States of India

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Updates: 

On 2020-01-26, two union territories-Dadra and Nagar Haveli with Daman and Diu, were merged. [17] Thanks to Sorin Cosoveanu for identifying this change.

On 2019-10-31, Jammu and Kashmir ceased to exist as a state, and two separate union territories were created in the same territory: Ladakh (consisting of the existing districts of Kargil and Leh), administered by the President through a Lieutenant Governor, and Jammu and Kashmir (consisting of the other twenty districts), with an elected Legislative Assembly and a Council of Ministers, supervised by a Lieutenantant Governor, as the representative of the President of India. [16] Thanks to Sorin Cosoveanu for identifying this change.

"Geopolitical Entities, Names, and Codes, Edition 2" (GENC) is a U.S. standard that's supposed to correspond to ISO 3166-2. Update 2 of GENC was issued on 2014-09-30. It gives Telangana the code IN-TE. Its codes for all the other states match the ISO codes. Subsequently, on 2014-10-30, ISO issued the code IN-TG for Telangana. This is a rare instance where GENC and ISO provide different codes for the same division. In the same update, ISO changed the spelling of Orissa to Odisha.

Update 16 to the U.S. standard GEC is dated 2014-06-30. It adds a code for Telangana state, as shown below.

On 2014-02-18, the Lok Sabha passed a bill to split Telangana from Andhra Pradesh. It took effect on 2014-06-02. Telangana consists of Adilabad, Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahbubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Rangareddi, and Warangal districts. Hyderabad will be the capital of both states until a new capital can be chosen for Andhra Pradesh. There was talk of changing the name of the diminished Andhra Pradesh to Seemandhra. Currently (2015), Andhra Pradesh's capital is to be built in Amaravati.

Update 7 to Geopolitical Entities and Codes (GEC), the successor to FIPS standard 10-4, was issued with the date 2012-02-01. It changes the spelling of Orissa to Odisha.

ISO 3166-2 Newsletter II-3 is dated 2011-12-15. It changes the code for Uttarakhand from IN-UL, probably because of the state's name change from Uttaranchal. It also removes all macrons from the vowels in the names of divisions, since the names are given in their English form.

Jan Forsberg has raised a question about the capital of Assam state. The government is sited in Dispur, which is a "zone" or "locality" within Guwahati, which is a "metropolis" or "municipal corporation". The majority of sources I've consulted call Dispur the capital, but a significant minority say the capital is Guwahati. This is one of those situations where the answer depends on precisely how you define "capital." I will stick with Dispur until the situation changes.

There is a move in Bihar to change the name of the capital from Patna to Pataliputra, the ancient (or traditional) name of the city. Patna is not a name imposed by the British, but dates back to the 16th century. Another faction wants to use the name Azimabad, which was the city's name for a period in the 18th century. Elsewhere, there is a move in Chhattisgarh to transfer the capital from Raipur to Nandghat. Assam voted on 2006-02-27 to rename itself Asom, but there has been a great deal of criticism of this decision and it hasn't been ratified by the Indian parliament. There is a proposal to split Uttar Pradesh into four states: Avadh Pradesh, Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, and Paschim Pradesh.

FIPS 10-4 Change Notice 12, dated 2007-06-11, has three changes for India, not affecting FIPS codes. It acknowledges the new names Puducherry and Uttarakhand, and changes the status of Delhi to "national capital territory". The name change to Puducherry is shown again in Change Notice 13, dated 2008-02-04.

ISO 3166-2 Newsletter Number I-2 was published on 2002-05-21. It assigned new ISO codes to the three new states. It also showed macrons (long vowel marks) over some vowels in the state names, and gave Banga (probably should be Bangla) as an alternate name for West Bengal. It assigned the code CH to both Chandigarh and Chhattisgarh, by mistake. Subsequently, ISO 3166-2 Newsletter Number I-3, published on 2002-08-20, changed the code for Chhattisgarh to CT. Newsletter I-3 also corrected the placement of macrons over the a's in Rajasthan. Newsletter I-4, dated 2002-12-10, suppressed the alternate name for West Bengal.

Change Notice 7 to FIPS PUB 10-4 is dated 2002-01-10. It lists new codes resulting from the splitting of three states. The new codes are shown in the table below.

Erratum: In "Administrative Divisions of Countries", page 174, two divisions of India were listed with the wrong type. Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram were shown as union territories; they should be states. As stated in the Change History section, this change occurred in 1986.

Country overview: 

Short nameINDIA
ISO codeIN
FIPS codeIN
LanguagesHindi (hi), English (en), etc.
Time zone+5:30
CapitalNew Delhi

 

India in 1900 was a hodge-podge of British provinces under the direct sovereignty of the British crown, and small states ruled by Indian princes under British hegemony. The British position was called paramountcy, meaning simply that Britain had the power to overrule the native princes' actions. India at that time included present-day Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Aden (now part of Yemen). On the other hand, it excluded a few small enclaves in the possession of France and Portugal, and Sikkim, then a kingdom under British protection. When India obtained its independence on 1947-08-15, the area hitherto known as India was divided into two countries, India and Pakistan. The principle guiding the division was to allocate majority-Hindu areas to India and majority-Muslim areas to Pakistan. In the implementation, the large provinces of Bengal and Punjab were split between the two countries, and Pakistan was created as two pieces on opposite sides of the Indian subcontinent.

