States Reorganisation Commission
Encyclopedia
The States Reorganisation Commission was constituted by the Central Government of India
under the States Reorganisation Act
and consisted of Hon. Fazal Ali
, Kavalam Madhava Panikkar
, and H.N. Kunzru. The Report submitted by the Committee in 1955 known as SRC Report went in to the problems of Telangana
and Andhra
regions, and the arguments for and against the merger of two regions.
Para 369 to 389 of SRC deals with the merger of "Telangana
region of Hyderabad State
" and Andhra State
to establish Andhra Pradesh
state. (Telangana/Andhra related part of the report is available in Wikisource)
appointed by the Central Government and it submitted its report. On 10 October 1955, the Commission’s Report was published. The Commission gave more importance to the Southern States. As far as Travancore- Cochin State was concerned, TTNC demanded to merge Thovalai, Agasteeswaram, Kalkulam, Vilavancode, Neyyatinkarai, Senkottai. Deviculam, Peermade and
Chittoor taluks with Madras State. But the Commission recommended to merge only Thovalai, Agasteeswaram, Kalkulam,Vilvancode and Shenkottai with Madras State. Considering the
economic loss to the Travancore-Cochin State the Commission did not favour the merger of the hilly districts, Deviculam and Peermade with Madras State. In Neyyatinkarai Taluk the
Commission found that 86 per cent of the people knew Malayalam. So the Commission did not favour the merger of this Taluk with Madras State. In Chittoor also the commission found that the
majority people spoke Malayalam and hence it was merged with Malabar and consequently with the newly formed Kerala State.
vehemently opposed the Commission’s recommendations for the merger of the Southern Taluks with Madras State. Thomas, the Ernakulam Constituency representative and State Minister
condemned the recommendation of the Commission for the merger of the Southern Taluks with Madras State. As it would disfigure the would be State of Kerala,Nesamony was requested to withdraw that
proposal to separate the Southern Taluks. But Nesamony argued for the merger of Neyyatinkarai, Deviculam, Peermade and Chittoor also with Madras State, by giving evidences in support of his argument. As far as Deviculam and Peermade were concerned Nesamony insisted on to give more importance to the people who live in those two Taluks. He said that the estates there were the result of sweat and blood of Tamilians and they formed the majority in those two Taluks. He pleaded in a lone voice, to merge those two Taluks also with Madras State. His request was not considered by the House. The members of Parliament from Madras State were indifferently silent, unmindful of the loss of water sources to Madras State. Fasal Ali Commission’s recommendation - merger of Thovalai, Agasteeswaram, Kalkulam and Vilavancode with Madras State was confirmed. Even though the Commission recommended for the merger of Shenkottai Taluk with Madras State,the Joint - Committee which was appointed to give a final shape to the state boundaries recommended the eastern portion of Shenkottai alone to be merged with Madras State. This decision was finally published authoritatively on 16 January 1956. But in the July 1956 Lok Sabah meeting Nesamony argued for the full merger of Shencottai as recommended by SRC. The House refused to reconsider the decision of the joint Committee by over-ruling the recommendation of the SRC
boundaries of the states, divided Shenkotta Taluk and allowed Travancore – Cochin State to retain a major portion. This verdict remained controversial.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
under the States Reorganisation Act
States Reorganisation Act
The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries and governance of India's states and territories. The act reorganised the boundaries of India's states along linguistic lines, and amended the Indian Constitution to replace the three types of states, known as Parts A, B,...
and consisted of Hon. Fazal Ali
Fazal Ali
Sir ‘’’Sayyid Fazl Ali’’, also known as Fazal Ali was governor of Assam and Orissa and a judge . He was knighted by the British government in 1941. He headed the Fazal Ali Commission that made recommendations about the reorganization of India's states . He was governor of Orissa from 1952 to 1956...
, Kavalam Madhava Panikkar
Kavalam Madhava Panikkar
His Excellency Sardar Kavalam Madhava Panikkar was an Indian scholar, journalist, historian, administrator and diplomat...
, and H.N. Kunzru. The Report submitted by the Committee in 1955 known as SRC Report went in to the problems of Telangana
Telangana
Telangana is a region in the present state of Andhra Pradesh, India and formerly was part of Hyderabad state which was ruled by Nizam. It is bordered with the states of Maharashtra on the north and north-west, Karnataka on the west, Chattisgarh on the north-east and Orissa to the east...
and Andhra
Andhra State
Andhra State was a state in India created on October 1, 1953 from the Telugu-speaking northern districts of Madras Presidency. On November 1, 1956 it was merged with the Telangana region of Hyderabad State to form the united Telugu-speaking state of Andhra Pradesh.- Madras Manade movement :In 1953,...
regions, and the arguments for and against the merger of two regions.
Para 369 to 389 of SRC deals with the merger of "Telangana
Telangana
Telangana is a region in the present state of Andhra Pradesh, India and formerly was part of Hyderabad state which was ruled by Nizam. It is bordered with the states of Maharashtra on the north and north-west, Karnataka on the west, Chattisgarh on the north-east and Orissa to the east...
region of Hyderabad State
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
" and Andhra State
Andhra State
Andhra State was a state in India created on October 1, 1953 from the Telugu-speaking northern districts of Madras Presidency. On November 1, 1956 it was merged with the Telangana region of Hyderabad State to form the united Telugu-speaking state of Andhra Pradesh.- Madras Manade movement :In 1953,...
