Akola Pact of 1947: Vidarbha’s Quest for Autonomy in India’s State Reorganisation

thenewsdirt
Jun 9
5 min read

The Akola Pact of 1947 stands as a significant yet often overlooked moment in India’s journey towards state reorganisation.

Signed in the Vidarbha region just days before independence, it sought to address regional demands for autonomy within a unified Marathi-speaking state.

This agreement, forged by leaders from diverse regions, reveals the intricate balance between linguistic unity and regional identity in post-independence India.

Origins of the Akola Pact

The roots of the Akola Pact trace back to the early 20th century, when demands for a Marathi-speaking state began to take shape.

In 1918, a petition submitted during the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms called for uniting Marathi-speaking regions, including Bombay State, Vidarbha, and Marathwada, under one administrative unit.

Vidarbha, part of the Central Provinces and Berar, was a region rich in agricultural resources and minerals, with a distinct cultural heritage tied to the ancient Vidarbha Kingdom referenced in the Mahabharata. Despite its economic potential, the region often faced developmental neglect, fueling local aspirations for greater self-governance.

By 1940, the Mahavidarbha Samiti, led by Madhav Shrihari Aney, a prominent freedom fighter from Nagpur, formalised these aspirations.

The Samiti proposed a Marathi-speaking state encompassing eight districts of Amravati, Akola, Yavatmal, Buldhana, Nagpur, Bhandara, Wardha, and Chanda (now Chandrapur).

This proposal highlighted Vidarbha’s unique identity, as it was governed separately from the Bombay Presidency under British rule. The Samiti argued that a distinct state would better address the region’s economic and cultural needs, which were often overshadowed by the administrative priorities of the Central Provinces and Berar.

As India neared independence in 1947, the Congress Party grappled with the challenge of reorganising states along linguistic lines while ensuring administrative cohesion.

The Central Provinces and Berar, which included Vidarbha, were linguistically diverse, with Marathi, Hindi, and tribal populations, complicating efforts to create unified states.

The Akola Pact, signed on 8 August 1947, emerged as a response to these challenges, aiming to reconcile Vidarbha’s call for autonomy with the broader vision of a Marathi-speaking state.

Provisions of the Akola Pact

The Akola Pact was signed in the city of Akola, a key centre in Vidarbha, on 8 August 1947. It involved sixteen prominent Congress leaders from Western Maharashtra and the Central Provinces and Berar, including Barrister Ramrao Deshmukh, a leading figure from Vidarbha, alongside Shankar Rao Dev, Sheshrao Wankhede, Pandharinath Patil, Punjabrao Deshmukh, Punamchand Ranka, Shrimannarayan Agrawal, D.V. Gokhale, D.R. Gadgil, Brijlal Biyani, Gopalrao Khedkar, D.W. Potdar, Pramila Ok, G. Tryambak Madkholkar, and G.R. Deshpande. The diverse representation underscored the collaborative effort to address regional concerns while maintaining unity.

The pact proposed a novel administrative framework for a unified Maharashtra, dividing it into two sub-provinces of Mahavidarbha and Western Maharashtra.

Each sub-province was to have its own executive council, legislature, judiciary, and council of ministers, granting significant autonomy to manage local affairs.

A single governor would oversee both sub-provinces, ensuring coordination on shared issues such as resource allocation, central representation, and state-wide policies. This structure aimed to address Vidarbha’s concerns about marginalisation while aligning with the Congress Party’s goal of linguistic unity.

The agreement included provisions to ensure equitable distribution of resources between the sub-provinces, addressing long-standing grievances about economic disparities. For Vidarbha, the pact offered a mechanism to safeguard its interests within a larger Marathi-speaking state.

For Western Maharashtra, it provided a framework to integrate Vidarbha without conceding to a fully separate state.

However, the pact lacked legal binding status, requiring approval from the Congress high command and the central government, which posed significant hurdles to its implementation.

