Bombay State
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Bombay Presidency in 1909, northern portion |
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Bombay Presidency in 1909, southern portion |
The
State of Bombay is a former state of
India.
During
British rule, portions of the western coast of India under direct British rule were part of the
Bombay Presidency. In 1937, the Bombay Presidency became a province of
British India.
After Indian independence in 1947, many former
princely states, including the
Gujarat states and the
Deccan states, were merged with the former Bombay province, which was renamed the State of Bombay.
The State of Bombay was significantly enlarged on
November 1,
1956, expanding eastward to incorporate the
Marathi-speaking
Marathwada region of
Hyderabad State, the Marathi-speaking
Vidarbha region of southern
Madhya Pradesh, and
Gujarati-speaking
Saurashtra and
Kutch. The southernmost,
Kannada-speaking portion of the state became part of the new linguistic state of
Karnataka. The state was being referred to by the local inhabitants as
Maha Dwibhashi Rajya, literally,
the great bilingual state.
The state was home to both Marathi and Gujarati linguistic movements, both seeking to create separate linguistic states. The Mahagujarat movement in Gujarat was led by Shri Indubhai Yagnik. On
May 1,
1960, after a movement for a separate Marathi state turned violent, the State of Bombay was partitioned into the States of
Gujarat and
Maharashtra.
Bombay State had three chief ministers in its history.
Balasaheb Kher was the first
Chief Minister of Bombay after India gained independence, and he was followed by
Morarji Desai and later
Yashwantrao Chavan.
Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti: movement for a separate Marathi state
