Part I – Union and its Territory (Article 1 to 4)

Article – 1 (‘India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States’)

• • It deals with 2 things:
    • Name of the country – India, that is Bharat.
    • Type of polity – Union of States.
  • Territory of India is classified into:
    • Territories of state
    • Union territories
    • Territories that may be acquired by government of India at any time.

‘Territory of India’ is a wider expression than ‘Union of India’ as it includes not only the states, but also union territories and territories that may be acquired by the Government of India in future.

• • At present, there are 28 states and 9 Union Territories.

 

‘Union of States’ preferred over ‘Federation of States’

• • The Indian Federation is not the result of an agreement among the states like the American Federation
  • The states have no right to secede from the federation.

Thus, Federation is a union because it is indestructible. The country is an integral whole and is divided into different states only for convenience of administration.

Administrative System of UTs:

Union Territories	Executive	Legislature	Judiciary
Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Lt. Governor	-	Under Calcutta High Court
Chandigarh	Administrator	-	Under Punjab and Haryana High Court
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Damanand Diu	Administrator	-	Under Bombay High Court
Delhi	(a) Lt. Governor (b) Chief Minister (c) Council of Ministers	Legislative assembly	Separate High Court
Puducherry	(a) Lt. Governor (b) Chief Minister (c) Council of Ministers	Legislative assembly	Under Madras High Court
Lakshadweep	Administrator	-	Under Kerala HighCourt
Jammu & Kashmir	Lieutenant Governor	Legislative assembly	Under J&K High Court
Ladakh	Lieutenant Governor	-	Under J&K High Court

Article – 2 (Admission or establishment of new states)

• • It grants two powers to the parliament:
    • First, power to admit into the Union of India new states which are already in existence.
    • Second, power to establish new states which are not in existence before.

Article – 3 (Formation of new States and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing States)

• • Parliament may by law—

a) form a new State by separation of territory from any State or by uniting two or more States or parts of States or by uniting any territory to a part of any State.

b) increase the area of any State.

c) diminish the area of any State.

d) alter the boundaries of any State.

e) alter the name of any State.

• • Two conditions:

    • Such bill can be introduced in the Parliament only with the prior recommendation of the President.
    • Before recommending the bill, the President has to refer the same to the state legislature concerned for expressing its views within a specified period.
  • It does not include cession of Indian territory to foreign country,which can only be done by constitutional amendment under Article 368. Whereas a boundary dispute can be settled by executive action.

 

Article 2 deals with external re-adjustment of the territories of constituent states of Union of India whereas Article 3 deals with internal re-adjustment of the territories of constituent states of Union of India.

Article – 4

• • The laws made under Article-2 and Article-3 of the Constitution are not to be deemed as amendments under Article 368.

 

100^th Constitutional Amendment Act

It was enacted to give effect to the acquiring of certain territories by India and transfer of certain other territories to Bangladesh. Under this:

• • India transferred 111 enclaves to Bangladesh.
  • Bangladesh transferred 51 enclaves to India.
  • Transfer of adverse possessions and demarcation of 6.1 km of undemarcated border.

Evolution of Modern-day States and Union Territories

Integration of Princely States

• • Two categories of political units at the time of independence:
    • British provinces – under the direct rule of British government
    • Princely states – under the rule of native princes, subject to British paramountcy
  • The Indian Independence Act (1947) created two independent and separate dominions of India and Pakistan and gave three options to the princely states:
    • Joining India
    • Joining Pakistan
    • Remaining independent.
  • Of the 552 princely states situated within the geographical boundaries of India, 549 joined India and the remaining 3 were integrated with time as:
    • Hyderabad by means of police action (operation Polo)
    • Junagarh by means of referendum
    • Kashmir by the Instrument of Accession
  • In 1950, constitution classified the States and Union Territories of Indian Union as:
    • Part A – nine erstwhile provinces of British India
    • Part B – nine erstwhile princely states with legislatures
    • Part C – erstwhile chief commissioner’s provinces of British Indiaand some princely states
    • Part D – Andaman and Nicobar

 