Other names of country: 

  1. Danish: Indien
  2. Dutch: India, Republiek India (formal)
  3. English: Indian Union (formal), Republic of India (formal), Hindoostan (obsolete), Hindustan (obsolete)
  4. Finnish: Intia
  5. French: Inde f
  6. German: Indien n
  7. Hindi: Bharat
  8. Icelandic: Indland
  9. Italian: India f
  10. Norwegian: India, Republikken India (formal)
  11. Portuguese: Índia f, República f da Índia f (formal), União Indiana (Brazil) (formal)
  12. Russian: Республика Индия (formal)
  13. Spanish: India, República f de la India f (formal)
  14. Swedish: Indien
  15. Turkish: Hindistan Cumhuriyeti (formal), Hint (variant)

Origin of name: 

from Sanskrit sindhu: river, after the Indus River

Primary subdivisions: 

India is divided into 29 states and seven union territories.

DivisionTypHASCISOGECSCUPUVehPopulationArea(km.²)Area(mi.²)PINCapital
Andaman and Nicobar IslandsuIN.ANANIN0135ANAN380,5818,2493,185744Port Blair
Andhra PradeshsIN.ADAPIN0228APAP49,386,799160,21861,86150-53Hyderabad
Arunachal PradeshsIN.ARARIN3012ARAR1,383,72783,74332,333790-792Itanagar
AssamsIN.ASASIN0318ASAS31,205,57678,43830,28578Dispur
BiharsIN.BRBRIN3410BRBR104,099,45299,20038,30180-85Patna
ChandigarhuIN.CHCHIN0504CHDCH1,055,4501144416Chandigarh
ChhattisgarhsIN.CTCTIN3722 CG25,545,198135,19452,19949Raipur
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and DiuuIN.DHDHIN0626DNHDN343,709491190396Silvassa
DelhiuIN.DLDLIN0707DELDL16,787,9411,48357311Delhi
GoasIN.GAGAIN3330GOAGA1,458,5453,7021,429403Panaji
GujaratsIN.GJGJIN0924GUJGJ60,439,692196,02475,68536-39Gandhinagar
HaryanasIN.HRHRIN1006HRHR25,351,46244,21217,07012-13Chandigarh
Himachal PradeshsIN.HPHPIN1102HPHP6,864,60255,67321,49517Shimla
Jammu and KashmiruIN.JAJKIN1201JKJK12,267,01360,24023,25918-19Srinagar, Jammu
JharkhandsIN.JHJHIN3820 JH32,988,13474,67728,833814-835Ranchi
KarnatakasIN.KAKAIN1929KRNKA61,095,297191,79174,05156-59Bengaluru
KeralasIN.KLKLIN1332KERKL33,406,06138,86315,00567-69Thiruvananthapuram
LadakhuIN.LALAIN1201LALA274,28996,70137,336194Leh
LakshadweepuIN.LDLDIN1431LKPLD64,4733212673Kavaratti
Madhya PradeshsIN.MPMPIN3523MPMP72,626,809308,252119,01645-48Bhopal
MaharashtrasIN.MHMHIN1627MAHMH112,374,333307,690118,80040-44Mumbai
ManipursIN.MNMNIN1714MNPMN2,570,39022,3278,621795-796Imphal
MeghalayasIN.MLMLIN1817MEGML2,966,88922,4298,660793-794Shillong
MizoramsIN.MZMZIN3115MIZMZ1,097,20621,0818,139796Aizawl
NagalandsIN.NLNLIN2013NLDNL1,978,50216,5796,401797-798Kohima
OdishasIN.ORORIN2121OROD41,974,218155,70760,11975-77Bhubaneswar
PuducherryuIN.PYPYIN2234PDYPY1,247,953492190605Puducherry
PunjabsIN.PBPBIN2303PUPB27,743,33850,36219,44514-15Chandigarh
RajasthansIN.RJRJIN2408RAJRJ68,548,437342,239132,13930-34Jaipur
SikkimsIN.SKSKIN2911SKMSK610,5777,0962,740737Gangtok
Tamil NadusIN.TNTNIN2533TNTN72,147,030130,05850,21660-64Chennai
TelanganasIN.TGTGIN40TS35,193,978114,85044,34450-53Hyderabad
TripurasIN.TRTRIN2616TRPTR3,673,91710,4864,049799Agartala
UttarakhandsIN.UTUTIN3905 UK10,086,29251,12519,739246-263Dehradun
Uttar PradeshsIN.UPUPIN3609UPUP199,812,341243,28693,93420-28Lucknow
West BengalsIN.WBWBIN2819WBWB91,276,11588,75234,26770-74Kolkata
36 divisions1,210,569,5733,287,2631,269,218
  • Typ: These divisions are 28 states (s) and 8 union territories (u).
  • HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes.
  • ISO: State codes from ISO 3166-2. For full identification in a global context, prefix "IN-" to the code (ex: IN-UL
    represents Uttarakhand).
  • GEC: Codes from GEC.
  • SC: State codes used by the Census of India.
  • UPU: "Postal addressing systems" is a document available online from the Universal Postal Union. Its entry
    for India has a list of states and codes. The codes are presumably official postal abbreviations for the states.
  • Veh: Vehicle codes (first two characters on license plates: sources [6], [18], [19]).
  • Population: 2011-02-09 census, final figures (source [13]). Since Jammu and Kashmir has changed borders,
    Ladakh has been created, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli has been combined with Daman and Diu since the 2011
    census took place, the state figures reflect the following. (1) The Jammu and Kashmir population shown is the
    sum of the 2011 populations of the twenty districts which now compose the new Jammu and Kashmir. (2)
    Similarly, Ladakh population shown is the sum of the two districts' populations which now compose the new
    Ladakh. (3) Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu population shown is the sum of the 2011 populations
    of the two former territories. The sum of the population of all states and territories is the same as before.
  • Area: Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, as redifined in the Reorganization Act no longer include areas claimed
    by Pakistan and China, but the total area of India does include those areas. Consequently, the sum of the state
    areas does not equal the total area.
  • PIN: Indian postal codes (postal index numbers) are six digits. They are sometimes written with a space
    between the third and fourth digits. The first three digits generally determine a district. Ranges listed here
    are the first two or three digits of the PIN. The newly formed states don't have well-defined ranges of PINs.
  • Capital: Srinagar is the summer capital, and Jammu the winter capital, of Jammu and Kashmir.

