India
India known as the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh largest country by area and with more than 1.3 billion people, it is the second most populous country as well as the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives, while its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia; the Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE. In the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, Buddhism and Jainism arose. Early political consolidations took place under the Gupta empires. In the medieval era, Zoroastrianism and Islam arrived, Sikhism emerged, all adding to the region's diverse culture.
Much of the north fell to the Delhi Sultanate. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal Empire. In the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, in the mid-19th under British Crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance and led to India's independence in 1947. In 2017, the Indian economy was the world's sixth largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the fastest-growing major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption and inadequate public healthcare. A nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the second largest standing army in the world and ranks fifth in military expenditure among nations. India is a federal republic governed under a parliamentary system and consists of 29 states and 7 union territories.
A pluralistic and multi-ethnic society, it is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindush, equivalent to the Sanskrit word Sindhu, the historical local appellation for the Indus River; the ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as "The people of the Indus". The geographical term Bharat, recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations, it is a modernisation of the historical name Bharatavarsha, which traditionally referred to the Indian subcontinent and gained increasing currency from the mid-19th century as a native name for India. Hindustan is a Middle Persian name for India, it was introduced into India by the Mughals and used since then. Its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety; the name may refer to either the northern part of India or the entire country.
The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to about 30,000 years ago. Nearly contemporaneous human rock art sites have been found in many parts of the Indian subcontinent, including at the Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh. After 6500 BCE, evidence for domestication of food crops and animals, construction of permanent structures, storage of agricultural surplus, appeared in Mehrgarh and other sites in what is now Balochistan; these developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation, the first urban culture in South Asia, which flourished during 2500–1900 BCE in what is now Pakistan and western India. Centred around cities such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and Kalibangan, relying on varied forms of subsistence, the civilization engaged robustly in crafts production and wide-ranging trade. During the period 2000–500 BCE, many regions of the subcontinent transitioned from the Chalcolithic cultures to the Iron Age ones; the Vedas, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism, were composed during this period, historians have analysed these to posit a Vedic culture in the Punjab region and the upper Gangetic Plain.
Most historians consider this period to have encompassed several waves of Indo-Aryan migration into the subcontinent from the north-west. The caste system, which created a hierarchy of priests and free peasants, but which excluded indigenous peoples by labeling their occupations impure, arose during this period. On the Deccan Plateau, archaeological evidence from this period suggests the existence of a chiefdom stage of political organisation. In South India, a progression to sedentary life is indicated by the large number of megalithic monuments dating from this period, as well as by nearby traces of agriculture, irrigation tanks, craft traditions. In the late Vedic period, around the 6th century BCE, the small states and chiefdoms of the Ganges Plain and the north-western regions had consolidated into 16 major oligarchies and monarchies that were known as the mahajanapadas; the emerging urbanisation gave rise to non-Vedic religious movements, two of which became independent religions. Jainism came into prominence during the life of Mahavira.
Buddhism, based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, attracted followers from all social classes excepting the middle
Koshi River
The Koshi or Kosi River drains the northern slopes of the Himalayas in Tibet and the southern slopes in Nepal. From a major confluence of tributaries north of the Chatra Gorge onwards, the Koshi River is known as Saptakoshi for its seven upper tributaries; these include the Tamor River originating from the Kanchenjunga area in the east and Arun River and Sun Koshi from Tibet. The Sun Koshi's tributaries from east to west are Dudh Koshi, Bhote Koshi, Tamakoshi River, Likhu Khola and Indravati; the Saptakoshi crosses into northern Bihar where it branches into distributaries before joining the Ganges near Kursela in Katihar district. The Koshi is 720 km long and drains an area of about 74,500 km2 in Tibet and Bihar. In the past, several authors proposed that the river has shifted its course for more than 133 km from east to west during the last 200 years, but a review of 28 historical maps dating 1760 to 1960 revealed a slight eastward shift for a long duration, that the shifting was random and oscillating in nature.
The river basin is surrounded by ridges which separate it from the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the north, the Gandaki in the west and the Mahananda in the east. The river is joined by major tributaries in the Mahabharat Range 48 km north of the Indo-Nepal border. Below the Siwaliks, the river has built up a megafan some 15,000 km2 in extent, breaking into more than 12 distinct channels, all with shifting courses due to flooding. Kamalā, Bāgmati and Budhi Gandak are major tributaries of Koshi in India, besides minor tributaries such as Bhutahi Balān, its unstable nature has been attributed to the heavy silt it carries during the monsoon season and flooding in India has extreme effects. Fishing is an important enterprise on the river but fishing resources are being depleted and youth are leaving for other areas of work; the Koshi River catchment covers six geological and climatic belts varying in altitude from above 8,000 m to 95 m comprising the Tibetan plateau, the Himalayas, the Himalayan mid-hill belt, the Mahabharat Range, the Siwalik Hills and the Terai.