Key Details of the Akola Pact	Description
Date	8 August 1947
Location	Akola, Vidarbha
Signatories	16 Congress leaders, including Ramrao Deshmukh, Shankar Rao Dev, and Brijlal Biyani
Structure	Two sub-provinces (Mahavidarbha and Western Maharashtra) with separate executive, legislature, and judiciary, under one governor
Objective	Balance regional autonomy with linguistic unity

Challenges and Non-Implementation

The Akola Pact’s vision was ambitious, but it faced immediate obstacles. The period following India’s independence on 15 August 1947 was marked by significant challenges, including the partition of the country, the integration of over 500 princely states, and the pressing need to establish a stable national framework. These priorities diverted attention from state reorganisation, leaving the Akola Pact’s proposals unimplemented.

In 1948, the A.K. Dar Commission, tasked with examining state reorganisation, recommended separate states for Vidarbha and Maharashtra, citing administrative efficiency.

However, the JVP Committee, comprising Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, and Pattabhi Sitaramayya, reviewed these recommendations and deferred the decision to local leaders, effectively stalling progress.

By 1953, the Government of India established the State Reorganisation Committee (SRC) under Fazal Ali to address linguistic reorganisation comprehensively.

The SRC received submissions from Vidarbha leaders, including M.S. Aney and Brijlal Biyani, advocating for a separate state with Nagpur as its capital, citing the region’s administrative and cultural significance.

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, a key architect of India’s Constitution, supported the idea of two Marathi-speaking states, arguing that a single, large Maharashtra would be challenging to govern effectively.

He advocated for a Vidarbha state with Nagpur as its capital, emphasising its historical and administrative importance.

Despite these arguments, the SRC’s 1955 report recommended a bilingual Bombay State, incorporating both Marathi and Gujarati-speaking regions, including Vidarbha. This decision sparked discontent among Vidarbha leaders, who felt their region’s interests were being overlooked.

The bilingual Bombay State was established in 1956, but the arrangement proved unsustainable.

The Samyukta Maharashtra Movement, which sought a unilingual Marathi state, gained widespread support, leading to the division of Bombay State into Maharashtra and Gujarat on 1 May 1960.

Vidarbha was incorporated into Maharashtra, despite protests from local leaders like Brijlal Biyani, who resigned as a Union Minister and formed the Nag Vidarbha Andolan Samiti to continue advocating for statehood.

Continuing Relevance of the Akola Pact

The non-implementation of the Akola Pact left a lasting impact on Vidarbha’s political landscape.

The region’s inclusion in Maharashtra fueled ongoing demands for a separate state, driven by perceptions of economic and developmental neglect. Vidarbha, despite its wealth in minerals and power generation capacity, has faced challenges such as high rates of farmer suicides, limited industrial development, and inadequate infrastructure compared to Western Maharashtra.

These disparities have kept the statehood movement alive, with organisations like the Vidarbha Rajya Andolan Samiti and Vidarbha Rajya Nirman Congress actively campaigning for a separate state.

In 2014, during the Maharashtra Assembly elections, several political parties included Vidarbha statehood in their manifestos, though these commitments were not pursued post-election.

In 2016, Congress leaders from Vidarbha, including Madhukar Kimmatkar and Naresh Pugalia, publicly supported the statehood demand, with some proposing a referendum to assess public sentiment.

That same year, Shrihari Aney, then Advocate General of Maharashtra, resigned to focus on the Vidarbha statehood movement, highlighting its continued relevance.

The creation of Telangana in 2014 renewed interest in smaller states, as proponents argued they enable better governance and development. Over 65 organisations have since joined the Vidarbha Rajya Sangram Samitee, citing the region’s economic viability and historical identity as reasons for statehood.

The Akola Pact remains a reference point in these discussions, symbolising an early attempt to address regional aspirations within a unified framework.

The Akola Pact of 1947 holds a unique place in India’s state reorganisation history. It reflects the complexities of balancing linguistic unity with regional autonomy in a diverse nation. While its proposals were not realised, the pact’s vision continues to inform debates about equitable development and self-governance in Vidarbha.

As India evolves, the Akola Pact serves as a reminder of the delicate negotiations that shaped its federal structure, highlighting the enduring challenge of addressing regional identities within a unified nation.