The Samyukta Maharashtra movement

At Flora Fountain in the heart of south Mumbai stands a memorial called Hutatma Chowk — Martyrs' Square. It commemorates the people killed in police firing during the struggle for a Marathi-speaking state with Bombay as its capital. That struggle — the Samyukta Maharashtra movement — is the reason Maharashtra exists in its present form, and why 1 May is celebrated as Maharashtra Day.

For MPSC, the movement is one of the most important topics in modern Maharashtra's history, with a clear sequence of events, agreements and commissions to learn.

The background: a divided Marathi region

At independence, Marathi-speaking people lived in several separate administrative units:

The demand for a single state uniting all Marathi-speaking areas — Samyukta Maharashtra — had been raised earlier, but it gained force after independence as the idea of linguistic states gained ground.

Early steps (1946–1953)

• 1946: the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan at Belgaum passed a resolution demanding a united Marathi state. The Samyukta Maharashtra Parishad was formed the same year.
• 1947 — Akola Pact: an agreement between leaders of western Maharashtra and Vidarbha that Vidarbha would join a united Maharashtra, but with its own sub-province and safeguards.
• 1948 — Dhar Commission: the Linguistic Provinces Commission, headed by S. K. Dhar, advised against reorganising states on linguistic lines at that time.
• 1948–49 — JVP Committee: Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and Pattabhi Sitaramayya also advised caution, putting unity and security first.
• 1952–53: after Potti Sriramulu's fast unto death, Andhra State was formed in 1953, making linguistic reorganisation unavoidable.
• 28 September 1953 — Nagpur Pact: leaders of western Maharashtra, Vidarbha and Marathwada agreed on the terms of a united state, including:
  • equitable development of all regions;
  • proportional representation in government jobs;
  • a bench of the High Court and one session of the legislature every year at Nagpur.

The States Reorganisation Commission (1953–1955)

The Government of India appointed the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) in 1953, with Fazl Ali as chairman and K. M. Panikkar and H. N. Kunzru as members. Its report (1955) recommended:

• a large bilingual Bombay State, including Marathi- and Gujarati-speaking areas and Marathwada;
• a separate Vidarbha state.

This disappointed supporters of Samyukta Maharashtra, who wanted a single Marathi state with Bombay as its capital.

The question of Bombay

Bombay was at the heart of the dispute.

• Marathi-speaking people formed the largest linguistic group in the city and saw it as part of Maharashtra.
• Many Gujarati business interests and others argued that Bombay, as a cosmopolitan and commercial city, should not be part of any linguistic state, or should be a separate city-state.
• The Union government proposed at one stage to make Bombay a Union Territory or a separate unit.

The agitation (1955–1956)

The proposals sparked a mass agitation:

• In November 1955 and January 1956, protests in Bombay were met with police firing. Over a hundred people were killed in the course of the agitation; the figure most often cited is 105 or 106 martyrs.
• Hutatma Chowk at Flora Fountain was later built in their memory.
• C. D. Deshmukh, the Union Finance Minister, resigned from the Union Cabinet in 1956 in protest against the handling of the issue.
• On 6 February 1956, the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti was formed as a broad coalition of parties and groups.

Leaders and voices

The bilingual Bombay State (1956)

On 1 November 1956, a bilingual Bombay State was created, including:

• Marathi-speaking areas of the old Bombay Province;
• Gujarati-speaking areas (including Saurashtra and Kutch);
• Marathwada from Hyderabad;
• Vidarbha from Madhya Pradesh.

The Kannada-speaking districts went to Mysore State. Y. B. Chavan became Chief Minister of bilingual Bombay.

The 1957 elections and the final decision

In the 1957 elections, the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti and the parallel Mahagujarat movement performed strongly in their regions, showing that the bilingual arrangement lacked popular support.

Parliament passed the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960. On 1 May 1960:

• Maharashtra was formed, with Bombay as its capital;
• Gujarat was formed as a separate state.

Y. B. Chavan became the first Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Unfinished business: the border dispute

The movement's demand for Belgaum (Belagavi), Karwar and Nipani and other Marathi-speaking areas in Karnataka was not met. The Mahajan Commission (1966) largely upheld the existing boundaries, a finding Maharashtra did not accept. The dispute remains before the Supreme Court.

Legacy

• It showed how language could be a powerful basis for political identity in a democratic federation.
• The Nagpur Pact's promises of balanced regional development later informed the creation of development boards under Article 371(2) — see our guide on that topic.
• It produced a generation of leaders and a tradition of cultural mobilisation through shahiri (folk ballads) and literature.

Questions to practise

Prelims-style:

1. What did the Nagpur Pact of 1953 promise?
2. Who were the members of the States Reorganisation Commission?
3. Which Union minister resigned in protest over the handling of Samyukta Maharashtra?
4. When was the bilingual Bombay State formed?
5. Under which Act was Maharashtra formed?

Mains-style:

• "The formation of Maharashtra was the outcome of a people's movement." Discuss.
• Examine the relevance of the Nagpur Pact to the debate on regional imbalance in Maharashtra today.