The Dudh-Koshi sub-basin alone consists of 296 glacier lakes. The Koshi River basin borders the Tsangpo River basin in the north, the Mahananda River basin in the east, the Ganges Basin in the south and the Gandaki River basin in the west; the eight tributaries of the basin upstream the Chatra Gorge include from east to west: Tamur River with an area of 6,053 km2 in eastern Nepal. The three major tributaries meet at Triveni, from where they are called Sapta Koshi meaning Seven Rivers. After flowing through the Chatra Gorge the Sapta Koshi is controlled by the Koshi Barrage before it drains into the Gangetic plain. Peaks located in the basin include Mount Everest, Lhotse, Cho Oyu and Shishapangma; the Bagmati river sub-basin forms the south-western portion of the overall Koshi basin. The Dudh Koshi joins the Sun Koshi near the Nepalese village of Harkapur. At Barāhkṣetra in Nepal it becomes the Koshi. After flowing another 58 km it crosses into Bihar, near Bhimnagar and after another 260 km joins the Ganges near Kursela.
The Koshi alluvial fan is one of the largest in the world, extends from Barāhkṣetra across Nepalese territory, covering northeast Bihar and eastern Mithila to the Ganges, 180 km long and 150 km wide. It shows evidence of lateral channel shifting exceeding 120 km during the past 250 years, via at least twelve major channels; the river, which flowed near Purnea in the 18th century, now flows west of Saharsa. A satellite image shows old channels with a confluence before 1731 with the Mahananda River north of Lava; the Koshi River is known as the "Sorrow of Bihar" as the annual floods affect about 21,000 km2 of fertile agricultural lands thereby disturbing the rural economy. The Koshi has an average water flow of 2,166 cubic metres per second. During floods, it increases to as much as 18 times the average; the greatest recorded flood was 24,200 m3/s on 24 August 1954. The Koshi Barrage has been designed for a peak flood of 27,014 m3/s. Extensive soil erosion and landslides in its upper catchment have produced a silt yield of about 19 m3/ha/year, one of the highest in the world.
Of major tributaries, the Arun brings the greatest amount of coarse silt in proportion to its total sediment load. The river transports sediment down the steep gradients and narrow gorges in the mountains and foothills where the gradient is at least ten metres per km. On the plains beyond Chatra, the gradient falls below one metre per km to as little as 6 cm per km as the river approaches the Ganges. Current slows and the sediment load settles out of the water and is deposited on an immense alluvial fan that has grown to an area of about 15 000 km2; this fan extends some 180 km from its apex where it leaves the foothills, across the international border into Bihar state and on to the Ganges. The river has numerous interlacing channels. Without channelisation, floods spread out widely; the record flow of 24 200 m3/s is equivalent to water a metre deep and more than 24 km wide, flowing at one metre per second. The Koshi's alluvial fan has fertile soil and abundant groundwater in a part of the world where agricultural land is in gre
Ganges
The Ganges, or Ganga, is a trans-boundary river of the Indian subcontinent which flows through the nations of India and Bangladesh. The 2,525 km river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India. After entering West Bengal, it divides into two rivers: the Padma River; the Hooghly, or Adi Ganga, flows through several districts of West Bengal and into the Bay of Bengal near Sagar Island. The other, the Padma flows into and through Bangladesh, joins the Meghna river which empties into the Bay of Bengal; the Ganges is one of the most sacred rivers to Hindus. It is a lifeline to millions of Indians who live along its course and depend on it for their daily needs, it is worshipped in Hinduism and personified as the goddess Gaṅgā. It has been important with many former provincial or imperial capitals located on its banks; the Ganges is polluted. Pollution threatens not only humans, but more than 140 fish species, 90 amphibian species and the endangered Ganges river dolphin.
