The death of Potti Sreeramulu in 1952, following his fast-unto-death for the creation of an Andhra State, significantly influenced the territorial organization of India. In response to this event and the rising demand for states based on linguistic and ethnic identities, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru established the States Re-organisation Commission. The commission's recommendations led to the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, a landmark in Indian administrative history.

This Act redefined the boundaries of India's states, dissolving old states and creating new ones along linguistic and ethnic lines. This reorganization led to the formation of Kerala as a separate state and the Telugu-speaking regions of Madras State becoming part of the newly formed Andhra State. It also resulted in the creation of Tamil Nadu as an exclusively Tamil-speaking state.

Further changes occurred in the 1960s. On May 1, 1960, the bilingual Bombay State was divided into two states: Maharashtra for Marathi speakers and Gujarat for Gujarati speakers. Similarly, on November 1, 1966, the larger Punjab state was split into a smaller Punjabi-speaking Punjab and a Haryanvi-speaking Haryana. These reorganizations reflected the central government's efforts to accommodate the diverse linguistic and cultural identities within the Indian Union.