The political and administrative reorganization of states and territories has been a continuous ongoing process in India since the mid-nineteenth century. This process has involved the creation of new states, the merging of existing states, and the reorganization of administrative units within states.

 

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One of the earliest examples of state reorganization in India was the creation of the province of Bengal in 1856. This was followed by the creation of other provinces, such as Bombay and Madras, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These provinces were formed by merging smaller administrative units, such as princely states and territories, into larger units.

 

In the post-independence period, the process of state reorganization has continued, with a focus on the creation of states based on linguistic and cultural factors. One of the most significant examples of this was the States Reorganization Act of 1956, which led to the creation of several new states, such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh, based on the principle of linguistic homogeneity.

 

More recently, there have been calls for the creation of new states, such as Telangana, which was created in 2014, and the proposed state of Gorkhaland in West Bengal. There have also been efforts to reorganize existing states, such as the creation of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019.

 

Overall, the political and administrative reorganization of states and territories in India has been a continuous ongoing process since the mid-nineteenth century, with a focus on creating states based on linguistic and cultural factors and reorganizing existing states for administrative purposes.