Madhya Pradesh Quiz: Formation of MP (1956) and the Separation of Chhattisgarh

The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 merged Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh, Bhopal and the Hindi-speaking districts of the old Madhya Pradesh into one state with effect from 1 November 1956, and the Marathi-speaking Vidarbha region went to Bombay State.

The reorganisation brought three units, Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh and Bhopal, together with the Hindi-speaking Mahakoshal districts of the old Madhya Pradesh.

Ravishankar Shukla had been Chief Minister of the old Madhya Pradesh, that is the Central Provinces and Berar, from 1947, and he continued as the first Chief Minister of the reorganised state from 1 November 1956 until his death at the end of that year.

The States Reorganisation Commission of 1953 was chaired by Justice Fazl Ali, with K. M. Panikkar and H. N. Kunzru as its two members.

The Part A state called Madhya Pradesh between 1950 and 1956 was the former Central Provinces and Berar, and its capital was Nagpur.

The Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000 separated sixteen districts of the Raipur, Bilaspur and Bastar divisions to form Chhattisgarh on 1 November 2000, the first of the three states created that year, with Raipur as its capital and the High Court at Bilaspur.

Ajit Jogi became the first Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh when the state came into existence on 1 November 2000, and Dinesh Nandan Sahay was its first Governor.

Between 1956 and 2000 Madhya Pradesh was the largest state of India by area. When the Chhattisgarh region was separated in 2000, Madhya Pradesh fell to second place and Rajasthan became the largest state by area, a position it still holds.

Vindhya Pradesh was formed of the princely states of the Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand region, was administered as a Part C state, and had its capital at Rewa, the seat of the largest of those states.

The undivided Madhya Pradesh returned forty members to the Lok Sabha. After the reorganisation of 2000 eleven seats went to Chhattisgarh and twenty-nine remained with Madhya Pradesh, which also has eleven seats in the Rajya Sabha and an assembly of two hundred and thirty elected members.

The Tropic of Cancer passes through the middle of Madhya Pradesh, which is one reason the state has a tropical climate with a marked dry season.