---
title: "Linguistic Reorganisation of States in India"
description: "The Linguistic Reorganisation of States reshaped India's boundaries based on language, starting with Andhra in 1953, crucial for UPSC candidates."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/linguistic-reorganisation-of-states"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The Linguistic Reorganisation of States is the redrawing of India's internal state boundaries along the lines of dominant regional languages, principally enacted through the States Reorganisation Act, 1956.
- Which was the first Indian state created on a linguistic basis?
- What did the States Reorganisation Commission of 1953 recommend?
- How is linguistic reorganisation different from general states reorganisation under Article 3?
- Did the 1956 Act settle all linguistic boundary questions?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

The Linguistic Reorganisation of States is the redrawing of India's internal state boundaries along the lines of dominant regional languages, principally enacted through the States Reorganisation Act, 1956.

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## Timeline

1. 15 December 1952

   Potti Sriramulu, a Gandhian activist, undertook a fast unto death demanding a separate Telugu-speaking state carved from the Madras Presidency; his death on…

2. 1 October 1953

   The Nehru government conceded, and Andhra State was created on as the first state formed explicitly on a linguistic basis.

3. 1 November 1956

   Parliament gave effect to most recommendations through the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 and the Seventh Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956, which together…

4. 1 May 1960

   The composite Bombay State was divided on into Marathi-speaking Maharashtra and Gujarati-speaking Gujarat after the Samyukta Maharashtra and Mahagujarat mov…

5. 1 November 1966

   Punjab was reorganised on under the Punjab Reorganisation Act into a Punjabi-speaking Punjab and a Hindi-speaking Haryana, with Chandigarh as a shared union…

6. 2 June 2014

   Andhra Pradesh itself, formed in 1956 by merging Andhra State with the Telangana region of Hyderabad, was bifurcated on under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisat…

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In 1953, following the death of Gandhian activist Potti Sriramulu after a fifty-eight-day fast, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's government created Andhra State, India's first state formed on a linguistic basis.

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