On January 27, 2021, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray, released a book on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute. The book was titled ‘Maharashtra Karnataka Simawad: Sangharsh Ani Sankalp‘ (Maharashtra-Karnataka Border Dispute: Struggle and Resolve). This book is a collection of articles, news, and other material on the demand that Marathi-speaking areas in Karnataka should be integrated with Maharashtra. Maharashtra has reinforced its claim to over 7,000 sq km area along its border with Karnataka, comprising 814 villages in areas predominantly populated by Marathi-speaking people. Successive governments in Maharashtra have supported claims over the Belagavi or Belgaum district of Karnataka. The dispute between the two states over Belagavi/Belgaum and other border areas has been pending before the Supreme Court since 2004. The Supreme Court began its hearing on Maharashtra’s petition on January 17, 2007. It may be recalled that in 2014 the Karnataka government changed the name of Belgaum to Belagavi. (For the sake of convenience, we will use Belgaum in the following pages though Belagavi is the new name.)
Historical Context of the Dispute
After India became independent in 1947, the Belagavi or the Belgaum district, which was under the former Bombay Presidency, became a part of the Bombay state. In 1948, the Belgaum municipality, which had a predominantly Marathi-speaking population, requested the Indian Constituent Assembly and the Boundary Commission to include Belgaum in the proposed Samyukta Maharashtra state for Marathi-speakers. The districts included Vijayapura, Dharward, and Uttara Kannada.
On August 31, 1956, the States Reorganisation Act was enacted by the Parliament of India. The Act was effective from November 1, 1956. This Act was a major reform to demarcate the boundaries of Indian states and territories and organise them on linguistic lines.
According to the linguistic census of 1881, the total population of Belgaum was 8,64,014 of which 64.39 per cent were Kannada-speakers and 26.04 per cent were Marathi-speakers. The census also pointed out that Marathi speaking people of Belgaum had migrated to Belgaum from time to time.
In accordance with the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, the district was incorporated into the newly formed Mysore state, which was renamed as Karnataka in 1973. The Act divided Belgaum and 10 other talukas of Bombay State as a part of Mysore. This was done on the basis of the linguistic and administrative lines as per the Belgaum Gazette published by the British on 1881 census report. Based on the census report, at the time of demarcating borders, the Reorganisation of States Commission included Belgaum and 10 talukas with a Kannada-speaking population of more than 50 per cent into Mysore. But by the year 1956, Marathi speaking population in that area had outnumbered the Kannada speaking population. The people who had opposed the region’s inclusion into Mysore, maintained that the Marathi speaking population had outnumbered the Kannada speaking population in those areas.
Belgaum had been a part of Kannada region and had seen many dynasties ruling over it. In the 18th century, the Maratha empire expanded under the Peshwas. During that time, a large portion of the North Karnataka region formed a part of the Maratha empire and was called the ‘Southern Maratha Country’. By the time the British came to power, this region had only a few remains of the Maratha empire ruling over their jagirs and states. However, the language of the region was dominated by Kannada.
When the linguistic reorganisation of the states happened in 1956, the Boundary Commission took into consideration the official records of the linguistic census as the basis for demarcating the boundaries. Consequently, the resultant Maharashtra could not include the Maratha-ruled areas of Baroda, Indore or Gwalior (except for Kolhapur). This was due to the fact that the Commission took into consideration all the changes in the region over a long period of time, and not just the changes in the demography.
Four-member Committee: The Maharashtra government, on June 23, 1957, submitted a memorandum to the then Government of India demanding readjustment of its border with Karnataka. As a consequence, a four-member committee headed by the then Chief Justice of India, Meher Chand Mahajan, was constituted on June 5, 1960. The committee consisted of two representatives of the Maharashtra government and two members from the Mysore government.
The Maharashtra government was willing to hand over the Kannada speaking majority villages to Mysore on the following conditions:
- Maharashtra’s claim over 814 villages and three urban settlements should be met: these included Belgaum, Nippani, Karwar, and Supa (where Konkani is spoken and Konkani being considered a dialect of Marathi).
- The places with geographical proximity to Maharashtra to be integrated with the state.
- Villages with no population to be merged with that state where the owners of the land resided.
- The opinion of people of the area to be formed regarding which state they wanted to get attached to.
However, both the states could not reach a consensus as Mysore government demanded the existing state of affairs to be maintained and did not agree to the demands laid down by the Maharashtra government.
Mahajan Commission: As the four-member committee failed to reach an agreement, a freedom fighter from Maharashtra, Pandurang Mahadev Bapat (Senapati Bapat), went on a hunger strike demanding the union government to form a commission to address the border dispute. The Government of India then constituted a commission on October 25, 1966, headed by the then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, Meher Chand Mahajan. The then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, V.P. Naik, had publicly announced on November 9, 1967 that Maharashtra would adhere to the Mahajan Commission’s report, whatever it recommended.