Further subdivisions:

See the Districts of India page.

The states and union territories are subdivided into districts. These, in turn, have subdivisions that are generically called sub-districts, but that have different statuses by state. They are called tahsils in many states, but they're development blocks in Tripura; C.D. blocks in Bihar, Jharkand, Meghalaya, and West Bengal; R.D. blocks in Mizoram; revenue circles in Assam; police stations in Orissa; sub-divisions in Manipur and Sikkim; circles in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland; mandals in Andhra Pradesh; talukas in Goa and Gujarat; and taluks in Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, and Tamil Nadu. There are no tertiary divisions in Daman and Diu, or Dadra and Nagar Haveli; Chandigarh has no secondary or tertiary subdivisions. Lakshadweep has no districts, but it has sub-divisions.

Territorial extent: 

  1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands is separated from islands belonging to Myanmar by the Coco Channel. Landfall Island is the northernmost of the Andamans. Narcondam Island is the easternmost. The Nicobar Islands lie to the south, Great Nicobar Island being southernmost. It is separated from Sumatra, Indonesia, by Great Channel.
  2. Arunachal Pradesh is the object of a territorial claim by China.
  3. Daman and Diu consists of two separate parts: the enclave of Daman, and the island of Diu with small adjacent coastal tracts. Both lie on the coast of Gujarat, but they're on opposite sides of the Gulf of Khambhat.
  4. Goa consists of a coastal region and the islands of Angediva, Morcegos, and Saint George's.
  5. Jammu and Kashmir is occupied partly by India and partly by Pakistan. Both countries have claims to more land. India also claims adjacent land occupied by China.
  6. Lakshadweep consists of a number of islands and reefs in the Indian Ocean. Towards the Indian mainland, the easternmost are Androth, Cheriyam, and Kalpeni Islands. Towards the Maldive Islands, the southernmost is Minicoy Island. The Amindivi and Cannanore island groups make up most of the territory.
  7. Puducherry consists of four districts, each of which is a separate coastal enclave: Karaikal and Puducherry, both surrounded by Tamil Nadu; Yanam, within Andhra Pradesh; and Mahé, within Kerala. The district of Puducherry itself consists of several enclaves within Tamil Nadu. The map in source [11] shows thirteen enclaves. One of these is a counter-counter-enclave that is contained within a counter-enclave of Tamil Nadu state within Puducherry.
  8. West Bengal has many small exclaves within the Rajshahi division of Bangladesh, and vice versa. According to Brendan Whyte's thesis, there are 106 of them. For the height of complexity, a part of Dahala Khagrabari, India is surrounded by Bangladeshi territory (part of Upanchowki Bhajni, Bangladesh), which is itself surrounded by Balapara Khagrabari, India, which in turn is surrounded by Bangladesh. This is the world's only counter-counter-enclave.

The UN LOCODE page  for India lists locations in the country, some of them with their latitudes and longitudes, some with their ISO 3166-2 codes for their subdivisions. This information can be put together to approximate the territorial extent of subdivisions.

Origins of names: 

Thanks to Pranshu B. Saxena for his help with some of these origins.

