We The People: ‘Mapping’ India’s Evolution
What started off as research into land measurement instruments for land settlements and revenue records, developed into a compelling story of India coming together as a nation. Sanjeev Chopra, author and former IAS Officer and director of Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, wrote 'We, the People of the States of Bharat' to identify “key moments in history that reshaped the way we understand India as a country, its identity and political agenda”.
The emergence of states was a significant step for India as an independent nation. British India did not have a state system. It was instead divided into nine provinces and 562 princely states. From 1947 to 2019, The Survey of India, a knowledge-disseminating organisation, published the map of the nation about 80 times.
"Every time the name of state changes or the territorial jurisdiction of state changes or the status changes from a union territory to a state or a state becomes a union territory or two union territory merges, the Survey of India has to come up with a new map," Chopra explained at the Mumbai chapter of the Indian Business Literature Festival on Saturday.
Chopra identified Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir as the most "controversial states" whose histories are "closely linked to the conception of India and Pakistan." Further, the formation of Andhra Pradesh and the subsequent division of the state, as well as the formation of states in the south of India was crucial to allowing every region to celebrate its own identity, culture and language. Similarly, the formation of the states of Nagaland and Sikkim were important steps for the country in setting boundaries on what it meant to be a state on administrative and financial levels.
With his book, Chopra slowly disseminates the histories linked to the formation of crucial states and how they redefined India and its national identity. The changes in the map of India also highlight the "mindset" of its people and their understanding of the world. Chopra’s is an important take on the history of the country, and its evolution in the last 75 years.
_20240919121249_original_image_30.webp)
_20240915134155_original_image_47.webp)
