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Folk Art United Maharashtra came into being on 1st May 1960. The State of Maharashtra was created
under the framework of reconstruction of States on linguistic criteria. But one hundred and
Topography
six people had to lay down their lives before it could come into being. Before the creation of
Governance
Unified Maharashtra, a bilingual State came into being. The Maharashtrians continuously
Demography opposed the then Congress government on this issue and a separate State of Maharashtra
Literature with Mumbai as its capital but without the territory of Karwar and Belgaum, came into being.

Marathi Theatre Prelude :

Districts The history of Unified Maharashtra movement can be stretched back to 1920s. Lokmanya
Personalities Tilak coupled national education and freedom together and highlighted the need to impart
national education through mother tongue. Around the same time the aims and objectives of
the Congress Democratic Party mentioned formation of States along linguistic lines. The same
demand was made in the Party Programme and a declaration was made that a State of
Maharashtra be created based on a single language. In the 1917 Kolkata (Calcutta) session of
the Indian National Congress, Dr. Pattabhi Seetaramayya proposed to create a separate state
of Andhra. This proposal was opposed by Dr. Annie Besant, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and
Mahatma Gandhi, while Lokmanya Tilak supported it. Mahatma Gandhi changed his opinion
later and in 1921 in the Nagpur Session Gandhiji himself proposed recreation of States along
the linguistic lines. The Indian National Congress itself was reorganized along linguistic lines.
This helped widen the base of Indian National Congress. In 1928 the Workers’ and Farmers’
Party made a presentation before the Motilal Nehru Committee for reorganization of States
and demanded a separate State of Maharashtra. The Nehru Committee sanctioned the
demand.

In the Marathi Literary Meet held in Mumbai under the chairmanship of Swatantryaveer
Sawarkar on 15th October 1938 the phrase ‘Single language State of Maharashtra including
Varhad’ was used intentionally. The reason for using this phrase was the recommendation by
Ravishankar Shukla, Chief Minister of Central Provinces (C.P.) and Berar, that Varhad be
separated and formed into an independent State. In the 1939 Sahitya Sammelan (Literary
Meet) in Ahmednagar, a resolution was passed that a single State be formed of all the regions
where the Marathi language is spoken, and named ‘United Maharashtra’. The term ‘United
Maharashtra’ came to be used for the first time in this Meet. Ramrao Deshmukh, the member
of C.P. and Berar Legislative Assembly, founded the Sanyukta Maharashtra Sabha (United
Maharashtra Assembly) in Mumbai to sustain the demand for independent Varhad. The
Council for Unification of Maharashtra was founded in Pune in 1941 under the leadership of
Dr. Kedar.

The Literary Meet in Belgaum

In the Belgaum Literary Meet on 13th May, 1946, writer Madkholkar first made a demand for
Unified Maharashtra. This Unified Maharashtra was to include Mumbai, Central Provinces,
Berar, Marathwada and Gomantak. A Council for the Unification of Maharashtra held its
meeting in Mumbai on 28th July 1946 under the chairmanship of Shankarrao Dev. The
Jalgaon Session of the Council for the Unification of Maharashtra upheld the demand for
United Maharashtra including Mumbai.

Dar Commission and JVP Committee

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As the freedom to India became imminent, a commission under the chairmanship of Justice
S.K. Dar was appointed by Dr. Rajendra Prasad to judge the feasibility of reorganization of
States along linguistic lines. Even as the commission was working Mahatma Gandhi wrote in
Harijan that a plan acceptable to all be prepared by Mumbai for reorganization of States.
Seventeen leaders signed an agreement before the Dar Commission that came to be known as
Akola Agreement.

