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Home , East Punjab, Rajpramukh

Evolution of Indian States

The constituent States of the Indian Republic have gone through a long process of evolution, before these have taken their present shapes, sizes and names. The British , which consisted of modern- day India, and , was made of two types of States: (a) 15 provinces that were ruled directly by the British officials, either a Governor or a Chief Commissioner, who were appointed by the Viceroy. These were Ajmer- Merwara, , Baluchistan, Bengal, Bombay, Central Provinces and Berar, Coorg, , Madras, North-West Frontier, Orissa, , and United Provinces. (b) Hundreds of Princely States of varying sizes that were ruled by local hereditary rulers, who acknowledged British sovereignty in return for local autonomy.

With the Independence of India in 1947, the provinces of Bengal and Punjab were partitioned along religious lines between India and Pakistan and the Princely States were given the options of joining either of the States. The period between Independence and the beginning of the Indian republic in 1950 witnessed the consolidation of the Princely States into new provinces. When the was adopted, States were divided in three categories.

9 Part A states, which were the former provinces, to be ruled by an elected governor and state legislature. These were Assam, , Bihar, Bombay, (formerly Central Provinces and Berar), Madras, Orissa, Punjab, and (formerly United Provinces). 8 Part B states, which were former princely states or groups of princely states, to be governed by a Rajpramukh. They were , , , Travancore- Cochin, , , Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU), and . 10 Part C states included both former princely states and provinces, to be governed by a chief commissioner. These were Delhi, Kutch, , Bilaspur, Coorg, Bhopal, , Ajmer, and .

Jammu and Kashmir had special status until 1957. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands was a territory, ruled by a governor appointed by the Indian president. The 27 States were comprehensively reorganized along linguistic lines into 12 States 7 Union Territories under the provisions of the States reorganization Act 1956. The New States were Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Bombay, , Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Mysore, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. The Union Territories were Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Pondichery, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the Laccadive, Mincoy, and Amandivi Islands

Several new States and Union Territories have been created since 1956, In addition, several union territories have become states. The Kingdom of Sikkim was annexed to India as a state in 1975. Today the republic of India comprises of 28 States and 7 Union Territories. These are: States:

1. 15. Maharashtra 2. Arunachal Pradesh 16. Manipur 3. Assam 17. Meghalaya 4. Bihar 18. Mizoram 5. Chhattisgarh 19. Nagaland 6. Goa 20. Orissa 7. Gujarat 21. Punjab 8. 22. Rajasthan 9. Himachal Pradesh 23. Sikkim 10. Jammu and Kashmir 24. 11. Jharkhand 25. Tripura

12. Karnataka 26. Uttarakhand 13. Kerala 27. Uttar Pradesh 14. Madhya Pradesh 28. West Bengal

Union Territories:

1. Andaman and Nicobar Island 2. 3. Dadra and Nagar Haveli 4. Daman and Diu 5. Delhi 6. Lakshadweep 7. Puducherry