HISTORY OF DEMAND FOR CREATION OF VIDARBHA STATE (PRE 1956) 2.1 Till the defeat of Raghuji II of Bhonsla dynasty by the Britishers in 1817, Vidarbha was an independent kingdom with Nagpur as Capital. Even after the merger of the kingdom in British India in 1856, the aspiration of Vidarbha remaining independent Province/State continued. It is said that in 1888, the then British Commissioner had proposed creation of separate Vidarbha Province. In 1903, The Central Provinces & Berar (C.P. & Berar) was formed including the original 8 districts of Vidarbha (now 11) with Nagpur as its Capital. In 1905, demand of separate Vidarbha was revived during the regime of India’s then Secretary of State, Mr Montague who had visited India. The Constitutional Commission on Reforms Report in 1918 mentioned that need based Provinces of Orissa and Vidarbha (Berar) require to be considered. 2.2 In 1924, Late A s s e m b l separate Sta Shri Bapuji Aney raised the demand of te of Vidarbha in the Assembly. Further, in Round Table Conference the demand for s eparate Vidarbha was raised. it’s session s held All India Congress Committee in in 1920 at Nagpur and in 1927 at Madras , y considered the matter of reorganization of the States in the country. Looking to the general feelings of the people of Vidarbha, a resolution was unanimously passed for creation of separate State of Vidarbha. 1 st October Resolution of Vidarbha Province 1938, the of C.P. & Berar of eight districts pas sed the On . This resolution was brought in the assembly by Barrister Ramrao Deshmukh. T his Resolution was pass unanimously by the Assembly. ed 2.3 A week before the Independence of India, the Congress Party Leaders in the Marathi speaking areas of the then C.P. & Berar and Maharashtra entered into an agreement known as “Akola Pact” on 8th of August, 1947 (Annexure–A). In the Akola Pact it was agreed to establish two separate States of Marathi speaking people, one Vidarbha and second – Rest of Marathi speaking areas of Maharashtra. This pact also agreed to have two separate Legislative Assemblies, separate judiciary, separate Ministry but under one Governor. There was also a solemn affirmation made in the Akola Pact that in case it is not possible to have separate States under Akola Pact, then all the signatories to the Pact will make effort for formation of Separate State of Vidarbha. 2.4 In 1948, Dar Commission while discussing the reorganization of States said in its Report “It might be possible two separate Marathi speaking provinces namely, 1. Mahavidarbha comprising of the eight districts of Central Provinces and 2. Deccan consisting of eleven districts of Bombay.
2.5 In Jaipur Session of AICC in 1948, a Committee of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabbhai Patel and Dr. Pattabhi Sitaramayya (JVP Committee) was formed. This Committee stated that “We have defined and accepted areas of Maharashtra, if they choose from themselves into separate province to Berar of Vidarbha and Nagpur, as whether this area joins the new Maharashtra or favour the formation of separate State, this should be the choice of Vidarbha and Nagpur”. 2.6 Again, the Marathi speaking leaders discussed the issue of reorganisation of the States and entered into an agreement known as “Nagpur Agreement“on 28th September 1953. (Annexure - B). The signatories agreed to form One State of Marathi speaking people with certain conditions. The conditions were that the allocation of funds for developmental expenditure to different regions will be in proportion to the population of each Region and special attention will also be given to the backward/ undeveloped regions. It was agreed that the report regarding the allocation of funds Region-wise and its implementation would be placed before the State Assembly every year. It was also agreed to give adequate facilities in proportion to the population of these regions for education and employment in the Govt. services. It was further agreed that the Government shall officially shift to Nagpur for a definite period and at least one Session of the State Legislature shall be held every year in Nagpur. It is worthwhile to note that this agreement had no legal status nor it was accepted by any Constitutional Authority. It is also worth noting that some signatories of Nagpur Agreement were also signatories to Akola Pact which envisaged separate Vidarbha State. 2.7 States Reorganization Commission (SRC) under the Chairmanship of Justice Fazal Ali with Shri Hridhyanath Kunjaru and Shri Sardar Panikkar as Members was set up in Dec 1953, known as “Fazal Ali Commission” to examine the reorganisation of the States in the country. The Commission gave its report in 1955 and recommended formation of separate State of Vidarbha on various grounds. The recommendation of the Commission regarding separate State of Vidarbha, which is contained in Chapter VIII of the report, is enclosed as (Annexure C). The salient features arei) Vidarbha’s traditional financial surplus continues. It may be crore and half of rupees or possibly more. In view of the satisfactory position of Vidarbha and since Maharashtra without grater Bombay is likely to be a deficit area on revenue account to very much greater extent, there is some reluctance to join Maharashtra. There seems to be prima facie clarification for the suspicion that if Vidarbha joins Maharashtra, it cannot be certain that its resources will be spent within its area on suitable development schemes and projects. ii) There is the fear that Nagpur will be completely over shadowed by the Bombay City, which would be the natural capital of a single Maharashtrian State, if it were created. iii) Communalism, it has been stated, may also be introduced in to the political life of Vidarbha if it joins Maharashtra. iv) That there is deep rooted regional consciousness in Vidarbha is conceded even by the leaders of the movement for Samyukta Maharashtra. v) The arrangements in Akola Pact are not workable. The distributions of development expenditure on an agreed basis as contemplated in Nagpur Agreement are also not workable. If our assessment of public opinion is correct, these pacts are no longer regarded by section of leaders as a satisfactory means of finding out solution. 2.8 The Ministry of Home Affairs after studying the Report stated that “The Government of India has carefully considered the Commission’s recommendation regarding the formation of Bombay and Vidarbha State. This proposal appears to be reasonable . 2.9 However, for political reasons, the recommendations of “Fazal Ali Commission ” were not accepted and on the contrary efforts were made to give legal status to the Nagpur agreement and also assurances to the people of Vidarbha that their interest in one Marathi speaking State of Maharashtra would be safe-guarded. The Constitution of India was amended in November 1956 and a new Article 371(2) was incorporated, enabling the President of India under article 371(2) to provide for special responsibility of Governor of Maharashtra for the establishment of development Boards for Vidarbha , Marathwada and the rest of Maharashtra and for other responsibilities. The special responsibilities entrusted with the Governor of Maharashtra under the Constitution are for (1) Establishment of three development boards for Vidarbha, Marathwada and Rest of Maharashtra (2) Ensuring equitable allocation of funds for development expenditure over the areas subject to the requirement of the State as a whole.(3) Equitable arrangement for providing adequate facilities for technical education and vocational training and also adequate opportunities for employment in the services under the control of the State Govt. in the areas of three development boards.