Punjabi Suba comes into being

Who: The new Punjab state, the new state of Haryana and an enlarged Himachal Pradesh, created under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966; Sant Fateh Singh and the Akali Dal, who had pressed for a Punjabi-speaking state.

What: Section 2(b) of the Act fixed 1 November 1966 as the appointed day. On that day the Punjabi-speaking state "became a reality", in the words of the Encyclopaedia of Sikhism. Section 3 formed the new State of Haryana, Section 4 formed the Union territory of Chandigarh, and Section 5 provided for the transfer of territory to Himachal Pradesh. Sections 78 to 80 left the Bhakra-Nangal works and the Beas project, and the board that managed them, under the Central Government.

Where: Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, the territories the Act reorganised.

Why it mattered: The Encyclopaedia reports that "the happiest man on that day was Sant Fateh Singh", who said, "A handsome baby has been born into my household." It adds, "Despite this euphoric summing up, the implementation of the Punjabi Suba had left many rough edges behind."

The rough edges were these:

• Chandigarh: the allocation of the city remained unresolved, and it was made a Union territory under Section 4 of the Act. The Rajiv-Longowal Accord of 1985 later promised its transfer to Punjab, and the transfer has not taken place.
• River waters: the distribution of river waters remained unresolved, and the Encyclopaedia says it continues "to rankle in the Punjabi consciousness". The Centre's control of the Bhakra and Beas works under Sections 78 to 80 was part of this settlement.

These unresolved questions fed the Anandpur Sahib Resolution of 1973 and the Dharam Yudh Morcha of 1982 to 1984.