South India - Subdivisions

Subdivisions

South India consists of the four southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Pondicherry and the Lakshadweep archipelago. Together with Pondicherry, each South Indian state has an elected state government, while the Lakshadweep islands are centrally administered by the President of India. The modern states of South India were created as a result of the States Reorganisation Act (1956), which established states and union territories based on linguistic boundaries. As a result of this act:

• Andhra Pradesh was created with the merger of Andhra State with the Telugu-speaking districts of Hyderabad State.
• Kerala was created with the merger of Malabar district and the Kasaragod taluk of South Canara district, Madras State with Travancore-Cochin State.
• The existing Mysore State was reorganised and the districts of Bellary and South Canara (excluding Kasaragod taluk) and the Kollegal taluk of Coimbatore district from the then Madras State, the districts of Belgaum, Bijapur, North Canara and Dharwad from Bombay State, the Kannada-majority districts of Bidar, Raichur and Gulbarga in the then Hyderabad State and the province of Coorg were included in it. Mysore State was renamed as Karnataka in 1973.
• The Union Territory of Pondicherry was created in 1954 comprising the enclaves of Pondicherry, Karaikal, Yanam and Mahé in French India
• The Laccadive Islands which were divided between South Canara and Malabar districts of Madras State were united and organised into the union territory of Lakshadweep.
• The remaining parts of Madras State were retained under the same administration with the same name. The state was subsequently renamed Tamil Nadu in 1968.

Each subregion is further divided into districts; the region of South India has over 100 districts. Each state is headed by a Governor, who is a direct appointee of the President of India, while the Chief Minister is the elected head of the state government and represents the states ruling party or coalition (the role of the Governor is largely ceremonial).