to establish Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
state. (Telangana/Andhra related part of the report is available in Wikisource)
S.R.C. Report in South India
In order to reorganise the states of the Indian Union on the basis of language, under the chairmanship of Fazl Ali, a commission called State Reorganisation Commission (SRC) wasappointed by the Central Government and it submitted its report. On 10 October 1955, the Commission’s Report was published. The Commission gave more importance to the Southern States. As far as Travancore- Cochin State was concerned, TTNC demanded to merge Thovalai, Agasteeswaram, Kalkulam, Vilavancode, Neyyatinkarai, Senkottai. Deviculam, Peermade and
Chittoor taluks with Madras State. But the Commission recommended to merge only Thovalai, Agasteeswaram, Kalkulam,Vilvancode and Shenkottai with Madras State. Considering the
economic loss to the Travancore-Cochin State the Commission did not favour the merger of the hilly districts, Deviculam and Peermade with Madras State. In Neyyatinkarai Taluk the
Commission found that 86 per cent of the people knew Malayalam. So the Commission did not favour the merger of this Taluk with Madras State. In Chittoor also the commission found that the
majority people spoke Malayalam and hence it was merged with Malabar and consequently with the newly formed Kerala State.
Nesamony in Parliament
States Reorganisation Commission’s report was submitted in the Lok Sabha on 14 December 1955. When discussions started in the Parliament representatives of Travancore - Cochin Statevehemently opposed the Commission’s recommendations for the merger of the Southern Taluks with Madras State. Thomas, the Ernakulam Constituency representative and State Minister
condemned the recommendation of the Commission for the merger of the Southern Taluks with Madras State. As it would disfigure the would be State of Kerala,Nesamony was requested to withdraw that
proposal to separate the Southern Taluks. But Nesamony argued for the merger of Neyyatinkarai, Deviculam, Peermade and Chittoor also with Madras State, by giving evidences in support of his argument. As far as Deviculam and Peermade were concerned Nesamony insisted on to give more importance to the people who live in those two Taluks. He said that the estates there were the result of sweat and blood of Tamilians and they formed the majority in those two Taluks. He pleaded in a lone voice, to merge those two Taluks also with Madras State. His request was not considered by the House. The members of Parliament from Madras State were indifferently silent, unmindful of the loss of water sources to Madras State. Fasal Ali Commission’s recommendation - merger of Thovalai, Agasteeswaram, Kalkulam and Vilavancode with Madras State was confirmed. Even though the Commission recommended for the merger of Shenkottai Taluk with Madras State,the Joint - Committee which was appointed to give a final shape to the state boundaries recommended the eastern portion of Shenkottai alone to be merged with Madras State. This decision was finally published authoritatively on 16 January 1956. But in the July 1956 Lok Sabah meeting Nesamony argued for the full merger of Shencottai as recommended by SRC. The House refused to reconsider the decision of the joint Committee by over-ruling the recommendation of the SRC
Controversies (Kerala-Madras States)
On the basis of the percentage of the people speaking Tamil, the S.R.Commission recommended for the transfer of four taluks namely, Agasteeswaram, Thovalai, Kalkulam and Vilavancode to Tamil Nadu from the State of Travancore- Cochin. The same yard stick was used for the transfer of Shenkotta Taluk to Tamil Nadu. While dealing with Devikulam and Peermede taluks, even though the majority was Tamil – speaking people and the representatives to the State Assembly were Tamilians as in the case of the above indicated five taluks, the commission used a different yard stick and recommended to retain in Travancore – Cochin State. One of the three members of the commission Sardar K.M. Panicker was a Malayalee, and it is alleged that he may have influenced the decision . Even though Shenkotta was fully transferred by the commission, the Joint – Committee appointed to fix the exactboundaries of the states, divided Shenkotta Taluk and allowed Travancore – Cochin State to retain a major portion. This verdict remained controversial.
- …“the four southern taluks, namely, Agasteeswaram, Thovalai,Kalkulam, Vilavancode, situated in what is known as Nanjil Nad, the percentage of Tamil speaking people is above 79. The wishes of then people of this area have been clearly expressed and there is no particular reason why these wishes should not be respected”.
- “The Shenkotta taluk is partly an enclave in Tirunelveli district of Madras State and the percentage of Tamil – speaking people in this taluk is about 93. Physically and geographically it belongs to Tirunelveli district in which it should now merge”.
- “The Devikulam and Peermede taluks stand on a somewhat different footing. These are hill areas which, for various economic and other reasons, are of great importance to the state of Travancore – Cochin”.
- “We do not regard the linguistic principle as the sole criterion for territorial readjustments, particularly in the areas where the majority commanded by a language group is only marginal”.
- “We are generally in agreement with this view, but in our opinion, the mere fact that a certain language group has a substantial majority in a certain area should not be the sole deciding factor”.
- “It should be mentioned that, owing to my long connection with Bihar, I refrained from taking any part in investigating and deciding the territorial disputes between Bihar and West Bengal, and Bihar and Orissa – S.R.C Chairman, Hon. S. Fazl Ali.
- “The Joint-Committee have done a very good job in redrawing the map of India, but my complaint is that they have not adopted the same principles in the settlement of the boundaries for the various states. Particularly I should like to say a few words about the Shenkottai Taluk. This is a Taluk which is proposed to be transferred from Travancore-Cochin to Madras. It was unfortunate that no member of the area was included in the Joint-Committee which settled the fate of the Tamil Taluks of Tranvancore - Cochin, and consequently our case was decided ex-parte.... In para 294 of their report, the SRC have said the ‘Shenkottai Taluk is partly an enclave in Thirunelveli District of Madras State and the percentage of Tamil speaking people in the Taluk is about 93. Physically and geographily it belongs to the Thirunelveli District in which it should now merge”.