List of states in India
India is the second populous country in the world and the seventh-largest country globally in the term of land. India lies in the southern region of Asia. In this article, we will see the list of states present in India.
States in India
As India is one of the largest countries in the world, it becomes very difficult to manage such a large county from a single place. Therefore, the constitution of India provides the right to the central government to create new states in the Indian Political map whenever it feels suitable.
Let’s see the number of total states (or Union Territories) in India. In this article, we will not only know about the total number of states or union territories present in India; we will also look at the brief history of the state’s formation in India.
Current number of states/UTs in India
As of now, the total number of states is 28, and there are a total of 8 union territories in India. Each state and union territory of India has a legislative, administrative, and judicial capital. Some states have three different capitals for all three functionalities, and some states have a single capital in which all the three listed functions, i.e., legislative, administrative, and judicial, are conducted.
Every state and union territory of India is ruled by a separate chief minister elected through the legislative council’s poll election.
History of states in India
Here, we have divided the history of the states of India into two categories, i.e., Pre-independence and Post-independence. We have further divided the post-independence category into two sub-categories, i.e., 1947-1950 & 1951-till now.
Pre-independence history of states:
The Indian subcontinent is not what it looks like today on its political map. It was ruled by different people of many different ethical groups through its history from the ancient period. Each of these rulers of India instituted their administrative policies for the administrative division in their ruled region.
During the British ruling time, they have made changes in the preceded administrative structure formed by the Mughals. They divided India into many provinces that were also called Presidencies at that time. The governors of the British directly ruled these presidencies or provinces that the Britishers formed.
Also, some princely states were present in India’s sub-region at the time of the British Raj. The British government does not directly control these princely states, but they were ruled by a Prince or king loyal to the British government. The British government held suzerainty (de facto sovereignty) over these princely states.
The post-independence history of states:
1. From 1947 to 1950: During the period of 1947-50, the following changes came into the states of India:
The states that the governors of India previously controlled were now directly controlling Independent India, such as Hyderabad, Mysore, Bilaspur, and Bhopal.
At the time of British raj, the Princely states of India were also merged into the existing provinces in the political region of independent India.
Also, many other states are now organized into the new provinces or states such as Himachal Pradesh, Vindhya Bharat, Madhya Bharat, and Rajasthan, made up of multiple small princely states.
2. Since 1951 to present: The recognizing of states in India was first seen in India in the period of 1951-56. Pandit Jawal Lal Nehru, the first PM of Independent India, never favored creating separate states according to the culture of language of the people of that region. But many protests were held during 1951-1956 that led him and his government to change their mind.
Andhra Pradesh was the first state that was created from the Telegu-speaking districts of the northern region of Madras state (at that time). A lady sat on Fast until death to support the protest for the formation of Andhra Pradesh, and she died while fasting, which forced the government to listen to their demands, and that’s how Andhra Pradesh (the first state-based of language and culture) was created.
After the formation of Andhra Pradesh, many linguistic states separated into two new different linguistic states, and other new states were also created, and that’s how the political map of India has changed over time. India has formed 28 states and eight union territories since the new changes began in 1956.
List of states and UTs of India:
Following is a list providing you all the states & UTs with their capital. Additionally, we are also mentioning the names of the chief minister of all the states & Union Territories as of now in the list.
Look at the following list for the complete details of Indian states and UTs with their capital and Chief minister also:
| S. No. | Names of States & UTs | Name of Capital | Chief Minister of State/UT | Formation Date of State or UT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Andhra Pradesh | Amravati | YS Jagan Mohan Reddy | Nov 1st, 1956 |
| 2. | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | Port Blair | Admiral (Retd) Devendra Kumar Joshi (Lt. Governor) | Nov 1st, 1956 |
| 3. | Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar | Pema Khandu | Feb 20th, 1987 |
| 4. | Assam | Dispur | Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma | Jan 26th, 1950 |
| 5. | Bihar | Patna | Shri Nitish Kumar | Jan 26th, 1950 |
| 6. | Chandigarh | Chandigarh | Shri. V.P. Singh Badnore (Administrator) | Nov 1st, 1966 |
| 7. | Chhattisgarh | Raipur | Shri Bhupesh Baghel | Nov 1st, 2000 |
| 8. | Delhi NCT | New Delhi | Shri Arvind Kejriwal | May 9th, 1905 |
| 9. | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | Daman | Shri Praful Patel (Administrator) | Jan 26th, 2020 |
| 10. | Goa | Panji | Shri Pramod Sawant | May 30th, 1987 |
| 11. | Gujrat | Gandhinagar | Shri Vijaybhai R. Rupani | May 1st, 1960 |
| 12. | Haryana | Chandigarh | Shri Manohar Lal khattar | Nov 1st, 1966 |
| 13. | Himachal Pradesh | Shimla | Shri Jairam Thakur | Jan 25th, 1971 |
| 14. | Jammu & Kashmir | Jammu (for winter) &Srinagar (For summer) | Shri Manoj Sinha (Lieutenant Governor) | Oct 31st, 2019 |
| 15. | Jharkhand | Ranchi | Shri Hemant Soren | Nov 15th, 2000 |
| 16. | Karnataka | Bengaluru | Sri B. S. Yediyurappa | Nov 1st, 1956 |
| 17. | Kerala | Thiruvananthapuram | Shri Pinarayi Vijayan | Nov 1st, 1956 |
| 18. | Ladakh | Leh | Shri Radha Krishna Mathur (Lieutenant Governor) | Oct 31st, 2019 |
| 19. | Lakshadweep | Kavaratti | Shri Praful Patel (Administrator) | Nov1st, 1956 |
| 20. | Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal | Shri Shivraj Chauhan | Nov 1st, 1956 |
| 21. | Maharashtra | Mumbai | Shri Uddhav Thackeray | May 1st, 1960 |
| 22. | Manipur | Imphal | Shri N. Biren Singh | Jan 21st, 1972 |
| 23. | Meghalaya | Shillong | Shri Conrad Kongkal Sangma | Jan 21st, 1972 |
| 24. | Mizoram | Aizwal | Shri Pu Zoramthanga | Feb 20th, 1987 |
| 25. | Nagaland | Kohima | Shri Neiphiu Rio | Dec 1st, 1963 |
| 26. | Odisha | Bhubaneswar | Shri Naveen Patnaik | Jan 26th, 1950 |
| 27. | Puducherry | Pondicherry | Shri N. Rangaswamy | Nov 1st, 1954 |
| 28. | Punjab | Chandigarh | Shri Capt. Amarinder | Singh Nov 1st, 1956 |
| 29. | Rajasthan | Jaipur | Shri Ashok Gehlot | Nov 1st, 1956 |
| 30. | Sikkim | Gangtok | Shri PS Golay | May 16th, 1975 |
| 31. | Tamilnadu | Chennai | Shri M. K. Stalin | Jan 26th, 1950 |
| 32. | Telangana | Hyderabad | Shri K Chandrasekhar Rao | Jun 2nd, 2014 |
| 33. | Tripura | Agartala | Shri Biplab Kumar Deb | Jan 21st, 1972 |
| 34. | Uttar Pradesh | Lucknow | Shri Yogi Aditya Nath | Jan 26th, 1950 |
| 35. | Uttarakhand | Dehradun (for winter) & Gairsain (for summer) | Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami | Nov 9th, 2000 |
| 36. | West Bengal | Kolkata | Km. Mamata Banerjee | Nov 1st, 1956 |