The Ganges is a major source of global ocean plastic pollution. The levels of fecal coliform bacteria from human waste in the waters of the river near Varanasi are more than 100 times the Indian government's official limit; the Ganga Action Plan, an environmental initiative to clean up the river, has been a major failure thus far, due to rampant corruption, lack of will on behalf of the government and its bureaucracy, lack of technical expertise, poor environmental planning, lack of support from religious authorities. The main stream of Ganga begins at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers in the town of Devprayag in the Garhwal division of the Indian state of Uttarakhand; the Bhagirathi is considered to be the source in Hindu culture and mythology, although the Alaknanda is longer, therefore, hydrologically the source stream. The headwaters of the Alakananda are formed by snowmelt from peaks such as Nanda Devi and Kamet; the Bhagirathi rises at the foot of Gangotri Glacier, at Gomukh, at an elevation of 3,892 m, being mythologically referred to as, residing in the matted locks of Shiva, symbolically Tapovan, being a meadow of ethereal beauty at the feet of Mount Shivling, just 5 km away.
Although many small streams comprise the headwaters of Ganga, the six longest and their five confluences are considered sacred. The six headstreams are the Alaknanda, Nandakini, Pindar and Bhagirathi rivers; the five confluences, known as the Panch Prayag, are all along the Alaknanda. They are, in downstream order, where the Dhauliganga joins the Alaknanda. After flowing 250 km through its narrow Himalayan valley, Ganga emerges from the mountains at Rishikesh debouches onto the Gangetic Plain at the pilgrimage town of Haridwar. At Haridwar, a dam diverts some of its waters into the Ganga Canal, which irrigates the Doab region of Uttar Pradesh, whereas the river, whose course has been southwest until this point, now begins to flow southeast through the plains of northern India; the Ganga follows an 800 km arching course passing through the cities of Kannauj and Kanpur. Along the way it is joined by the Ramganga, which contributes an average annual flow of about 500 m3/s. Ganga joins the river Yamuna at the Triveni Sangam at a holy confluence in Hinduism.
At their confluence the Yamuna is larger than the Ganga, contributing about 2,950 m3/s, or about 58.5% of the combined flow. Now flowing east, the river meets the Tamsa River, which flows north from the Kaimur Range and contributes an average flow of about 190 m3/s. After the Tamsa the Gomti River joins; the Gomti contributes an average annual flow of about 234 m3/s. The Ghaghara River flowing south from the Himalayas of Nepal, joins; the Ghaghara, with its average annual flow of about 2,990 m3/s, is the largest tributary of the Ganges. After the Ghaghara confluence the Ganga is joined from the south by the Son River, contributing about 1,000 m3/s; the Gandaki River the Kosi River, join from the north flowing from Nepal, contributing about 1,654 m3/s and 2,166 m3/s, respectively. The Kosi is the third largest tributary of the Ganga, after the Yamuna; the Kosi merges into the Ganga near Kursela in Bihar. Along the way between Allahabad and Malda, West Bengal, the Ganga passes the towns of Chunar, Varanasi, Patna, Chapra, Ballia, Simaria and Saidpur.
At Bhagalpur, the river begins to flow south-southeast and at Pakur, it begins its attrition with the branching away of its first distributary, the Bhāgirathi-Hooghly, which goes on to become the Hooghly River. Just before the border with Bangladesh the Farakka Barrage controls the flow of Ganga, diverting some of the water into a feeder canal linked to the Hooghly for the purpose of keeping it silt-free; the Hooghly River is formed by the confluence of the Bhagirathi River and Jalangi River at Nabadwip, Hooghly has a number of tributaries of its own. The largest is the Damoda
Bhagalpur district
Bhagalpur district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state and Bhagalpur town is the administrative headquarters of this district. Bhagalpur district occupies an area of 2,569 square kilometres. Bhagalpur district is a part of Bhagalpur Division; the river Ganges flows through the district. Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary In 2006 the Indian government named Bhagalpur one of the country's 250 most backward districts, it is one of the 38 districts in Bihar receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme. According to the 2011 census Bhagalpur district has a population of 3,037,766, This gives it a ranking of 120th in India; the district has a population density of 1,182 inhabitants per square kilometre. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 25.36%. Bhagalpur has a sex ratio of 880 females for every 1000 males, a literacy rate of 63.14%. The primary language used in the district is Angika. Other chief languages include Hindi and Bengali language. In 1990 Bhagalpur district became home to the Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Wildlife Sanctuary, 50 km in length.
