India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
is a
federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
union comprising 28
states and 8
union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
and smaller
administrative divisions.
History
Pre-independence
The
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
has been ruled by many different
ethnic groups throughout its history, each instituting their own policies of administrative division in the region.
The
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
mostly retained the administrative structure of the preceding
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
. India was divided into provinces (also called Presidencies), directly governed by the British, and
princely state
A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...
s, which were nominally controlled by a local prince or raja loyal to the British Empire, which held ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' sovereignty (
suzerainty
Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...
) over the princely states.
1947–1950
Between 1947 and 1950 the territories of the princely states were politically integrated into the
Indian union Union of India or Indian Union may refer to:
* The country of India
* Dominion of India (1947–1950)
* The Government of India, whose legal name is "Union of India" as per Article 300 of the Indian constitution
* Political integration of India
...
. Most were merged into existing provinces; others were organised into new provinces, such as
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
,
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
,
Madhya Bharat, and
Vindhya Pradesh, made up of multiple princely states; a few, including
Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
,
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
,
Bhopal
Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...
, and
Bilaspur, became separate provinces. The new
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...
, which came into force on 26 January 1950, made India a sovereign democratic republic. The new republic was also declared to be a "Union of States". The constitution of 1950 distinguished between three main types of states:
* Part A states, which were the former governors' provinces of British India, were ruled by an elected governor and state legislature. The nine Part A states were:
**
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
(formerly
Assam Province),
**
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
(formerly
Bihar Province
Bihar Province was a province of British India, created in 1936 by the partition of the Bihar and Orissa Province.
History
In 1756, Bihar was part of Bengal. On 14 October 1803, Orissa was occupied by the British Raj. On 22 March 1912, both Biha ...
),
**
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
(formerly
Bombay Province
The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...
),
**
East Punjab
East Punjab (known simply as Punjab from 1950) was a province and later a state of India from 1947 until 1966, consisting of the parts of the Punjab Province of British India that went to India following the partition of the province between ...
(formerly
Punjab Province),
**
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
(formerly the
Central Provinces and Berar
The Central Provinces and Berar was a province of British India and later the Dominion of India which existed from 1903 to 1950. It was formed by the merger of the Central Provinces with the province of Berar, which was territory leased by the B ...
),
**
Madras
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
(formerly
Madras Province),
**
Orissa
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...
(formerly
Orissa Province
Orissa Province was a province of British India created in April 1936 by the partitioning of the Bihar and Orissa Province. Its territory corresponds with the modern-day State of Odisha.
On 22 March 1912, both Bihar and Orissa divisions were s ...
),
**
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
(formerly the
United Provinces), and
**
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
(formerly
Bengal Province).
* The eight Part B states were former princely states or groups of princely states, governed by a
rajpramukh, who was usually the ruler of a constituent state, and an elected legislature. The rajpramukh was appointed by the
President of India
The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
. The Part B states were:
**
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
(formerly
Hyderabad Princely State),
**
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to:
* Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent
* Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory
* Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...
(formerly
Jammu and Kashmir Princely State),
**
Madhya Bharat (formerly
Central India Agency),
**
Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
(formerly
Mysore Princely State),
**
Patiala and East Punjab States Union
Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak'' (the 'Fortunate Castle') constructe ...
(PEPSU),
**
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
(formerly
Rajputana Agency),
**
Saurashtra (formerly
Baroda, Western India and Gujarat States Agency
The Baroda, Western India and Gujarat States Agency was an agency of the Indian Empire, managing the relations of the Provincial Government of the Bombay Presidency with a collection of princely states.
The political agent in charge of the age ...
), and
**
Travancore–Cochin
Travancore–Cochin, or Thiru–Kochi, was a short-lived state of India (1949–1956). It was originally called United State of Travancore and Cochin following the merger of two former kingdoms, Travancore and Cochin on 1 July 1949. Its origina ...
(formerly
Travancore Princely State and
Cochin Princely State).
* The ten Part C states included both the former chief commissioners' provinces and some princely states, and each was governed by a chief commissioner appointed by the President of India. The Part C states were:
**
Ajmer
Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...
(formerly
Ajmer-Merwara Province
Ajmer-Merwara, also known as Ajmir Province and as Ajmer-Merwara-Kekri, was a former province of British India in the historical Ajmer region. The territory was ceded to the British by Daulat Rao Sindhia by a treaty on 25 June 1818.
