States Reorganisation Commission
The creation of Andhra state in 1953 on the linguistic basis intensified the demand from other regions for creation of states on linguistic basis. This forced the Government of India to appoint (in December 1953) a three-member States Reorganization Commission under the chairmanship of Fazl Ali to re-examine the whole question. Its other two members were K M Panikkar and H N Kunzru.
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It submitted its report in September 1955 and broadly accepted language as the basis of reorganization of states.
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But, it rejected the theory of ‘one language– one state’. Its view was that the unity of India should be regarded as the primary consideration in any redrawing of the country’s political units.
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It identified four major factors that can be taken into account in any scheme of reorganization of states:
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Preservation and strengthening of the unity and security of the country.
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Linguistic and cultural homogeneity.
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Financial, economic and administrative considerations.
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Planning and promotion of the welfare of the people in each state as well as of the nation as a whole.
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The commission suggested the abolition of the four-fold classification of states under the original Constitution and creation of 16 states and 3 centrally administered territories. The Government of India accepted these recommendations with certain minor modifications. By the States Reorganization Act (1956) and the 7th Constitutional Amendment Act (1956), the distinction between Part-A and Part-B states was done away with and Part-C states were abolished. Some of them were merged with adjacent states and some other were designated as union territories. As a result, 14 states and 6 union territories were created on November 1, 1956.