In mid-2025, Union home minister Amit Shah told actor and activist Raja Bundela that creating three states – Bundelkhand, Purvanchal and Vidarbha—was not the Central government’s priority as there were other pressing issues to handle.
Again, on February 19, when the government was caught in a melee of raging national and international issues—like the UGC, Epstein files, the Indo-US deal, and the Shankaracharya row—a memorandum demanding the creation of Bundelkhand reached the Prime Minister’s and the Home Minister’s offices.
The
In mid-2025, Union home minister Amit Shah told actor and activist Raja Bundela that creating three states – Bundelkhand, Purvanchal and Vidarbha—was not the Central government’s priority as there were other pressing issues to handle.
Again, on February 19, when the government was caught in a melee of raging national and international issues—like the UGC, Epstein files, the Indo-US deal, and the Shankaracharya row—a memorandum demanding the creation of Bundelkhand reached the Prime Minister’s and the Home Minister’s offices.
The memorandum was signed by 23 organisations, including Karni Sena, Bundelkhand Ekta Foundation, Ex-Army Welfare organisation, Bharatiya Kisan Union, the traders, Bundeli Samaj and Lok Sanskriti Manch. The memorandum reiterated the demand for the creation of Bundelkhand, highlighting increased migration from the backward region because big-ticket projects failed to provide succour to the region.
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Raja Bundela, spearheading the movement for decades, has been holding the “Gaon Gaon Paon Paon” campaign since October 2025. The campaigners are collecting letters written by the village chiefs to the PM, justifying their demand for a separate state. The letters will be collectively sent to Modi. Bundela said they have received 475 letters so far. After completing the foot-march in UP, it will start in Madhya Pradesh as the Bundelkhand region spans the two states.
It will become a reality, Bundela said, despite the Centre’s attitude toward their demand. His confidence comes from both the history of Bundelkhand and its future.
First, the BJP manifesto favours the creation of smaller states and its leaders have supported the demand for Bundelkhand, Vidarbha and Purvanchal. However, the ruling party has not committed to a separate Bundelkhand state in its manifesto.
Second is the creation of three states—Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh – by the BJP government led by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2000. Those three states celebrated their silver jubilee in November 2025. On the other hand, Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014 when the UPA government was in power. Thus, they do not see any opposition from any political quarter.
Third, the ‘Bundelkhandis’ have pinned their hopes on the upcoming census and subsequent delimitation of the state assemblies and Lok Sabha in the country. Of 403 assembly seats in UP Vidhan Sabha in a state of 27 crores, 19 seats come from Bundelkhand. In a population-based exercise, the number of seats is projected to rise by 200. Significantly, their poor representation in the state assembly is viewed as their lack of clout in the government.
The torchbearers of the movement also raise the history of the region to claim Bundelkhand’s case was different from other statehood demands.
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First, post-Independence, the region had existed as a state and its first chief minister until 1950 was Kamta Prasad Saxena. Nandgaon was its capital. Thereafter, it was divided into two states of UP and Madhya Pradesh. Thus, it’s not a new demand. Second, 35 rulers of princely states of Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand had agreed to accede to India with the precondition that it would be given statehood.
The proponents of a separate state also contend that the area of Bundelkhand region is nearly 2.5 lakh square kilometres, which is more than the areas of Tripura, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Mizoram, Manipur, Chhattisgarh or Jharkhand. If Bundelkhand is formed, it will be the ninth biggest state of India.
Though the region is literally run by two chief ministers of UP and MP and the Centre, it remains a neglected area.
But do small states fulfil regional aspirations or ensure better administration?
Opinion is divided on the performance of the three states after their creation as academicians raise the issue of economic viability, which ‘Bundelkhandis’ dismiss, pointing to mines and minerals, electricity generation, and religious tourism as assets.
The Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Yogi Adityanath disfavours the bifurcation of UP, stating that the creation of small states does not necessarily lead to their development. According to him, the potential of UP lies in its unity and identity. The absence of a clear consensus on creation of small states is one big hurdle.
As of now, the state and central governments have set up the Bundelkhand Industrial Development Authority and launched ambitious projects like the Bundelkhand Expressway and a defence corridor which local people claim have not helped in checking migration for jobs.
History
This was not the first time that a delegation met the home minister with the demand to carve out Bundelkhand state from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Though the first State Reorganisation Commission was set up in 1952 and held language as the prime driver for restructuring of State boundaries or creation of new states, later population, regional aspirations and backwardness became the key yardsticks.
The number of states was 14 when the States Reorganisation Act was passed, the population stood at 40.7 crore. Today, India has 29 states and seven Union Territories as the population has spiralled to 1.46 billion. UP is its largest state, both politically, demographically and geographically.
The idea of a Bundelkhand state was also first raised in the 1950s, when the States Reorganisation Commission (1956) was formed. However, it was not implemented. In the 1980s and 1990s, as other statehood movements (such as Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh) gained momentum,
Bundelkhand activists also started demanding statehood. Uma Bharti as chief minister of MP in 2003 strongly supported the demand. She is from Tikamgarh.
Bundelkhand Mukti Morcha was founded by Shanker Lal Mehrotra in 1989 after the region was hit by the worst-ever drought.
Process
The Constitutional provisions do not impede the creation of new states. The President’s assent is required before the bill is moved in Parliament. The state legislature passes a resolution, which is sent to the President.
The state cabinet headed by Mayawati had passed a resolution in 2011. The Centre rejected It for two reasons. The state did not provide the subsequent information that was asked after the proposal’s submission; second, it was not tabled and passed by the state legislature. As of now, there is no proposal pending before the Centre for the creation of Bundelkhand state.
Many years ago, Bundela was assaulted by the little-known ‘Bajrang Sena’ activists at a cinema hall in Bhopal after the release of the powerful social movie titled Partha, which not only portrayed the mental and physical exploitation of a village girl but also showed some of the “priests working as thieves”.
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The same Bundela is now playing a new role on the political stage, mobilising organisations and awakening the public in a hunger-ridden region. He is with the ruling party and is confident the voice of ‘Bundelkhandis’ would be heard.
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