152 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
The total population of this new Madhya Pradesh will be 26.1 million and its area will be about 171.200 square miles.
I suggest that it should be divided into two States : (1) Northern Madhya Pradesh, (2) Southern Madhya Pradesh ( See Map 4).
The State of New Madhya Pradesh should consist of the following areas :
(1) The whole of Vindhya Pradesh.
(2) The whole State of Bhopal.
The State of Southern Madhya Pradesh should consist of—
(1) the whole State of Indore, and
(2) the 14 districts of Mahakosal.
The population of this Indore State will be about 2 crores and the population of this Vindhya Pradesh will be about 1.30 crores. ( See Map No. 4).
Why the Commission created this monster State it is no way to know. Even Prime Minister Nehru was surprised at its creation.
All that one can think of is that the Commission has been under the impression that one language, one State is a categorical imperative from which there is no escape. As I have shown one language, one State can never be categorical imperative. In fact one State, one language should be the rule. And therefore people forming one language can divide themselves into many States.
CHAPTER 7
THE PROBLEMS OF MAHARASHTRA
1
THE PROPOSALS TO DEAL WITH MAHARASHTRA
Maharashtra is another area which is a subject of controversy.
There are four proposals in the field :
(1) To retain the Bombay State as it is i.e. to retain it as a mixed State consisting of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Bombay.
(2) To disrupt the existing State and to separate Maharashtra and Gujarat and make them into two separate States.
(3) To make united Maharashtra with Bombay as one State.
(4) To separate Bombay from Maharashtra and make it a separate City State.
I would like to state what my proposals are. They are as follows : Bombay as a mixed State should be done away with. I would divide Maharashtra into four States ( See Map 5) : (1) Maharashtra City State (Bombay), (2) Western Maharashtra, (3) Central Maharashtra and
(4) Eastern Maharashtra.