Background
In the 1950s, the linguistic groups across India sought statehood, which led to the establishment of the States Reorganization Commission in 1955. At that time, the Punjab state of India included present-day states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh (some parts) along with Chandigarh. The vast majority of the Sikhs lived in this Hindu-majority Punjab.
The Akali Dal, a Sikh-dominated political party active mainly in Punjab, sought to create a Punjabi Suba ("Punjabi Province"). The Sikh leaders such Fateh Singh tactically stressed the linguistic basis of the demand, while downplaying its religious basis — a state where the distinct Sikh identity could be preserved.
The Government of India was wary of carving out a separate Punjabi language state, because it effectively meant dividing the state along religious lines: Sikhs would form a 60% majority in the resulting Punjabi state. Fresh from the memory of the violent religion-based partition of India in 1947, the Punjabi Hindus were also concerned about living in a Sikh-majority state. The Hindu newspapers from Jalandhar, exhorted the Punjabi Hindus to declare Hindi as their "mother tongue", so that the Punjabi Suba proponents could be deprived of the argument that their demand was solely linguistic. This later created a rift between Hindus and Sikhs of Punjab. The case for creating a Punjabi Suba case was presented to the States Reorganisation Commission. The States Reorganization Commission, not recognizing Punjabi as a language that was grammatically very distinct from Hindi, rejected the demand for a Punjabi-majority state. Another reason that the Commission gave in its report was that the movement lacked general support of the people inhabiting the region.
According to the States Reorganisation Act, the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) was merged with Punjab. However, the state still did not have a clear Punjabi majority, as it contained a large Hindi-speaking area.
Read more about this topic: Punjabi Suba Movement
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