demand for new states in india

There were 565 princely states when the Indian subcontinent became independent from Britain in August 1947. Then new states were formed based on languages spoken. (Excluding Pak and Bangladesh) . States based on language spoken is quite ideal in a country like india – but from time to time there has been demands for new states – There are numerous reasons for this – such as political interest, some feel that their regions are neglected, some areas want to have their own representation (but are too small) etc. Some think that if there are smaller states then there will be more development – But sometimes smaller states are least developed while larger states are more – better management is the key here. Also logically there will be more expenses – who will bare the expense for new ministers, cabinets,  chief ministers, state government employees etc – Can india afford this – Technically yes collect more taxes from people…and implement..But also another important thing here to note if the state remain bigger ideally it will have more representation in the center..and can have more access to natural resource etc ..but here too management is the key.

The current list of states and their capital in india includes the following:

There are 28 states :

STATES………. CAPITAL
Andhra Pradesh…Hyderabad
Arunachal Pradesh…Itanagar
Assam…Dispur
Bihar…Patna
Chattisgadh…Raipur
Goa…Panaji
Gujarat…Gandhingar
Haryana…Chandigarh  (same as punjab)
Himachal pradesh…Shimla
Jammu Kashmir…Jammu{winter season }
Srinagar{summer season}
Jarkhand…Ranchi
Karnataka…Banglore
Kerala…Thiruvanthapuram
Madhya Pradesh…Bhopal
Maharashtra…Mumbai
Manipur…Imphal
Meghalaya…Shillong
Mizoram…Aizwal
Nagaland…Kohima
Orissa…Bhubhaneshwar
Punjab…Chandigarh (same as haryana)
Rajasthan…Jaipur
Sikkim…Gantok
Tamil Nadu…Chennai
Uttar Pradesh…Lucknow
Uttaranchal…Dehradun
West Bengal…Kolkatta

Please find below the list of states for which agitation is going on in india. Please share your views in a courteous mannar.

North india – ladakh, harit pradesh (paschimanchal), purvanchal, bundelkhand,sonanchal,central up ( awadh ), mithilanchal ( mithila ) , Bhojpur, vindhya pradesh

West India – vidarbha, marathwada, konkan, saurastra (saurasthra ), kutch, maru pradesh (desert land )

East India – Gorkhaland, kamtapur, bodoland, karbi anglong, koshal ( kosal ), greater cooch behar

South India – Greater Rayalseema, Coastal Andhra , Telengana, kongu Nadu, coorg, north karnataka, coastal karnataka and kerela

NORTH INDIA

Ladakh

This lies in jammu and kashmir. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent. It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Kashmir. Historically, the region included the Baltistan (Baltiyul) valleys (pok), the Indus Valley, the remote Zangskar (near kargil), Lahaul and Spiti to the south (currently in himachal pradesh – india), Aksai Chin (occupied by china) and Ngari, including the Rudok region and Guge (tibet), in the east, and the Nubra (tibet) valleys to the north. Ladakh area is a bit different as compared to valley – especially due to its buddhists impact. Some Ladakhi activists have in recent times called for Ladakh to be constituted as a union territory or state because of its religious and cultural differences with predominantly Muslim Kashmir.

This agitation isn’t that active.

Harit Pradesh ( paschimanchal )

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) President Ajit Singh demanded for Harit Pradesh. Its a part of uttar pradesh (west). Braj Pradesh and Pashchim Pradesh are alternative names that have been proposed, because the region incorporates the historic region of Braj and is the western (pashchim in Hindi) part of Uttar Pradesh respectively.Harit Pradesh borders with Haryana, Delhi Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand (uttranchal) and Nepal. There are 24 districts in harit pradesh divided into Meerut Division, Moradabad Division, Bareilly Division, Saharanpur Division, Agra Division and Aligarh Division – making around 30 lokhsabha seats (11 from Rohilkhand and 19 from West UP) and 150 assembly seats. Also there are around 25% dalits,30% obc’s (jats,yadav’s and lodh )- Ajit singh’s party has the maximum advantage.  Recent demand for Telanga state (within andhra pradesh in southern india) had triggered the need for Harit Pradesh again. (by certain political parties)

This agitation isn’t that active.

Purvanchal ( Poorvanchal )

As a fallout of Telangana creation movement, Mayawati proposed Dec 13th, 2009 to carve Purvanchal. out of Uttar Pradesh. Purvanchal comprises chiefly of three divisions—the eastern-Awadhi region in the west, the western-Bhojpuri region in the east and the northern-Baghelkhand region in the south. Bhojpuri is the predominant language or dialect in the region in addition to Hindi although Awadhi and Baghelkhandi are also spoken in the western and southern areas.

