Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal. Other major cities include Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Chhindwara and Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the second largest Indian state by area and the fifth largest state by population with over 72 million residents. It borders the states of Rajasthan to the northwest, Uttar Pradesh to the northeast, Chhattisgarh to the east, Maharashtra to the south and Gujarat to the west.
The area covered by the present-day Madhya Pradesh includes the area of the ancient Avanti Mahajanapada, whose capital Ujjain (also known as Avantika) arose as a major city during the second wave of Indian urbanisation in the sixth century BCE. Subsequently, the region was ruled by the major dynasties of India. The Maratha Empire dominated the majority of the 18th century. After the Third Anglo-Maratha War in the 19th century, the region was divided into several princely states under the British and incorporated into Central Provinces and Berar and the Central India Agency. After India's independence, the Central Provinces and Berar was renamed as Madhya Pradesh with Nagpur as its capital. This state included the southern parts of the present-day Madhya Pradesh and northeastern portion of today's Maharashtra.
Meanwhile Central India Agency was renamed as Madhya Bharat which included parts of present day north western Madhya Pradesh and became a separate state with Gwalior as its capital. In 1956, these states were reorganised and combined with the states of Vindhya Pradesh and Bhopal to form the new Madhya Pradesh state. The Marathi-speaking Vidarbha region was merged with the Bombay State. This state was the largest in India by area until 2000, when its southeastern Chhattisgarh region was designated a separate state.
Madhya Pradesh's economy is the 10th-largest in India, with a gross state domestic product (GSDP) of and has the country's 26th highest per-capita income of 109,372 (US$1272). Madhya Pradesh ranks 23rd among Indian states in human development index. Rich in mineral resources, Madhya Pradesh has the largest reserves of diamond and copper in India. 25.14% of its area is under forest cover. Madhya Pradesh has posted country’s highest agricultural growth rate which had averaged above 20 per cent over last four years. The state leads the country in production of pulses, oilseeds, soya bean, gram, pea, garlic, guava, and medicinal and aromatic herbs. Horticulture is being promoted as part of the state's Annual Action Plan. Its tourism industry has seen considerable growth, with the state topping the National Tourism Awards in 2010–11. In recent years, the state's GDP growth has been above the national average. In 2019–20, state's GSDP was recorded at 9.07%.
Etymology Madhya Pradesh name comes from the sanskrit words madhya (middle, central) and pradeś (state, province). It literally means "central province".
History
Isolated remains of Homo erectus found in Hathnora in the Narmada Valley indicate that Madhya Pradesh might have been inhabited in the Middle Pleistocene era. Painted pottery, dated to the later Mesolithic period has been found in the Bhimbetka rock shelters. Chalcolithic sites belonging to the Kayatha culture () and Malwa culture (1700–1500 BCE) have been discovered in the western part of the state. Madhya Pradesh is also the world's ninth-most populous subnational entity.
The city of Ujjain arose as a major centre in the region, during the second wave of Indian urbanisation in the sixth century BCE. It has served as the capital of the Avanti kingdom. Other kingdoms mentioned in ancient epicsMalava, Karusha, Dasarna and Nishadahave also been identified with parts of Madhya Pradesh.
Chandragupta Maurya conquered northern India around 320 BCE, establishing the Mauryan Empire, which included all of modern-day Madhya Pradesh. Ashoka the greatest of Mauryan rulers, conquered it, bringing the region under firmer control. After the decline of the Maurya empire, the region was contested among the Sakas, the Kushanas, the Satavahanas, and several local dynasties during the 1st to 3rd centuries CE. Heliodorus, the Greek Ambassador to the court of the Shunga King Bhagabhadra erected the Heliodorus pillar near Vidisha.
Ujjain emerged as the predominant commercial centre of western India from the , located on the trade routes between the Ganges plain and India's Arabian Sea ports. The Satavahana dynasty of the northern Deccan and the Saka dynasty of the Western Satraps fought for the control of Madhya Pradesh during the 1st to 3rd centuries CE.
The Satavahana King Gautamiputra Satakarni inflicted a crushing defeat upon the Saka rulers and conquered parts of Malwa and Gujarat in the 2nd century CE.Ancient India by Ramesh Chandra Majumdar: p. 134.
Subsequently, the region was conquered by the Gupta Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries, and their southern neighbours, the Vakatakas. The rock-cut temples at Bagh Caves in the Kukshi tehsil of the Dhar District show the presence of the Gupta dynasty in the region, supported by the testimony of a Badwani inscription dated to the year of 487 CE.Verma, Archana (2007). Cultural and Visual Flux at Early Historical Bagh in Central India, Oxford: Archaeopress, , p. 19. The attacks and the subsequent seize of Gwalior by the Hephthalites or White Huns brought about the collapse of the Gupta empire, which broke up into smaller states. The King Yasodharman of Malwa defeated the Huns in 528, ending their expansion. Later, Harsha (c. 590–647) ruled the northern parts of the state. Malwa was ruled by the south Indian Rashtrakuta Dynasty from the late 8th century to the 10th century.A Journey through India's Past (Great Hindu Kings after Harshavardhana), by Chandra Mauli Mani: p. 13. When the south Indian Emperor Govinda III of the Rashtrakuta dynasty annexed Malwa, he set up the family of one of his subordinates there, who took the name of Paramara.A Brief History of India by Alain Daniélou p. 185.
