Maharashtra Day, commonly known as Maharashtra Din (

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 * * ...

: महाराष्ट्र दिन) is a state holiday in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

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 ...

, commemorating the formation of the state of Maharashtra in India. from the division of the

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 ...

on 1 May 1960. Maharashtra Day is commonly associated with parades and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history and traditions of Maharashtra. It is celebrated to commemorate the creation of a Marathi speaking state of Maharashtra.

Background

The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 defined boundaries for the states within India on the basis of languages. The

that was formed as a consequence of this act, however, was composed of different areas where different languages were spoken;

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

, Kutchi and Konkani. The

Sanyukta Maharashtra Samiti Samyukta Maharashtra Movement ( mr, संयुक्त महाराष्ट्र चळवळ), commonly known as the Samiti, was an organisation in India that advocated for a separate Marathi-speaking state in Western India and Centr ...

was at the forefront of the movement to divide the Bombay State into two states; one composed of areas where people primarily spoke Gujarati and Kutchi and the other where people primarily spoke Marathi and Konkani. The state of

and

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 ...

were formed as a result of this movement according to the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960 enacted by the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the R ...

on 25 April 1960. The act came into effect on 1 May 1960, hence the reason of annual celebration.

Observance

Every year the

Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the state governing authority for the state of Maharashtra, India. It is a democratically elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the Vidhan Sabha for a five-year term. Maharashtra has a Maharashtra Legisla ...

issues a notification declaring 1 May to be a public holiday to be celebrated as Maharashtra Day. This holiday applies to all the schools, offices and companies under the jurisdiction of the State and central Government celebrate this day by organising various programmes.

Customs

Every year a parade is held at

Shivaji Park Shivaji Park, officially Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park, is a public park situated in Dadar, Mumbai. It is the largest park in the island city. Similar but bigger in size to Azad Maidan and August Kranti Maidan (formerly Gowalia Tank Grounds ...

where the

Governor of Maharashtra The governor of Maharashtra is the ceremonial head of the state of Maharashtra. The Constitution of India confers the executive powers of the state to the governor, however the de facto executive powers lie with the Council of Ministers. Bhagat ...

makes a speech. Liquor sales to Indians are prohibited on this day across Maharashtra, excluding foreigners.

Unique or historical celebrations

The

Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...

celebrations for Maharashtra Day were conducted on 1 May 2011 across Maharashtra.

Inaugurations and launching of new projects and schemes

In Maharashtra

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

and

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

inaugurates and launches various new projects and schemes on 1 May. Annual celebrations of such institutions and projects are also held on Maharashtra Day. The Marathi language Wikipedia was started on 1 May 2003.

References

{{authority control Culture of Maharashtra May observances Indian state foundation days