Purvanchal includes the districts of Varanasi, Chandoli, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Azamgarh, Mau, Maharajganj, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Siddharth Nagar, Ballia. Purvanchal has 27 districts – 32 Lok Sabha and 160 assembly seats. Over 60% people live below poverty line. Mayawati’s BSP will be in advantage if this state is formed.

This agitation isn’t that active.

Bundelkhand

The long overdue demand for Bundelkhand comprising of districts like Banda, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Sagar of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.The region is now divided between the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with the larger portion lying in the latter. The major towns are Jhansi, Datia, Lalitpur, Sagar, Damoh, Orai, Panna, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Banda Narsinghpur and Chhatarpur. However, the cities of Gwalior, Jabalpur and even Bhopal are under close cultural influence of Bundelkhand, especially lingustically. Bundelkhand has seven districts, four Lok Sabha Seats and 20 assembly seats. Dalits population 25-35% , Brahmins 10-15% and Muslims 5-7%. BSP is strong here.

This agitation isn’t that active.

Sonanchal

There is also a demand for the creation of Sonanchal comprising Mirzapur, Sonbhadra and Chandauli. In 2005, Sonanchal Sangharsh Samiti had organized meetings in support of the demand. This organisation is headed by Hariram Chero.

This agitation isn’t active.

Central UP or Awadh

This is the leftover part of uttar-pradesh if we exclude bundelkhand, harit pradesh, purvanchal. This region lies in the central and congress government strong hold Amethi and Rae Bareli (gandhi family) lie here. Most of this region is backward. This region has 13 districts, 14 lok sabha and 60 assembly seats. Dalit population is between 20-25% ,  Brahmins 9 – 12%  and Muslims 18-26%. Samajwadi Party is strong in this region.

This agitation isn’t active.

Mithilanchal or Mithila

There is for a Mithilanchal or Mithila state comprising northern districts of the state dominated by Maithili-speaking territories people in Bihar. Dharbanga is the main city in this region. Bihar is the name ,given to the the region ,comprising mainly of three great kingdoms namely—-magadh, mithila and vaishali having languages—namely magdhi ,maithili and bhojpuri. Mithila also has some parts of Nepal.

This agitation isn’t active.

Bhojpur

There is also a demand for Bhojpur comprising people speaking bhojpuri. This isn’t active. It can have some part in bihar or eastern up. (mixed up)

Vindhya Pradesh

A demand for Vindhya Pradesh formed out of Madhya Pradesh came up when Chhattisgarh was craved out.The formation of Chhattisgarh which was backed by both Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) started off in 1990s and it was officially created on Nov 1, 2000. In 2000, Sriniwas Tiwari, ex-speaker of the Madhya Pradesh assembly, advocated that nine districts be separated from Madhya Pradesh to re-create a new state of Vindhya Pradesh. Vindhaya Ekata Parishad, and Vidhya Punrodaya Samiti are the organizations actively working for the separate “Vindhya Pradesh”.

A bit of background.
When India became independent in 1947, the new states of Madhya Bharat and Vindhya Pradesh were carved out of the old Central India Agency. Three years later, in 1950, the Central Provinces and Berar was renamed Madhya Pradesh. With the States Reorganization Act of 1956, Madhya Pradesh was redistributed along linguistic lines. The act transferred the southern Marathi-speaking districts of Madhya Pradesh to the Bombay state (now in Maharashtra) and merged several Hindi-speaking areas—the states of Bhopal and Vindhya Pradesh, as well as most of Madhya Bharat—with Madhya Pradesh. Later in 2000 chhattisgarh was formed.

This agitation isn’t active.

WEST INDIA

Vidarbha

Vidarbha is the eastern region of Maharashtra state made up of Nagpur Division and Amravati Division. It occupies 31.6% of total area and holds 21.3% of total population of Maharashtra. The demand for a Vidarbha carved out of Maharastra is born out of the allegations of neglect against the state government. It borders the state of Madhya Pradesh to north, Chattisgarh to east, Andhra Pradesh to south and Marathwada and Khandesh regions of Maharashtra to west. Situated in central India Vidarbha has its own rich cultural and historical background distinct from rest of Maharashtra. The largest city in Vidarbha is Nagpur, second largest is Amravati followed by Akola, Gondia, Chandrapur and Yavatmal. A majority of Vidarbhians speak Varhadi a dialect of Marathi. Vidarbha holds two-thirds of Maharashtra’s mineral resources, three quarters of its forest resources and is a net producer of power. Throughout its history Vidarbha has remained much calmer during the communal troubles than the rest of India but it is plagued very much by poverty and malnutrition. It is less economically prosperous compared to the rest of Maharashtra.

