grouse was that the benefits of development were reaching only few regions of the state.

In Assom, a new state called Meghalaya was created in December 1969 out of the tribal
districts of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo hills. Punjab, despite being formed in 1966, did not
have a capital of its own. During the period 1968-69, there were a series of demonstrations
asking for Chandigarh which served as the common capital of Haryana and Punjab to be given to
them. In Maharashtra, there was a curious demand of Bombay for Maharashtrians only. This was
led by the Shiv Sena. The main target of this party was the South Indians who the party
believed were cornering all the employment in the city.

At the same time, old demands also continued. The Kashmir and the Nagaland
demands also came up during this period. Sheikh Abdullah came back to the state
after he was freed from house arrest. Similarly in Nagaland, a new younger
leadership came up to take the struggle forward.

This was also a period of communal tension. There were riots in different
parts of the country including Ranchi (Bihar), Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Jalgaon
(Maharashtra) as well as Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh). These were difficult times.
A political transition has just happened and a new leadership was taking its place.
The new leadership was yet to be equipped to handle the multitude of pressures that
were arising as a result of the growing political awareness and articulation of demands.