Bombay State

History

Main article: History of Bombay in independent India

During the British Raj, portions of the western coast of India under direct British rule were part of the Bombay Presidency. After Indian independence in 1947 and when India was partitioned, Bombay Province remained part of India, while Sind Province became part of Pakistan. The territory retained by India was restructured into Bombay State when India became a republic in 1950. It included princely states such as Kolhapur in Deccan, and Baroda and the Dangs in Gujarat, which had former parts of Deccan States Agency and Baroda, Western India and Gujarat States Agency.{{Citation |access-date=8 January 2021}}

Expansion of the state

As a result of the States Reorganisation Act on 1 November 1956, the Kannada-speaking districts of Belgaum (except Chandgad taluka), Bijapur, Dharwar, and North Canara were transferred from Bombay State to Mysore State.{{cite web |access-date=1 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516123014/http://www.commonlii.org/in/legis/num_act/sra1956250/ |archive-date=16 May 2008 but the State of Bombay was significantly enlarged, expanding eastward to incorporate the Marathi-speaking Marathwada region of Hyderabad State, the Marathi-speaking Vidarbha region of southern Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarati-speaking Saurashtra and Kutch states. The Bombay state was being referred to by the local inhabitants as "Maha Dwibhashi Rajya", meaning, "the great bilingual state".

In 1956, the States Reorganisation Committee, against the will of Jawaharlal Nehru, recommended a bilingual state for Maharashtra-Gujarat with Bombay as its capital, whereas in Lok Sabha discussions in 1955, the Congress party demanded that the city be constituted as an autonomous city-state.{{cite news |access-date = 12 November 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050514003803/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/2003/04/13/stories/2003041300240300.htm |archive-date = 14 May 2005 |url-status = usurped |access-date=12 November 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006221033/http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/community/community_samyuktaShow.php |archive-date= 6 October 2008

Dissolution of Bombay state

Bombay State was finally dissolved with the formation of Maharashtra and Gujarat states on 1 May 1960.

Following protests of Samyukta Maharashtra Movement, in which 107 people were killed by police, Bombay State was reorganised on linguistic lines. Gujarati-speaking areas of Bombay State were partitioned into the state of Gujarat following Mahagujarat Movement. Maharashtra State with Bombay as its capital was formed with the merger of Marathi-speaking areas of Bombay State, eight districts from Central Provinces and Berar, five districts from Hyderabad State, and numerous princely states enclosed between them.

Chief ministers

Bombay State had three chief ministers after the independence of India:

• Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher was the first chief minister of Bombay (1946–1952)
• Morarji Desai (1952–1956)
• Yashwantrao Chavan (1956–1960)

Governors

Upon the split of Bombay State in 1960, the designation of the "Governor of Bombay" was renamed to the Governor of Maharashtra.

Sources: Governor of Maharashtra{{cite web |access-date=23 December 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206050259/http://rajbhavan.maharashtra.gov.in/previous/default.htm |archive-date= 6 February 2009 |chapter-url=http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/greater_bombay/history.html#40 |access-date=13 August 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906220718/http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/greater_bombay/volume1.html |archive-date= 6 September 2008

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from:1948 till:1952 color:PA text:"Raja Sir Maharaj Singh (1948–1952)" from:1952 till:1954 color:PA text:"Sir Girija Shankar Bajpai (1952–1954)" from:1955 till:1956 color:PA text:"Hare Krishna Mahtab (1955–1956)" from:1956 till:1960 color:PA text:"Sri Prakasa (1956–1960)"

References

References

1. [[Ramachandra Guha]], ''[[India after Gandhi]]: The History of the World's Largest Democracy.'' HarperCollins, 2007
2. Grover, Verinder. (1994). "Federation of India and States' Reorganisation: Reconstruction and Consolidation". Deep and Deep Publications.
3. Sadasivan, S. N.. (2005). "Political and administrative integration of princely states". Mittal.
4. (6 February 2008). "Sons of soil: born, reborn". [[The Indian Express.
5. "Gujarat". [[Government of India]].
6. "Maharashtra". [[Government of India]].