The States Reorganisation Commission and Linguistic States | CBSE Class 12 Political Science Notes

Part of: Challenges of Nation Building (CBSE Class 12 Political Science, Politics in India since Independence, Chapter 1). This page goes deeper into one section of that chapter: how a national commission weighed language against other factors, and what Parliament enacted in 1956.

Where did the question of linguistic states stand before 1953?

When the Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950, it sorted India's units into four classes. Part A held old provinces such as Bombay and Madras. Part B held unions of former princely states and large states such as Hyderabad and Mysore. Part C held small areas such as Delhi and Coorg, and Part D held the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

What did the Dar Commission advise in 1948?

In 1948 a Linguistic Provinces Commission, chaired by S. K. Dar, a retired judge of the Allahabad High Court, examined demands for provinces based on language. It advised against forming provinces "exclusively or even mainly" on linguistic grounds and preferred administrative convenience as the test.

What did the JVP Committee add in 1949?

At its Jaipur session in December 1948, the Congress named a committee of Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and Pattabhi Sitaramayya, called the JVP Committee from their initials. Its report of April 1949 also put linguistic provinces off.

One account (Live History India, 2021) says it left one door open: a new state could be considered if the demand was overwhelming and minorities in the area consented. On that basis it accepted a separate Andhra, provided the city of Madras stayed out.

How did the Andhra case lead to a national commission?

The chapter note tells the Andhra story, so one line will do here. NCERT records that Potti Sriramulu fasted for a separate Andhra from 19 October 1952 until his death on 15 December 1952, and that the Prime Minister announced the new state that December.

Under the Andhra State Act, 1953, Andhra State came into being on 1 October 1953 as a Part A State, made from Telugu-speaking areas of Madras State, without the city of Madras. In NCERT's account, similar campaigns followed elsewhere and pressed the Centre into setting up a commission that year.

In December 1953 Nehru told Parliament that a commission would be appointed, and the States Reorganisation Commission was constituted that month.

Who were its members, and what was it asked to do?

Its members were Justice Saiyid Fazl Ali as chairman, H. N. Kunzru and K. M. Panikkar. It was to study the problem, its history and the present situation, and then recommend general principles and the broad lines on which particular states should be redrawn.

What did the Commission recommend in 1955?

The Commission reported on 30 September 1955. A review in the journal Triveni that October, by M. Venkatarangaiya, set out the report's main lines.

How much weight did it give to language?

The report treated linguistic homogeneity as an important factor, because a shared language helps a government run smoothly. But it called it "neither possible nor desirable" to reorganise states on the single test of either language or culture. It also rejected the theory of "one language, one State". Language was weighed against:

• the preservation and strengthening of national unity and security;
• administrative convenience and the financial viability of each unit;
• the needs of the Second Five-Year Plan and later plans.

What did it propose?

The Commission wanted the gaps between classes removed. Part B States would match Part A States once Article 371, which kept them under the Centre's general control, was dropped and the post of Rajpramukh abolished. Most Part C States would merge with neighbours.

It proposed new states of Kerala and Karnataka, a separate Vidarbha, a separate Hyderabad, and a bilingual, composite Bombay. By the Triveni review's count, the plan would cut 27 States to 16, and The News Minute (2016) adds three centrally administered territories. It also asked for safeguards for linguistic minorities.

Panikkar added a separate note proposing that Uttar Pradesh be divided, arguing that a federation works well only when its units are fairly evenly balanced.

What did the Act and the Seventh Amendment change in 1956?

Parliament passed the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 (Act 37 of 1956), dated 31 August 1956. It took effect on its appointed day, 1 November 1956. NCERT records that it produced 14 states and six union territories. Section 3 moved territory from Hyderabad into Andhra and renamed it Andhra Pradesh; section 5 formed Kerala; section 7 formed a new Mysore State.

The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956 came into force the same day and fitted the Constitution to the new map:

1. Article 1 now points to a First Schedule with one list of states and one of union territories.
2. Part VII, which dealt with Part B States through Article 238, was omitted, so the Rajpramukh's role ended.
3. A rewritten Article 239 has the President administer each union territory, through an administrator.
4. Section 21 inserted Article 350A, on teaching in the mother tongue at the primary stage for children of linguistic minorities, and Article 350B.

Source: "There shall be a Special Officer for linguistic minorities to be appointed by the President." (Article 350B(1), inserted by the Seventh Amendment Act, 1956)

What it shows: redrawn states still held language minorities, so an officer was created to look into their safeguards.

How did Article 3 shape the process, and what did the courts say?

Article 3 lets Parliament form a new state, change a state's boundaries or rename it by an ordinary law. Article 4 adds that such a law is not an amendment under Article 368, so a simple majority is enough.

