Jump to content

Maharashtra Day

Rahul
   (0 reviews)
World Calendar

Event details

This event begins 04/30/2023 and repeats every year forever

In 1947, India gained independence from British colonial rule but was faced with several challenges. One such problem was the partition of the country, which led to communal violence and displacement of millions of people. In the midst of this, another crisis emerged - the demand for the reorganization of states on a linguistic basis.

The idea of forming states on a linguistic basis was first proposed by Mahatma Gandhi during the Nagpur session in 1921. However, when the demand for the reorganization of states resurfaced, the newly independent nation's leaders were apprehensive about the consequences of dividing the country along regional lines.

One of the demands was for the formation of Samyukta Maharashtra. This demand could be traced back to 1920 when Lokmanya Tilak advocated for a Marathi-speaking state of Maharashtra. The British had divided modern-day Maharashtra into different provinces based on administrative convenience, which included Bombay province, Central Provinces and Berar, Marathwada of Hyderabad, and parts of Mysore and Goa under Portuguese rule.

The Samyukta Maharashtra Parishad was formed in 1946 under the leadership of Shankar Rao Dev, a veteran Gandhian and the General Secretary of AICC. The demand for the formation of a Marathi-speaking state gained momentum, and the government formed a State Reorganization Commission (SRC) in 1953 to study the viability of such states. The SRC commission recommended the formation of a bilingual state that included entire Gujarat and Western Maharashtra with Mumbai as the capital but excluded Vidarbha. However, the government rejected this proposal and suggested a trifurcation with a separate Gujarat and Maharashtra while keeping Mumbai as a Union territory.

The proposal was met with strong opposition, especially in Mumbai, where violent protests and rioting erupted. The Morarji Desai government suppressed the protests, and 106 people lost their lives in the police firing. The demand for a unified Maharashtra with Mumbai as the capital intensified, and the battle for Mumbai began.

The Gujarati lobby in Mumbai, who controlled the money-making trading class, started paying off Congress leaders to turn the tide in their favor. However, this visible favoritism of Congressmen upset the largely working-class population of Mumbai, and the issue became a class struggle. The communists also joined in on the issue.

In 1957, the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti contested elections against Congress, and though they couldn't win, Congress had a hard time forming a government. The Congress high command eventually caved in to the demands, and the Bombay province was turned into a bilingual state with the addition of Vidarbha. Finally, on May 1, 1960, Maharashtra achieved statehood, with Mumbai as its capital.

In conclusion, the demand for the formation of a Marathi-speaking state of Maharashtra dates back to the 1920s. The Samyukta Maharashtra movement gained momentum in the post-independence era, which led to the formation of a bilingual state of Maharashtra and Gujarat, with Mumbai as the capital. However, the demand for a unified Maharashtra with Mumbai as the capital intensified, and after years of struggle and protests, Maharashtra achieved statehood on May 1, 1960.


User Feedback

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
×
×
  • Create New...