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Pune, March 27, 2025: FLAME University’s Centre for Legislative Education and Research recently hosted the India in Transition Conclave to discuss 75 years of evolution of Indian states and districts. The conclave brought together thought leaders, policymakers, and researchers and served as a pivotal platform for conversations on governance structures, policy implications, and contemporary and historical aspects of territorial restructuring in India. During the event, the University also officially launched a first-of-its-kind open-access digital repository, IndiaStateStory.in chronicling India’s state and district formation through interactive data visualizations, archival records, and policy insights. The event also launched 26 posters, which visually chronicle the history of formation of Indian States and Union territories, and its district evolution.
Speaking on this path-breaking initiative, Prof. M.A. Venkataramanan, Pro Vice-Chancellor, FLAME University, stated, “The launch of IndiaStateStory.in marks a significant step in our mission to promote a research-driven policy discourse in India. This conclave highlights the University’s unwavering commitment to interdisciplinary India-led research and public policy engagement. By making governance insights accessible to all, we hope to contribute meaningfully to the evolving dialogue on state governance.”
Prof. Shivakumar Jolad, Faculty of Public Policy, FLAME University and his team led the India State project, and curated the digital repository and posters.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Jolad and Prof. Maya Dodd, Director, Centre for Legislative Education and Research, FLAME University, underscored the significance of democratizing access to historical governance data and shared, “With IndiaStateStory.in, we are digitizing public knowledge resources that are currently available with our government bodies in the form of physical documents. Through this digital initiative, we are making this data easily accessible online and are thus empowering students, researchers, policymakers, citizens, and our society at large to engage deeply with the historical transitions of India’s territorial landscape. The open digital repository is a pioneering initiative that aims to bridge the gap between academic research and public discourse, promoting greater transparency and accountability in governance.”
In his keynote address, Dr. Sanjeev Chopra, IAS (Retired), former Director of LBSNAA-Mussoorie, and author of the book: We, the People of the States of Bharat, said, “The formation of Indian states—from the British era to the present day—has a complex and layered history, as documented in my book. Maps of India, from colonial times to the present, reveal fascinating shifts in both internal and external boundaries. I congratulate FLAME University’s Centre for Legislative Education and Research and the research team of IndiaStateStory for bringing these state stories to life through digitized maps, visuals,, on their website, and illustrated posters.”
The conclave also featured a series of expert-led sessions and panel discussions on state formation, district reorganization, governance structures, legal and constitutional considerations, and policy challenges. Panel discussions explored themes such as the political and administrative evolution of Indian states and districts; statehood demands and the future of Indian states; Union-States relations, federalism, and delimitation; district formation and its consequence; the need for digitization of spatial and temporal data for governance, among others. Notable speakers included policy analysts, legal experts, senior bureaucrats, and academic researchers specializing in governance and political history.
The launch of IndiaStateStory.in will help with a data-driven and research-oriented approach to governance studies. It will provide a vast repository of historical and policy-driven insights and will serve as a valuable resource for students, policymakers, governance experts, and global researchers seeking to understand India’s administrative evolution.
The India in Transition Conclave reaffirmed FLAME University’s dedication to enabling critical discussions and fostering research-driven policy engagement in the years to come.