  1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Sanskrit Hanumant, name of the advisor to the king of the monkeys in the Ramayana. Nicobar means "land of the naked".
  2. Andhra Pradesh: Hindi andhra, from Telugu andhramu: Telugu, and pradesh: state.
  3. Arunachal Pradesh: aruna: dawn-lit, chal: mountains, Hindi pradesh: land
  4. Assam: probably from the Ahamiya clan (or Ahoms), who invaded in the 13th century; or Sanskrit asoma: peerless.
  5. Bihar: Sanskrit vihara: monastery. Old capital had a major Buddhist monastery.
  6. Chandigarh: sited where a temple of the goddess Chandi (the Hindu goddess Durga) stands near a garh (fort).
  7. Chhattisgarh: Chhattis: thirty-six + garh: forts, for 36 forts located in the state
  8. Delhi: shortened from Dhillika, a name originally applied to the region circa A.D. 750, from a temple to the goddess Dhillika.
  9. Goa: shortened from Gomantaka.
  10. Gujarat: Sanskrit Gurjara, ethnic name
  11. Haryana: Hari (a Hindu god) + Hindi ayana: home
  12. Himachal Pradesh: Sanskrit hima: snow, chal: mountains (the Himalayas), Hindi pradesh: land
  13. Jharkhand: Forest country.
  14. Karnataka: Kannada for "lofty land".
  15. Kashmir: from Sanskrit kasyapamara: land of Kasyapa (Hindu god)
  16. Lakshadweep: Sanskrit laksha: one hundred thousand, dvipa: islands
  17. Madhya Pradesh: Hindi for central state
  18. Maharashtra: Sanskrit for great kingdom (akin to maharaja); or, land of the Mahars and Rattas; or, corruption of maha kantara: great forest; or, maha rathi: great charioteers.
  19. Manipur: "jeweled land"
  20. Meghalaya: megha: cloud, alaya: home, i.e. home of the clouds
  21. Mizoram: the land of Mizos (highlanders)
  22. Odisha: Sanskrit Odrah: ethnic name, deshah: state
  23. Puducherry: Tamil pudu: new, cheri: town
  24. Punjab: Persian panj: five, ab: river (the area is drained by five tributaries of the Indus)
  25. Rajasthan: Hindi raja: king, sthan: land (formed by the union of 19 small kingdoms)
  26. Tripura: possibly from tuipra: land adjoining the water.
  27. Uttarakhand: Sanskrit for north country
  28. Uttar Pradesh: Sanskrit uttarah: upper or northern, pradeshah: state
  29. West Bengal: Western part of Bengal, from Bengali bangla: ethnic name

Change history: 

In 1900, India included over 500 native states (also called princely states); the British provinces of Assam, Bengal, Berar, Bihar, Burma, Central Provinces, Orissa, Punjab, and North Western Provinces and Oudh; and the presidencies of Bombay and Madras. The presidency of Bombay contained the provinces of Bombay, Sind, and Aden. Burma was divided into Lower Burma and Upper Burma. The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh contained Oudh province and North Western Provinces.

