Indian Polity
Statehood Day of Maharashtra and Gujarat
- 02 May 2020
- 3 min read
Why in News
Maharashtra and Gujarat celebrated their statehood day on 1st May, 2020. On the occasion, the Prime Minister and other leaders praised the contribution made by the two states to the development of the country.
Key Points
- On May 1st, 1960, the bilingual state of Bombay was divided into two separate states by the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960: Maharashtra for Marathi speaking people and Gujarat for Gujarati speaking people.
- Gujarat was established as the 15th state of the Indian Union.
Maharashtra
- Capital: Mumbai
- Sex Ratio: 929 female per 1000 male (National: 943)
- Literacy: 82.34% (National: 74.04%)
- Arabian Sea guards the western boundary of Maharashtra, while Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are on the northern side. Chhattisgarh covers the eastern boundary of the State. Karnataka and Telangana are on its southern side.
- The State has been identified as the country's powerhouse and Mumbai, its capital as the centre point of India's financial and commercial markets.
- Maharashtra has two major ports, Mumbai Port and Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNP) both located in Mumbai harbour.
- According to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR)-2019, Maharashtra's forest cover is 16.50% of the state's geographical area.
- Bhil, Gond-Madia, Katkari, Koli, Oraon, Warli are the major tribes of Maharashtra.
Gujarat
- Capital: Gandhinagar
- Sex Ratio: 919 female per 1000 male (National: 943)
- Literacy: 78.03% (National: 74.04%)
- The state is bounded by the Arabian Sea in the west, Pakistan and Rajasthan in the north and north-east respectively, Madhya Pradesh in the south-east and Maharashtra in the south.
- Gujarat is the first state in the nation to start a separate department of 'climate change' to tackle the issue of global warming.
- Kandla Port is the major port in Gujarat along with 41 minor ports.
- Gamit, Bhils, Dhodias, Bawcha, Kunbi are the major tribes present in the state.
- According to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR)-2019, Gujarat has the largest area of wetlands within Recorded Forest Area/Green Wash (RFA/GW) in the country followed by West Bengal.