In 1948 The Council for Unification of Maharashtra held its session in Mumbai. Annabhau
Sathe presented a programme Mumbai Kunachi (Whom does Bombay belong to). Dr.
Babasaheb Ambedkar gave his recommendation to the Dar commission emphasizing
Maharashtra’s right over Mumbai. On December 1948 the Dar Commission published its
report. Dar Commission refuted the right of Maharashtra over Mumbai. There was a strong
reaction against the Dar Commission Report. So a JVP Committee consisting of Jawaharlal
Nehru, Vallabh Bhai Patel and Pattabhi Seetaramayya was formed in the Jaipur session of the
Indian National Congress. Even the JVP Committee opposed the idea of Maharashtra along
with Mumbai.

After the report of this committee became public, Ramrao Deshmukh gave up the demand for
separate Berar and asked for the C. P. and Berar to be amalgamated with Maharashtra.
Nobody dared oppose Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabh Bhai Patel. The Unified Maharashtra
Movement was getting moribund when Senapati Bapat came forward and gave it a new lease
of life. On 29th November 1949 Acharya Atre and R.D. Bhandare moved a resolution in
Mumbai Municipal Corporation for Unified Maharashtra.

While the agitation was on in Maharashtra, the demand for separate Andhra State also
gathered strength, for which Potti Ramalu laid down his life. In 1952 the separate State of
Andhra came into being. Pandit Nehru appointed the Fazal Ali Commission to review the
situation for reorganizing States along linguistic lines. The Sanyukta Maharashtra Parishad
(Council for the unification of Maharashtra) made a presentation before the commission. The
commission recommended a bilingual State, a separate State of Vidharbha (Berar) and
Mumbai State including entire Gujarati speaking region and Marathwada. Morarji Desai, the
then Chief Minister of Mumbai, declared that Mumbai would not be unified with Maharashtra
‘for the next five thousand years’(!)

Public contribution to the movement

The Bill for creation of three such States was going to be discussed in the Legislative
Assembly. The people of Maharashtra took to the streets, protesting against the Bill. The
roads leading to the Legislative Assembly were blocked. The mob became unruly and fifteen
people died in the police fire that ensued. Senapati Bapat, leader of the demonstration was
arrested. These fifteen were the first of hundred and sixteen martyrs to the cause of Unified
Maharashtra. P.V. Gadgil, the editor of newspaper Lokmanya, resigned his membership of the
Legislative Assembly. The Bill could not be passed due to the strong public opinion against it.

Bilingual State formed

On 16th January 1956 Pt. Nehru declared that Mumbai would remain under the central
government and proposed two linguistic States instead of three States: Maharashtra including
Vidharbha for Marathi speakers and Gujarat including Kutch and Saurashtra for Gujarati
speakers. The public opinion went against this decision. Sixty seven people died in police
firings between January 16 and 22. Jayaprakash Narayan demanded Mumbai to be given to
the Maharashtra State. The Congress Party in Hyderabad Legislative Assembly also endorsed
this view. In the parliament Feroze Gandhi also recommended Mumbai to be given to
Maharashtra. C.D. Deshmukh, the famous Economist and minister, resigned from the cabinet
on the Mumbai issue. In June 1956, Sanyukta Maharashtra Samiti was formed in London, U.K.

In August 1956, a suggestion was made in Lok Sabha, the lower house of the parliament, that
a common State including Maharashtra, Marathwada, Vidharbha, Gujarat, Saurashtra, Kutch
and Mumbai be formed. This suggestion was immediately accepted by the government. In
October 1956, Morarji Desai went to the central cabinet and Yashawantrao Chavan became
the new Chief Minister. Mumbai became the capital of this new State.

United Maharashtra finally established

In order to oppose Indian National Congress on this issue, a new political party, Sanyukta
Maharashtra Vidhansabha Paksha came into being. The party won majority in the Mumbai
municipal corporation elections and Acharya Donde became the mayor. In 1959 Indira Gandhi
became the president of Indian National Congress. She reviewed the situation in Maharashtra
and came to the conclusion that such a bilingual State is not sustainable. She appointed a
nine members committee to study the issue. This committee recommended dismantling of the
bilingual State and creation of separate Gujarat state. Indira Gandhi accepted that Mumbai be
given to Maharashtra. The parliament passed a resolution on 1st May 1960 creating a
separate State of Maharashtra consisting of twenty six districts and two hundred and twenty
nine talukas.

