Celebrations of identity: 50 years since linguistic reorganization

In 1956, it was decided that language would be an acceptable basis for demarcating India's units and Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala were formed out of Madras State on November 1, 1956.

Last week, these states celebrated the 50th anniversary of their foundation.

Kerala celebrates golden jubilee Nov 1, PM to visit, New Kerala.com, October 27, 2006.
State’s golden fete set for grand launch, Deccan Herald, November 1, 2006. Bangalore to be Bengalooru, Herald (Goa), November 1, 2006.
Andhra Pradesh turns 50, shutdown in Telangana, Telugu Portal, November 1, 2006.

The event has elicited less comment and analysis than one would expect, but a few commentators this week have reflected on how linguistic states have fared.

Need for new vision, Deccan Herald, November 1, 2006.
U R Ananthamurthy, Kannada: Nothing exclusive, everything inclusive, Deccan Herald, November 1, 2006.
P. Venugopal, State up against new challenges, The Hindu, November 3, 2006.
Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Babble of Babel, Indian Express, November 2, 2006.

Even as Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka celebrate their anniversaries, each faces further irredentist identity movements. In Andhra Pradesh, the Telengana Rashtriya Samiti is the political face of the Telengana movement. The long-standing dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra over Belgaum has resurfaced in the last year. At the same time, the four large southern Indian states have worked together on more than one occasion. Therefore, while a momentous political decision deserves acknowledgment, it is also important to reflect on the dynamic nature of such arrangements.

Units are demarcated not as an endorsement of universal truth but as a reflection of the politics of a particular moment. As those politics change, new demands necessitate adjustment in the form and jurisdiction of the unit. Whether celebrations of this anniversary will open up avenues for public debates on the terms of belonging to each unit and a new responsiveness to new demands or whether they will harden fluid identities into essentialist assertions, one can guess but one can also hope!