The Eastern States Union was a short-lived (1947–48) union of princely states in newly independent

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

that gathered most of the princely states of the former Orissa Tributary States and Chhattisgarh States Agency in order to fill the vacuum of power created after the departure of the British and the wrapping up of the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

Creation

The union was formed right after the British Parliament decided to grant independence to

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

on 15 August 1947, following which the princely states became ''de facto'' independent as well. In the transitional period the provincial Congress Party governments refused assistance to the princely states for they were hostile to the traditional princes and in fact were involved in popular agitations against them. In face of the situation of insecurity and continuous disturbances of the public order, the rulers of the states of the former

Eastern States Agency The Eastern States Agency was an agency or grouping of princely states in eastern India, during the latter years of the British Raj. It was created in 1933, by the unification of the former Chhattisgarh States Agency and the Orissa States Agenc ...

formally founded the Eastern States Union in the Raj Kumar College building in

Raipur Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Chh ...

. The goal was to establish a unit that would be large enough to exist as a state within the Indian Union, as well as to share the cost of maintenance of an adequate security and military force in order to restore law and order.

Institutions

The Eastern States Union had a Premier, a Chief Secretary, a joint police force and a

court of appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

, but it had no legislature. The union selected

as its capital and quickly took the cause of building a dam on the Indravati River in Kalahandi. However, some of the larger states such as

Mayurbhanj Mayurbhanj district is one of the 30 districts of Odisha state in eastern India and the largest in the state by area, nearly equivalent to Tripura. The district's headquarters is located in Baripada, with other major towns including Rairangp ...

and Bastar, as well as some minor ones, opted not to join the common effort.

Demise and successor states

In the end the Eastern States Union proved an administrative failure and, following intense Praja Mandal movement agitations in Hindol, Nilgiri, Dhenkanal and Talcher in December 1947, it was dissolved early in 1948.D. P. Mishra, ''People's Revolt in Orissa: A Study of Talcher'', p. 185 The states that had formed the union then became part of the newly established states of

Orissa Odisha (), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eighth-largest state by area, and the eleventh-largest by population, with over 41 million inhabitants. The state also has the thir ...

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

and

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

. Following the demise of the Eastern States Union the states that became part of Orissa (now

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

) were Gangpur, Bonai, Bamra,

Keonjhar Kendujhar, also known as Keonjhar, is a town with municipality in Kendujhar District in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kendujhar district, and it is one of the fifth scheduled areas of Odisha ...

Rairakhol Redhakhol or Rairakhol is a town and a Notified Area Council in Sambalpur district in the Indian state of Odisha. Redhakhol town, which is the Sub-Divisional headquarter of Rairakhol Sub-division surrounded by a green belt of reserve forest, ...

, Sonepur, Athmallik, Pal Lahara, Talcher,

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

, Baudh, Dhenkanal, Hindol, Daspalla,

Narsinghpur Narsinghpur is a city in Madhya Pradesh in central India. It is a district under Jabalpur division. Narsinghpur has a large temple dedicated to Narasimha, Lord Narasimha. As of 2001, Narsinghpur is the most literate district of the state. Hist ...

, Baramba, Athgarh,

Tigiria Tigiria is a tehsil (block) of Cuttack district. There are 14 ''(Town Panchayat (T.P.), panchayats)'' with a total of 50 villages under the Tigiria administrative division. Tigiria is part of the Athagarh (Odisha Vidhan Sabha constituency), Athaga ...

Nayagarh Nayagarh is both a town and the municipality headquarters of the Nayagarh District, Nayagarh district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Odisha. Geography Nayagarh is located at with an average elevation of 178 metres ( ...

, Ranpur and Kalahandi. Kharsawan and Seraikela, joined

in May 1948. The states that became part of Madhya Pradesh were Changbhakar, Koriya, Surguja, Jashpur,

Udaipur Udaipur (Hindi: , ) (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura'') is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, about south of the state capital Jaipur. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Udaipur district. It is the historic capital of t ...

Raigarh Raigarh is a city in northern Chhattisgarh known as the 'Cultural capital of Chhattisgarh'; Raigarh is famous for its dance form “SUWA” (as Raigarh Gharana) and classical music; Raigarh is also known as Sanskritidhani. It is also known for ...

, Sarangarh, Kawardha, Khairagarh, Nandgaon and Kanker. Since 2000 most of the areas of the former princely states in eastern Madhya Pradesh belong to the state of

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

References

{{coord, 21.2405, 81.6138, type:edu_region:IN-CG, display=title Former states and territories of India 1940s in Orissa History of Madhya Pradesh (1947–present) History of Chhattisgarh 1947 establishments in India 1948 disestablishments in India Princely states of India