We, the People of the States of Bharat

Given that the nine provinces of British India as well as the 562 princely states that existed in August 1947 are not reflected on the map of India in the seventy-fifth year of its independence speaks volumes about the nation’s ability to negotiate its political and administrative boundaries with its citizens. While the process of reimagining India through its constituent units – the states – has, on occasion, been due to administrative requirements, most restructuring in the internal boundaries is marked by the aspirations, assertions and adjustments of linguistic and/or ethnic groups seeking their place in the state and federal polity.