As the nation once again grapples with the issue of reorganization of states, BR Ambedkar’s book thoughts on linguistic states, written in December 1955, might need an urgent revisit. His ideas were proved right and his assessment of the creation of new states in the federal polity is relevant in post independent India. One of the most interesting proposals by Ambedkar in the 1955 book was to split Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. He wanted Madhya Pradesh divided into northern and southern states. Bihar also was to be split into two, with Patna and Ranchi as the capitals. After a good 45 years, the split came with formation of Chhattisgarh out of Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand out of Bihar in the year 2000. Ambedkar, fresh after working on the Constitution of India (He was head of the drafting committee of the constitution), came out with a vision for a reorganized India. The book, which provides a rare opportunity to debate and discuss the contribution of Dr. Ambedkar in nation building, will be great interest to all sections of people.
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