Establishment of Indian States

India is the second-largest in terms of population and the seventh-largest country in the world in terms of area. India is the most diverse country in the world from all angles, geographical, social, cultural, linguistic, etc. Unity in diversity is the biggest feature here. After independence, the federal system was adopted in India for the proper development of every region of the country. Under this, the entire country was divided into several states and union territories so that each state or region could prepare the developmental framework according to its requirement. The right to rule on subjects of regional importance empowered the state governments and the federal government to govern subjects of national importance by the constitution, so that the proper development of each region, as well as the unity and integrity of the country, can be kept.

After independence, 562 princely states came under India, which was reorganized as a state of the Indian Union. However, at that time Hyderabad, Junagadh, and Kashmir did not agree to be a part of India. By 1956 these princely states also became part of the Indian Union and 14 states, 6 union territories were created in the country. At present, 28 Indian states and 8 union territories have been formed in the Indian Union, whose details are as follows:

The Indian States and Capitals of India, After 5 Aug 2019

S.No	States Name	Capital	Founded on
1	Andhra Pradesh	Hyderabad (Proposed Capital Amaravati)	1 Nov. 1956
2	Arunachal Pradesh	Itanagar	20 Feb. 1987
3	Assam	Dispur	26 Jan. 1950
4	Bihar	Patna	26 Jan. 1950
5	Chhattisgarh	Raipur	1 Nov. 2000
6	Goa	Panaji	30 May. 1987
7	Gujarat	Gandhinagar	1 May. 1960
8	Haryana	Chandigarh	1 Nov. 1966
9	Himachal Pradesh	Shimla	25 Jan. 1971
10	Jharkhand	Ranchi	15 Nov. 2000
11	Karnataka	Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore)	1 Nov. 1956
12	Kerala	Thiruvananthapuram	1 Nov. 1956
13	Madhya Pradesh	Bhopal	1 Nov. 1956
14	Maharashtra	Mumbai	1 May. 1960
15	Manipur	Imphal	21 Jan. 1972
16	Meghalaya	Shillong	21 Jan. 1972
17	Mizoram	Aizawl	20 Feb. 1987
18	Nagaland	Kohima	1 Dec. 1963
19	Odisha	Bhubaneswar	26 Jan. 1950
20	Punjab	Chandigarh	1 Nov. 1956
21	Rajasthan	Jaipur	1 Nov. 1956
22	Sikkim	Gangtok	16 May. 1975
23	Tamil Nadu	Chennai	26 Jan. 1950
24	Telangana	Hyderabad	2 Jun. 2014
25	Tripura	Agartala	21 Jan. 1972
26	Uttar Pradesh	Lucknow	26 Jan. 1950
27	Uttarakhand	Dehradun (Winter) Gairsain (Summer)	9 Nov. 2000
28	West Bengal	Kolkata	1 Nov. 19

Union Territory

Many entities included in the Indian Union have been given limited rights due to which it could not become an independent state. They were called Union Territories because they are controlled by the Central Government. In the Union Territories, there is a Lieutenant Governor as the Administrator, who is the representative of the President of India and appointed by the Central Government. After the reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir on 5 August 2019, the number of Union Territories increased from 7 to 9 and the number of complete Indian states decreased from 29 to 28. With the merger of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli from 26 January 2020, the number of union territories has come down to eight.

Details of Union Territories of India according to 26 Jan 2020

Union Territories Names	Capital	Founded on
Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Port Blair	1 Nov. 1956
Chandigarh	Chandigarh	1 Nov. 1966
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu	Daman	26 Jan. 2020
Delhi	New Delhi	9 May. 1905
Jammu and Kashmir	Srinagar (Summer) Jammu (Winter)	31 Oct 2019
Lakshadweep	Kavaratti	1 Nov. 1956
Puducherry	Pondicherry	1 Nov. 1954
Ladakh	Leh	31 Oct 2019

Special State: Jammu Kashmir

According to the Indian constitution, Jammu and Kashmir enjoy the status of a special state under Article 370 which has its own constitution. Many provisions of the Indian Constitution are not implemented in this state without the permission of the Legislative Assembly. According to this, Parliament has the right to make laws regarding defense, foreign affairs, and communication about Jammu and Kashmir but the Center needs the approval of the state government to implement the law related to any other subject.

But the Indian government introduced a historic Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act 2019 in the Rajya Sabha on 5 August 2019, in which it proposed to remove Article 370 of the Constitution related to the state of Jammu and Kashmir and divide the state into two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. . It will have its own legislature in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir while Ladakh will be a union territory without a legislature. After this, the number of Indian states in India decreased from 29 to 28.