Partition, leaders feared that redrawing borders by language could divide the country further.

• Dhar Commission (1948): The Constituent Assembly appointed a commission under S.K. Dhar. Its report in December 1948 preferred reorganising states on the basis of administrative convenience, not language alone.
• JVP Committee (1948–49): The Congress set up a committee of Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and Pattabhi Sitaramayya (hence "JVP"). Its report in April 1949 also rejected language as the main basis for the moment, putting national unity and security first.

What changed the government's mind?

The demand for a separate Telugu-speaking state grew strong. A freedom fighter, Potti Sriramulu, went on a fast unto death for an Andhra state in October 1952. He died on 15 December 1952, after fasting for about 58 days. Large protests followed. The government agreed, and Andhra State was created on 1 October 1953 from the Telugu-speaking areas of Madras state, with Kurnool as its capital. It is called the first state formed on the basis of language. Other language groups then raised similar demands.

The Fazl Ali Commission

To handle these demands in a planned way, the government appointed the States Reorganisation Commission in December 1953. It had three members:

• Fazl Ali, a former Supreme Court judge, as chairman
• K.M. Panikkar, a historian and diplomat
• H.N. Kunzru, a public figure and parliamentarian

It submitted its report on 30 September 1955. Its main points were:

• It accepted language as an important basis, but rejected "one language, one state" as the only rule. National unity, administrative, financial and economic needs, and the welfare of people also had to be considered.
• It recommended ending the four-part classification (Part A, B, C, D) of states.
• It recommended 16 states and 3 centrally administered territories.
• It recommended ending the post of Rajpramukh and special agreements with former rulers.

How did the Act work?

Parliament passed the States Reorganisation Act in August 1956, using its power under Article 3 of the Constitution, and it took effect on 1 November 1956. The government did not accept every recommendation, so the final result was 14 states and 6 Union Territories. At the same time, the Seventh Amendment Act, 1956 changed the Constitution. It removed the Part A, B, C, D system and created just two kinds of units: states and Union Territories.

What did the new map look like?

Some of the main changes were:

• Kerala was formed from Travancore-Cochin plus the Malabar district of Madras.
• Mysore state (renamed Karnataka in 1973) was enlarged by adding Kannada-speaking areas from Bombay, Madras, Hyderabad and Coorg.
• Andhra Pradesh was formed by joining Andhra State with the Telugu-speaking Telangana region of Hyderabad state.
• Madhya Pradesh was formed by joining Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh, Bhopal and parts of the old Madhya Pradesh.
• Bombay state was enlarged into a large bilingual state with both Marathi and Gujarati speakers.
• The 6 Union Territories were Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands (now Lakshadweep).

Zonal Councils

Part III of the Act also set up five Zonal Councils: Northern, Central, Eastern, Western and Southern. Their job is to encourage cooperation between neighbouring states and the Centre on common issues like borders, transport and water. The Union Home Minister chairs each council. These councils are statutory bodies (made by a law), not constitutional bodies. The North Eastern Council was set up separately, by the North Eastern Council Act, 1971.

How has the map changed since 1956?

Reorganisation did not stop in 1956. Each change was made by a law of Parliament under Article 3.

• 1960: Bombay was split into Maharashtra and Gujarat (1 May 1960) after the Samyukta Maharashtra and Mahagujarat movements.
• 1963: Nagaland became a state (1 December 1963).
• 1966: Punjab was reorganised: Haryana was created, and some hill areas went to Himachal Pradesh; Chandigarh became a Union Territory.
• 1971–72: Himachal Pradesh became a state (25 January 1971); Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya became states (21 January 1972).
• 1975: Sikkim became a state through the 36th Amendment.
• 1987: Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh (20 February 1987) and Goa (30 May 1987) became states.
• 2000: Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand were created (November 2000).
• 2014: Telangana was created from Andhra Pradesh (2 June 2014).
• 2019: Jammu and Kashmir became two Union Territories, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh (31 October 2019).
• 2020: Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu were merged into one Union Territory (26 January 2020).

Today India has 28 states and 8 Union Territories.

Commonly confused concepts

• Dhar Commission vs JVP Committee vs Fazl Ali Commission: Dhar (1948) was set up by the Constituent Assembly and preferred administrative convenience. JVP (1949) was a Congress committee that also put language aside. Fazl Ali (1953–55) was appointed by the Government of India and accepted language as one important basis.
• SRC recommendation vs Act result: The commission recommended 16 states and 3 territories; the Act created 14 states and 6 Union Territories.
• Andhra State (1953) vs Andhra Pradesh (1956): Andhra State was formed from Madras; Andhra Pradesh was formed in 1956 when Telangana was added.
• Seventh Amendment vs States Reorganisation Act: The amendment changed the Constitution's classification of states; the Act actually redrew the borders. Both took effect on 1 November 1956.
• Zonal Councils vs Inter-State Council: Zonal Councils are statutory (SRA 1956). The Inter-State Council is constitutional, under Article 263, and was set up in 1990.

Issues, criticism and the way forward

• Unity vs identity: Critics in the 1950s feared language-based states would weaken national unity. Supporters argue the opposite happened: giving people their own language states reduced anger and made democracy closer to them.
• Language was not enough: Later states like Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Telangana were created on grounds of development, regional neglect and tribal identity, not language. This shows that one basis cannot fit every case.
• Unresolved border disputes: Some disputes from 1956 continue, such as the Belagavi (Belgaum) dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka.
• Demands for new states: Demands like Vidarbha, Gorkhaland and Bodoland continue. Some experts have suggested a second States Reorganisation Commission to study such demands using clear criteria (economic viability, administrative need, people's wishes). Others warn this could open many new disputes.
• Weak use of Zonal Councils: Zonal Councils met rarely for many years, though meetings have become more regular recently. Experts suggest using them more actively to settle inter-state disputes.

Concepts to Know

• Linguistic state: A state whose borders are drawn so that most of its people speak the same main language.
• Statutory body: A body created by an ordinary law of Parliament, not by the Constitution. It can be changed by changing that law.
• Union Territory: An area governed directly by the Central Government through an Administrator or Lieutenant Governor. Some UTs, like Delhi and Puducherry, also have their own elected legislature.
• Fast unto death: A form of protest in which a person refuses all food until the demand is met or they die.