Nagpur Pact
Encyclopedia
The Nagpur Pact was concluded between Indian political leaders in September 1953. It led to the creation of the state of Maharashtra
from contiguous Marathi-speaking areas of the then Bombay State
, Madhya Pradesh State and Hyderabad state
.
The Government of India appointed the first State Reorganisation Committee under the chairmanship of Fazal Ali
on 29 December 1953.
Leaders like M S Aney
and Brijlal Biyani submitted a memorandum to the State Reorganisation Commission (SR) for a separate Vidarbha
State. The SRC, after considering the memorandum and all other related aspects, favoured a separate "Vidarbha State" with Nagpur as capital. But even after the recommendation of SRC headed by Fazal Ali
, Vidarbha was made part of bilingual Bombay State in 1956 and Nagpur
city lost the capital status. Nagpur thus became the only city in independent India to lose state capital status, after being a capital of India's biggest state (by area) for more than 100 years. Tension began to flare in Nagpur. It was even asserted that Nagpur should be made capital of new state of Maharashtra.
Bharatratna Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar had favoured the "one state - one language formula" and not the "one language - one state formula" for reorganisation of states. Thus one state should have one language but at the same time, there can be any number of separate states for one language. He had clearly favoured two or three small states for the Marathi speaking area, including Vidarbha State, instead of a single large Maharashtra.
Leaders of Maharashtra met these fears half-way, by ensuring the maintenance of bench of High Court and a session of Legislature at Nagpur. The informal pact between political leaders before 1960 thus made Nagpur the second capital of Maharashtra.
The Pact assured equitable development of all the regions of the proposed Marathi State. The most prominent clause of the
Nagpur Pact required one session of the Maharashtra state assembly in Nagpur every year, with minimum six weeks' duration, to discuss exclusively points related to Vidarbha.
The signatory to the pact in 1953 were
Before the formation of Maharashtra State, the nine member committee appointed by Congress Working Committee
for the re-organisation of Bombay State recognised that strong sentiment existed among many people of Vidarbha for the formation of a separate state. But still it expressed its preference for the inclusion of Vidarbha in the new Bombay State.
As a result of these changes, in 1962 general elections, Congress won only one assembly seat out of four from Nagpur, that with a narrow margin, and Nagpur parliamentary seat was won by M S Aney of Nag Vidarbha Andolan Samiti.
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
from contiguous Marathi-speaking areas of the then Bombay State
Bombay State
The Bombay State was a state of India, dissolved with the formation of Maharashtra and Gujarat states on May 1, 1960.-History:During British rule, portions of the western coast of India under direct British rule were part of the Bombay Presidency...
, Madhya Pradesh State and 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...
.
The Government of India appointed the first State Reorganisation Committee under the chairmanship of 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...
on 29 December 1953.
Leaders like M S Aney
M S Aney
Dr Madhav Shrihari Aney was an Indian politician. He passed his B.A. examination from Morris College in Nagpur in 1902 and passed his B.L. examination from Calcutta University in 1907. He was one of the founder of the Congress Nationalist Party...
and Brijlal Biyani submitted a memorandum to the State Reorganisation Commission (SR) for a separate Vidarbha
Vidarbha
Vidarbha is the eastern region of Maharashtra state made up of Nagpur Division and Amravati Division. Its former name is Berar . It occupies 31.6% of total area and holds 21.3% of total population of Maharashtra...
State. The SRC, after considering the memorandum and all other related aspects, favoured a separate "Vidarbha State" with Nagpur as capital. But even after the recommendation of SRC headed by 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...
, Vidarbha was made part of bilingual Bombay State in 1956 and Nagpur
Nagpur
Nāgpur is a city and winter capital of the state of Maharashtra, the largest city in central India and third largest city in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune...
city lost the capital status. Nagpur thus became the only city in independent India to lose state capital status, after being a capital of India's biggest state (by area) for more than 100 years. Tension began to flare in Nagpur. It was even asserted that Nagpur should be made capital of new state of Maharashtra.
Bharatratna Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar had favoured the "one state - one language formula" and not the "one language - one state formula" for reorganisation of states. Thus one state should have one language but at the same time, there can be any number of separate states for one language. He had clearly favoured two or three small states for the Marathi speaking area, including Vidarbha State, instead of a single large Maharashtra.
Leaders of Maharashtra met these fears half-way, by ensuring the maintenance of bench of High Court and a session of Legislature at Nagpur. The informal pact between political leaders before 1960 thus made Nagpur the second capital of Maharashtra.
The Pact assured equitable development of all the regions of the proposed Marathi State. The most prominent clause of the
Nagpur Pact required one session of the Maharashtra state assembly in Nagpur every year, with minimum six weeks' duration, to discuss exclusively points related to Vidarbha.
The signatory to the pact in 1953 were
- Yashwantrao ChavanYashwantrao ChavanYashwantrao Balwantrao Chavan was the first Chief Minister of Maharashtra after the division of Bombay State and the fifth Deputy Prime Minister of India. He was a strong Congress leader, Cooperative leader, social activist and writer. He was popularly known as Leader of Common People...
, then Minister in Morarji DesaiMorarji DesaiMorarji Ranchhodji Desai was an Indian independence activist and the fourth Prime Minister of India from 1977–79. He was the first Indian Prime Minister who did not belong to the Indian National Congress...
ministry of Bombay StateBombay StateThe Bombay State was a state of India, dissolved with the formation of Maharashtra and Gujarat states on May 1, 1960.-History:During British rule, portions of the western coast of India under direct British rule were part of the Bombay Presidency... - Ramrao Krishnarao Patil, Gandhian, Ex ICS Officer and member of first Planning Commission.
Before the formation of Maharashtra State, the nine member committee appointed by Congress Working Committee
Congress Working Committee
Congress Working Committee is the executive committee of the Congress Party in India, it typically consisting of fifteen members elected from the All India Congress Committee or AICC, and is headed by the Working President....
for the re-organisation of Bombay State recognised that strong sentiment existed among many people of Vidarbha for the formation of a separate state. But still it expressed its preference for the inclusion of Vidarbha in the new Bombay State.
As a result of these changes, in 1962 general elections, Congress won only one assembly seat out of four from Nagpur, that with a narrow margin, and Nagpur parliamentary seat was won by M S Aney of Nag Vidarbha Andolan Samiti.