Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (November 2012) |
Samyukta Maharashtra Movement | |||
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Part of Chronology of statehood of Maharashtra States Reorganisation Act, 1956 | |||
![]() Hutatma Chowk ("Martyr's Square") memorial to the Samyukta Maharashtra movement in Mumbai. The memorial was dedicated to members of the organisation killed by police during protests. | |||
Date | 8 August 1956 | - 1 May 1960||
Location | Bombay state, India | ||
Goals | The creation of the separate state of Maharashtra for Marathi-speaking people from the bilingual Bombay state | ||
Methods | Protest march, Street protest, riot, hunger strike, strike | ||
Status | Dormant | ||
Parties | |||
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Lead figures | |||
Casualties | |||
Death(s) | 106 | ||
The Movement succeeded in creating a separate Marathi-speaking state of Maharashtra including Mumbai and Nagpur as its capitals. |
Samyukta Maharashtra Movement, (transl. United Maharashtra movement) commonly known as the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti, was an organisation in India that advocated for a separate Marathi-speaking state in Western India and Central India from 1956 to 1960.
The Samiti demanded the creation of a new state from Marathi-speaking areas of the State of Bombay, a Marathi state, with the city of Bombay as its capital.[1] The Samiti achieved its goal when the state of Maharashtra was created as a Marathi linguistic state on 1 May 1960. Members continued to advocate for the inclusion of Marathi-speaking areas in northern Karnataka such as Belgaum, Karwar, Dharwad and Bidar into Maharashtra, and the newly annexed state of Goa and Damaon until the 1967 Goa Opinion Poll rejected merger with Maharashtra.
History
[edit]![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Samyuktamaharashtrarally.img.jpg/220px-Samyuktamaharashtrarally.img.jpg)
The Samyukta Maharashtra Movement organisation was founded on 6 February 1956, at Tilak Smarak Mandir in Pune. The Samiti declared its Executive Council. Shripad Amrit Dange as the President. T. R.Naravane as Vice President and S. M. Joshi as General Secretary were selected. Many of the Prominent activists of Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti were leftists such as S. M. Joshi, Shripad Amrit Dange, Narayan Ganesh Gore, Nana Patil and Uddhavrao Patil. Other leaders included Annabhau Sathe, Maina Gawankar, Walchand Kothari, Pralhad Keshav Atre, Keshav Sitaram Thackeray, Pandurang Mahadev Bapat, Bhausaheb Raut, and Amar Shaikh, G. T. Madkholkar, Madhu Dandavate, Y. K. Souni. As a part of the campaign, Pralhad Keshav Atre used his Maratha newspaper to criticise Prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Morarji Desai (then chief minister of Bombay state) and S.K. Patil, the Mumbai Congress party politician who favored separation of Mumbai city from a linguistically reconstituted Maharashtra or Gujarat.[2]
The Indian National Congress had pledged to introduce linguistic states prior to Independence.[3] However, after Independence, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel were adamantly opposed to linguistic states. They perceived linguistic states as a threat to the integrity of India. For the first time and perhaps the only time, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its chief Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar supported Nehru and Patel against redrawing of the map along linguistic lines. The catalyst to the creation of a States Re-organization Commission was the fasting death of Telugu nationalist Potti Sriramulu. In 1956, the SRC (States Re-organisation Committee) recommended creation of linguistic states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka but recommended a bi-lingual state for Maharashtra-Gujarat, with Bombay as its capital but Vidarbha outside Maharashtra. Further, they recommended[citation needed] the creation of Vidharba state to unite the Marathi-speaking people of former Hyderabad state with Marathi-speaking areas of Central Provinces and Berar state. On 21 November 1955, demonstrators were fired upon by the police at Flora Fountain in the capital city of Bombay. Flora Fountain was subsequently renamed Hutatma Chowk or "Martyr's Crossroad" in their memory. It is estimated that in a total of 106 people were shot by security forces during the period of agitation and at different places. Morarji Desai, who was the then chief minister of Bombay State was later removed and replaced by Yashwantrao Chavan as a result of criticism related to the 21 November incident.[4] Nehru's speech dissenting with the SRC led C. D. Deshmukh, the then Finance Minister of the Nehru Cabinet to resign his post in January 1956.[3][5] This led to the creation of the predecessor movement Sanyukta Maharashtra Parishad, inaugurated on 1 November 1956, causing a great political stir and, under the leadership of Keshavrao Jedhe, a whole party meeting was held in Pune and Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti was founded on 6 February 1956.[citation needed] In the second general election of 1957, the Samiti defeated the stalwarts of Congress by securing 101 seats out of 133, including 12 from Bombay. The Congress party could form a government only with the support of Gujarat, Marathwada and Vidharba.
The Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti achieved its goal on 1 May 1960, when the State of Bombay was partitioned into the Marathi-speaking State of Maharashtra and the Gujarati-speaking State of Gujarat. However Goa (then a Portuguese colony), Belgaum, Karwar and adjoining areas, which were also part of the Maharashtra envisaged by the Samiti, were not included in Maharashtra state. Prominent leaders of the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti decided to quit the organization after 1 May 1960, but the then chairman of the Samiti, Udhavrao Patil, continued his fight for the 862 Marathi-speaking villages of Karnataka that were excluded in 1960.
Participants
[edit]Notable individuals who participated in the movement include -
- Shripad Amrit Dange
- Shreedhar Mahadev Joshi
- T.R. Naravane
- Prahlad Keshav Atre
- Keshav Sitaram Thackeray
- Pandurang Mahadev Bapat
- Keshavrao Jedhe
- Madhu Dandavate
- Walchand Kothari
- Udhavrao Patil
- Shankarrao Deo
- Ahilya Rangnekar
- Annabhau Sathe
- Amar Sheikh
- Gajanan Tryambak Madkholkar
- Chintaman Dwarkanath Deshmukh
- Maina Gawankar
- Narayan Ganesh Gore
- Gopalrao Bajirao Khedkar
- Y.K. Souni
Result
[edit]![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/16/IN-MH.svg/220px-IN-MH.svg.png)
- The state of Maharashtra with Mumbai and Nagpur as its capitals while Gujarat with capital Ahmedabad were formed as a result of this movement according to the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960 enacted by the Parliament of India on 25 April 1960.
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Fistmahacmoath.img.png/200px-Fistmahacmoath.img.png)
- The inaugural government was formed under Yashwantrao Chavan, who became the first Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
Martyrs
[edit]![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/Hutatma_Chowk_Mumbai.jpg/220px-Hutatma_Chowk_Mumbai.jpg)
Names of the people who died during the open firing -
1] Sitaram Banaji Pawar
2] Joseph David Pejarkar
3] Chimanlal D. Sheth
4] Bhaskar Narayan Kamtekar
5] Ramachandra Sevaram
6] Shankar Khote
7] Dharmaji Gangaram Nagvekar
8] Ramachandra Laxman Jadhav
9] K. J. Xavier
10] P. S. John
11] Sharad G. Wani
12] Vedi Singh
13] Ramchandra Bhatia
14] Gangaram Gunaji
15] Gajanan alias Bandu Gokhale
16] Retirement Vithoba More
17] Atmaram Purushottam Panwalkar
18] Balappa Mutanna Kamathi
19] Dhondu Laxman Pardule
20] Bhai Sakharam Kadam
21] Yashwant Babaji Bhagat
22] Govind Baburao Jogal
23] Pandurang Dhondu Dhadwe
24] Gopal Chimaji Korade
25] Pandurang Babaji Jadhav
26] Babu Hari Date
27] Anup Mahavir
28] Vinayak Panchal
29] Sitaram Ganpat Mhade
30] Subhash Bhiva Borkar
31] Ganpat Rama Tankar
32] Sitaram Gayadeen
33] Gorakhnath Raoji Jagtap
34] Muhammad Ali
35] Tulshiram Punjaji Belsare
36] Devaji Sakharam Patil
37] Shamlal Jethanand
38] Sadashiv Mahadev Bhosale
39] Bhikaji Pandurang Rangate
40] Vasudev Suryaji Manjrekar
41] Bhikaji Babu Bambarkar
42] Sakharam Shripat Dhamale
43] Narendra Narayan Pradhan
44] Shankar Gopal Kushte
45] Dattaram Krishna Sawant
46] Baban Bapu Bhargude
47] Vishnu became Sakharam
48] Sitaram Dhondu Radye
49] Tukaram Dhondu Shinde
50] Vitthal Gangaram More
51] Rama Lakhan Vinda
52] Edwin Ambrose Salvi
53] Baba Mahadu Sawant
54] Vasant Dwarkanath Kanyalkar
55] Vitthal Daulat Salunkhe
56] Ramnath Pandurang Amrita
57] Parashuram Ambaji Desai
58] Ghanshyam Babu Kolar
59] Dhondu Ramakrishna Carpenter
60] Munimji Baldev Pandey
61] Maruti Vithoba Mhaske
62] Bhau Kondiba Bhaskar
63] Dhondo Ragho Pujari
64] Hriday Singh Darjesingh
65] Pandu Mahadu Avrirkar
66] Shankar Vithoba Rane