After reviewing various memoranda and interviewing the people in both the regions, the Mahajan Commission submitted its report, which made the following points:
- Maharashtra had asked for 814 villages besides Belgaum. The commission recommended 262 villages including Nippani, Khanapur, and Nandgad.
- Mysore had claimed 516 villages, out of which, Maharashtra admitted 260 villages where the majority are Kannada-speaking. Mysore was awarded 247 villages including Solapur.
- The claim of Maharashtra over Belgaum was rejected on the following grounds:
—In 1920, when the All India Congress Committee meeting was held in Belgaum, no political leader from Maharashtra had demanded that it be a part of Maharashtra State.
—Belgaum was a cosmopolitan city then and geographically, Kannada speaking areas surrounded the city of Belgaum on three sides and small villages belonging to Maharashtra State on the fourth side.
—Reorganisation of Belgaum to Maharashtra would cause hardships as majority of the lands of Belgaum belonged to Kannadigas (Kannada speaking people). All the original records in the office of the mamlatdar (gazetted office) and collector’s office were in Kannada. Hence, Belgaum would continue to be with Mysore State.
- Kasaragod district of Kerala was declared as a part of Karnataka.
State Governments on the Findings of the Mahajan Committee: The Maharashtra government termed the findings of the report biased and self-contradictory as the formula applied for Kasaragod (in Kerala) was not applied for Belgaum. It insisted that the report was against the wish of the people of Belgaum.
The Kerala government refused to hand over Kasaragod to Mysore State. The then Mysore government continued to press for the implementation of the report or maintain the status quo.
The Present Scenario
The Karnataka government declared Belgaum its second capital. The state held its winter session at the newly-constructed Suvarna Vidhan Soudha, and also held the World Kannada Summit there. The present BJP-led Karnataka government reiterated that the state considers the Mahajan Commission report to be final.
The Maharashtra government has continued to press with its demand for 814 villages from Karnataka to be transferred to Maharashtra after the linguistic population of each state was counted. In 2004, the Maharashtra government approached the Supreme Court for a settlement under Article 131(b) of the Constitution. Article 131 vests the Supreme Court with original jurisdiction over any dispute arising between the states or between the Centre and states. The article gives the Supreme Court the power to take up such cases directly instead of going through a lower court or reviewing a lower court’s judgement. The Maharashtra government, in 2006, asked the Centre to bring all of the 865 disputed villages, including Belgaum under its rule until the Supreme Court passed its final verdict.
After coming into power in 2019, the Shiv Sena-NCP led coalition government of Maharashtra had appointed Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde and NCP’s Chhagan Bhujbal as nodal minsters to oversee the government’s efforts to expedite the border dispute case in the Supreme Court.
The present Maharashtra government has announced a special quota for students from the disputed border areas for admission in engineering, medical, and pharmacy courses in the state. The residents of these areas are also considered as domiciles of Maharashtra and they can apply for government jobs as well. However, they do not get the benefit of reservations.
The Maharashtra government is planning to have a ‘Seema Parishad’ website and a mobile app to facilitate locals of Belgaum and surrounding areas in order to get in touch with the state government.
Opinions of Political Experts and Analysts
Political analysts and experts, however, feel that the action of the Maharashtra government was unnecessary and in contempt of court. While the Shiv Sena is trying to tap into an emotive issue, it is neither likely to cut much ice with voters, nor would it lead to any change in the status quo with regard to the borders. The young generation of Belgaum have little to do with this dispute. They have been educated in Kannada and brought up in a different culture. The older generation that cares about this are now in a small minority. Barring a few areas close to the border, the dispute is being considered a non-issue in the rest of Maharashtra as well.
Other Inter-State Border Disputes
- The inter-state boundary between Bihar and Uttar Pradesh continues to fluctuate as the rivers in these states change their course frequently.
- Odisha has unresolved border issues with Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and West Bengal.
- Punjab and Haryana are locked over the transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab, and part of Fazilka sub-district of Punjab to Haryana.
- Himachal Pradesh is contesting Uttarakhand over six places of Dehradun district, adjoining its Shimla district.
- Arunachal Pradesh claims territory in Assam on the basis of history.
- Nagaland claims 5,000 square miles of territory in Assam on historical grounds.
Inter-State Relations in India
In every federation, the states normally act as independent units in the exercise of their internal sovereignty. Under such circumstances, conflicts of interest between the units are bound to arise.
In order to maintain the strength of the country, it is imperative that there should be an adequate provision for judicial determination of disputes between the states. For the settlement and prevention of such disputes the union government has appointed extrajudicial bodies for consultation and joint action.
Article 131 provides for the judicial determination of disputes between states by vesting the Supreme Court with exclusive jurisdiction in the matter. Article 262 provides for the adjudication of one class of such dispute by an extrajudicial tribunal. Article 263 provides for the establishment of Inter-State Council to investigate, and advise on disputes between states.