S. C. T. I CSC, KrishnaGarh Bhagalpur Information Portal
Muzaffarpur
Muzaffarpur is a sub-metropolitan city located in Muzaffarpur district in the Tirhut region of Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of Tirhut division, Muzaffarpur district and the Muzaffarpur Railway District, it is the fourth most populous city in Bihar. Muzaffarpur is famous for Shahi is known as the Lychee Kingdom. Shahi litchi is set to become the fourth product from Bihar, after jardalu mango, katarni rice and Magahi paan to get the Geographical Indication tag, it is situated on the banks of the perennial Burhi Gandak River, which flows from the Someshwar Hills of Himalayas. The current city was established in 1875 by the British Raj for administrative convenience by diving up Tirhut district and was named after one Muzaffar Khan. In 1972 both Sitamarhi and Vaishali districts were split off from Muzaffarpur; the significance of Muzaffarpur in Indian civilisation arises out of its position on the frontier line between prominent spiritual influences, it is a meeting place of Hindu and Islamic culture and thoughts.
Muzaffarpur fostered political leaders and statesmen alike, among whom were Rajendra Prasad, George Fernandes and J. B. Kripalani; the vernacular language of the region is Bajjika, as per the linguist George Grierson. Muzaffarpur is located at 26°07′N 85°24′E; the city lies in a active seismic zone of India. In the disastrous earthquake on 15 January 1934, much of the town suffered severe damage and many lives were lost, it has an average elevation of 47 meters. This saucer shaped, low-centered town lies on the great Indo-Gangetic plains of Bihar, over Himalayan silt and sand brought by the glacier-fed and rain-fed meandering rivers of the Himalayas. Muzaffarpur has humid subtropical climate under Köppen climate classification; the summer, between April and June, is hot and humid and winter is pleasantly cool, around 06/20 °C. Rainfall in Muzaffarpur Town is comparatively less to the other parts of Bihar; the lychee crop, available from May to June, is cultivated in the districts of Muzaffarpur and surrounding districts.
Cultivation of litchi covers an area of about 25,800 hectares producing about 300,000 tonnes every year. Litchi are exported to big cities of India like Bombay, to other countries. India's share in the world litchi market amounts to less than 1%; the names of the litchi produced in Muzaffarpur are China. The fruits are known for excellent quality. Bihar's contribution in the production of lychee in about 40 percent of lychee produced in India. Bihar has emerged as a brewery hub with major domestic and foreign firms setting up production units in the state. Vijay Mallya's group, United Breweries Group, is setting up a production unit to make litchi-flavoured wine, in Muzaffarpur in 2012; the company has leased litchi gardens. In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Muzaffarpur one of the country's 250 most backward districts, it is one of the 36 districts in Bihar receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme. As of the 2011 India census, Muzaffarpur had a population of 393,724.
Males constituted 52.96% of the population and females 47.04%. Muzaffarpur had a literacy rate of 85.07%. Male literacy was 88.77%, female literacy was 80.91%. Muzaffarpur Junction railway station is a main railway junction, with two suburban stations, Ram Dayalu Nagar and Narayanpur Anant, it is well connected to major cities of Bihar like Patna, Gaya, Chakia and Darbhanga. National Highway 57 comes via Gorakhpur, Motihari and crosses Muzaffarpur and National Highway 57 goes to Darbhanga, Purnia; the East–West Corridor crosses Muzaffarpur thus connecting it to all the major towns and cities in India. National Highway 77 starting from Hajipur passes through Muzaffarpur and connects Muzaffarpur to Sitamarhi. National Highway 28 connects Muzaffarpur to Barauni, all 6 National Highways having junction there. Yogendra Shukla revolutionary, Indian freedom movement activist, served time at Kalapani Basawon Singh revolutionary, Indian freedom movement activist Rajendra Prasad, India's first President Baikunth Shukla revolutionary hanged by the British in 1934 Rambriksh Benipuri Indian freedom movement activist, eminent writer of Hindi literature Kishori Sinha Indian politician, educationist & first Woman MP Maghfoor Ahmad Ajazi, political activist Janki Ballabh Shastri, Hindi poet and critic Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh and freedom fighter Devaki Nandan Khatri, the author of Chandrakanta Jubba Sahni, freedom fighter Mridula Sinha, Governor of Goa J. B.
