Context: A UP minister's claim that the state will soon be divided into four parts — reviving a 2011 Mayawati-era Assembly resolution proposing Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Awadh Pradesh and Paschim Pradesh — has put the constitutional process for state reorganisation back in focus. Political analysts note the idea suits neither the ruling BJP nor the principal opposition SP, since UP's size underpins their national political weight.
Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar claimed the state would be divided into four parts after the ongoing caste census, citing an alleged assurance from the Prime Minister. This revives a demand that dates to 2011, when the Mayawati government passed an Assembly resolution to split UP into Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Awadh Pradesh, and Paschim Pradesh, citing governance difficulties in India's most populous state. That resolution was never pursued by the succeeding government.
This is a classic GS2 topic on Indian federalism and the process of state reorganisation under Article 3, contrasted with the more rigid amendment procedure under Article 368. It also connects to GS1 Geography/History themes on the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, and ongoing debates on smaller states for better governance versus economic/political costs of division, as well as GS2 delimitation debates linking population size to political representation.
Test your understanding
Q1.Under Article 3, whose recommendation is mandatorily required before a Bill to alter a state's boundaries is introduced in Parliament?