It was und ...
),
**
Bhopal
Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...
(formerly
Bhopal Princely State),
**
Bilaspur (formerly
Bilaspur Princely State),
**
Coorg State
Coorg State was a Part-C state in India which existed from 1950 to 1956. When the Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950, most of the existing provinces were reconstituted into states. Thus, Coorg Province became Coorg State. ...
(formerly
Coorg Province
Coorg Province was a province of British India from 1834 to 1947 and the Dominion of India from 1947 to 1950. Mercara was the capital of the province. It was administered by a Commissioner and later, Chief Commissioner appointed by the Governme ...
),
**
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
,
**
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
,
**
Kutch (formerly
Cutch Princely State),
**
Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...
(formerly
Manipur Princely State),
**
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
(formerly
Tripura Princely State), and
**
Vindhya Pradesh (formerly
Central India Agency).
* The only Part D state was the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, of which 37 are inhabited, at the junction of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The territory is about north of Aceh in Indonesia and separated f ...
, which were administered by a lieutenant governor appointed by the union government.
States reorganisation (1951–1956)
Andhra State was created on 1 October 1953 from the
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
-speaking northern
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
of
Madras State
Madras State was a state of India during the mid-20th century. At the time of its formation in 1950, it included the whole of present-day Tamil Nadu (except Kanyakumari district), Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, the Malabar region of North and c ...
.
The
French enclave of
Chandernagore
Chandannagar french: Chandernagor ), also known by its former name Chandernagore and French name Chandernagor, is a city in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is headquarter of the Chandannagore subdivision and is part ...
was transferred to
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
in 1954. In the same year
Pondicherry, comprising the former French enclaves of
Pondichéry,
Karikal,
Yanaon
Yanaon or Yanam was one of the five principal settlements of French India between 1731 and 1954.
Early years Reason for European interests
The French in their earlier records do mention of their interest in establishing trade in the Northern ...
and
Mahé, was transferred to India; this became a union territory in 1962.
Also in 1954, pro-India forces liberated the
Portuguese-held enclaves of
Dadrá and
Nagar Aveli, declaring the short-lived ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' state of
Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli was a de facto state that existed in the Indian Sub-continent between 1954 and 1961. It was declared by pro-India forces that had gained control of the region from Portugal in 1954 and ceased to exist after being form ...
. In 1961, India annexed it as the Union Territory of
Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
The
States Reorganisation Act, 1956
The States Reorganisation act, 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries of India's states and territories, organising them along linguistic lines.
Although additional changes to India's state boundaries have been made since 1956, the States ...
reorganised the states based on linguistic lines resulting in the creation of the new states.
As a result of this act:
*
Madras State
Madras State was a state of India during the mid-20th century. At the time of its formation in 1950, it included the whole of present-day Tamil Nadu (except Kanyakumari district), Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, the Malabar region of North and c ...
retained its name, with
Kanyakumari district
Kanniyakumari district is one of the 38 districts in Tamil Nadu state and the southernmost district in mainland India. It stands second in terms of population density among the districts of Tamil Nadu. It is also the richest district in Tamil Nad ...
added to form
Travancore–Cochin
Travancore–Cochin, or Thiru–Kochi, was a short-lived state of India (1949–1956). It was originally called United State of Travancore and Cochin following the merger of two former kingdoms, Travancore and Cochin on 1 July 1949. Its origina ...
.
*
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
was created with the merger of
Andhra State with the
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
-speaking districts of
Hyderabad State
Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...
in 1956.
*
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
was created by merging
Malabar district
Malabar District, also known as Malayalam District, was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792-1800) and Madras Presidency (1800-1947) in British India, and independent India's Madras State (19 ...
and the
Kasaragod taluk
Kasaragod or Casrod a taluk which along with Hosdurg taluk, Manjeshwaram Taluk and Vellarikundu taluk constitute the Kasaragod district, Kerala, India. Its educational center is Vidyanagar. The major areas include Kasaragod municipality, Chemnad, ...
of
South Canara
South Canara was a district of the Madras Presidency of British India, located at . It comprised the towns of Kassergode and Udipi and adjacent villages, with the capital in Mangalore city. South Canara was one of the most heterogeneous areas o ...
districts of
Madras State
Madras State was a state of India during the mid-20th century. At the time of its formation in 1950, it included the whole of present-day Tamil Nadu (except Kanyakumari district), Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, the Malabar region of North and c ...
with
Travancore–Cochin
Travancore–Cochin, or Thiru–Kochi, was a short-lived state of India (1949–1956). It was originally called United State of Travancore and Cochin following the merger of two former kingdoms, Travancore and Cochin on 1 July 1949. Its origina ...
