Madhya Bharat
Encyclopedia
Madhya Bharat also known as Malwa Union was an Indian state
in west-central India
, created on 28 May 1948 from twenty-five princely state
s which until 1947 had been part of the Central India Agency
, with Jivaji Rao Scindia as its Rajpramukh
. With the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947
, the princely states of India had all been released from British suzerainty
and had become fully independent. While most of the states' rulers quickly acceded
to India or to Pakistan
, those of Madhya Bharat delayed.
The union had an area of 46478 square miles (120,377.5 km²). Gwalior was the winter capital and Indore
was the summer capital. It was bordered by the states of Bombay
(presently Gujarat and Maharashtra
) to the southwest, Rajasthan
to the northeast, Uttar Pradesh
to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Vindhya Pradesh
to the east, and Bhopal State
and Madhya Pradesh
to the southeast. The state was mostly Hindu
and Hindi
-speaking.
On November 1, 1956, Madhya Bharat, together with the states of Vindhya Pradesh
and Bhopal State, was merged into Madhya Pradesh
.
. It had also the post of an Uparajrpamukh. The state had a Vidhan Sabha
of 99 members, who were elected from 79 constituencies (59 single member and 20 double member). There were 9 Lok Sabha
constituencies in the state (7 single member and 2 double member).
Jivaji Rao Scindia was Rajpramukh of the state from 28 May 1948 to 31 October 1956 and Liladhar Joshi was the first Chief Minister. He was succeeded by Gopi Krishna Vijayvargiya in May 1949. On 18 October 1950 Takhatmal Jain became the third Chief Minister of Madhya Bharat.
In the first general election in 1951, the Indian National Congress
won 75 seats and the Hindu Mahasabha won 11 seats. Mishrilal Gangwal of Congress became the Chief Minister on 3 March 1952. After his resignation, Takhatmal Jain again became the Chief Minister on 16 April 1955. He was the Chief Minister of the state till 31 October 1956.
to the north, the Bundelkhand
upland to the east, the Malwa Plateau to the south, and the East Rajasthan Uplands
on the west.
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...
in west-central India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, created on 28 May 1948 from twenty-five princely state
Princely state
A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...
s which until 1947 had been part of the Central India Agency
Central India Agency
The Central India Agency was a political office of the British Indian Empire, which covered the northern half of present-day Madhya Pradesh state. The Central India Agency was made up entirely of princely states, which were under native rulers...
, with Jivaji Rao Scindia as its Rajpramukh
Rajpramukh
Rajpramukh was an administrative title in India which existed from India's independence in 1947 until 1956. Rajpramukhs were the appointed governors of certain of India's provinces and states....
. With the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947
Indian Independence Act 1947
The Indian Independence Act 1947 was as an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that partitioned British India into the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan...
, the princely states of India had all been released from British suzerainty
Suzerainty
Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...
and had become fully independent. While most of the states' rulers quickly acceded
Instrument of Accession
The Instrument of Accession was a legal document created in 1947 to enable each of the rulers of the princely states under British suzerainty to join one of the new dominions of India or Pakistan created by the Partition of British India.-Background:...
to India or to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, those of Madhya Bharat delayed.
The union had an area of 46478 square miles (120,377.5 km²). Gwalior was the winter capital and Indore
Indore
Indore is one of the major city in India, the largest city and commercial center of the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Indore is located 190 km west of the state capital Bhopal. According to the 2011 Indian census, Indore city has a population of 1,960,631...
was the summer capital. It was bordered by the states of Bombay
Bombay State
The Bombay State was a state of India, dissolved with the formation of Maharashtra and Gujarat states on May 1, 1960.-History:During British rule, portions of the western coast of India under direct British rule were part of the Bombay Presidency...
(presently Gujarat and Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
) to the southwest, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
to the northeast, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Vindhya Pradesh
Vindhya Pradesh
Vindhya Pradesh is a former state of India. It occupied an area of 23,603 sq. miles. It was created in 1948, shortly after Indian independence, from the territories of the princely states in the eastern portion of the former Central India Agency. It was named for the Vindhya Range, which runs...
to the east, and Bhopal State
Bhopal State (1949-1956)
Bhopal was the name of state of India, which existed from 1949 to 1956. The state evolved out of the princely state of Bhopal, and was merged with neighboring states to form Madhya Pradesh in 1956. Shankar Dayal Sharma served as chief minister of Bhopal state from 1952 to 1956.- History :Before the...
and Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
to the southeast. The state was mostly Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
and Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
-speaking.
On November 1, 1956, Madhya Bharat, together with the states of Vindhya Pradesh
Vindhya Pradesh
Vindhya Pradesh is a former state of India. It occupied an area of 23,603 sq. miles. It was created in 1948, shortly after Indian independence, from the territories of the princely states in the eastern portion of the former Central India Agency. It was named for the Vindhya Range, which runs...
and Bhopal State, was merged into Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
.
Districts
Madhya Bharat comprised sixteen districts and these districts were initially divided into three Commissioners' Divisions, which were later reduced to two. The districts were:- Bhind DistrictBhind DistrictBhind District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India of Chambal region. The town of Bhind is the district headquarter....
