Many Indian states celebrate their Statehood Day on November 1.
Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Chhattisgarh were all formed on November 1.
But why do so many states have their statehood day on the same day?
The Linguistic Reorganisation Committee – The states of 1956
In 1947, over 500 Indian monarchies were united to form 27 Indian states. Many of these were already part of British India, but many, like Hyderabad, Jamnagar, etc., were independent monarchies that had not held elections and were new to the statehood process.
What was done was simply a merging of the existing states.
The Madras state had people who spoke Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam. Some leaders thought that states should be made on the basis of the common language that binds the people.
In 1953, Shri Potti Sriramulu campaigned for linguistic reorganisation of states.
This is how the first language-based reorganisation of states was done and the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh were formed on November 1, 1956.
Himachal Pradesh was also carved out as a Union Territory on the same day, but it became a full-fledged state much later.
Haryana and Punjab – 1966
Haryana was formed as a separate state on November 1, 1966.
Chhattisgarh – 2000
Chhattisgarh came into existence on November 1, 2000.
