Question

After independence, why was there a reluctance to divide the country on linguistic lines?

Answer 1

Instruction :

1. We will begin with the demands by the linguistic groups.
2. Then, we will move on to explore the government’s response to these demands.

Solution :

The demand for linguistic states and the government’s unwillingness to fulfil them can be explained as follows:

Demands: The demand for states based on linguistic divisions started soon after independence. The strongest of these came from the Telugu-speaking districts of the ​Madras Presidency. ​During Nehru's 1952 election campaign, he was met with black flags. The campaign for a separate Telugu state grew stronger when Potti Sriramulu went on a hunger strike demanding the formation of Andhra for the Telugu speakers.

Government’s Response: In the 1920s, the Indian National Congress had promised that after independence, each major linguistic group would have its province. ​But the government was unwilling to fulfil this promise as India had already gone through a violent partition phase wherein it was divided into religious lines. Both Prime Minister Nehru and Deputy Prime Minister Vallabhbhai Patel believed that another initiative to divide India could prove to be disastrous.