Mahagujarat

જય જય ગરવી ગુજરાત !

જય જય ગરવી ગુજરાત !

જય જય ગરવી ગુજરાત,

દીપે અરૂણું પરભાત,

ધ્વજ પ્રકાશશે ઝળળળળ કસુંબી, પ્રેમ શૌર્ય અંકીત;

તું ભણવ ભણવ નિજ સંતતિ સઉને, પ્રેમ ભક્તિની રીત -

ઊંચી તુજ સુંદર જાત,

જય જય ગરવી ગુજરાત.

ઉત્તરમાં અંબા માત,

પૂરવમાં કાળી માત,

છે દક્ષિણ દિશમાં કરંત રક્ષા, કુંતેશ્વર મહાદેવ;

ને સોમનાથ ને દ્ધારકેશ એ, પશ્વિમ કેરા દેવ-

છે સહાયમાં સાક્ષાત

જય જય ગરવી ગુજરાત.

નદી તાપી નર્મદા જોય,

મહી ને બીજી પણ જોય.

વળી જોય સુભટના જુદ્ધરમણને, રત્નાકર સાગર;

પર્વત પરથી વીર પૂર્વજો, દે આશિષ જયકર-

સંપે સોયે સઉ જાત,

જય જય ગરવી ગુજરાત.

તે અણહિલવાડના રંગ,

તે સિદ્ધ્રરાજ જયસિંગ.

તે રંગથકી પણ અધિક સરસ રંગ, થશે સત્વરે માત !

શુભ શકુન દીસે મધ્યાહ્ન શોભશે, વીતી ગઈ છે રાત-

જન ઘૂમે નર્મદા સાથ,

જય જય ગરવી ગુજરાત.

(જય જય ગરવી ગુજરાત !-કવિ નર્મદ)

Mahagujarat

The term Mahagujarat includes all Gujarati speaking area including Gujarat (Tal Gujarat), Saurashtra, Kutch.

Kanaiyalal Munshi

Writer-politician Kanaiyalal Munshi coined the word Mahagujarat at the Karachi meet of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad in 1937.

Background:

During British rule in India, sections of the western coast of India were a part of the Bombay Presidency. In 1937, Bombay Presidency was included as a province of British India. After independence of India in 1947, the demand for linguistic states came up. On 17 June 1948, Rajendra Prasad set up the Linguistic Provinces Commission to recommend whether the states should be reorganized or not on linguistic basis. The committee included SK Dar (retired Judge of the Allahabad High Court), JN Lal (lawyer) and Panna Lall (retired Indian Civil Service officer), so it was called Dar commission. In its 10 December 1948 report, the Commission recommended that "the formation of provinces on exclusively or even mainly linguistic considerations is not in the larger interests of the Indian nation".

Mahagujarat conference was held in 1948 to include all Gujarati speaking people under one administration which finally resulted in formation of Gujarat.

According to the autobiography of Indulal Yagnik, Bombay state chief minister BG Kher and the then home minister Morarji Desai visited Dang in May, 1949. BG Kher stated that tribals of Dang spoke Marathi and focus should be on that. Indulal Yagnik and others visited Dang to examine this. Gujarati Sabha also sent a committee for examination and agitate on negligence by government.Committee reported that Dang is more related to Gujarat.

By 1952, the demand for separate Telugu-majority Andhra State had started in Madras State. Potti Sreeramulu, one of the activists demanding Andhra State, died on 16 December 1952 after undertaking a fast-unto-death. Subsequently, Andhra State was formed in 1953. This sparked agitations all over the country demanding linguistic states.

In December 1953, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru appointed the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) to prepare report on the creation of linguistic states. The commission was headed by Justice Fazal Ali so it was called Fazal Ali Commission. The commission reported in 1955 to reorganise India's states.

Mahagujarat Agitation :

SRC considered to form states on linguistic basis but recommended that Bombay state should stay as a bilingual state. It was further enlarged by the addition of Saurashtra and Kutch, the Marathi-speaking districts of Nagpur Division of Madhya Pradesh, and the Marathawada region of Hyderabad. The southernmost districts of Bombay state were included in Mysore State. So it had Gujarati-speaking population in north and Marathi-speaking population in southern parts.

Both Gujarati and Marathi people opposed the SRC’s recommendation and strongly demanded separate linguistic states. The situation became complecated because both of them wanted to include Bombay ( Now Mumbai) in their own states due to its economic and cosmopolitan values. Jawaharlal Nehru suggested to form three states: Maharashtra, Gujarat and Centrally governed city-state of Bombay to solve conflict.

Protest broke out in Bombay and other Marathi-speaking districts later known as Samyukta Maharashtra Movement demanding separate Marathi state. Morarji Desai, then Bombay’s Chief Minister was against it.

 

Morarjibhai Desai

 On August 8, 1956 when some college students of Ahmedabad went to local Congress House at Lal Darwaza to demand separate state. Morarji Desai did not listened them and police repression resulted in death of five to eight students.

 It triggered protests all over in Gujarat.

Indulal Yagnik

 Indulal Yagnik came out of retirement and founded Mahagujarat Janata Parishad to guide protests.

 Many protesters including Indulal Yagnik and Dinkar Mehta were arrested and kept at Gaekwad Haveli in Ahmedabad for a few days and later imprisoned in Sabarmati Jail for three and a half months. Protest also spread in other parts of Gujarat that forced Morarji Desai to go on weeklong fast. Just before the declaration of carving three states as Nehru suggested, 180 MPs suggested return to bilingual Bombay state together. There was confusion over Mumbai and Dang solved after discussions. Mumbai goes to Maharashtra and Dang to Gujarat.

President Rajendra Prasad and Vice-President Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan and Jawaharlal Nehru finally agreed upon the formation of two new lingual states after prolonged agitation.

 On May 1, 1960, two new states Gujarat and Maharashtra were created. Mahagujarat Janata Parishad was dissolved on success of movement.The first government was formed under Dr. Jivraj Mehta who become the first Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Monuments

Shahid Smarak at Lal Daravaja Ahmedabad

    Shahid Smarak or Khambhi (Martyr Monument) was erected near Lal Darwaja AMTS Bus Stop, Bhadra, Ahmedabad in memory of college students who went to local Congress House to demand separate state during movement and died in police firing. It has a statue of a young holding torch in hand. So it was called Khambhi Satyagrah (Monument Movement) earlier.

Statue of Indulal Yagnik

    Statue of Indulal Yagnik was erected in a small garden at east end of Nehru Bridge, Ahmedabad and garden was named after him.

Influence

Many leaders of the movement were writers, poets and even film-makers. Maya, a novel by Indulal Yagnik is set during movement. Jayanti Dalal, Yashwant Shukla, Vinodini Neelkanth, Ishwar Petlikar, Ushnash had also used movement as their inspiration for literary works.

Midnight's Children, a classic by Salman Rushdie, which won the Booker Prize has a backdrop of both the Mahagujarat movement as well as Samyukta Maharashtra movement.

Litmus Test:  Bullets can't stop people's voice.

-Diptesh