When Bhopal children read G for ‘Gadha’, not ‘Ganesh’:Indore-Gwalior opposed merger into new Madhya Pradesh; why was Jabalpur not made the state capital?

When India gained independence in 1947, few could imagine how complex state boundaries would become just a few years later. On October 10, 1955, the State Reorganization Commission submitted its report to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, recommending the creation of several new states — including a new Madhya Pradesh, merging Madhya Bharat, Madhya Pradesh (Central Provinces), Vindhya Pradesh, and Bhopal. However, the road to the new state was filled with dramatic debates, bureaucratic chaos, and even humorous cultural clashes. Madhya Pradesh officially came into being on November 1, 1956, and as it enters its 70th year, it’s worth revisiting how this vast and diverse state found its capital — and how, for a time, children in Bhopal learned “G for Gadha,” not “G for Ganesh.” When Nehru called the new map ‘A strange creation’ When the proposed map of the new Madhya Pradesh was first placed before Prime Minister Nehru, he reportedly exclaimed, What a strange creation! How can such a long and uneven state even function? His reaction thrilled many leaders from Madhya Bharat and Vindhya Pradesh, who were reluctant to merge into this large new entity. Yet others pushed for unity, arguing that only by combining the regions could Central India truly develop. After intense deliberations, the four territories — Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh, Central Provinces, and Bhopal — were officially merged. The first assembly session and a constitutional debate The first session of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly was convened on December 17, 1956, with 328 members, including 12 women. They came from all four former provinces — 150 from Central Provinces, 88 from Madhya Bharat, 60 from Vindhya, and 30 from Bhopal. During the very first oath-taking ceremony, a dramatic exchange set the tone for the new legislature.
Ramchandra Vitthal Bade, a Jana Sangh MLA from Madhya Bharat, raised a sharp question: Why are we taking the oath again when we’ve already taken it in our respective assemblies? What constitutional basis does this have? His point was supported by Thakur Niranjan Singh of the Praja Socialist Party, who echoed the same concern.
However, the presiding officer, Kashi Prasad Pandey, rejected their objections and proceeded with the oath. The handshake controversy: British customs vs. Indian traditions Another unique incident occurred during the same session. Traditionally, after taking their oaths, members would shake hands with the Speaker. But MLA Hiralal Sharma objected, saying this was an imitation of “English customs.” “After the oath, members should greet the Speaker with folded hands, not a handshake. It’s our Indian way,” he argued. The presiding officer didn’t respond directly, but from that day onward, the practice of folding hands in namaste became the Assembly’s unwritten tradition — one that continues even today. Wit and humor in the first legislative debate On December 18, 1956, the Assembly held its first official meeting with Pt. Kunjilal Dubey as the first Speaker. During discussions, MLA Gangaprasad Upadhyay humorously advised Chief Minister Pt. Ravishankar Shukla: You are now at the age where you should hand over your duties to a younger man and embrace the life of a hermit. Another MLA, Gulabchand Tamot, quickly countered, You don’t know Shuklaji. This isn’t the age of renunciation — it’s the age when even Vishwamitra’s penance was disturbed by Menaka! The remark triggered laughter across the House. When Shukla, who was engrossed in his papers, asked what was so funny, Speaker Dubey replied, “Ask Tamotji — he’s the reason for all this amusement.” Why Bhopal, not Jabalpur, became the capital The State Reorganization Commission had originally recommended Jabalpur as the capital of Madhya Pradesh. The city already had administrative infrastructure, better connectivity, and a strong political base. However, according to veteran journalist and former Makhanlal Chaturvedi University Vice-Chancellor Deepak Tiwari, several factors shifted the balance toward Bhopal. He writes in his book “Rajniti Nama Madhya Pradesh”: When the first Assembly Speaker of Madhya Bharat, Pt. Kunjilal Dubey, prepared to move from Nagpur to Bhopal, he quipped: ‘Pray or plead, nothing will help — only those who please Bhopal will find favor. There were also whispers