Table: Territory of India in 1950

Part A states	Part B states	Part C states	Part D states
1. Assam	1. Hyderabad	1. Ajmer	1. Andaman and Nicobar
2. Bihar	2. Jammu and Kashmir	2. Bhopal
3. Bombay	3. Madhya Bharat	3. Bilaspur
4. Madhya Pradesh	4. Mysore	4. Cooch Behar
5. Madras	5. Patiala and East Punjab	5. Coorg
6. Orissa	6. Rajasthan	6. Delhi
7. Punjab	7. Saurashtra	7. Himachal Pradesh
8. United Province	8. Travancore-Cochin	8. Kutch
9. West Bengal	9. Vindhya Pradesh	9. Manipur
		10. Tripura

Commissions for State Reorganisation

States Reorganisation

• • By the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 and the 7^th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956, the distinction between Part A and Part B state was done away with and Part C states were abolished.
  • Other changes by States Reorganisation Act, 1956 were:
    • New state of Kerala was established by merging the Travancore – Cochin State with the Malabar District of Madras state and Kasargode of South Canara (Dakshina Kannada).
    • Telugu-speaking areas of Hyderabad state were merged with the Andhra state to create the Andhra Pradesh state.
    • It merged the Madya Bharat state, Vindya Pradesh state and Bhopal state into the MadyaPradesh state.
    • Saurashtra state and Kutch state merged into that of the Bombay state, the Coorg state into that of Mysore state; the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (Pepsu) into that of Punjab state; and the Ajmer state into that of Rajasthan state.
    • It also created the new union territory of Laccadive, Minicoy and AmindiviIslands from the territory detached from the Madras state.

States Reorganisation after 1956

Maharashtra and Gujrat	• In 1960, Bombay divided into two separate states- Maharashtra (for Marathi speaking people)and Gujarat (for Gujrati speaking people).
Dadra and Nagar Haveli	• The Portuguese ruled till1954. • 10th CAA 1961- converted into a union territory.
Goa, Daman and Diu	• India acquired from the Portuguese by means of a police action in 1961. • 12th CAA, 1962-constituted as a union territory. • 1987- Goa conferred statehood and Daman and Diu made a separate UT.
Puducherry	• Itcomprises French territories of Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam. • 14th CAA (1962)- made a UT
Nagaland	• Formed by taking Naga Hills and Tuensang area of Assam in 1963.
Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh	• Shah Commission (1966)-Punjab bifurcated into Punjab(Punjabi-speaking areas), Haryana(Hindi-speaking areas) and Himachal Pradesh(hill areas) • In 1971- UT of Himachal Pradesh elevated to status of state.
Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya	• In 1972-UTs of Manipur and Tripura and sub-state of Meghalaya got statehood
Sikkim	• In 1947- Sikkim became ‘protectorate’ of India. • 35th CAA(1974)-Sikkim got status of ‘associate state’(Article 2A) of the Indian Union. • 36th CAA(1975)- Sikkim made a full-fledged state(Article 371-F).
Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa	• 1987- states of Mizoram (Mizoram Peace Accord), Arunachal Pradesh and Goa (by separating Goa from UT of Goa, Daman and Diu) came into being.
Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand	• These states were created out of territories of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar respectively.
Telangana	• 2014- Telangana carved out from Andhra Pradesh.
Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh	• J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 bifurcated J&K into UTs of J&K and Ladakh

Second States Reorganisation

Need	Merits	Demerits
• Exponential increase in population in several states. • Reshaped demographic and socio-economic landscapes. • Culture and ethnicity like demand of Gorkhaland, Nagalim and Bodoland in Assam. • Demand of smaller states for better governance and political reasons, like demand of Harit Pradesh. • Economic backwardness in some regions e.g. Vidarbha region from Andhra Pradesh.	• Promote administrative convenience - efficiency and effectiveness. • Improved representation and empower local communities in decision-making process. • Addressing long-standing grievances contributing to social cohesion and stability. • Resolve the problem of identity crisis among the ethnic groups, enabling them to develop their own language and culture. • The smaller states are likely to be more homogeneous in its developmental aspirations.	• Administrative Complexitycan be time-consuming and resource intensive. • Disagreements over resource sharing can exacerbate existing inter-state conflicts. • Political opposition can impede the process and delay implementation. • Identity and Cultural Concerns • Economic Disruption due to relocation of industries. • Legal and Constitutional Challenges

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