  1. 1901: North-West Frontier Area (not to be confused with North Western Provinces) split from Punjab.
  2. 1902: Name of North Western Provinces and Oudh changed to United Provinces of Agra and Oudh.
  3. 1902-10-01: Berar merged with Central Provinces to form Central Provinces and Berar.
  4. 1905-10-16: Bengal and Assam provinces reorganized into Eastern Bengal and Assam province and West Bengal province.
  5. 1910: Native state of Benares formed by merging a number of smaller fiefs.
  6. 1911-12-12: 1905 partition of Bengal was nullified.
  7. 1912-10-01: Delhi province split from Punjab; Indian capital moved from Calcutta to Delhi.
  8. 1912: Bihar and Orissa province split from Bengal.
  9. 1931-02-10: New Delhi officially replaced Delhi as capital.
  10. 1932: Aden province split from Bombay presidency.
  11. 1935: Name of United Provinces of Agra and Oudh changed to United Provinces.
  12. 1936-04-01: Orissa province formed from parts of Bihar and Orissa province, Central Provinces and Berar province, and Madras presidency; remaining part of Bihar and Orissa renamed Bihar; status of Sind division of Bombay presidency changed to province.
  13. 1937-04-01: Aden (now in Yemen) and Burma (now Myanmar) split from India as crown colonies.
  14. 1947-08-15: Indian independence. The British provinces became part of India immediately. The native states and agencies became effectively independent. Some of them were allowed to decide whether to accede to (merge with) India or Pakistan. Others combined to form new states in the Indian Union, or merged directly with existing provinces. The process was essentially complete when the new Constitution took effect, less than 2 1/2 years later. On this date, Bengal split into West Bengal (India) and East Pakistan; Punjab split into East Punjab (India) and West Punjab (Pakistan); the presidency of Bombay, which had consisted of Bombay and Sind provinces, split, with Sind going to Pakistan; Banaras, Rampur, and Tehri-Garhwal states merged with United Provinces; Central Provinces and Berar became Madhya Pradesh.
  15. 1947-10: France ceded its loges, the sites of French-owned factories (trading posts) in Bombay, Madras, and Orissa provinces, totaling 526 sq. km., to India.
  16. 1947-10-26: Jammu and Kashmir state became part of India by the signing of the Instrument of Accession. However, Pakistani fighters invaded the area, bringing about a de facto partition which has been in dispute ever since.
  17. 1947-11-08: India annexed the native states of Junagadh and Manavadar to Rajputana, even though they had acceded to Pakistan.
  18. 1948: Native states merged to form seven unions: Greater Rajasthan (corresponding to an area called Rajputana before independence), Madhya Bharat (also called the Malwa Union), Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU for short), Saurashtra (also called the United State of Kathiawar), Travancore-Cochin, United Deccan State, and Vindhya Pradesh.
  19. 1948: 15 native states merged with Madhya Pradesh.
  20. 1948: Native states of Banganapalle and Pudukottai merged with Madras state.
  21. 1948: 174 native states merged with Bombay, including Baroda, Cambay, Idar, Janjira, Kolhapur, Palanpur, Radhanpur, Rajpipla, Sirohi, and the states of the United Deccan State.
  22. 1948: Native states of Dujana, Loharu, and Pataudi merged with East Punjab.
  23. 1948-04-15: Himachal Pradesh state formed from 30 former Hill States, including Chamba, Mandi, Nahan, Sirmur, and Suket.
  24. 1948-05: Native states of Saraikela and Kharsawan merged with Bihar.
  25. 1949-04-01: Native state of Sandar merged with Madras state.
  26. 1949-08-01: 24 former native states merged with Orissa.
  27. 1949-10-15: Tripura merged with India as a centrally administered area.
  28. 1949-10-15: Manipur merged with India as a union territory.
  29. 1950-01-01: Cooch Behar state merged with West Bengal.
  30. 1950-01-24: Name of United Provinces changed to Uttar Pradesh.
  31. 1950-01-26: The Constitution took effect. The divisions of India were classified as follows: nine Part A states, formerly governors' provinces; eight Part B states, formerly native states or groups of states; ten Part C states, formerly chief commissioners' provinces; and two Part D territories. Name of East Punjab state changed to Punjab (India). Greater Rajasthan union became Rajasthan state.
  32. 1950-05-02: Chandernagore transferred from French possession to India.
  33. 1950-12-05: Sikkim became an Indian protectorate.
  34. 1951: Territory in Assam around Dewangiri ceded to Bhutan.
  35. 1953-10-07: Capital of Punjab moved to the new city of Chandigarh.
  36. 1953-10-01: Andhra Part A state split from Madras.
  37. 1954: Bilaspur state merged with Himachal Pradesh.
  38. 1954-10-02: Chandernagore merged with West Bengal.
  39. 1956: Capital of Hyderabad moved from Kurnool to Hyderabad.
  40. 1956-05-28: France ceded Pondicherry to India as a union territory.
  41. 1956-09-01: Status of Tripura changed from centrally administered area to union territory.
  42. 1956-11-01: States Reorganization Act took effect. The distinction among Part A, B, and C states was abolished. States were reorganized largely on linguistic lines. Andhra Pradesh state formed by merging Andhra with part of Hyderabad. Bombay state formed by merging Kutch, Saurashtra union, and part of former Bombay state. Status of Delhi and Himachal Pradesh changed from states to union territories. Kerala state formed by merging most of Travancore-Cochin union and part of Madras. Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands union territory split from Madras. Madhya Pradesh state formed by merging Bhopal and Vindhya Pradesh union, all of Madhya Bharat union but one exclave, most of former Madhya Pradesh, and an exclave of Rajasthan. Madras state lost large areas to other states, but gained part of Travancore-Cochin union. Mysore state formed by merging Coorg and former Mysore states and parts of Bombay, Hyderabad, and Madras states. Punjab state formed by merging Patiala and East Punjab States Union and former Punjab. Rajasthan state gained Ajmer state and small parts of Bombay and Madhya Bharat union, and lost an exclave to Madhya Pradesh. 8,177 sq. km. transferred from Bihar state to West Bengal.