The farmers in the state are living in the worst condition compared to the rest of India. There are more than 32,000 farmers suicides in Maharashtra in a decade, of which 70% being in the 11 districts of Vidarbha region. Though rich in minerals, coal, forests and mountains, this region is always underdeveloped because of the continuous dominance of the political leaderships form the other parts of the state, especially Western Maharashtra. Though being culturally, politically and financially different than the rest of Maharashtra, the calls to a separate state come in picture only when the leaders from this region are sidelined by the other higher authorities in the govt. of Maharashtra. It has largely become a myth as a separate Vidarbha state, mainly due to the opposition from the state political party Shiv Sena.

This agitation is a bit active.

Marathwada

Marathwada, a economically backward region of Maharashtra has demanded for a separate state. This demand sees support from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). There has, however, been accelerated industrial growth in Marathwada in the past few years. Thus, Skoda and Audi cars are now being manufactured at Aurangabad, and Hindalco, Parly, Siemens, and Radico have started their major projects in Marathwada. Vidiocon manufactures TVs, airconditioning units, refrigerators, and washing machines, while Sterlite manufactures fibre optic cables in this region.Marathwada consists of the districts of Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.Marathwada has contributed three chief ministers, all from the Congress — S B Chavan (Nanded district), Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar (Latur district), Vilasrao Deshmukh (Latur district).

This agitation isn’t active.

Konkan

There is also a demand for separate Konkan comprising of Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg in the Konkan division of Maharashtra. This is the coastline region of maharashtra. Most of the people here speak Konkani language.

Recently a top politician said that rich politicians from western Maharashtra had done injustice to people of Vidarbha and Konkan over the years. “I think even the people of Konkan should demand a separate state to free themselves from the clutches of western Maharashtra’s politicians”

This agitation isn’t that active.

Saurastra

There is a demand for separation of Saurasthra from Gujarat. However, this is not a vocal campaign as Saurashtra is not only doing well economically, but is also considered as a significant part of the state. People of saurastra speak the same language as the people in mainland gujarat – with a different tone of speaking.

This agitation isn’t active.

Kutch

Kutch (also spelled “Cutch”, “Kachh”, “Kachch” and even “Kachchh”) is a district of Gujarat state in western India. The Rann of Kutch is a seasonally marshy region located in the Thar Desert biogeographic province in Gujarat state of northwestern India and the Sind province of Pakistan. Kutch is virtually an island, bounded by the Arabian Sea to the west and the Gulf of Kutch, which separates Kutch from the Kathiawar peninsula, to the south and southeast, and by the Rann of Kutch, a huge wetland that forms the northern and eastern part of the region.Kutch was formerly an independent state, founded in the late 13th century by a samma rajput named Jada, from which name the Jadeja rajputs derive their patronymic. Upon the independence of India in 1947, Kutch acceded unto the dominion of India and was constitited an independent commissionerate.Kutch language (866,000 speakers ) was very nearly a kin to Prakrit but has survived only as a spoken language. Kutchi language is also very near to Sindhi language. Culture of Kutch has little bit mixture of Gujarati and Sindhi culture and religious tradition of Hinduism, Islam and Jainism. Kutch language has its own script known as Khojaki (of Khojas) script but it is no more being used.
There was a demand for kutch – based on language – But its not currently active.

Maru pradesh ( Desert Land )

Maru Pradesh consisting of desert districts of Barmer, Bikaner, Churu, Ganga Nagar, Hanumangarh, Jaisalmer, Jhunjhunu, Osiyan (Tehsil of Jodhpur), Nagaur and Sikar, has distinct climate, geography, demography, culture and social identity as compared to Rest of Rajasthan. The language spoken in Maru Pradesh is distinct Bagree language, dress code is different there i.e. “white chader and kurta”. In Maru Pradesh ladies wear suit or bagri ghaghra. The rituals of marriage, child birth, the folk songs are different and are determined by the unique desert climate of Maru Pradesh. Generally marriages also take place among the people of these 9 districts of Maru Pradesh.

In terms of Agro-climatic characteristic the state of Maru Pradesh desert type climate. The area is drought prone, with scanty rain. The Rest of Rajasthan is more bountiful as far as monsoons are concerned and has irrigated plains, has rivers like Chambal and Mahi.

This agitation isn’t that active.