.
*
Mysore State was re-organized with the addition of the districts of
Bellary and
South Canara
South Canara was a district of the Madras Presidency of British India, located at . It comprised the towns of Kassergode and Udipi and adjacent villages, with the capital in Mangalore city. South Canara was one of the most heterogeneous areas o ...
(excluding
Kasaragod taluk
Kasaragod or Casrod a taluk which along with Hosdurg taluk, Manjeshwaram Taluk and Vellarikundu taluk constitute the Kasaragod district, Kerala, India. Its educational center is Vidyanagar. The major areas include Kasaragod municipality, Chemnad, ...
) and the
Kollegal taluk of
Coimbatore district
Coimbatore district is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Coimbatore is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is one of the most industrialized districts and a major textile, industrial, commercial, educ ...
from the Madras State, the districts of
Belgaum
Belgaum (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous ...
,
Bijapur
Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural ...
,
North Canara and
Dharwad
Dharwad (), also known as Dharwar, is a city located in the north western part of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Dharwad district of Karnataka and forms a contiguous urban area with the city of Hubballi. It was merge ...
from
Bombay State
Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding Sou ...
, the
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
-majority districts of
Bidar,
Raichur and
Kalaburagi from
Hyderabad State
Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...
and the
Coorg State
Coorg State was a Part-C state in India which existed from 1950 to 1956. When the Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950, most of the existing provinces were reconstituted into states. Thus, Coorg Province became Coorg State. ...
.
* The
Laccadive Islands
The Laccadive or Cannanore Islands are one of the three island subgroups in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India. It is the central subgroup of the Lakshadweep, separated from the Amindivi Islands subgroup roughly by the 11th parallel ...
,
Aminidivi Islands and
Minicoy Island
Minicoy, locally known as Maliku (), is an island in Lakshadweep, India. Along with Viringili, it is on ''Maliku atoll'', the southernmost atoll of Lakshadweep archipelago. Administratively, it is a census town in the Indian union territory of ...
, which had been divided between the South Canara and Malabar districts of Madras State, were united and organised into the union territory of
Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep (), also known as Laccadives (), is a union territory of India. It is an archipelago of 36 islands in the Arabian sea, located off the Malabar Coast.
The name ''Lakshadweep'' means "one lakh islands" in Sanskrit, though the Lac ...
.
*
Bombay State
Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding Sou ...
was enlarged by the addition of
Saurashtra State
Saurashtra, also known as United State of Kathiawar, was a State of India that existed between 1948 and 1956, on Saurashtra alias Kathiawar peninsula, with Rajkot as its capital,
History
Formation as United State of Kathiawar
Saurashtra ...
and
Kutch State
Kutch State was a state within India from 1947 to 1956. Its capital was Bhuj.
The state's territory now forms a Kachchh district within the Indian state of Gujarat.
History
Kutch State was formed out of the territory of the former princely ...
, the
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
-speaking districts of
Nagpur division of
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
and the
Marathwada region of
Hyderabad State
Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...
.
*
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
and
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
gained territories from
Ajmer State and
Patiala and East Punjab States Union
Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak'' (the 'Fortunate Castle') constructe ...
respectively and certain territories of
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
were transferred to
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
.
Post-1956
Bombay State was split into the linguistic states of
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
and
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
on 1 May 1960 by the Bombay Reorganisation Act. The former Union Territory of
Nagaland
Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...
achieved statehood on 1 December 1963. The
Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966
The Punjab Reorganisation Act was passed by the Indian Parliament on 18 September 1966, dissolving the former state of East Punjab. Out of the former East Punjab, the modern state of Punjab was created, the new state of Haryana was created; t ...
resulted in the creation of
Haryana
Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
on 1 November and the transfer of the northern districts of Punjab to
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
. The act also designated
Chandigarh
Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which al ...
as a union territory and the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana.
Madras State was renamed
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
in 1969. The north-eastern states of
Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...
