The Vishalandhra movement (as the movement for a separate Andhra was called) demanded that the Telugu-speaking areas should be separated from the Madras province of which they were a part and be made into a separate Andhra province. Prime Minister announced the formation of a separate Andhra state in December 1952. The formation of Andhra Pradesh spurred the struggle for making other states on linguistic lines in other parts of the country. These struggles forced the Central Government into appointing a States Reorganisation Commission in 1953 to look into the question of redrawing the boundaries of states. The Commission in its report accepted that the boundaries of the state should reflect the boundaries of different languages. On the basis of its report, the States Reorganisation Act was passed in 1956. |