Why was Gujarat separated from Bombay state in 1960?

Gujarat was separated from the state of Bombay on May 1, 1960, primarily due to linguistic differences and the resulting political agitation.12

Following India's independence, the state of Bombay remained linguistically divided, with Gujarati-speaking populations concentrated in the north and Marathi-speaking populations in the south. The Indian government had long faced pressure to reorganize provincial borders to reflect regional languages, a movement that gained significant momentum after the division of the former Madras province in 1953.123

In the case of Bombay state, persistent protests and demands from both language groups for their own administrative entities led to the decision to split the region. Consequently, the state was divided into two: the new state of Gujarat in the north and the renamed state of Maharashtra in the south.124