India is a union of states, but the term state means and includes a ‘Union Territory’. This expression was first used in Article 240 of the Constitution, which empowered the president to make regulations for the “peace, progress and good governance” of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
It bears recall that, at the time of the commencement of the Constitution, we had four types of states. These included part A states: Bombay (now Mumbai), Madras (now Chennai), Assam, Berar and Central Provinces (now Bihar and Madhya Pradesh), East Punjab (now Punjab), the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh), Orissa (now Odisha), and West Bengal. These were placed under governors or ‘Rajya Pals’. Then came the Part B states: Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Bharat (now Madhya Pradesh), Mysore (Mysuru), Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU), Rajasthan, Saurashtra, and Travancore-Cochin. Called states under Raj Pramukhs, these areas were governed by former rulers who had signed the Instrument of Accession to India.
The 10-part C states – Ajmer, Bilaspur, Bhopal, Coorg, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Kutch, Manipur, Tripura, and Vindhya Pradesh – were placed under chief commissioners, for they were considered to be politically or economically viable or because of special considerations/situational exigencies. These were to be administered under Article 239 of the Constitution, which was called “Administration of States in Part C of the First Schedule.” Andaman and Nicobar Islands were the only Part D state.
SRC of 1956
After the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, Lakshadweep (then Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi islands) was also brought under the purview of Article 240. Both the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep are of great strategic importance in the context of India’s aspirations of becoming a blue-water navy. Incidentally, even though the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) recommended the transfer of Malayalam-speaking Laccadive from Malabar, Amindivi from the South Canara along with Minicoy (a Crown territory under a treaty agreement with the Maldives) to Kerala, the idea was shot down by the Ministry of Home Affairs. When this UT was created in 1956, the population was just above 20,000.
Thus, in 1956, in addition to these island UTs, the others in this category included Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Tripura, which were earlier Part C states. Over the years, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Tripura received their statehood, while Delhi’s status was upgraded from that of a UT under a chief commissioner to that under a lieutenant governor. Aditya Nath Jha of the Indian Civil Services became the first LG of Delhi in 1966. The capital city got an assembly and a CM after the status of National Capital Territory (NCT) was conferred upon it in 1991.
In 1993, Madan Lal Khurana became chief minister of Delhi after a gap of 37 years. However, the CM had limited powers. Law and order and land were under the purview of the MHA and the urban development ministry. Now that different political parties helm the government of NCT and the Centre, the issue of ‘control’ has been contested both politically and in the Supreme Court. But with the All India Services also under the Union government, it seems that the LG has a definite edge over the CM – for he presides over all appointments of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS).
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The Portuguese and French possessions
The timeline of the Portuguese possession of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa, and Daman and Diu, is as follows. On 11 August 1961, the UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli was established under an administrator. After the Portuguese were ousted from Goa in December that year, the enclaves of Daman and Diu were administered as part of the UT of Goa, Daman and Diu between 1962 and 1987. With the grant of statehood to Goa in 1987, Daman and Diu were given the status of a UT.
In the last reorganisation of territories of the Union, the two UTs were merged into the UTs of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, thereby making it the longest name for any state/UT in the country. All three are non-contiguous districts. While Dadra and Nagar Haveli are wedged between Maharashtra and Gujarat, Daman is an enclave on the mouth of the Daman Ganga River and Diu is an island off the coast of Gujarat.
In 1963, the UT of Pondicherry –comprising the former French possessions of Pondicherry, Karaikal, Mahe, and Yanam – was constituted. While Pondicherry and Karaikal are on the East Coast of Tamil Nadu, Yanam is on the East Coast of Andhra Pradesh. Mahe is located on the Malabar stretch of the West Coast in Kerala. The four regions are more integrated with their neighbouring states than with each other and are held together by the historical accident of once having been part of the French administration. It is, perhaps, high time that, except for Puducherry, the others are merged with Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala.
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Chandigarh – the UT under a governor
Chandigarh became a UT on 1 November 1966 under Section 4 of The Punjab Reorganisation Act. “On and from the appointed day, there shall be formed a new Union Territory to be known as the Union Territory of Chandigarh comprising such of the territories of Manimajra and Manauli Kanungo circles of Kharar tehsil of Ambala district in the existing state of Punjab as are specified in the Second Schedule and thereupon the territories so specified shall cease to form part of the existing state of Punjab,” read the Act.
Since 1984, the governor of Punjab has also been the ex-officio administrator of Chandigarh, thereby making it the only UT to be under a governor.
Nine, eight and now seven UTs
Meanwhile, on 5 August 2019, the erstwhile state of J&K was reconstituted into the two UTs of J&K and Ladakh. Ladakh was happy to cast off J&K’s yoke, for the Ladakh Buddhist Association had been wanting a UT status from the time of Independence.
Both were unique in having a summer and a winter capital. For J&K, it was Srinagar and Jammu, and for Ladakh, it was Leh and Kargil. While both were placed under LGs, the former had the distinction of retaining an assembly, while the latter did not.
Thus, from 2019 to 2020, we had nine UTs, but after the merger of Dadra and Nagar Haveli with Daman and Diu, we now have eight UTs. And with the Supreme Court directive of 11 December on the restoration of the statehood of J&K by 30 September 2024, the country will again have seven UTs, each with its unique history, administrative precedent, and political aspiration.
Sanjeev Chopra is a former IAS officer and Festival Director of Valley of Words. Until recently, he was Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. He tweets @ChopraSanjeev. Views are personal.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)