Consider the following pairs:

State	Description
I. Arunachal Pradesh	The capital is named after a fort, and the State has two National Parks
II. Nagaland	The State came into existence on the basis of a Constitutional Amendment Act
III. Tripura	Initially a Part ‘C’ State, it became a centrally administered territory with the reorganization of States in 1956 and later attained the status of a full-fledged State

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(d) None

The correct answer is (c) All the three.

Explanation

I. Arunachal Pradesh: Correctly Matched.
- Capital: The capital, Itanagar, is named after the historic Ita Fort, a 14th-15th century fort whose name means “Fort of Bricks”.
- National Parks: The state has exactly two National Parks: Namdapha National Park and Mouling National Park.
II. Nagaland: Correctly Matched.
- This statement is nuanced but correct. While a new state is created by an Act of Parliament under Article 3 (which is not an amendment), the state of Nagaland was formed on the basis of the 13th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1962.
- This amendment inserted Article 371A into the Constitution, granting special provisions to Nagaland. This was the constitutional basis required to finalize the 16-Point Agreement with the Naga People’s Convention, which led to the passing of the State of Nagaland Act, 1962, officially creating the state.
III. Tripura: Correctly Matched.
- This statement accurately describes Tripura’s political evolution.
- Initially: After merging with India in 1949, it was made a Part ‘C’ State under the 1950 Constitution.
- 1956 Reorganization: The States Reorganisation Act, 1956, abolished the Part ‘C’ category, and Tripura became a Union Territory (“centrally administered territory”).
- Full Statehood: Tripura later attained full-fledged status through the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971, which came into effect in January 1972.

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Formation of States in India

This question touches on the different ways states have been integrated and formed since 1950.

Arunachal Pradesh (Pair I): Originally known as the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA), it was administered by the Ministry of External Affairs. It was made a Union Territory in 1972 and finally became a full-fledged state in 1987. Its two National Parks are major biodiversity hotspots. Namdapha, in particular, is famous as it is the only park in the world to have four species of big cats: the tiger, leopard, snow leopard, and clouded leopard.
Nagaland and Article 371A (Pair II): The formation of Nagaland is a unique case. Normally, per Article 3 of the Constitution, Parliament can form a new state by a simple majority. However, to address the political aspirations of the Naga people, a special constitutional provision was needed first. The 13th Amendment provided this by adding Article 371A, which protects Naga customary law, land ownership, and religious practices.
The States Reorganisation of 1956 (Pair III): When the Constitution was adopted in 1950, states were grouped into four categories:
- Part A: Former British provinces (e.g., Bombay, Madras).
- Part B: Former princely states or unions of them (e.g., Mysore, Rajasthan).
- Part C: Chief commissioners’ provinces and some princely states (e.g., Tripura, Manipur, Delhi).
- Part D: Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 simplified this structure, abolishing the four-part distinction and creating only “States” and “Union Territories.” This is when Tripura was converted from a Part C state to a Union Territory.