of land speculation in Jabalpur. Newspapers at the time reported that the Seth Govind Das family had bought vast tracts of land along the Jabalpur–Nagpur Road, expecting the capital to be established there. When Nehru came to know about this, it is said that he preferred Bhopal — a more neutral, centrally located, and politically balanced option. Vindhya’s weakening and political calculations At that time, the Vindhya region was a stronghold of the socialist movement. If Jabalpur had become the capital, Vindhya would have remained politically influential. Choosing Bhopal helped centralize power and reduce Vindhya’s clout. Jabalpur’s protest: No lights, no Diwali When the final announcement came that Bhopal would be the new capital, Jabalpur erupted in protest. A five-member delegation met Nehru, Maulana Azad, Lal Bahadur Shastri, and Govind Ballabh Pant in Delhi — but returned empty-handed. The city observed a black Diwali that year — not a single home was illuminated, and Jabalpur remained shut in protest. At that time, Bhopal’s population was only about 50,000, mostly minorities, and it was still part of the Sehore district. It officially became a separate district only in 1972. A bureaucratic chaos: Files lost and offices in palaces When Bhopal became the capital, government files from Nagpur, Rewa, Indore, and Gwalior had to be brought in — a logistical nightmare. Some files remained at the railway station for almost a year because the new secretariat lacked storage space. Many of Bhopal’s nawabi palaces were converted into government offices, as the city lacked administrative buildings. Meanwhile, clerks and officers from Rewa and Ujjain even brought their favorite tea vendors along, setting up informal stalls outside the new Secretariat. Cultural clashes were common — Malwa officials disliked Vindhya’s dialect and vice versa. Sometimes, they even argued over the taste of poha. Fake promotions and forgotten ranks Administrative confusion also led to opportunism. Some officials falsified their ranks when transferring from the merged states. A clerk from Bhopal might claim he was a deputy collector — and with missing records, verification was nearly impossible. When asked for papers, some would shrug and say, “They’re still in a railway bogie somewhere.” Building Vallabh Bhavan: From foundation to landmark As the new state settled, Prime Minister Nehru laid the foundation stone of Vallabh Bhavan in 1958, chosen by then Chief Minister Kailashnath Katju at an empty patch south of the city, later named Lakshminarayan Giri. Construction took seven years, and under Chief Minister Dwarka Prasad Mishra, the building was named Vallabh Bhavan after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, whose ideals deeply influenced Mishra. At that time, Roshanpura Square was considered the edge of Bhopal city. New residential areas, North and South TT Nagar, were developed to house government employees. ‘G for Gadha’ instead of ‘G for Ganesh’ During his tenure as Education Minister, Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma — who later became India’s President — revised Hindi textbooks to reflect secular principles. Traditionally, children learned the alphabet with examples like “G for Ganesh.” Dr. Sharma, however, changed it to “G for Gadha (Donkey)”, arguing that religious symbols should not feature in state-run curricula. Thus, in Bhopal State, schoolchildren read “Gadha,” while in Madhya Pradesh, it remained “Ganesh.” The curious case of the Chief Minister’s house When Bhopal was declared capital, the next question was: Where will the Chief Minister live? After several options, the bungalow of then Inspector General S.N. Agha was selected — a grand residence that now serves as the VIP Guest House. However, Chief Minister Dwarka Prasad Mishra refused to live there, saying it was “unlucky.” He instead moved into a rented house in Shyamla Hills, overlooking the lakes that would soon define the capital’s landscape. From Nawabi town to political nerve centre Bhopal, once a princely state known for its palaces, mosques, and lakes, transformed into the political heart of central India. Its selection as capital was not just administrative — it symbolized a new balance between regions, languages, and ideologies. Seventy years later, the echoes of those early years still linger — in the humor of the first Assembly, the files once stranded at the station, and the enduring debate over whether Bhopal or Jabalpur should have led Madhya Pradesh’s destiny.