- Gird DistrictGwalior DistrictGwalior district ) is one of the 50 districts of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The historic city of Gwalior is its administrative headquarters. Other cities and towns in this district are Antari, Bhitarwar, Bilaua, Dabra, Morar Cantonment, Pichhore, and Tekanpur.The district has an area of...
- Morena DistrictMorena DistrictMorena district is one of the 50 districts of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The name, Morena is derived from the mor + raina means the place where peacock is enormously found. Morena, which has an identity of being home to perhaps the largest number of peacocks in the India. The...
- Guna DistrictGuna DistrictGuna district is one of the 50 districts of Madhya Pradesh in central India. Its administrative headquarters is Guna. The district has a population of 12,40,938...
- Shivpuri DistrictShivpuri DistrictShivpuri District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state of India. The town of Shivpuri is the district headquarters. Important towns in the district are: Badarwas, Karera, Khaniyadhana, Kolaras, Narwar and Pichhore....
- Rajgarh DistrictRajgarh DistrictRajgarh District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The town of Rajgarh is the administrative headquarters of the district.The district has an area of 6,154 km², and a population 992,315...
- Bhilsa DistrictVidisha DistrictVidisha District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The city of Vidisha is the administrative headquarters of the district.-Geography:...
- Shajapur DistrictShajapur DistrictShajapur District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state of central India. The town of Shajapur is the district headquarters.Shajapur District is part of the Malwa Plateau. The district is situated in the northwestern part of the state and lies between latitudes 32"06' and 24" 19' North and...
- Ujjain DistrictUjjain DistrictUjjain District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The historic city of Ujjain is the district headquarters.The district has an area of 6,091 km², and a population of 1,709,885 , a 24% increase from its 1991 population of 1,386,465...
- Indore DistrictIndore DistrictIndore District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The district derived its name from the city of Indore, which serves as its administrative headquarters...
- Dewas DistrictDewas DistrictDewas District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The town of Dewas is the district headquarters.The district has an area 7,020 km², and a population 1,306,617 , an increase of 26% since 1991....
- Ratlam DistrictRatlam DistrictRatlam District is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The town of Ratlam is administrative headquarters of the district.-Geography:Ratlam District has an area of 4,861 km²...
- Dhar DistrictDhar DistrictDhar district is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The historic town of Dhar is administrative headquarters of the district....
- Jhabua DistrictJhabua DistrictJhabua district is a district of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The town of Jhabua is the administrative headquarters of the district.-Geography:Jhabua district lies in the western part of Madhya Pradesh...
- Nimar District
- Mandsaur DistrictMandsaur DistrictMandsaur District is a District of Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The town of Mandsaur is the administrative headquarters of the district.-Origin of name:...
Politics
The nominal head of Madhya Bharat state was RajpramukhRajpramukh
Rajpramukh was an administrative title in India which existed from India's independence in 1947 until 1956. Rajpramukhs were the appointed governors of certain of India's provinces and states....
. It had also the post of an Uparajrpamukh. The state had a Vidhan Sabha
Vidhan Sabha
The Vidhan Sabha or the Legislative Assembly is the lower house or the sole house of the provincial legislature in the different states of India. The same name is also used for the lower house of the legislatures for two of the union territories, Delhi and Pondicherry...
of 99 members, who were elected from 79 constituencies (59 single member and 20 double member). There were 9 Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
constituencies in the state (7 single member and 2 double member).
Jivaji Rao Scindia was Rajpramukh of the state from 28 May 1948 to 31 October 1956 and Liladhar Joshi was the first Chief Minister. He was succeeded by Gopi Krishna Vijayvargiya in May 1949. On 18 October 1950 Takhatmal Jain became the third Chief Minister of Madhya Bharat.
In the first general election in 1951, the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
won 75 seats and the Hindu Mahasabha won 11 seats. Mishrilal Gangwal of Congress became the Chief Minister on 3 March 1952. After his resignation, Takhatmal Jain again became the Chief Minister on 16 April 1955. He was the Chief Minister of the state till 31 October 1956.
Madhya Bharat Plateau
Madhya Bharat state was situated in the Madhya Bharat plateau (presently lying under most of northwestern Madhya Pradesh state and Central Rajasthan). This plateau is bounded by the Indo-Gangetic plainIndo-Gangetic plain
The northern Plains also known as the Indo - Gangetic Plain and The North Indian River Plain is a large and fertile plain encompassing most of northern and eastern India, the most populous parts of Pakistan, parts of southern Nepal and virtually all of Bangladesh...
to the north, the Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand
Bundelkhand anciently known as Chedi Kingdom is a geographic region of central India...
upland to the east, the Malwa Plateau to the south, and the East Rajasthan Uplands
East Rajasthan Uplands
East Rajasthan Uplands is a region of rolling plateau with rounded hills and forest. It is located in the eastern part of the Aravali Range of the Rajasthan state in northwest India, and forms part of the Central Highlands of India. These highlands range in altitude from 250 to 500 m above...
on the west.