Place:Indore, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India

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NameIndore
Alt namesIndursource: Encyclopædia Britannica (1988) VI, 299
TypeCity or town
Coordinates22.7°N 75.9°E
Located inIndore, Madhya Pradesh, India     (1715 - )
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Indore is the largest and most populous city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and has campuses of both the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Management. Located on the southern edge of Malwa Plateau, at an average altitude of above sea level, it has the highest elevation among major cities of Central India. The city is west of the state capital of Bhopal. Indore had a census-estimated 2011 population of 1,994,397 (municipal corporation)[1] and 3,570,295 (urban agglomeration).[2] The city is distributed over a land area of just , making Indore the most densely populated major city in the central province.

Indore traces its roots to its 16th-century founding as a trading hub between the Deccan and Delhi. The city and its surroundings came under Maratha Empire on 18 May 1724 after Peshwa Baji Rao I assumed the full control of Malwa. During the days of the British Raj, Indore State was a 19 Gun Salute (21 locally) princely state (a rare high rank) ruled by the Maratha Holkar dynasty, until they acceded to the Union of India. Indore served as the capital of the Madhya Bharat from 1950 until 1956.

Indore's financial district, based in central Indore, functions as the financial capital of Madhya Pradesh and is home to the Madhya Pradesh Stock Exchange.

Indore has been selected as one of the 100 Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under the Smart Cities Mission. It also qualified the first round of Smart Cities Mission and was selected as one of the first twenty cities to be developed as Smart Cities. Indore has been part of Swachh Survekshan since its inception and had ranked 25th in 2016. It has been ranked as India's cleanest city five years in a row as per the Swachh Survekshan for the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Meanwhile, Indore has also been declared as India's first 'water plus' city under the Swachh Survekshan 2021. Indore became the only Indian city to be selected for International Clean Air Catalyst Programme. The project with cooperation of Indore Municipal Corporation and Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board, will be operated for a period of five years to purify the air in the city.

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History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Gupta Empire (Gupta Era)

Gupta Empire inscription mentions Indore as city/town of Indrapura in Gupta Indore Copper plate inscription dated 146 Gupta era or 465 CE. These are also some of the earliest mentions of Indore where the city is mentioned as 'Indrapura'. Indrapura (modern day Indore) was then known for its sun temple, where in 464-65 CE, Gupta king Skandagupta had made an endowment for the permanent maintenance of the city's sun temple. The temple was constructed by two merchants of the city – Achalavarman and Bhṛikuṇṭhasiṁha.[3]


Maratha Raj (Holkar Era)

Under the suzerainty of Mughals, Rao Nandlal Chaudhary, who was the chief of the Zamindars of Kampel, Indore, controlled Indore and some of its nearby areas.

By 1720, the headquarters of the local pargana were transferred from Kampel to Indore, due to the increasing commercial activity in the city. On 18 May 1724, the Nizam accepted the rights of the Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao I to collect chauth (taxes) from the area. In 1733, the Peshwa assumed the full control of Malwa and appointed his commander Malhar Rao Holkar as the Subhedar (Governor) of the province. Nandlal Chaudhary accepted the suzerainty of the Marathas.

On 29 July 1732, Bajirao Peshwa-I granted Holkar State by merging 28 and one-half Parganas to Malhar Rao Holkar, the founding ruler of Holkar dynasty. His daughter-in-law Ahilyabai Holkar moved the state's capital to Maheshwar in 1767, but Indore remained an important commercial and military center.

Princely State (Indore/Holkar State)

Ahalyabai Holkar is fondly remembered as a noble, saintly and courageous woman. She ruled the kingdom of Indore (which was then part of the wider Maratha Empire) for several decades. Her rule is remembered as a golden age in Indore’s history. From an agricultural background herself, she married Khande Rao, prince of Indore. Thereafter, she resided in the Royal Palace. Later, she was trained in statecraft and accompanied the army to war on many occasions. At that time the Maratha Empire (which was founded by Shivaji) was at the apex of its power. There were frequent battles and skirmishes, both against foreigners as well as internal feuds. In one such battle in 1754, Ahalyabai’s husband was killed. Her aged father-in-law (Malhar Rao) was shattered at the death of his son. He summoned Ahalyabai, who he loved deeply, and said: “You are now my son. I wish that you look after my kingdom.”Malhar Rao Holkar died in 1766, 12 years after the death of his son Khande Rao. Malhar Rao's grandson and Khande Rao's only son Male Rao Holkar became the ruler of Indore in 1766, under Ahilya Bai's regency , but he too died within few months in April 1767. Ahilya Bai became the ruler of Indore after the death of her son with Khande Rao. Ahilya Bai was a great pioneer and builder of Hindu temples who constructed hundreds of temples and Dharmashalas throughout India. She is specially renowned for refurbishing and reconsecrating some of the most sacred sites of Hindu pilgrimage that had been desecrated and demolished in the previous century by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb including:

  • Kashi Vishwanath Temple
  • Ayodhya – Construction of Shri Rama Temple, Sarayu Ghat
  • Badrinath – Construction of Shri Kedareshwar Temple and Hari Temple, Dharamshalas (at Rangdachati, Bidarchati, Vyasaganga, Tunganath, Pawali), construction of many kundas (at Gaurkund, Kundachatri), a garden and a kunda of warm water at Devprayag, pastoral land for cows
  • Dwarka – Mohatajkhana, Pooja House and donation of some villages to the priests of the Dwarkadhish Temple
  • Kedarnath – Dharmashala and Kund)
  • Omkareshwar – Renovation of the temples of Mamaleshwar Mahadev, Amaleshwar and Trambakeshwar Temples, completing the construction of Gauri-Somnath temple, construction of a Dharmashala & pond, donation of a silver mask for adoration of the Shivalinga
  • Rameswaram – Construction of Hanumana Temple, Shri Radha Krishna Temple, a Dharmashala, Well & Garden and many more.

In 1818, the Holkars were defeated by the British during the Third Anglo-Maratha War, in the Battle of Mahidpur by which the capital was again moved from Maheshwar to Indore. A residency with British residents was established at Indore, but Holkars continued to rule Indore State as a princely state mainly due to efforts of their Dewan Tatya Jog. During that time, Indore has established the headquarters of the British Central Agency. Ujjain was originally the commercial center of Malwa. But the British administrators such as John Malcolm decided to promote Indore as an alternative to Ujjain because the merchants of Ujjain had supported anti-British elements.

In 1906 electric supply was started in the city, the fire brigade was established in 1909, and 1918, the first master-plan of the city was made by noted architect and town planner, Patrick Geddes. During the period of Maharaja Tukoji Rao Holkar II (1852–86) efforts were made for the planned development and industrial development of Indore. With the introduction of Railways in 1875, the business in Indore flourished during the reigns of Maharaja Shivaji Rao Holkar, Maharaja Tukoji Rao Holkar III and Maharaja Yeshwant Rao Holkar.


Post-independence

After India's independence in 1947, Holkar State, along with several neighboring princely states, acceded to the Indian Union. In 1948, with the formation of Madhya Bharat, Indore became the summer capital of the new state. On 1 November 1956, when Madhya Bharat was renamed/merged into Madhya Pradesh, the state capital was shifted to Bhopal. Indore, a city today of nearly 4.5 million (2018) residents, has been transformed from a traditional commercial urban center into the modern dynamic commercial capital of the state.

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