,
Meghalaya
Meghalaya (, or , meaning "abode of clouds"; from Sanskrit , "cloud" + , "abode") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the state of As ...
and
Tripura
Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
were formed on 21 January 1972. Mysore State was renamed
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
in 1973. On 16 May 1975,
Sikkim
Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...
became the 22nd state of the Indian Union and the
state's monarchy was abolished. In 1987,
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...
and
Mizoram
Mizoram () is a state in Northeast India, with Aizawl as its seat of government and capital city. The name of the state is derived from "Mizo people, Mizo", the endonym, self-described name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", which in the Mizo ...
became states on 20 February, followed by
Goa
Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
on 30 May, while erstwhile union territory of
Goa, Daman and Diu's northern
exclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
s
Damão
Daman (; Indo-Portuguese; ''Damao'') is the capital city of the Indian union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is a municipal council situated in the Daman district of the union territory.
Daman Ganga River divides Dam ...
and
Diu became a separate union territory as
Daman and Diu.
In November 2000, three new states were created, namely:
*
Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...
, from eastern
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
,
* Uttaranchal, from northwest
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
(renamed
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
in 2007), and
*
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...
, from southern districts of Bihar with the enforcement of
Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000
Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of India which enabled the creation of Chhattisgarh state out of Madhya Pradesh. The law was introduced by the NDA government headed by Prime Minister Vajpayee to fulfil its ...
,
Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000 and
Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000 respectively.
Pondicherry was renamed
Puducherry in 2007 and Orissa was renamed
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
in 2011.
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...
was created on 2 June 2014 from ten former districts of north-western
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
.
In August 2019, the Parliament of India passed the
Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which contains provisions to reorganise the state of
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to:
* Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent
* Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory
* Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...
into two union territories;
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to:
* Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent
* Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory
* Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...
and
Ladakh
Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...
, effective from 31 October 2019. Later that year in November, the Government of India introduced legislation to merge the union territories of
Daman and Diu and
Dadra and Nagar Haveli into a single union territory to be known as
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, effective from 26 January 2020.
Current proposals
States and Union territories
States
Union territories
Former states and union territories
Former states
Former union territories
Responsibilities and authorities
The
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...
distributes the sovereign executive and legislative powers exercisable with respect to the territory of any State between the Union and that State.
["Article 73 broadly stated, provides that the executive power of the Union shall extend to the matters with respect to which Parliament has power to make laws. Article 162 similarly provides that the executive power of a State shall extend to the matters with respect to which the Legislature of a State has power to make laws. The Supreme Court has reiterated this position when it ruled in the ''Ramanaiah case'' that the executive power of the Union or of the State broadly speaking, is coextensive and coterminous with its respective legislative power.]
Territoriality of executive powers of states in India
, Balwant Singh Malik, ''Constitutional Law'', 1998
See also
*
Administrative divisions of India
The administrative divisions of India are subnational administrative units of India; they are composed of a nested hierarchy of administrative divisions.
Indian states and territories frequently use different local titles for the same level ...
*
Autonomous administrative divisions of India
The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India allows for the formation of autonomous administrative divisions which have been given autonomy within their respective states. Most of these autonomous district councils are located in North Ea ...
*
*
List of Indian state and union territory name etymologies This is a list of the origins of the names of states and union territories of India.
States
Union territories
*Andaman and Nicobar Islands (A):
** Andaman: Italian traveler Niccolò de' Conti (c. 1440) mentioned the word Andaman meant "Islan ...
*
List of princely states of British India (alphabetical)
*
List of states and union territories of India by area
The list of states and union territories of the Republic of India by area is ordered from largest to smallest according to the census of 2011. India consists of 28 states and eight union territories, including the National Capital Territory ...
*
List of states and union territories of India by population
India is a union of 28 states and 8 union territories. As of 2022, with an estimated population of 1.4 billion, India is the world's second-most populous country after the People's Republic of China. India occupies 2.4% of the world's area and i ...
*
List of states in India by past population
*
List of states of India by wildlife population
*
Proposed states and union territories of India
Proposal(s) or The Proposal may refer to:
* Proposal (business)
* Research proposal
* Proposal (marriage)
* Proposition, a proposal in logic and philosophy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''The Proposal'' (album)
Films
* ''The Proposal'' ( ...
References
External links
Official Government of India website: States and Union Territories
{{DEFAULTSORT:States And Territories of India
States and terrtories
India 1
States, India