  43. 1957-12-01: Naga Hills-Tuensang Area split from Assam as a centrally administered area.
  44. 1960-04-01: Madras state ceded 573 sq. km. of territory to Andhra Pradesh in exchange for another territory of 1,062 sq. km.
  45. 1960-05-01: Bombay state split into Gujarat and Maharashtra by the Bombay Reorganization Act. Maharashtra also incorporated part of Madhya Pradesh and all that remained of Hyderabad state.
  46. 1961-08-11: Dadra and Nagar Haveli, formerly a Portuguese colony and independent since 1954-07, merged with India as a union territory.
  47. 1961-12-20: Portuguese India (India Portuguesa, later called Estado da India) annexed by India and became the territory of Goa, Daman and Diu.
  48. 1963-12-01: Naga Hills-Tuensang centrally administered area became Nagaland state.
  49. 1966-11-01: By the Punjab Reorganization Act, Punjab state split into a smaller Punjab state, a new Haryana state and Chandigarh union territory, and a section which merged with Himachal Pradesh. Chandigarh, formerly capital of Punjab, became joint capital of Punjab and Haryana states and its own union territory.
  50. 1968-08: Name of Madras state changed to Tamil Nadu.
  51. 1970: Capital of Gujarat moved from Ahmedabad to Gandhinagar.
  52. 1970-04-02: Meghalaya split from Assam as an autonomous state.
  53. 1971-01-25: Status of Himachal Pradesh changed from union territory to state.
  54. 1972-01-20: Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram union territories split from Assam; capital of Assam moved from Shillong to Dispur. Before the split, Arunachal Pradesh had been the North East Frontier Agency, and Mizoram had been the Lushai Hills district. Status of Meghalaya changed from autonomous state to state,
  55. 1972-01-21: Status of Manipur and Tripura changed from union territories to states.
  56. 1972-12-17: A new line of control between India and Pakistan in the area of Jammu and Kashmir took effect.
  57. 1973-11-01: Name of Mysore state changed to Karnataka; name of Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands union territory changed to Lakshadweep.
  58. 1974-05-27: Capital of Arunachal Pradesh moved from Shillong (in Meghalaya) to Itanagar.
  59. 1975-04-26: Status of Sikkim changed from protectorate to state.
  60. 1985-07-24: By the Punjab Accord, Chandigarh union territory would eventually merge with Punjab state. This has not yet been carried out, but it remains a live issue.
  61. 1986-07: Status of Mizoram changed from union territory to state.
  62. 1987-02-20: Status of Arunachal Pradesh changed from union territory to state.
  63. 1987-05-30: Goa, Daman, and Diu union territory split into Goa state and Daman and Diu union territory.
  64. 1992-02-01: Official name of Delhi union territory changed to National Capital Territory.
  65. 1996: Name of the capital of Tamil Nadu state changed from Madras to Chennai; name of the capital of Maharashtra state changed from Bombay to Mumbai.
  66. ~1996: Name of the capital of Himachal Pradesh state changed from Simla to Shimla; name of the capital of Kerala state changed from Trivandrum to Thiruvananthapuram.
  67. 1999-07-20: Assembly of West Bengal resolved to change the name of the state to Bangla, but this change doesn't take effect until passed by Indian Parliament.
  68. 2000-11-01: Chhattisgarh state split from Madhya Pradesh (former GEC code IN15), as provided by the Madhya Pradesh Reorganization Bill, which passed on 2000-07-31. Chhattisgarh comprises sixteen districts of Madhya Pradesh: Bastar, Bilaspur, Dantewada, Dhamtari, Durg, Janjgir, Jashpur, Kanker, Kawardha, Korba, Koriya, Mahasamund, Raigarh, Raipur, Rajnandgaon, and Surguja.
  69. 2000-11-09: Uttaranchal state split from Uttar Pradesh (former GEC code IN27), as provided by the Uttar Pradesh Reorganization Bill, which passed on 2000-08-01. Uttaranchal comprises thirteen districts of Uttar Pradesh: Almora, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Champawat, Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital, Pauri Garhwal, Pithoragarh, Rudra Prayag, Tehri Garhwal, Udham Singh Nagar, and Uttarkashi.
  70. 2000-11-15: Jharkhand state split from Bihar (former GEC code IN04), as provided by the Bihar Reorganization Bill, which passed on 2000-08-02. Jharkhand comprises eighteen districts of Bihar: Bokaro, Chatra, Deoghar, Dhanbad, Dumka, East Singbhum, Garhwa, Giridih, Godda, Gumla, Hazaribagh, Koderma, Lohardaga, Pakur, Palamau, Ranchi, Sahibganj, and West Singbhum. Ranchi, formerly the summer capital of Bihar, became the capital of Jharkhand.
  71. 2001-01-01: Name of the capital of West Bengal changed from Calcutta to Kolkata.
  72. 2006-09-20: Name of Pondicherry union territory changed to Puducherry.
  73. 2007-01-01: Name of Uttaranchal state changed to Uttarakhand. Its license plate code subsequently changed from UA to UK.
  74. 2011-11-04: Name of Orissa state changed to Odisha (retroactive to 2011-11-01). Its license plate code changed from OR to OD.
  75. 2014-06-02: Telangana state split from Andhra Pradesh (former HASC code IN.AP). It consists of Adilabad, Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Mahbubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Rangareddi, and Warangal districts. Hyderabad will be the capital of both states until a new capital can be chosen for Andhra Pradesh.
  76. 2014-11-01: Name of the capital of Karnataka state changed from Bangalore to Bengaluru.