EAST INDIA

Gorkhaland

The Gorkhaland movement grew from the demand of Nepalis living in Darjiling District of West Bengal for a separate state for themselves. The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) initiated agitation for a separate Gorkhaland in West Bengal. The Gorkhaland movement distinguished Darjiling Gorkhas from nationals of Nepal legally resident in India, from Nepali-speaking Indian citizens from other parts of the country, and even from the majority in neighboring Sikkim, where Nepali is the official language. The separatists are demanding for a state consisting of Darjeeling and its hills in the northern part of west bengal.

In July 1988, the Gorkhaland National Liberation Front gave up the demand for a separate state, and in August the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council came into being with Ghising as chairman. The godfather of the Gorkhaland movement and Chairman of the Darjeeling Gorkha National Liberation Front, Subash Ghising, said recently that a struggle like that of Nepal’s Maoists was necessary to establish Darjeeling as Gorkhaland. BJP as it supports the formation of smaller states within india – supports this cause.

This agitation isn’t that active – recently has become active as there was a demand for other state of Telangana.

Kamtapur

(check north bengal in the map – eg: south dinajpur)

The Kamatapur is the ancient name of the Koch dynasty which includes the present divided Kamatapur kingdom which includes the entire North-Bengal of the West Bengal, most of the parts of present Assam and adjoining parts of Bihar, Nepal, Bhutan and the present parts of the ancient Rongpur of Bangladesh.Kamtapur Peoples Party, is a political party working in the northern parts of the Indian state of West Bengal. KPP demands the set-up of a separate Kamtapur state and recognition of the dialect of the Rajbanshis as a separate language. KPP is alleged to be the political wing of the terrorist outfit Kamtapur

Liberation Organization. Rajbanshis language is akin to Bengali, Maithili and Assamese. The objective of the KLO is to carve out a separate Kamtapur State comprising six districts—— Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, North and South Dinajpur and Malda——of West Bengal and four contiguous districts of Assam——Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri and Goalpara. Experts say that Kamtapur is not a feasible idea because the demographic pattern of the Rajbanshis is not uniform in all the districts. Rajbanshis communitity ( Rajvanshi/Rajbongshi/Koch-Rajbongshi ) has strong presense in Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Siliguri, it is negligible in the rest of the areas.

The demand for the creation of a Kamtapur state for ethnic Rajbonshis has gained momentum following the creation of Jharkhand, as also the new states of Uttaranchal and Chhattisgarh.

Bodoland

Bodoland is an area located in the north bank of Brahmaputra river in the state of Assam in north east region of India, by the foothills of Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh; inhabited predominantly by Bodo language speaking ethnic group. The map of Bodoland overlaps with the districts of Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang and Udalguri in state of Assam. Bodo language  is part of the Tibeto-Burmese family of languages. Bodo has 1,000,000 speakers in the Bodo hills of North-Western Assam. Major city for Bodos is the city of Kokrajhar.

Assam sees a demand for Bodoland from the Bodo speaking people, who want the northern banks of Brahmaputra in Assam to be declared as a separate state.

Currently this agitation is not active.

Karbi Anglong

Karbi Anglong is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. The district occupies an area of 10,434 km² and has a population of 812,320 (as of 2001). The district is bounded by Golaghat district on the east, Meghalaya state and Marigaon district on the west, Nagaon and Golaghat districts on the north and North Cachar Hills district and Nagaland state on the south.  A number of indigenous peoples reside in this district. The Karbis are the most prominent amongst them. Other indigenous peoples residing in this district include the Rengma Nagas, the Dimasas, the Bodos, the Kukis, the Garos, the Tiwas, the Khasis, the Thadous, the Hmars, the Mizos and the Chakmas.

The people of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar hill districts are demanding for a separate state based on allegations of economic neglect.

Currently this agitation is not active.

Koshal or Kosal

Orissa sees demand for Koshal or Kosal comprising of ten districts of the state. The demand for the politically separate state comes from Sambalpuri-speaking people who dominated the ten districts.

This demand again stems from the neglect on the part of the state government.

Greater Cooch Behar

Apart from the Gorkhaland, West Bengal also sees the demand for creation of new Greater Cooch Behar state formed out of parts of the state along with some regions of Assam.The Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party is a political party in the northern areas of West Bengal, India. The party strives to create a separate ‘Greater

Cooch Behar’ state. The GCBDP was founded in 2006, after a split in the Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association (GCPA). Ashutosh Barma is the president of the party. Bangshibadan Barman, the erstwhile jailed general secretary of the GCPA, sided with the GCBDP in the split and became a member of the new party

Telangana has encouraged separatists to demand creation of two more states in West Bengal — Cooch Behar and another state by combining Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore.The Great Cooch Behar People’s Association, Kamtapur People’s Party and Greater Cooch Behar Democratic Party have come together under an umbrella, Separate State Demand Committee, to demand separate statehood for Cooch Behar. Thirteen committee activists are also on a fast-unto-death since Saturday evening.