The proviso needs the President's recommendation for the Bill. If the Bill affects a state's area, boundaries or name, the President must first refer it to that state's legislature for its views within a set time. The proviso asks for views, not consent.

In Babulal Parate v. State of Bombay, decided on 28 August 1959, the Bill as referred had proposed three units in the west: a union territory of Bombay, a Maharashtra State and a Gujarat State. Parliament changed this to one composite Bombay State. The Supreme Court held that "what has to be referred to the State Legislature is the proposal contained in the Bill", not each later change, and upheld the Act. So Parliament may reshape a reorganisation Bill after the states have given their views.

Why were zonal councils created, and what can they do?

Redrawn states would still need to work with their neighbours. Part III of the 1956 Act set up zonal councils for the Northern, Central, Eastern, Western and Southern zones.

Source: "As from the appointed day, there shall be a Zonal Council for each of the following five zones" (States Reorganisation Act, 1956, section 15)

What it shows: the councils came from an ordinary Act of Parliament, not from the Constitution.

Under section 16, a Union Minister nominated by the President chairs each council. Each state sends its Chief Minister and two other ministers, and the Chief Ministers take turns as vice-chairman, one year each. Advisers, such as each state's Chief Secretary and a nominee of the Planning Commission, join the talks but cannot vote.

Section 21 makes each council an advisory body. It may discuss economic and social planning, border disputes, linguistic minorities, inter-state transport and matters arising from the reorganisation. It recommends; it does not decide.

How does NCERT judge the outcome, and what did others argue?

NCERT presents the decision as one leaders took under popular pressure, hoping that accepting regional claims would reduce the risk of separatism. It adds that the change was seen as more democratic.

Looking back, NCERT argues that power opened to people outside the small English-speaking elite and that boundaries gained a more uniform basis. It concludes that the feared break-up did not happen and that national unity grew stronger. For NCERT, the episode showed that democracy in India meant accepting diversity, not only holding elections.

What doubts were raised at the time?

A Shankar cartoon of 5 February 1956, reproduced by NCERT as "Coaxing the Genie back", questioned whether the Commission could control the force of linguism.

Others questioned sizes. Panikkar wanted Uttar Pradesh divided. In a pamphlet of December 1955, B. R. Ambedkar criticised the uneven sizes of the proposed states. According to a 2025 account by Sudha Pai, he wanted large states sharing one language divided, and proposed splitting Uttar Pradesh into three and Bihar into two.

NCERT also notes that Bombay stayed bilingual until 1960, a story the chapter note covers. The student should set these views side by side, each with its source.

Timeline: how did linguistic reorganisation unfold from 1948 to 1960?

Sources: where do these facts come from?

• NCERT, Politics in India since Independence (Class 12), Chapter 1, reprint 2026-27: Sriramulu's fast of 1952, the Commission of 1953, the 1956 totals, the cartoon of 5 February 1956, Bombay in 1960.
• CBSE, Political Science syllabus 2026-27, Part B, unit 1(d).
• Constitution of India: First Schedule in force from 26 January 1950 (constitutionofindia.net); Articles 3 and 4 (indiankanoon.org).
• Andhra State Act, 1953, sections 2(a) and 3 (indiankanoon.org).
• States Reorganisation Act, 1956, dated 31 August 1956, sections 2, 3, 5, 7, 15, 16 and 21, with the Bill's note that the Commission was constituted in December 1953 and reported on 30 September 1955 (indiankanoon.org).
• Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956, sections 1, 2 and 21, Article 239 as substituted, and the Schedule (indiankanoon.org; casemine.com).
• Babulal Parate v. State of Bombay, Supreme Court, 28 August 1959, which records the Prime Minister's statement in Parliament of 22 December 1953 and the Home Ministry resolution of 29 December 1953 (indiankanoon.org).
• M. Venkatarangaiya, "Report of the States Re-Organisation Commission", Triveni, October 1955 (wisdomlib.org).
• Luke Koshi, The News Minute, 2 November 2016: the Dar Commission (1948), the JVP Committee (December 1948, April 1949); the Commission of 1953 and its 16 states and three territories.
• Ashok K. Singh, Live History India, 14 July 2021: S. K. Dar and the JVP Committee.
• Sudha Pai, The India Forum, 6 November 2025: Ambedkar's pamphlet of December 1955.

