Bhopal: November 1 marks the Foundation Day of Madhya Pradesh, which came into existence on November 1, 1956, based on the recommendations of the State Reorganisation Commission. The erstwhile state known as central India during the British rule, earlier included Mahakaushal, Central Provinces, Berar Baghelkhand and the princely state of Chhattisgarh.
After independence, demand for the reorganisation of the states grew after which the States Reorganisation Commission was formed. The then leaders of Mahakaushal held a meeting under the leadership of Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla, wherein it was demanded that a separate state be formed by combining the areas of Mahakaushal, Madhya Bharat, Bhopal and Vindhya Pradesh.
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The responsibility of placing all these recommendations before the commission was entrusted to Ghanshyam Singh Gupta and Dwarka Prasad Mishra of Durg. The commission took around 34 months for the recommendations. The State Reorganisation Commission chaired by Justice Syed Fazal Ali and members Dr KM Panikkar, Pandit Hridaynath Kunzru recommended reorganisation of the state on the basis of language.
Besides a conflict over language, there was a tussle between the then leaders of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for the four districts of Bundelkhand regarding the reorganisation of Madhya Pradesh. The respective leaders wanted to keep the districts of Bundelkhand, Jhansi, Banda, Hamirpur and Jalaun with their states.
There was a proposal to keep Bundelkhand into a single state, but Govind Ballabh Pant, the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, was averse to it. Bhopal being in the heart of Madhya Pradesh, was chosen as the capital of MP instead of Indore. The then Chief Minister Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, the last Nawab of Bhopal, Hamidullah Khan and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru played an important role in making Bhopal the capital.