List of 106 martyrs of Sanyukta Maharashtra Movement

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Seetaram Banaji Pawar Govind Baburao Jogal

Joseph David Pejarkar Pandurang Dhondu Dhadave

Chimanrao D. Sheth Gopal Chimaji Korde

Bhaskar Narayan Kamtekar Pandurang Babaji Jadhav

Ramchandra Sewaram Babu Hari Date

Shankar Khote Anup Mahaveer

Dharmaji Gangaram Nagwekar Vinayak Panchal

Ramchandra Lakshman Jadhav Seetaram Ganpat Mhade

K.J. Xavier Subhash Bhiva Borkar

P.S. John Ganpat Rama Nanakar

Sharad G. Wani Seetaram Gayadin

Bedisingh Gorakhnath Raoji Jagtap

Ramachandra Bhatiya Muhammad Ali

Gangaram Gunaji Tulshiram Punjaji Belsare

Gajanan alias Bandu Gokhale Devaji Sakharam Patil

Nivritti Vithoba More Shamlal Jethanand

Atmaram Purushottam Panwalkar Sadashiv Mahadev Bhosale

Balanna Muttanna Kamathi Bhikaji Pandurang Rangate

Dhondu Lakshman Pardule Vasudev Suryaji Manjarekar

Bhau Sakharam Kadam Bhikaji Babu Bawaskar

Yshavant Babaji Bhagat Sakharam Shripat Dhamale

Narendra Narayan Pradhan Ratnu Godivare

Shankar Gopal Kushte Sayyad Kasam

Dattaram Krushna Sawant Bhikaji Daji

Baban Bapu Bhargude Anant Golatkar

Vishnu Sakharam Bane Kisan Virkar

Seetaram Dhondu Radye Sukhalal Ramlal Vanskar

Tukaram Dhondu Shinde Pandurang Vishnu Valke

Vitthal Gangaram More Phulvi Magaru

Rama Lakhan Vinda Gulab Krushna Khavale

Edwin Ambrose Salawi Baburao Devdas Patil

Babu Mahadu Sawant Lakshman Narhari Sonar

Vasant Dwarkanath Kanyalkar Thamabai Vitthal Suryabhan

Vitthal Daulat Salunke Ganapat Rama Bhute

Ramnath Pandurang Amrute Munshi Vazir Ali

Parshuram Ambaji Desai Daulatram Mathuradas

Ghanashyam Babu Kolar Vitthal Narayan Chavam

Dhondu Ramkrushna Sutar Devji Shivan Rathore

Munimji Baldev Pande Ravajibhai Dosabhai Patel

Maruti Vithoba Mhaske Hormusji Karsetji

Bhau Kondiba Bhaskar Girdhar Hemachandra Lohar

Dhondo Ragho Pujari Sattu Khandu Vaikar

Udaysingh Darjesingh Ganpat Shridhar Joshi (Nasik)

Shankar Vithoba Rane Madhav Rajaram Ture (Nasik)

Pandu Mahadu Awarikar Maruti Bennalkar (Belgaum)

Vijaykumar Sadashiv Bhadekar Madhukar Bapu Bandekar (Belgaum)

Krushnaji Ganu Shinde Lakshman Govind Gavade (Belgaum)

Ramchandra Vitthal Chowghule Mahadev Barigadi (Belgaum)

Dhondu Bhagu Jadhav Kamalabai Mohite (Nipani)

Raghunath Sakharam Bingude Seetaram Dulaji Ghadigaonkar (Mumbai)

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United Maharashtra Movement https://www.manase.org/en/maharashtra.php?mid=68&smid=21&did=...

Kashinath Govind Bindurkar Karpayya Kirmal Devendra

Chularam Mambaraj Balmohan

Ananta Gangaram Vishnu Gurav

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