The Medieval period saw the rise of the Rajput clans, including the Paramaras of Malwa and the Chandelas of Bundelkhand along with the Lodhis. The Chandellas built the majestic Hindu-Jain temples at Khajuraho, which represent the culmination of Hindu temple architecture in Central India. The Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty also held sway in Gwalior and western Madhya Pradesh at this time. It also left some monuments of architectural value in Gwalior. Southern parts of Madhya Pradesh like Malwa were several times invaded by the south Indian Western Chalukya Empire which imposed its rule on the Paramara kingdom of Malwa.History of India by N. Jayapalan pp. 149–151. The Paramara King Bhoja (c. 1010–1060) was claimed to be a renowned polymath. The small Gond kingdoms emerged in the Gondwana and Mahakoshal regions of the state.
In early 10th century Gwalior and northern Madhya Pradesh came under the rule of Kachchhapaghata dynasty, they belongs to the rajput clan. Gwalior was attacked and conquered by the Turkic Delhi Sultanate in the 12th century. Around 1500 Kachchhapaghata women along with the ladies of royal family committed jauhar at Gwalior Fort. The Kachchhapaghata later shifted to Amer (Jaipur). After the collapse of the Delhi Sultanate at the end of the 14th century, independent regional kingdoms re-emerged, including the Tomara kingdom of Gwalior and the Muslim Sultanate of Malwa, with its capital at Mandu.
The Malwa Sultanate was conquered by the Sultanate of Gujarat in 1531. In the 1540s, most parts of the state fell to Sher Shah Suri, and subsequently to the Hindu king Hemu. Hemu, who had earlier served as the General of the Islamic Suri dynasty, operated from the Gwalior Fort during 1553–56 and became the ruler of Delhi as a Vikramaditya king winning 22 battles continuously from Bengal to Gujarat and defeating Akbar's forces in the Battle of Delhi on 7 October 1556. However, he chose Delhi as his capital after his formal Coronation in Gwalior. After Hemu's defeat by Akbar at the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556, Akbar seized Gwalior along with this most of Madhya Pradesh came under the Mughal rule. Gondwana and Mahakoshal remained under the control of Gond kings, who acknowledged Mughal suzerainty but enjoyed virtual autonomy.
The Mughal control weakened considerably after the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707. Gwalior came under the rule of Jats and Bhim Singh Rana become ruler. However, he was defeated by the Scindias in 1735. Between 1720 and 1760, the Marathas conquered most of Madhya Pradesh, resulting in the establishment of semi-autonomous states under the nominal control of the Peshwa of Pune: the Holkars of Indore ruled much of Malwa, Pawars ruled Dewas and Dhar, the Bhonsles of Nagpur dominated Mahakoshal-Gondwana area, while the Scindias of Gwalior controlled the vast northern parts of the state along with Ajmer and Agra. Later mughals accepted the surzenity of the Scindia dynasty. The most notable Maratha rulers of the region were Mahadji Scindia, Daulat Rao Scindia, Ahilyabai Holkar and Yashwantrao Holkar. Besides these, there were several other small states, including Bhopal, Orchha, and Rewa. The Bhopal state, which paid tribute to both the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad, was founded by Dost Mohammed Khan, a former General in the Mughal army.
After the Third Anglo-Maratha War, the British conquered the entire region. All the sovereign states in the region became princely states of British India, governed by the Central India Agency. The Mahakoshal region became a British province: the Saugor and Nerbudda Territories. In 1861, the British merged the Nagpur Province with the Saugor and Nerbudda Territories to form the Central Provinces.
During the 1857 uprising, rebellions happened in the northern parts of the state, led by leaders like Tatya Tope, Rani Avantibai Lodhi. However, these were crushed by the British and the princes loyal to them. The state witnessed a number of anti-British activities and protests during the Indian independence movement. Several notable leaders such as Chandra Shekhar Azad, B. R. Ambedkar, Shankar Dayal Sharma, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia, Arjun Singh and Madhavrao Scindia were born in what is now Madhya Pradesh.
After the independence of India, Madhya Pradesh was created in 1950 from the former British Central Provinces and Berar and the princely states of Makrai and Chhattisgarh, with Nagpur as the capital of the state. The new states of Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh, and Bhopal were formed out of the Central India Agency. In 1956, the states of Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh, and Bhopal were merged into Madhya Pradesh, and the Marathi-speaking southern region Vidarbha, which included Nagpur, was ceded to Bombay state. Jabalpur was chosen to be the capital of the state but at the last moment, due to political interference Jabalpur sacrificed his place of Capital but then Bhopal was made the state capital. In November 2000, as part of the Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act, the southeastern portion of the state split off to form the new state of Chhattisgarh.
Geography Location in India Madhya Pradesh literally means "Central Province", and is located in the geographic heart of India in between the latitude of 21.6°N–26.30°N and longitude of 74°9'E–82°48'E. The state straddles the Narmada River, which runs east and west between the Vindhya and Satpura ranges; these ranges and the Narmada are the traditional boundaries between the north and south of India. The highest point in Madhya Pradesh is Dhupgarh, with an elevation of 1,350 m (4,429 ft).
The state is bordered on the west by Gujarat, on the northwest by Rajasthan, on the northeast by Uttar Pradesh, on the east by Chhattisgarh, and on the south by Maharashtra.
Climate