Glossary

• Linguistic reorganisation: redrawing state boundaries so that people who share a language live, as far as possible, within one state.
• States Reorganisation Commission: the body of Fazl Ali, H. N. Kunzru and K. M. Panikkar, constituted in December 1953, which reported in 1955.
• One language, one State: the idea that all speakers of a language must be placed in a single state; the Commission rejected it.
• Union territory: a unit administered by the President through an administrator under Article 239, a category created in 1956.
• Zonal council: an advisory body under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, where the states of one zone discuss shared problems.
• Linguistic minority: a group whose mother tongue differs from the main language of its state, protected by Articles 350A and 350B.
• Appointed day: the date on which an Act's changes take effect; for the States Reorganisation Act it was 1 November 1956.

Common errors and misconceptions

• Misconception: The Commission made language the only basis for states. Correct: It called a single test of language or culture neither possible nor desirable, and weighed unity, security, administration and finance too.
• Misconception: Andhra was created by the 1956 Act. Correct: Andhra State was formed on 1 October 1953; the 1956 Act added territory from Hyderabad and renamed it Andhra Pradesh.
• Misconception: The Act followed every recommendation. Correct: The Commission proposed a separate Vidarbha and Hyderabad; the Act joined Vidarbha to Bombay and moved Hyderabad territory to Andhra Pradesh.
• Misconception: Zonal councils are constitutional bodies with binding powers. Correct: They were created by the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, and section 21 makes them advisory.
• Misconception: In 1956 every language group received its own state. Correct: The Commission rejected "one language, one State", and Bombay stayed bilingual until 1960.

Exam-style questions with model answers

Q1. Which body said in 1955 that states should not be reorganised on the single test of language? (a) the Dar Commission (b) the JVP Committee (c) the States Reorganisation Commission (d) a zonal council [1 mark]

(c) The States Reorganisation Commission. Its report treated linguistic homogeneity as important but weighed it against unity, security, administration and finance.

Q2. State any two changes made by the Seventh Amendment Act, 1956. [2 marks]

1. It ended the Part A, B, C and D classes, leaving states and union territories from 1 November 1956.
2. It inserted Articles 350A and 350B, on mother-tongue teaching and a Special Officer for linguistic minorities.

Q3. Explain any four ways in which the outcome of 1956 differed from the Commission's recommendations. [4 marks]

1. States: the Commission proposed 16 states; the Act produced 14.
2. Hyderabad: the Commission wanted a separate state, but the Act moved its territory into Andhra Pradesh.
3. Vidarbha: the Commission proposed a separate state, but the Act joined it to the new Bombay State.
4. Territories: the Commission proposed three centrally administered territories; the Act and the Seventh Amendment created six union territories, including the new Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands.

Q4. "Language became the main basis of reorganisation in 1956, but not the only one." Assess this statement. [6 marks]

1. The Dar Commission (1948) and the JVP Committee (1949) advised against provinces based mainly on language.
2. Popular pressure changed this: after Potti Sriramulu's death in 1952, Andhra State was formed on 1 October 1953.
3. The Commission treated linguistic homogeneity as important but rejected a single test and "one language, one State".
4. It also weighed unity and security, administrative convenience, financial viability and planning.
5. The Act created Kerala, Mysore and Andhra Pradesh largely on language lines, yet Bombay stayed composite until 1960.
6. Articles 350A and 350B and advisory zonal councils were added for what boundaries could not settle, so the statement holds.

Key takeaways

• Before 1953, the Dar Commission (1948) and the JVP Committee (1949) advised against provinces based mainly on language, though Andhra was left open.
• Andhra State, formed on 1 October 1953 after Potti Sriramulu's fast and death, was followed that December by the States Reorganisation Commission.
• The Commission reported on 30 September 1955, treating language as important but rejecting a single test and "one language, one State".
• The States Reorganisation Act took effect on 1 November 1956 with 14 states and six union territories, departing from the Commission on Hyderabad and Vidarbha.
• The Seventh Amendment ended the Part A to D classes, created union territories and added Articles 350A and 350B for linguistic minorities.
• The Act also set up five advisory zonal councils, and Babulal Parate (1959) upheld Parliament's power under Article 3.

Test yourself

Who chaired the Linguistic Provinces Commission of 1948?

S. K. Dar, a retired judge of the Allahabad High Court.

Name the three members of the States Reorganisation Commission.

Justice Saiyid Fazl Ali, the chairman, with H. N. Kunzru and K. M. Panikkar.

On what date did the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 take effect?

On 1 November 1956, its appointed day, the same day as the Seventh Amendment.

What did K. M. Panikkar propose in his separate note?

Dividing Uttar Pradesh, because a federation works best when its units are fairly evenly balanced.

Which provision lets Parliament create a new state by an ordinary law?

Article 3, after the President's recommendation and a reference to the affected state legislature for its views.

What is the role of a zonal council?

It is an advisory body that discusses shared matters such as planning, border disputes, linguistic minorities and transport.