What is Meant by Linguistic States?

Linguistic States are the states in India that were formed on the basis of people’s native languages. The idea was that people living in a region should be able to govern themselves and learn in their own mother tongue, making administration smoother and more connected to culture.

The demand for linguistic states existed even before India’s independence. The first major movement happened in 1895, when the Oriya-speaking people demanded a separate province. Their efforts finally led to the creation of Odisha, carved out of Bihar. This marked the beginning of language-based statehood in India.

After independence, the demand became stronger, and to address it, the government introduced the States Reorganisation Act in 1956. This Act reorganized the boundaries of states across India, primarily on linguistic lines. For example, the Telugu-speaking population separated from the Madras Presidency and formed Andhra Pradesh. Similarly, the Tamil-speaking people retained their region which later became Tamil Nadu.

This process ensured that language became a unifying factor within states, while still keeping the country integrated as a whole. Linguistic states helped preserve local cultures, languages, and traditions, while also making governance more effective and people-friendly.