States Reorganisation Act History: How India’s Map Evolved

Statehood talks: J&K Assembly resolution and Ladakh negotiations Status or name change

Jammu and Kashmir’s Assembly passed a resolution in late September 2026 urging the Centre to restore full statehood, adding to earlier House resolutions. On 17 October Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather said the Government of India ‘should respect the Assembly’s resolution’ (Kashmir Reader). The Centre had not responded in the reports checked.

In Ladakh, talks between the Home Ministry, the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance continued. Sonam Wangchuk called the latest round ‘not satisfactory’ and said there was a ‘huge gap’. Ladakh wants statehood with Sixth Schedule protection; the Centre has offered Article 371-style safeguards. The next meeting is set for 22 October (The News Mill, 16 October).

Kerala officially becomes Keralam Status or name change

Parliament used Article 3 to change the state’s name in the First Schedule from ‘Kerala’ to ‘Keralam’, as the Assembly had asked in 2024. The Home Ministry notified 25 August 2026 as the effective date (Onmanorama, 26 August). Central and state records are to be updated over the following year.

Parliament names Amaravati the capital of Andhra Pradesh Law or commission

The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Act, 2026 amended Section 5 of the 2014 Act so that ‘Amaravati shall be the new capital’, ending the Hyderabad joint-capital arrangement in law. The state government had already notified Amaravati as its capital location on 23 April 2016 (All India Radio).

Hyderabad’s ten-year joint-capital period ends Status or name change

The 2013 Cabinet decision, written into the 2014 Act, made Hyderabad the common capital for both states for a period not exceeding ten years. That period ran out on 2 June 2024.

Supreme Court upholds Article 370’s abrogation, asks for statehood Law or commission

The Supreme Court upheld the 2019 decision to abrogate Article 370 and directed that statehood be restored at the earliest. Assembly elections followed in 2024, but the Union Territory arrangement remains. For the full legal sequence, see our Article 370 timeline.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli merge with Daman and Diu Status or name change

Two Union Territories became one, reducing the count of Union Territories. The new Union Territory spans four geographical entities, all formerly part of Portuguese India (Wikipedia).

Jammu and Kashmir becomes two Union Territories Law or commission

The former state was divided into Jammu and Kashmir, with a legislature, and Ladakh, without one. It was the first time since Independence that a full state was downgraded into Union Territories.

Telangana becomes India’s 29th state New state

The movement drew on regional identity, concerns about public employment, resources and representation. The Cabinet cleared the proposal on 3 October 2013 and set up a Group of Ministers to work out legal and administrative measures (PIB). Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh, with the residuary state continuing as Andhra Pradesh.

Orissa becomes Odisha Status or name change

The English rendering of the state’s name and the name of its language were changed to match the Odia spelling (Wikipedia). It was the second name change of the century, after Uttaranchal.

Uttaranchal renamed Uttarakhand Status or name change

The hill state’s name was changed after demands that it reflect the region’s older name.

Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand are created New state

Three separate reorganisation Acts divided Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Each rested on regional identity and development concerns, from Adivasi identity in Jharkhand to hill-region demands in Uttarakhand, not on language. It showed that language was no longer the main argument for a new state.

Goa becomes a state; Daman and Diu stay a Union Territory New state

After the 1961 operation, Goa, Daman and Diu were a Union Territory. In the January 1967 opinion poll, 55.48 per cent voted against merging with Maharashtra (Wikipedia). Twenty years later Goa gained statehood, while Daman and Diu stayed as a Union Territory.

Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram become states New state

Mizoram’s statehood followed a negotiated settlement that ended a long insurgency. Arunachal Pradesh, formerly the North-East Frontier Agency, completed the north-eastern pattern begun in 1963.

Sikkim joins the Union as the 22nd state New state

Sikkim had been a protectorate with a monarchy. After the referendum and a constitutional amendment, it entered the Union as a full state.

Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura become states New state

The north-east was reorganised in one stroke. Manipur and Tripura moved up from Union Territory status, Meghalaya was carved out of Assam and two new Union Territories were created.

Himachal Pradesh becomes a state New state

Himachal Pradesh was a Part C state, then a Union Territory after 1956, grew with the transfer of hill areas from Punjab in 1966 and became the 18th state in 1971.

Karnataka and Tamil Nadu take their present names Status or name change

Two of the 1956 linguistic states changed their names to reflect the language and region (Wikipedia).

Punjab is reorganised and Haryana is created New state

The Punjabi Suba movement ended with Hindi-speaking areas forming Haryana and Punjabi-speaking areas staying in Punjab. Chandigarh became a Union Territory serving as the capital of both states.

Nagaland becomes a state New state

Nagaland was the 16th state. Its creation reflected the Naga region’s distinct history and was the first of the north-eastern states created by splitting Assam.

Goa, Daman, Diu and Puducherry join the Union Status or name change

The last colonial enclaves entered the Union. Puducherry’s French territories had been under Indian administration since 1954 and were formally ceded in 1962, and Goa, Daman and Diu were freed from Portuguese rule in December 1961. None became a state immediately.

Maharashtra and Gujarat emerge from Bombay State New state

The bilingual state created in 1956 lasted four years. Protests in Bombay, where more than 100 people died, ended with Marathi-speaking and Gujarati-speaking states. Mumbai went to Maharashtra.

The States Reorganisation Act takes effect Law or commission

Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Mysore were formed; Madras and Bombay were redrawn; Hyderabad State was dissolved. Telangana was joined with Andhra after a February 1956 agreement between leaders of the two regions. Delhi, Manipur, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura and the Laccadive islands became Union Territories. The Act implemented some of the commission’s recommendations, not all (Wikipedia).

The States Reorganisation Commission submits its report Law or commission

The commission recommended abolishing the three-tier state system and said it was ‘neither possible nor desirable’ to reorganise on the single test of language or culture. It recommended a separate Vidarbha and a separate Hyderabad State for Telangana for the time being; the government did not accept either (Wikipedia, Report of the SRC).

Andhra State is created Movement

After Sreeramulu’s fast and death, mass unrest forced the Centre to agree. The Telangana region remained in Hyderabad State until 1956, so Andhra State was not yet today’s Andhra Pradesh.

The Constitution sets up Part A, B, C and D states Law or commission

The arrangement was transitional. It reflected how India’s territory had been assembled, not how its people wished to be governed. Our Constitution Day timeline covers the Assembly debates.

The Dhar Commission and the JVP Committee say ‘not now’ Law or commission

The Dhar Commission said forming provinces on mainly linguistic lines was not in the nation’s larger interests. The JVP Committee agreed the time was unsuitable but conceded that public sentiment was ‘insistent and overwhelming’ (Wikipedia).

Independence and the integration of the princely states Law or commission

Before the linguistic question could be tackled, the Union had to hold together. See our Sardar Patel Jayanti timeline for the integration story.

Language becomes a political demand Movement

Congress adopted linguistic provinces in its own structure in 1920 and repeated the pledge, including in the 1945-46 manifesto (Wikipedia). After Partition, leaders worried that linguistic states might threaten unity.