In 1953, the Government of India appointed the State Reorganization Commission to reorganize the boundaries of various states. Two years later, in 1955, the Commission recommended to the Government the formation of 16 States and 3 Union Territories.
The State Reorganization Commission was formed under the chairmanship of Fazal Ali. K. M. Panikkar and H. N. Kunzru implemented the recommendations of the commission through the State Reorganization Act in 1956.
| Enacted | 31st Aug 1956 |
| Effective | 1st Nov 1956 |
Before independence, the Indian states or geographical border was classified into four (A, B, C, D) main distinct categories.
- Category – A states: These states were known as Former British provinces. The Administrator was decided by an elected governor and state legislature. There were 9 states that belong to this category: Assam, Bihar, Bombay, East Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal
- Category – B states: These states were known as Former princely states. The former princes were the al in all of these states. There are 9 states that belong to this category. These were Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Bharat, Mysore, Patiala, and East Punjab States Union), Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Travancore-Cochin, and Vindhya Pradesh.
- Category – C states: These states were also known as Former princely, but the power of the administration was held to Chief commissioners. There were 10 states in this category, they are Ajmer, Coorg, Cooch-Behar, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Kutch, Manipur, and Tripura
- Category – D states: This was known as Union Territory. All the administrative powers were held to the Governor appointed by the President of India. The union territory was Andaman and Nicobar Islands only in this category.
Recommendations of State Reorganisation Commission
- Recommendations – 1: Abolish three-tier state management (A, B, C).
- Recommendations – 2: Agreements with major state institutions and states ruled by monarchies were canceled.
- Recommendations – 3: Article 371 of the Constitution is abolished.
- Recommendations – 4: Only Andaman-Nicobar, Delhi and Manipur will be Union Territories and the rest of the C / D part will be attached to other states.
Read More