Kripalani, politician Veena Devi, Indian politician Dinesh Prasad Singh, Indian politician George Fernandes, trade unionist and politician Aishwarya Nigam, a Bollywood playback singer Shahbaz Nadeem, Indian cricketer Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, sports spectator and fan of the Indian Cricket Team Shreya Narayan, Bollywood actress Arunabh Kumar, Founder and ex-CEO of TVF Subrat Saurabh, a writer Appan Samachar Baba Garib Sthan Mandir Muzaffarpur district List of cities in Bihar Sujini embroidery work of Bihar Official website of Muzaffarpur District Official website of Tirhut Division "Muzaffarpur". Encyclopædia Britannica. 1911
Bihar
Bihar is state in eastern India. It is the thirteenth-largest Indian state, with an area of 94,163 km2; the third-largest state by population, it is contiguous with Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Bengal to the east, with Jharkhand to the south. The Bihar plain is split by the river Ganges. Three main regions converge in the state: Magadh and Bhojpur. On 15 November 2000, southern Bihar was ceded to form the new state of Jharkhand. Only 11.3% of the population of Bihar lives in urban areas, the lowest in India after Himachal Pradesh. Additionally 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, giving Bihar the highest proportion of young people of any Indian state. In ancient and classical India, the area, now Bihar was considered a centre of power and culture. From Magadha arose India's first empire, the Maurya empire, as well as one of the world's most adhered-to religions, Buddhism. Magadha empires, notably under the Maurya and Gupta dynasties, unified large parts of South Asia under a central rule.
Another region of Bihar is Mithila, an early centre of learning and the centre of the Videha kingdom. Since the late 1970s, Bihar has lagged far behind other Indian states in terms of social and economic development. Many economists and social scientists claim that this is a direct result of the policies of the central government, such as the Freight equalisation policy, its apathy towards Bihar, lack of Bihari sub-nationalism, the Permanent Settlement of 1793 by the British East India Company; the state government has, made significant strides in developing the state. Improved governance has led to an economic revival in the state through increased investment in infrastructure, better health care facilities, greater emphasis on education, a reduction in crime and corruption; the name Bihar is derived from the Sanskrit and Pali word vihāra, meaning "abode". The region encompassing the present state was dotted with Buddhist vihara, the abodes of Buddhist monks in the ancient and medieval periods.
Medieval writer Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani records in the Tabaqat-i Nasiri that in 1198 Bakhtiyar Khalji committed a massacre in a town identified with the word known as Bihar Sharif, about 70 km away from Bodh Gaya. Chirand, on the northern bank of the Ganga River, in Saran district, has an archaeological record from the Neolithic age. Regions of Bihar—such as Magadha and Anga—are mentioned in religious texts and epics of ancient India. Mithila gained prominence after establishment of the Videha Kingdom in Āryāvarta. During the late Vedic period, Videha became one of the major political and cultural centers of South Asia, along with Kuru and Pañcāla; the kings of the Videha Kingdom were called Janakas. Sita, a daughter of one of the Janaks of Mithila is mentioned as the consort of Lord Rama, in the Hindu epic, written by Valmiki; the Videha Kingdom became incorporated into the Vajji confederacy which had its capital in the city of Vaishali, in Mithila. Vajji had a republican form of government. Based on the information found in texts pertaining to Jainism and Buddhism, Vajji was established as a republic by the 6th century BCE, before the birth of Gautama Buddha in 563 BCE, making it the first known republic in India.
The region of modern-day southwestern Bihar called Magadha remained the centre of power and culture in India for 1000 years. The Haryanka dynasty, founded in 684 BC, ruled Magadha from the city of Rajgriha; the two well-known kings from this dynasty were Bimbisara and his son Ajatashatru, who imprisoned his father to ascend the throne. Ajatashatru founded the city of Pataliputra which became the capital of Magadha, he conquered the Vajji. The Haryanka dynasty was followed by the Shishunaga dynasty; the Nanda Dynasty ruled a vast tract stretching from Bengal to Punjab. The Nanda dynasty was replaced by India's first empire; the Maurya Empire and the religion of Buddhism arose in the region. The Mauryan Empire, which originated from Magadha in 325 BC, was founded by Chandragupta Maurya, born in Magadha, it had its capital at Pataliputra. The Mauryan emperor, born in Pataliputra is believed to be one of the greatest rulers in the history of the world; the Gupta Empire, which originated in Magadha in 240 AD, is referred as the Golden Age of India in science, astronomy, commerce and Indian philosophy.
