gujarat was the first state in india to be created in linguistic basis post independence.
which was the first state in india to be created in linguistic basis post independence?
gujarat
in 1947, india gained independence from the united kingdom. although the muslim nizam of hyderabad resisted, he was forced to cede his state to india in 1948 to form hyderabad state. when india became independent, telugu-speaking people (urdu is spoken in some parts of hyderabad and a few other districts of hyderabad state) were distributed in 22 districts: nine in hyderabad state, 12 in the madras presidency and one in french-controlled yanam. in 1953 andhra state was created from part of the madras presidency, the first state in india formed on a linguistic basis. in 1956, andhra state was merged with the telugu-speaking area of hyderabad state to form the state of andhra pradesh.
history of andhra pradesh
but, soon after independence, the congress-led government became concerned that the states formed solely on a linguistic basis might be unsuitable, and might even pose a risk to the national unity. on 17 june 1948, rajendra prasad, the president of the constituent assembly, set up the linguistic provinces commission (aka dar commission) to recommend whether the states should be reorganised on linguistic basis or not. the committee included sk dar (retired judge of the allahabad high court), jn lal (lawyer) and panna lall (retired indian civil service officer). in its 10 december 1948 report, the commission recommended that "the formation of provinces on exclusively or even mainly linguistic considerations is not in the larger interests of the indian nation." it recommended the reorganisation of the provinces of madras, bombay and central provinces and berar primarily on the basis of geographical contiguity, financial self-sufficiency and ease of administration. soon after the report was published, the congress, at its jaipur session, set up the "jvp committee" to study the recommendations of the dar commission. the committee, comprised jawaharlal nehru and vallabhbhai patel, in addition to the congress president pattabhi sitaramayya. in its report dated 1 april 1949, the committee stated that the time was not suitable for formation of new provinces, but also stated that the "public sentiment is insistent and overwhelming, we, as democrats, have to submit to it, but subject to certain limitations in regard to the good of india as a whole."
states reorganisation commission