How Mumbai Became Maharashtra’s Capital

The picturesque Raj Bhavan situated on Malabar Hill, Mumbai. It was April 30, 1960 — the decisive moment had arrived. Preparations for the formation of a new state were complete. With the notes of Ramlal’s shehnai, Vedic chants by Vasudev Shastri Konkar, and a speech by Governor Shriprakash, the main ceremony began at 11:30 PM. Precisely at midnight, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru unveiled a neon map and hoisted the national flag, marking the birth of a new state named Maharashtra from the womb of ‘Bombay.’ The moment was made memorable with Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar singing Pasaydan from Dnyaneshwari under the musical direction of Vasant Desai. The next day, at 12:34 PM, a new cabinet led by Chief Minister Yashwantrao Chavan took oath and assumed office.

When Mumbai Was Shared by Maharashtra and Gujarat

Then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was against the reorganization of states on linguistic lines. Surprisingly, M. S. Golwalkar, the head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, who usually opposed Nehru, agreed with him on this matter. Both believed that demands based on language threatened national unity. Their primary concern was Bombay. At the time, today’s Mumbai was part of the vast Bombay State, which included parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.

On November 20, 1955, when Nehru declared on All India Radio that Bombay would be made a separate city-state, a volcano of outrage erupted. Shootings in Dadar, Lalbaug, Parel, and Kalachowki escalated tensions the very next day. On February 6, 1956, the Samyukta Maharashtra Parishad gave an ultimatum demanding a separate Marathi-speaking state with Bombay as its capital. The Parishad argued that Maharashtrians shouldn’t be punished for being geographically spread across three areas. They insisted that Bombay must be an inseparable part of Maharashtra.

Opposing this was the Bombay Citizens Committee, which sent petitions demanding that Bombay be excluded from Maharashtra. This committee was led by Sir Purushottamdas Thakurdas and included industrialists like J. R. D. Tata. The Gujarati community feared that if Bombay joined Maharashtra, Marathi administrators might create challenges for them. But by then, things had progressed far too much.

Political Deadlock and Recommendations

To resolve the impasse, a meeting of stakeholders was held in June 1954. Congress leader Shankarrao Deo, president of the Samyukta Maharashtra Parishad, and secretary D. R. Gadgil assured that Bombay’s cosmopolitan character would be preserved. Meanwhile, the Bombay Citizens Committee remained firm on its demand for a bilingual state — one that included both Marathi and Gujarati languages.

As no agreement was reached, the matter went to the State Reorganization Commission. In its October 1955 report, the commission rejected the demand for a unified Maharashtra. Instead, it proposed creating a separate Vidarbha region for Marathi speakers, while retaining Bombay’s bilingual character under central administration. Consequently, the Bombay State expanded further to include Nagpur, Marathwada, Saurashtra, and Kutch — satisfying neither the Marathi nor the Gujarati aspirations.

When the report was discussed in Parliament, Bombay Congress MP S. K. Patil advocated for Bombay to remain a separate entity. In response, Pune MP N. V. Gadgil warned that if Marathi sentiments were ignored, Bombay’s fate would be decided on the streets.

A Movement That Spilled into the Streets

Angered by such developments, the public erupted in protest. Triggered by explosive editorials in Maratha newspaper by Acharya Atre, and under the banners of the Samyukta Maharashtra Committee and Samyukta Maharashtra Parishad, millions — farmers, workers, students, and common people — took to the streets demanding a united Marathi-speaking province including Bombay.

The Samyukta Maharashtra Committee was formed on February 6, 1956, in Pune under Keshavrao Jedhe’s leadership. Its leaders — Acharya Atre, Prabodhankar Thackeray, Senapati Bapat, S. M. Joshi, Shripad Amrut Dange, Nanasahib Gore, Bhai Uddhavrao Patil, Maina Gavankar, and Walchand Kothari — were mostly imprisoned. Police firing occurred across several locations including Mumbai’s Flora Fountain, leading to the martyrdom of 107 people. After a poor performance in Mumbai Municipal elections, the Congress was finally compelled to yield to the popular demand.

The central government was forced to ask Morarji Desai — a staunch opponent of making Bombay part of Maharashtra — to resign. Yashwantrao Chavan was appointed head of the Bombay province. C. D. Deshmukh also resigned as Union Finance Minister. On December 4, 1959, the decision for a bilingual state was revoked. On May 1, 1960, the capital of the erstwhile Bombay Province officially became the capital of newly-formed Maharashtra. Yashwantrao Chavan became its first Chief Minister. Simultaneously, the Mahagujarat Movement succeeded in forming a separate Gujarati-speaking state, and Dr. Jivraj Mehta became its first Chief Minister.

A New State Is Born

On May 1, 1960, the state of Maharashtra was formed by combining the Konkan, Marathwada, Western Maharashtra, Southern Maharashtra, Northern Maharashtra (Khandesh), and Vidarbha regions. These included parts of the old Bombay State, five districts from the Hyderabad Nizam’s dominion, eight districts from the southern region of the Central Provinces (Madhya Pradesh), and several nearby princely states. Due to state reorganization, large Marathi-speaking areas like Belgaum and Karwar remained in Karnataka. Newly independent Goa chose to stay separate.

The Economic Powerhouse of India

With 35 districts, Maharashtra is India’s third-largest state. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, Karnataka to the south, Andhra Pradesh and Goa to the southeast, Gujarat to the northwest, and Madhya Pradesh to the north. Maharashtra ranks as the most prosperous state for investments and is among the wealthiest in the country. Its crown jewel is Mumbai — India’s financial capital.

Land of Martyrs

Maharashtra continues to honor the leaders and martyrs of this movement through memorials. The most prominent is Hutatma Chowk near Flora Fountain, named in honor of those who were killed in police firing in January 1960 during the Maharashtra unification struggle. Around 107 people lost their lives in this nearly five-year-long agitation, and many more endured imprisonment.

Another key site is Shivaji Park in Dadar (West), hailed as the birthplace of modern Maharashtra. It served as the main ground for mass rallies led by figures like Acharya Prahlad Keshav Atre (called the “Lord of Shivaji Park”) and Prabodhankar Thackeray (Balasaheb Thackeray’s father). The Samyukta Maharashtra Smruti Dalan, located near Shivaji Park on Swatantryaveer Savarkar Road, is a museum and gallery that deeply satisfies all curiosities about Mumbai and Maharashtra.