Bihar and Bengal was invaded by Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty in the 11th century. Buddhism in Magadha went into decline due to the invasion of Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, during which many of the viharas and the famed universities of Nalanda and Vikramashila were destroyed, it was claimed. D. N. Jha suggests, that these incidents were the result of Buddhist-Brahmin skirmishes in a fight for supremacy. After fall of Pala Empire, Chero dynasty ruled some parts of Bihar from 12th century to 16th century till Mughal rule. In 1540, the great Pathan chieftain, Sher Shah Suri, from Sasaram, took northern India from the Mughals, defeating the Mughal army of Emperor Humayun. Sher Shah declared Delhi his capital. From the 11th century to the 20th century, Mithila was ruled by various indigenous dynasties; the first of these were the Karnatas, followed by the Oinwar dynasty and Raj Darbhanga. It was during this period that the capital of Mithila was shi
States and union territories of India
India is a federal union comprising 29 states and 7 union territories, for a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions; the Constitution of India distributes the sovereign executive and legislative powers exercisable with respect to the territory of any State between the Union and that State. The Indian subcontinent has been ruled by many different ethnic groups throughout its history, each instituting their own policies of administrative division in the region. During the British Raj, the original administrative structure was kept, India was divided into provinces that were directly governed by the British and princely states which were nominally controlled by a local prince or raja loyal to the British Empire, which held de facto sovereignty over the princely states. Between 1947 and 1950 the territories of the princely states were politically integrated into the Indian Union. Most were merged into existing provinces.
The new Constitution of India, which came into force on 26 January 1950, made India a sovereign democratic republic. The new republic was declared to be a "Union of States"; the constitution of 1950 distinguished between three main types of states: Part A states, which were the former governors' provinces of British India, were ruled by an elected governor and state legislature. The nine Part A states were Assam, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal; the eight Part B states were former princely states or groups of princely states, governed by a rajpramukh, the ruler of a constituent state, an elected legislature. The rajpramukh was appointed by the President of India; the Part B states were Hyderabad and Kashmir, Madhya Bharat, Mysore and East Punjab States Union, Rajasthan and Travancore-Cochin. The ten Part C states included both the former chief commissioners' provinces and some princely states, each was governed by a chief commissioner appointed by the President of India.
The Part C states were Ajmer, Bilaspur, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur and Vindhya Pradesh. The only Part D state was the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which were administered by a lieutenant governor appointed by the central government; the Union Territory of Puducherry was created in 1954 comprising the previous French enclaves of Pondichéry, Karaikal and Mahé. Andhra State was created on 1 October 1953 from the Telugu-speaking northern districts of Madras State; the States Reorganisation Act of 1956 reorganised the states based on linguistic lines resulting in the creation of the new states. As a result of this act, Madras State retained its name with Kanyakumari district added to form Travancore-Cochin. Andhra Pradesh was created with the merger of Andhra State with the Telugu-speaking districts of Hyderabad State in 1956. Kerala was created with the merger of Malabar district and the Kasaragod taluk of South Canara districts of Madras State with Travancore-Cochin. Mysore State was re-organized with the addition of districts of Bellary and South Canara and the Kollegal taluk of Coimbatore district from the Madras State, the districts of Belgaum, North Canara and Dharwad from Bombay State, the Kannada-majority districts of Bidar and Gulbarga from Hyderabad State and the province of Coorg.
The Laccadive Islands which were divided between South Canara and Malabar districts of Madras State were united and organised into the union territory of Lakshadweep. Bombay State was enlarged by the addition of Saurashtra State and Kutch State, the Marathi-speaking districts of Nagpur Division of Madhya Pradesh and Marathwada region of Hyderabad State. Rajasthan and Punjab gained territories from Ajmer and Patiala and East Punjab States Union and certain territories of Bihar was transferred to West Bengal. Bombay State was split into the linguistic states of Gujarat and Maharashtra on 1 May 1960 by the Bombay Reorganisation Act. Nagaland was formed on 1 December 1963; the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966 resulted in the creation of Haryana on 1 November and the transfer of the northern districts of Punjab to Himachal Pradesh. The act designated Chandigarh as a union territory and the shared capital of Punjab and Haryana. Madras state was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1968. North-eastern states of Manipur and Tripura were formed on 21 January 1972.
Mysore State was renamed as Karnataka in 1973. On 16 May 1975, Sikkim became the 22nd state of the Indian Union and the state's monarchy was abolished. In 1987, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram became states on 20 February, followed by Goa on 30 May, while Goa's northern exclaves of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli became separate union territories. In November 2000, three new states were created. Orissa was renamed as Odisha in 2011. Telangana was created on 2 June 2014 as ten former districts of north-western Andhra Pradesh. ^Note 1 Andhra Pradesh was divided into two states, Telangana and a residual Andhra Pradesh on 2 June 2014. Hyderabad, located within the borders of Telangana, is to serve as the capital for both states for a period of time not exceeding ten years; the Go
India
