Gujarat Day or Gujarat Foundation Day is celebrated every year on May 1 to commemorate the formation of a separate state for Gujarati speaking people in the year 1960 on May 1. The state of Maharashtra was also formed along with Gujarat on the same day. The large parts of Gujarati speaking population and region were part of the Bombay Presidency in British India. The broader region also included Marathi speaking areas and areas which went on to become a separate state by the name of Maharashtra. The Gujarat state day is celebrated with great fervour in the state of Gujarat marked by cultural programmes and events. This year, the Gujarat Foundation Day function will be held at Bharuch on May 1 with the governor O P Kohli and chief minister Vijay Rupani present at the event. Gujarat Foundation Day is celebrated in different districts in the state every year. Various events have been planned to celebrate the day including planting trees near river Narmada to celebrate the day.

The demand and the planning for a separate state of Gujarat or Gujarati speaking population started with the Mahagujarat conference which took place in the year 1948. The meeting was held with the objective of uniting all the Gujarati speaking population under one administrative body. The very word Mahagujarat encompassed in its scope the entire Gujarati speaking population including Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutchh. The term Mahagujarat was coined by the writer-politician Kanaiyalal Munshi at the Karachi meet of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad in 1937.

After India attained independence in 1947, there was demand from various regions of India to form states based on linguistic basis. One of the earliest such claims came from Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. It was followed by other regions speaking uniform languages such as Tamil Nadu (Tamil), Maharashtra (Marathi) among others. Indulal Yagnik, who came out of retirement from politics to struggle for the Mahagujarat movement, became the face of the movement and is lovingly called Indu Chacha for his contribution to the movement.

There was conflict regarding which state should "Bombay" and Dang be part of, as Mumbai was known then. Finally, the matter was resolved through dialogues and Bombay went to Maharashtra and Dang became a part of the state of Gujarat. Finally, the President Rajendra Prasad, Vice-President Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru agreed upon the formation of two new states after prolonged agitation. And thus, on May 1, 1960, the state of Gujarat and Maharashtra became separate states. Gujarat Day coincides with International Worker's Day or Labour Day which is being observed since the 19th century.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 27, 2018 05:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).