67] Vijayakumar Sadashiv Bhadekar
68] Krishnaji Ganu Shinde
69] Ramchandra Vitthal Chowgule
70] Dhondu Bhagu Jadhav
71] Raghunath Sakharam Beengude
72] Kashinath Gobind Chinderkar
73] Karpaiya Kirmal Devendra
74] Chularam Mumbaraj
75] Balmohan
76] Ananta
77] Gangaram Vishnu Guruv
78] Ratnu Gondivere
79] Syed Kasam
80] Bhikaji Daji
81] Anant Goltakar
82] Kisan Veerkar
83] Sukhlal Ramlal Banskar
84] Pandurang Vishnu Valke
85] Phulvari crocodile
86] Gulab Krishna Khavale
87] Baburao Devdas Patil
88] Laxman Narahari Thorat
89] Thamabai Vitthal Suryabhan
90] Ganapat Rama ghosts
91] Munshi Wazir Ali
92] Daulatram Mathuradas
93] Vitthal Narayan Chavan
94] Devji Shivan Rathod
95] Raojibhai Dosabhai Patel
96] Hormusji Karsetji
97] Girdhar Hemchand Lohar
98] Sattu Khandu Waikar
99] Ganapat Sridhar Joshi
100] Madhav Rajaram Ture (Beldar)
101] Maruti Bennalkar
102] Madhukar Bapu Bandekar
103] Laxman Govind Gawde
104] Mahadev Barigadi
105] Kamalabai Mohite
106] Sitaram Dulaji Ghadigaonkar
107] Shankarao Toraskar
Memorials
[edit]![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Hutatma_Chowk%2CMumbai_-_panoramio.jpg/220px-Hutatma_Chowk%2CMumbai_-_panoramio.jpg)
- Hutatma Chowk Smarak was created besides the Flora Fountain in the Fort, Mumbai. It was created in the memory of 106 Martyrs who were killed in an open firing of the police during a peaceful protest.
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Sanyukta_Maharashtra_Smruti_Dalan.jpg/220px-Sanyukta_Maharashtra_Smruti_Dalan.jpg)
- Samyukta Maharashtra Smruti Dalan was constructed in 2010 at Dadar. It displays the history of the formation of Maharashtra and origins of the movement. Spread over an area of 2,800 sq ft, the 3 storey gallery is a confluence of museum and art.
Popular culture
[edit]Hutatma a Marathi webseries on Zee5 starring Anjali Patil, Vaibhav Tatwawadi, Mohan Agashe, and Sachin Khedekar is based on the challenges faced by the people who participated in this Movement.
Midnight's Children, a classic by Salman Rushdie, which won the Booker Prize has a backdrop of both the Samyukta Maharashtra movement as well as the Mahagujarat movement.
Books
[edit]- महाराष्ट्र : एका संकल्पनेचा मागोवा (लेखक - माधव दातार)
- मुंबईसह संयुक्त महाराष्ट्राचा लढा (ऐतिहासिक, लेखिका - शिरीष पै)
- संयुक्त महाराष्ट्र काल आणि आज (संपादक - प्रा. भगवान काळे)
- संयुक्त महाराष्ट्राच्या चळवळीत शाहिरांचे योगदान, (लेखिका - सुहासिनी देशपांडे)
See also
[edit]- Mahagujarat Movement
- Hutatma Chowk
- Maharashtra Day
- States Reorganisation Act
- Chronology of statehood of Maharashtra
- Nagpur Pact
- Goa Opinion Poll
- Belagavi border dispute
References
[edit]- ^ Dandavate, Madha (19 November 2017). Dialogue with Life. Allied Publishers. ISBN 9788177648560. Retrieved 19 November 2017 – via Google Books.
- ^ Guha, Ramachandra (13 April 2003). "The battle for Bombay". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 July 2003. Retrieved 12 November 2008.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b Windmiller, Marshall (1956). "The Politics of States Reorganization in India: The Case of Bombay". Far Eastern Survey. 25 (9 (Sep)): 129–143. doi:10.2307/3024387. JSTOR 3024387.
- ^ "BMC will give jobs to kin of Samyukta Maharashtra martyrs". epaper.TimesOfIndia.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ^ Gopal, Sarvepalli (1980). Jawaharlal Nehru: A Biography, Volume 2: 1947-1956. Cambridge, MA, US: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9781473521889. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
External links
[edit]- Samyukta Maharashtra movement
- Founding of the Samiti
- 'Zalach Pahije!' by P.K. Atre ISBN 81-86837-00-0