India’s Linguistic Reorganisation as Passive Revolution: Revisiting the Long History of Territorial Redistribution, 1905–1956

This talk reframes the 1956 linguistic reorganisation of Indian states as the culmination of a longer “passive revolution” that absorbed popular linguistic demands without transforming entrenched power structures. Covering the period from 1905 to 1956, it explores how the idea of the linguistically defined “region” emerged in the wake of the reversal of Bengal’s partition and was subsequently cast as a “neutral” category in debates around minority rights, electoral representation, federalism, and economic planning.

Focusing on case studies from Marathi-language public discourse and education policy, the talk highlights how cultural elites and political leaders managed demands for regional autonomy alongside the imperatives of centralized nation-building. In revisiting these historical negotiations, the paper critiques celebratory narratives of postcolonial federalism and reveals how language was strategically mobilized to contain change, preserving dominant structures and constraining democratic possibilities.