Maharashtra Day and Gujarat Day Celebrated on May 1

May 1st is celebrated as Maharashtra Day and Gujarat Day.

Details:

• In 1960, the Bombay Reorganization Act was passed by India's Parliament to divide the multilingual state of Bombay into Gujarat and Maharashtra.
• The legislation came into effect on May 1st, 1960.
• The state of Bombay formerly comprised of speakers of different languages such as Marathi, Gujarati, Konkani, and Kutchi.

One must know:

• During the mid-1950s, a movement known as the Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti started demanding a separate Marathi-speaking state while MahaGujarat Movement aimed at the formation of a state for Gujarati-speaking people.
• The movements ended with the creation of the Bombay Reorganization Act.
• The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 defined boundaries for the states within India on the basis of languages.
• This was at the forefront of the movement to divide the Bombay State into two states; one composed of areas where people primarily spoke Gujarati and Kutchhi and the other where people primarily spoke Marathi and Konkani.

Interesting to know:

• The state of Maharashtra and Gujarat were formed as a result of the Sanyukta Maharashtra Samiti movement according to the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960 enacted by the Parliament of India on 25th April 1960.
• The act came into effect on 1st May 1960, hence the reason of annual celebration.

Question:

Q. When is Maharashtra Day and Gujarat Day celebrated?
a. May 1st
b. May 2nd
c. May 3rd
d. May 4th