Other names of subdivisions: 

  1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Îles Andaman et Nicobar (French); Ilhas de Andamã e Nicobar (Portuguese); Inseln Andamanen und Nikobaren (German); Isole Andamane e Nicobare (Italian)
  2. Arunachal Pradesh: Agence de la Frontière du Nord-Est (French-obsolete); North East Frontier Agency (obsolete)
  3. Assam: Asom (variant)
  4. Dadra and Nagar Haveli: Dâdra et Nagar Haveli (French); Dadra e Nagar Haveli (Italian)
  5. Daman and Diu: Daman e Diu (Italian); Damân et Diu (French); Damão e Diu (Portuguese)
  6. Delhi: National Capital Territory (variant); Дели (Russian)
  7. Goa: Gôa (Portuguese)
  8. Gujarat: Goudjerate, Gujerat (French), Gujerate (Portuguese)
  9. Haryana: Hariana (French)
  10. Jammu and Kashmir: Jammu e Cashemira (Portuguese); Jammu e Kashmir (Italian); Jammu et Cachemire (French); Jammu und Kaschmir (German); Kashmir, Kashmir and Jammu (variant)
  11. Jharkhand: Vananchal (variant)
  12. Karnataka: Maisur (obsolete-variant); Mysore (obsolete)
  13. Lakshadweep: Îles Laquedives (French); Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands, Laccadives (obsolete); Lackadiverna (Swedish); Lakkadiven (German); Lakkadivene (Norwegian); Lakshadivi (variant)
  14. Mizoram: Lushai Hills (obsolete)
  15. Nagaland: Naga Hills and Tuensang Area, NHTA (obsolete)
  16. Odisha: Orissa (obsolete)
  17. Puducherry: French India, Pondicherry (obsolete); Pondichéry (French); Puduchcheri (variant)
  18. Punjab: Panjab (German, variant); Pendjab, Penjab (French); Pundjabe (Portuguese); East Punjab (obsolete)
  19. Rajasthan: Greater Rajasthan, Rajputana (obsolete)
  20. Tamil Nadu: Madras (obsolete); Tamilnad (variant)
  21. Uttar Pradesh: United Provinces (obsolete)
  22. Uttarakhand: Uttaranchal (obsolete)
  23. West Bengal: Bangla (variant); Bengala Occidentale (Italian); Bengala Ocidental (Portuguese); Bengale occidental (French)

Population history:

British Imperial period:

ProvinceArea(km.²)189119011911192119311941
Ajmer-Merwara7,021542,358477,000501,395495,271560,567583,693
Andamans and Nicobars8,14016,00025,00026,45927,08629,46333,768
Assam126,9205,476,8335,842,0006,714,0007,606,2308,784,94310,204,733
Baluchistan140,450 382,000414,412420,648463,492501,631
Bengal392,49571,346,98742,141,00052,668,26946,695,53649,997,37621,837,295
Bihar180,639   34,002,18937,590,35636,340,151
Orissa83,392     8,728,544
Bombay324,12218,901,12318,530,00019,672,64219,348,21921,102,12625,384,848
Burma444,0027,605,560N/A12,115,21713,212,19214,652,272 
Central Provinces224,03710,784,29411,971,00013,916,30813,912,76015,472,62816,813,584
Coorg4,100173,055181,000174,976163,838163,089168,726
Delhi1,536   488,188636,827917,939
Madras365,67835,630,44038,230,00041,405,40442,318,98546,731,85049,341,810
N.W. Frontier Prov.34,755 2,042,0002196,9332,251,3402,423,3803,038,067
Punjab286,62620,866,84719,942,00019,974,95620,685,02423,580,52028,418,819
United Provinces278,43146,905,08547,313,00047,182,04445,375,78748,423,26455,020,617
Major native states
Baroda21,3052,415,0001,953,0002,033,0002,126,5222,442,9242,855,010
Bhopal18,000952,486N/AN/AN/AN/A785,322
Cochin3,528722,906812,000918,000979,0001,205,0001,422,875
Travancore17,4312,557,7362,952,0003,429,0004,006,0005,096,0006,070,018
Gwalior66,9643,378,7743,066,0003,228,0003,195,4753,520,7084,006,159
Hyderabad214,18711,537,04011,141,00013,375,00012,471,77014,395,49316,338,534
Kashmir209,5302,543,9522,906,0003,158,0003,699,0653,645,3394,021,616
Manipur22,326N/A284,000346,000384,000626,000512,069
Mysore72,3544,943,6045,539,0005,806,0005,859,9526,554,5737,329,140
Rajputana337,39312,016,1029,853,00010,530,00013,308,78111,223,70813,670,208
Totals287,223,431294,360,356315,132,527318,885,980351,399,888388,997,955

 

Notes: Areas listed are as of about 1900, except for states that were created later. Columns do not add up to the totals shown, because many native states are omitted. All Indian censuses were as of March 1.

Republic period:

Division1951-03-011961-03-011971-04-011981-03-011991-03-012001-03-012011-02-09
Andaman and Nicobar Islands30,96363,548115,133188,741280,661356,152380,581
Andhra Pradesh31,260,00035,983,44743,502,70853,549,76366,508,00876,210,00784,580,777
Arunachal Pradesh 336,558467,511631,839864,5581,097,9681,383,727
Assam9,603,70711,872,77214,625,15219,896,84322,414,32226,655,52831,205,576
Bihar38,779,56246,455,61056,353,36969,914,73486,374,46582,998,509104,099,452
Chandigarh  257,251451,610642,015900,6351,055,450
Chhattisgarh     20,833,80325,545,198
Dadra and Nagar Haveli 57,96374,170103,676138,477220,490343,709
Daman and Diu90,143   101,586158,204243,247
Delhi1,744,0722,658,6124,065,6986,220,4069,420,64413,850,50716,787,941
Goa547,448626,667857,7711,086,7301,169,7931,347,6681,458,545
Gujarat 20,633,35026,697,47534,085,79941,309,58250,671,01760,439,692
Haryana  10,036,80812,922,61816,463,64821,144,56425,351,462
Himachal Pradesh1,134,8851,351,1443,460,4344,280,8185,170,8776,077,9006,864,602
Jammu and Kashmir4,370,0003,560,9764,616,6325,987,3897,718,70010,143,70012,541,302
Jharkhand     26,945,82932,988,134
Karnataka19,401,19323,586,77229,299,01437,135,71444,977,20152,850,56261,095,297
Kerala15,000,00016,903,71521,347,37525,453,68029,098,51831,841,37433,406,061
Lakshadweep21,19524,10831,81040,24951,70760,65064,473
Madhya Pradesh26,071,65732,372,40841,654,11952,178,84466,181,17060,348,02372,626,809
Maharashtra48,300,00039,553,71850,412,23562,784,17178,937,18796,878,627112,374,333
Manipur577,635780,0371,072,7531,420,9531,837,1492,166,7882,570,390
Meghalaya  1,011,6991,335,8191,774,7782,318,8222,966,889
Mizoram  332,390439,757689,756888,5731,097,206
Nagaland 369,200516,449774,9301,209,5461,990,0361,978,502
Odisha14,645,94617,548,84621,944,61526,370,27131,659,73636,804,66041,974,218
Puducherry317,163369,079471,707604,471807,785974,3451,247,953
Punjab16,134,89020,306,81213,551,06016,788,91520,281,96924,358,99927,743,338
Rajasthan15,970,00020,155,60225,765,80634,261,86244,005,99056,507,18868,548,437
Sikkim137,158162,189209,845316,385406,457540,851610,577
Tamil Nadu29,970,00033,686,95341,199,16848,408,00755,858,94662,405,67972,147,030
Tripura639,0291,142,0051,556,3422,053,0582,757,2053,199,2033,673,917
Uttarakhand     8,489,34910,086,292
Uttar Pradesh63,215,74273,746,40188,341,144110,862,013139,112,287166,197,921199,812,341
West Bengal26,300,00034,926,27944,312,01154,580,64768,077,96580,176,19791,276,115
Totals364,250,364439,234,771548,159,654685,130,712846,302,6881,028,610,3281,210,569,573

 

Note: in the 1951 column, the figures for Daman and Diu and Goa are from a 1950-12-15 census of Portuguese India (source [10]).

When dealing with Indian sources, it is important to be aware that lakh means one hundred thousand and crore means one hundred lakh, i.e., ten million. Going on, arab means one hundred crore, kharab means one hundred arab, neel means one hundred kharab. A number written as 1,21,05,69,573 would be read as "arab, 21 crore, 5 lakh, 69 thousand, 573."

Sources: 

  1. [1] Mitchell, B.R. International Historical Statistics Africa and Asia. New York University Press, New York, 1982.
  2. [2] Fifth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names. Vol. II. New York: United Nations, 1991.
  3. [3] "Statistical Abstract 1990 India". Central Statistical Organisation, New Delhi, 1992.
  4. [4] Dutt, Ashok K., and M. Margaret Geib. Fully Annotated Atlas of South Asia. Westview Press, Boulder and London, 1987.
  5. [5] "Statistical Pocket Book India 2003". Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
  6. [6] http://www.cyberautocop.com/rto-india.html, dead link, retrieved 2004-11-23.
  7. [7] Population by Religious Communities , India Census (retrieved 2009-12-14).
  8. [8] Whyte, Brendan R. Waiting for the Esquimo : an historical and documentary study of the Cooch Behar enclaves of India and Bangladesh. School of Anthropology, Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Melbourne, 2002 (large download, first retrieved 2006-01-05).
  9. [9] Kumar, Hemanshu, and Rohini Somanathan. Mapping Indian Districts Across Census Years, 1971-2001 , in "Economic and Political Weekly" (dated 2009-03, retrieved 2011-09-24).
  10. [10] Demographic Yearbook , 7th Ed. Statistical Office of the United Nations, New York, 1955 (retrieved 2011-08-20).
  11. [11] Administrative Atlas of India . Census of India 2011, Dr. C. Chandramouli, Director (retrieved 2011-12-09).
  12. [12] "Telangana: At 66, Mother India gets ready for her 29th baby ", Times of India online (dated 2013-07-31).
  13. [13] Download  of "India Census Population Totals 2011" from CensusInfo India 2011 site (retrieved 2014-01-29).
  14. [14] India New Districts 2001-2011 , a pdf map of changed districts (retrieved 2011-08-03).
  15. [15] "Telangana, India's 29th state, will be born June 02 ." ZeeNews, Indian online news source (retrieved 2014-03-16).
  16. [16] The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act of August 2019  Political Map of India (retrieved 2021-11-23).
  17. [17] The Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu ((Merger of Union Territories Act), August 2019  together with specification of the date of the union
  18. [18] New Vehicle Registration Mark DD for Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Deccan Herald, 2020-01-23
  19. [19] Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Notification
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