After the independence of India, its constitution came under force in 1950 under which Indian States were classified into 4 parts on the basis of governing criterias as follows :-

Part C of this classification had 10 states and these were the erstwhile Chief Commissioner’s provinces of British India governed by the Chief Commissioner appointed by the President of India and also some princely states. After independence at the time of commencement of the Indian constitution i.e. constitution of 1950  there were 10 Part C states. These were the states of Ajmer, Bilaspur, Bhopal, Coorg, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh (HP), Kutch, Manipur, Tripura and Vindhya Pradesh . Later on, Bilaspur was merged into the state of Himachal Pradesh. Of the 9 Part C  States, 6 have legislatures and ministries.

Historical Background of Part C States

Let, take a look at the historical background of each Part C State one by one:-

• Ajmer was a British controlled province referred as Ajmer- Merwara province who had purchased Ajmer in year 1818 from Marathas.
• Bhopal was a princely state of India from 1818 – 1947 ruled over by Nawabs popularly known as Nawabs of Bhopal.
• Bilaspur was a princely state of India from 1849 – 1948 in Punjab province ruled by Chandel dynasty.
• Coorg was a province of India & Tripura was a princely state until 1950.
• Delhi was taken over by East India Company in 1903 after defeating Marathas.
• Himachal Pradesh was made a Part C State by merging around 30 princely states of India.
• The state of kutch remained in the hands of British from 1819 – 1948.
•  Manipur was made a princely state in 1891. Its last ruler was Maharaja Bodhchandra Singh.
• Vindhya Pradesh was a result of the merger of 35 princely states of India

Government of Part C States Act, 1951

This act was introduced to provide for Legislative Assemblies, Council of Ministers of each state headed by its Chief Minister and Councils of Advisors for Part C States. Under this act, the powers and duties of the Chief commissioners with regard to the administration of these states had also been set out. In its Third Schedule, following number of seats were given to each state :-

1. Ajmer – 30 seats
2. Bhopal – 30 seats
3. Coorg – 24 seats
4. Delhi – 48 seats
5. Himachal Pradesh – 36 seats
6. Vindhya Pradesh – 60 seats

The State Reorganization Act, 1956 and Part C States

The States Reorganization Act, 1956 (an act to provide for the reorganization of the states of India and for matters connected therewith), which was introduced on 1st November 1956, reorganized the states on the basis of their linguistic lines and cultural preferences to connect the affiliated states and communities together so that they can actively participate in the administration and development of their states.

Effects/Changes in Part C States due to the reorganization

Many changes came into force with the enactment of The States Reorganization Act, 1956. It’s impact can be summarized as below:-

• Madhya Pradesh (MP): Madhya Bharat (except Sunel tappa of Bhanpura tehsil), Vindhya Pradesh and Bhopal state were merged into Madhya Pradesh. Sironj sub-division of Kotah district of the Rajasthan was also included n this formation. The districts residing Marathi speakers in majority of Nagpur Division were transferred to Bombay State.
• Mysore State (now Karnataka): It was enlarged by the addition of Coorg State and the districts residing Kannada speakers in majority from western Madras Presidency, Southern Bombay Presidency and Western Hyderabad State.
• Rajasthan: It was enlarged by the addition of Ajmer state and parts of Bombay and Madhya Barat states.
• The following Part C States that were not merged into other states, were converted into Union Territories :

1. Delhi 
2. Himachal Pradesh 
3. Manipur 
4. Tripura

Conclusion

After the commencement of Indian constitution in 1950,  India has seen a significant number of divisions, classifications and reorganizations in its internal boundaries i.e. the physical boundaries of States and the Union Territories of India. The notable act enacted in this regard was The States Reorganization Act, 1956 which were mainly based on the idea of division of Indian States on the line of linguistic and cultural characteristics. After analyzing the above, we are in a position to conclude on  what led to the formation of Part C States and other classification & how they were reorganized.