States of India

Modern India came into existence on August 15'1947 and declared as a republic on January26'1950. Before independence, under the rule of the British, India was a hodge-podge of British provinces and small princely states under British tutelage. Post independence, the provinces and states of British rule were re-organized to evolve a coherent administrative structure. Hence, came into existence 28 states (provinces) and 7 Union Territories. These states are primarily carved or constituted on the basis of the most prominent language of that area.

The states of India can be clustered into 7 group- heads:

» Madhya Pradesh
» Chhattisgarh

» Bihar
» Jharkhand
» West Bengal
» Orissa

» Assam
» Tripura
» Manipur
» Meghalaya
» Nagaland
» Mizoram
» Arunachal Pradesh

» Gujarat
» Maharashtra
» Goa

» Andaman & Nicobar Islands : Sanskrit Hanumant, name of Lord Hanuman of the Ramayana. Nicobar : land of the nude or naked peaople.
» Andhra Pradesh : Hindi andhr & Telugu andhramu: Telugu; Sanskrit pradesh: piece of land or state.
» Arunachal Pradesh: Sanskrit aruna: dawn-lit; anchal: area; Sanskrit pradesh: piece of land or state.
» Assam: probably Sanskrit asam: not plain; or Sanskrit asoma: peerless.
» Bihar: Sanskrit vihara: monastery. Old capital had a major Buddhist monastery.
» Chandigarh: Goddess Chandi- the Hindu goddess Durga; Sanskrit garh-fortress.
» Chhattisgarh:Hindi Chhattis: thirty six: Sanskrit garh: forts (for 36 forts located in the state).
» Delhi: Goddess Dhillika- a local Hindu goddess.
» Goa: Originated from Gomantaka.
» Gujarat: Sanskrit Gurjar ( name of an ethnic caste)
» Haryana: Sanskrit: Hari (Lord Vishnu- a Hindu god and one of the gods of Hindu Trinity); Hindi ayana: home.
» Himachal Pradesh: Sanskrit hima: snow; Sanskrit anchaal: area; Sanskrit pradesh: piece of land or state
» Jharkhand: Forest country.
» Karnataka: Kannada for "lofty land".
» Kashmir: from Sanskrit kasyapamara: land of Hindu saint Kasyapa.
» Lakshadweep: Sanskrit laksha: one hundred thousand; Sanskrit dvipa: islands
» Madhya Pradesh: Sanskrit madhya: central; Sanskrit pradesh: piece of land or state.
» Maharashtra: Sanskrit maha: great or very large/big; Sanskrit rashtra: state {Great Kingdom}.
» Manipur: Sanskrit mani: jewels; Sanskrit pur: city or land {Jeweled Land}.
» Meghalaya: Sanskrit megha: cloud; Sanskrit alaya: home {Home of the clouds}.
» Mizoram: Mizo: highlanders-an ethnic group; Sanskrit raman: abode (Abode of highlanders)
» Odisha: Sanskrit Odrah: ethnic name; Sanskrit deshah: state
» Puducherry: Tamil pudu: new; Tamil cheri: town
» Punjab: Persian panj: five, aab: river or water (the area is drained by five tributaries of the Indus)
» Rajasthan: Hindi raja: king,Sanskrit sthan: land or place (formed by the union of 19 princely kingdoms).
» Tripura: Sanskrit tripurah: three worlds.
» Uttarakhand: Sanskrit uttar: north/northern; Sanskrit khand: part of land.
» Uttar Pradesh: Sanskrit uttar: north/northern; Sanskrit pradesh: piece of land or state
» West Bengal: Western part of Bengal, from Bengali bangla: ethnic name