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Linguistic States: A 20th-Century Timeline

Dec 1903: Linguistic principle for organising Indias provinces figures for first time in Sir
Herbert Risley's letter to the Bengal government. Sir Herbert is home secretary at this point.
1905: Partition of Bengal takes place

1917: Dr Annie Besant strongly opposes linguistic organisation of provinces at the Calcutta
session
1920: Congress adopts linguistic redistribution of provinces at the Nagpur session
1927: Congress adopts a resolution supporting creation of linguistic states
1928: Motilal Nehru Committee supports redistribution along linguistic lines
1945-46: Congress election manifesto promises provinces will be constituted on linguistic and
cultural lines
Nov 1947: Prime Minister Nehru concedes the linguistic principle, but says security and stability
of India important
1948: Linguistic provinces commission set up
Aug-Sept, 1951: G. Sitaramaiah fasts for creation of Andhra state
Dec 15, 1952: Potti Sriramulu dies while fasting for the creation of Andhra. The state is carved
out of Madras Presidency only a year later.
Dec 1953: States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) is set up
1955: Nehru sends S.G. Barve to the former USSR for understanding the language policy as a
state reconstruction programme
Jul 1955: SRC report submitted14 states and 9 union territories recommended.
Aug 1956: SRC recommendations implemented
1960: Gujarat and Maharashtra come into being
1960-61: Sant Fateh Singh and Master Tara Singh undertake fast unto death for the creation of a
Punjab state
1963-64: Language riots in Tamil Nadu
1963: Nagaland takes shape
1966: Haryana and Punjab created 1970-80: Other Northeastern states carved out
1992: Goa created
2000: Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand emerge as independent entities.