| Union of Baghelkhand and Bundelkhand States (1948–1950) Vindhya Pradesh (1950–1956) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State of India | |||||||||
| 1948–1956 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||
.svg) 1951 map of India. Vindhya Pradesh is shown in the centre. | |||||||||
| Capital | Rewa | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• | 61,131.5 km2 (23,603.0 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• | 3,600,000 | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Creation of Vindhya Pradesh State | 1948 | ||||||||
| 1956 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Pranab Kumar Bhattacharyya (1977).Historical Geography of Madhya Pradesh from Early Records. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 54–5. | |||||||||
Vindhya Pradesh was a formerstate ofIndia. It was created in 1948 asUnion of Baghelkhand and Bundelkhand States from the territories of theprincely states in the eastern portion of the formerCentral India Agency. It was named as Vindhya Pradesh on 25 January 1950 after theVindhya Range, which runs through the centre of the province. The capital of the state was the former princely state ofRewa. It lay betweenUttar Pradesh to the north andMadhya Pradesh to the south, and the enclave ofDatia, which lay a short distance to the west, was surrounded by the state ofMadhya Bharat.
VindhyaPradesh was merged into Madhya Pradesh in 1956, following theStates Reorganisation Act.[1]
It occupied an area of 61,131.5 km2 (23,603 sq. miles).[2]
Vindhya Pradesh state was formed on 12 March 1948 and inaugurated on 4 April 1948. 36princely states were merged to form Vindhya Pradesh state:
On 25 January 1950, 11 erstwhile princely states, namely, Bihat, Banka Paharee, Baoni, Beri, Bijna, Charkhari, Jigni, Samthar, Sarila, Tori-Fatehpur and parts of Kirur Kubje were transferred toUttar Pradesh andMadhya Bharat. Vindhya Pradesh, together with the states ofMadhya Bharat andBhopal State, was merged into Madhya Pradesh on 1 November 1956.
After formation, the state was divided into two divisions, which were further divided into 8 districts.
Bundelkhand Division with its headquarters atNowgaon comprised the following 4 districts:
Baghelkhand Division with its headquarters atSingrauli and thenRewa comprised the following 4 districts:[2]
In 1948, the eastern regions ofCentral India Agency became the Union of Baghelkhand and Bundelkhand States, and was admitted into theDominion of India as aPart B state, headed by aRajpramukh, deputised by a Uparajpramukh, under the advice of a Prime Minister.Martand Singh, the ruler of the princely state ofRewa, became theRajpramukh and Yadvendra Singh, the ruler of the princely state ofPanna, became the Uparajpramukh. Awadhesh Pratap Singh became the first Chief Minister of theBaghelkhand Division andKamta Prasad Saxena was appointed as the Chief Minister of theBundelkhand Division. LaterAwadhesh Pratap Singh became the Chief Minister of the Vindhya Pradesh state.
| # | Name | Tenure | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martand Singh | 4 April 1948 | 31 December 1949 | 1 year, 271 days |
| # | Name | Tenure | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yadvendra Singh | 4 April 1948 | 31 December 1949 | 1 year, 271 days |
Awadhesh Pratap Singh became the first Chief Minister of the Baghelkhand Division and Kamta Prasad Saxena was appointed as the Chief Minister of the Bundelkhand Division.
| # | Name | State | Appointed by | Party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Awadhesh Pratap Singh | Baghelkhand State | Martand Singh | Indian National Congress | |||
| 1 | Kamta Prasad Saxena | Bundelkhand State | Martand Singh | Indian National Congress | |||
| # | Name | Tenure | Appointed by | Party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Awadhesh Pratap Singh | 28 May 1948 | 14 April 1949 | 322 days | Martand Singh | Indian National Congress | |
| 2 | Neil Bruniat Bonerji | 15 April 1949 | 30 April 1949 | 15 days | Martand Singh | Independent | |
| 3 | Shreenath Mehta | 1 May 1949 | 31 December 1949 | 244 days | Martand Singh | Independent | |
It was renamed Vindhya Pradesh and converted to a Part C state, headed by a Chief Commissioner, on 1 January 1950.
| # | Name | Tenure | Appointed by | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shreenath Mehta | 1 January 1950 | 20 January 1950 | 19 days | Rajendra Prasad |
| 2 | V. K. Balakrishna Pillai | 21 January 1950 | 30 March 1952 | 2 years, 69 days | Rajendra Prasad |
In 1952, it became a Part A state, and the post of Chief Commissioner was replaced by theLieutenant Governor. Alegislative assembly comprising 60 members elected from 48 constituencies (36 single-member and 12 double-member)[3] was created and the state was allotted 4Lok Sabha constituencies (2 single-member and 2 double-member).[4]
In the first general election in 1951, theIndian National Congress won 40 seats and theSocialist Party won 11 seats.[3]S.N. Shukla of Indian National Congress became the Chief Minister of the state on 13 March 1952,Shivanand became the Speaker andRam Kishore Shukla ofSocialist Party the leader of the opposition of the house.
The state was dissolved on 31 October 1956 and merged with Madhya Pradesh.
| # | Name | Tenure | Appointed by | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kasturirangan Santhanam | 31 March 1952 | 1 January 1956 | 3 years, 276 days | Rajendra Prasad |
| 2 | Mosalikanti Thirumala Rao | 2 January 1956 | 31 October 1956 | 303 days | Rajendra Prasad |
| # | Name | Tenure | Assembly | Appointed by | Party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sambhu Nath Shukla | 31 March 1952 | 31 October 1956 | 4 years, 214 days | 1st | Kasturirangan Santhanam | Indian National Congress | |
Sriniwas Tiwari was a prominent politician in the region who campaigned for the re-establishment of Vindhya Pradesh over the years post its dissolution and merger with Madhya Pradesh. Other advocates of the cause include Narayan Tripathi, 4-timeMLA fromMaihar, and social worker Kuldeep Agnihotri, associated with the Agni Shakti Education Foundation in Rewa.[citation needed]
| Part A States |  | |
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| Part B States | ||
| Part C States | ||
| Part D States | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