The Maoist-backed Public Committee against Police Atrocities on Sunday sought separate statehood for the area combining forest areas of Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore on the basis of tribal language, culture and religion.

SOUTH INDIA

Gondwana

Gondwana, sometimes called Gondaranya, is a region of central India, and is named after the Gondi people who live there (though they can also be found in other parts of India). Telangana may be the more vocal separatist campaigns, but it is not the only one as Andhra Pradesh sees many more demands. Demand for Gondwana includes regions of Andhra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Gondwana has a relatively high proportion of peoples of the “scheduled tribes” of India, which include the Gonds.

Greater Rayalaseema Region

There is also a demand for Greater Rayalaseema Region comprising of Kadapa, Kurnool, Anantpur, Chittoor, Prakasam and Nellore. Rayalaseema is widely thought to be underdeveloped compared to the Telangana and Coastal Andhra regions of the state.

There is a demand if Telengana is carved out of Andhra pradesh then Rayalaseema Region state should be formed.

Coastal Andhra

There is a demand if Telengana is carved out of Andhra pradesh then Coastal Andhra state should be formed.

Telengana

Telangana or Telingana is an unofficial region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Telangana was formerly part of Hyderabad State and was added to Andhra Pradesh in 1956 on linguistic grounds following the States Reorganization Act. Telangana is situated on the central stretch of the Indian Peninsula, most of it on the high Deccan Plateau between the Aryan North and Dravidian South. Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS)is a regional political party in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Its main agenda is the creation of a separate state of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh. Rao and his counterpart Mr.A Narendra repeatedly assured the people of Telangana that the formation of new state is on the cards and it can happen ‘any moment’. Telangana is a region which has been historically underdeveloped and backward since the days of the Nizam. The proportion of irrigated area to total sown area is less in Telangana and the Rayalaseema areas. A large section of those who suffer due to the underdevelopment of the Telangana region are the tribals, dalits and minorities. Telanganas feared too that the people of Andhra would have the advantage in jobs, particularly in government and education.

This agitation is currently in news and has triggered the demand for more states in india.  Osmania University is the epicenter of this movement.

Kongu Nadu

In Tamil Nadu there is a demand for a new Kongu Land comprising of the western districts of the state. The region is dominated by the Gounders and takes roots in allegations that the region was neglected economically.Kongu Nadu is the north western region of the state of Tamil Nadu in Southern India.The word Kongu is derived from Kanku found in inscritions which inturmn is from the name of the dominant community Kankas (Gangas) or Kongar or the modern Kongu Vellala Gounder (caste). In the ancient period the region around Coimbatore was known as Kanga Nadu (Ganga country) and was ruled by local Velir chiefs of the Western Ganga Dynasty, whose origins are unclear. The region ruled by these kingdoms was known as the land of the Gangas (Kongus), by the last dynasty where native Gounders ruled, the language Gangee Tamil (Kongu Tamil) (Wilkins, History of Mysore) is spoken here.

The campaign is being led by Kongunanu Munnetra Peravai, a newly formed political party started by a Kongu Vellalar community welfare organisation.

Coorg

Coorg is located in the south-western part of Karnataka bordering Kerala. COORG (an anglicized corruption of Kodagu, said to be derived from the Kanarese Kudu, ” steep,” “hilly”), a province of India, administered by a commissioner, subordinate to the governorgeneral through the resident of Mysore, who is officially also chief commissioner of Coorg.

In Karnataka, the Kodavas are demanding autonomy for the Kodagu district or Coorg. It is often known as Madikeri.The people speak a different language referred as Coorgi or Kodava as opposed to Kannada which is spoken in the rest of the state.

North Karnataka

Thirteen northern districts of the state, including Gulbarga, Raichur and Bidar, are demanding a separate north Karnataka state based on claims that this part of the state is often neglected as against the southern region. In this connection north Karnataka is taken as the area comprising the present Karnataka excluding the old Mysore State.Karnataka’s capital Bangalore is located in the southern part of the state.

Coastal Karnataka and Kerala

The inhabitants of the coastal region of the states of Kerala and Karnataka are demanding formation of a separate state.The Tulu speaking population, which dominates this region of the country, wants a state comprising of Dakshina Karnataka, Udupi, Mangalore (part of Karnataka) and Kasargod (part of Kerala).

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