Maharashtra Day: May 1

Every year, Maharashtra Day is celebrated on May 1. It commemorates the formation of the state of Maharashtra. It was formed on May 1, 1960.

About Maharashtra Day

The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 redefined the boundaries of Indian states based on the languages. Maharashtra was formed on the basis of this act. Different languages were spoken in the state of Bombay namely Gujarati, Konkani, Marathi and Kutchi.

The Bombay state was divided into Gujarat and Maharashtra in 1960. Gujarat was formed where people spoke Gujarati and Kutchhi. The other region was named Maharashtra where people spoke Konkani and Marathi.

The Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti was at the forefront in the movement to divide Bombay state into two states namely Maharashtra and Gujarat.

About Bombay State

The Bombay state was created at the time of India’s independence. Before independence it was called Bombay Presidency that roughly pertained to the current Maharashtra.

After independence, Bombay state was formed including Vidarbha, current Maharashtra and other princely states such as Baroda.

Samyukta Maharashtra Movement

It is commonly known as Samiti. It was founded in 1956 demanding separate Marathi speaking state between 1956 and 1960.

Formation of Indian States after independence

Under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 the following states have been bifurcated:

• 1960: Bombay state was split into Gujarat and Maharashtra
• 1963: Nagaland was created from Assam
• 1966: Himachal Pradesh and Haryana were formed from the State of Punjab
• 1972: Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya were formed.
• 1975: Sikkim joined the Indian Union
• 1987: Arunachal Pradesh and Goa became states
• 2000: Jharkhand was carved out from Bihar, Chhattisgarh from Madhya Pradesh and Uttaranchal or Uttarakhand from UP.
• 2014: Telangana was created from Andhra Pradesh

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2021