Under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, what was the status given to Chandigarh?
- A.It was merged into Haryana
- B.It was merged into Punjab
- C.It was made a Union Territory and the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana
- D.It was made the capital of Himachal Pradesh
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, it was made a Union Territory and the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. The city is administered by the Governor of Punjab as its Administrator, and the Punjab and Haryana High Court sits there, serving both states and the Union Territory.
Option A is wrong because Chandigarh was never part of Haryana, though the land it stands on was taken from villages of Ambala district. Option B is wrong because, although the Shah Commission placed the city with Punjab and later the award of 1970 and the Rajiv-Longowal Accord of 1985 proposed its transfer, Parliament kept it a Union Territory and the transfer never happened. Option D is wrong because Shimla, not Chandigarh, is the capital of Himachal Pradesh. The city had been planned in the 1950s as the new capital of East Punjab after Lahore went to Pakistan, which is why both successor states claim it.
Read the full article: Formation of Haryana (1966): Act, Commissions and Facts
Practice Questions
View allOn which date did Haryana come into existence as a separate state of the Indian Union?
- A.1 November 1947
- B.1 November 1956
- C.1 November 1966
- D.1 November 1971
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On that day the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 came into force and the Hindi-speaking districts of the old State of Punjab became the new State of Haryana, with seven districts and Chandigarh as a shared capital.
Read the full explanation →Haryana was carved out of the erstwhile State of Punjab under which law?
- A.States Reorganisation Act, 1956
- B.Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966
- C.North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971
- D.Haryana State Act, 1965
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Parliament passed it as Act No. 31 of 1966 after the Shah Commission reported, and it created Haryana, made Chandigarh a Union Territory and joint capital, transferred the hill areas to Himachal Pradesh, kept a common High Court for both states and set up a board for the Bhakra-Nangal and…
Read the full explanation →Which commission, appointed in April 1966, demarcated the boundary between Punjab and Haryana?
- A.Fazl Ali Commission
- B.Dhar Commission
- C.Shah Commission
- D.Sarkaria Commission
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It was appointed on 23 April 1966 under Justice J. C. Shah of the Supreme Court, took the tehsil as its unit and the language returns of the 1961 census as its test, and submitted its report on 31 May 1966, after which the Punjab Reorganisation Act was passed.
Read the full explanation →Who was the first Chief Minister of Haryana?
- A.Rao Birender Singh
- B.Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma
- C.Bansi Lal
- D.Devi Lal
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He belonged to the Congress and was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of Haryana on 1 November 1966, the day the state came into being, heading a ministry formed from the Punjab legislators of the Haryana region.
Read the full explanation →Who was the first Governor of Haryana?
- A.Dharma Vira
- B.Gurdial Singh Dhillon
- C.Sardar Hukam Singh
- D.Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma
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A senior civil servant, he took office as the first Governor of Haryana on 1 November 1966, the day the state was created, and swore in the first Chief Minister.
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