orissa province became the first state to be formed on linguistic basis in 1936.
orissa province became the first state to be formed on linguistic basis in 1936.
8. in 1936 which state became the first to be formed on linguistic basis?
orissa province
the demand for states to be organised on a linguistic basis was developed even before india achieved independence from british rule. a first-of-its-kind linguistic movement started in 1895, in what is now odisha. the movement gained momentum in later years with the demand for a separate orissa province to be formed by bifurcating the existing bihar and orissa province. due to the efforts of madhusudan das, the father of odia nationalism, the movement eventually achieved its objective in 1936, when orissa province became the first indian state (pre-independence) to be organised on the basis of common languages.
states reorganisation act, 1956
but, soon after independence, the congress-led government became concerned that the states formed solely on a linguistic basis might be unsuitable, and might even pose a risk to the national unity. on 17 june 1948, rajendra prasad, the president of the constituent assembly, set up the linguistic provinces commission (aka dar commission) to recommend whether the states should be reorganised on linguistic basis or not. the committee included sk dar (retired judge of the allahabad high court), jn lal (lawyer) and panna lall (retired indian civil service officer). in its 10 december 1948 report, the commission recommended that "the formation of provinces on exclusively or even mainly linguistic considerations is not in the larger interests of the indian nation." it recommended the reorganisation of the provinces of madras, bombay and central provinces and berar primarily on the basis of geographical contiguity, financial self-sufficiency and ease of administration. soon after the report was published, the congress, at its jaipur session, set up the "jvp committee" to study the recommendations of the dar commission. the committee, comprised jawaharlal nehru and vallabhbhai patel, in addition to the congress president pattabhi sitaramayya. in its report dated 1 april 1949, the committee stated that the time was not suitable for formation of new provinces, but also stated that the "public sentiment is insistent and overwhelming, we, as democrats, have to submit to it, but subject to certain limitations in regard to the good of india as a whole."
states reorganisation commission