History

INDORE

Indore division is an administrative geographical unit of Madhya Pradesh state of India. Indore is the administrative headquarters of the division. The division consists of districts of Indore, Barwani, Burhanpur, Dhar, Jhabua, Khandwa, Khargone and Alirajpur..

The history of Indore reveals that the ancestors of the founders of the city were the hereditary Zamindars and indigenous landholders of Malwa. The families of these landlords led a luxurious life. They retained their possessions of royalty, including an elephant, Nishan, Danka and Gadi even after the advent of Holkars. They even retained the right of performing the first pooja of Dussehra (Shami Pujan). During Mughal rule, the families were granted confirmatory sanads by the Emperors Aurangzeb, Alamgir and Farukhshayar, confirming their ‘Jagir’ rights.

Indore, located on the Western region of Madhya Pradesh is one of the most important commercial centers of the state. The rich chronological history of Indore is worth considering. Even in days of yore it was an important business hub. But today with the entry of the corporate firms and institutions, it has earned a major name in the commercial sector of the country. As the story goes, Malharro Holkar of the Holkar clan, received Indore as part of his booty in the conquest of Malwa in 1733. His descendants, who formed the core part of Maratha confederacy, came into conflict with the Peshwas and Scindhias and continued the gory battle. There was a sharp turn in the History of Indore with the advent of the East India Company.

The Holkars of Indore took part in the battle against the Britishers in 1803. Their glory was razed to dust when they were finally beaten in the Third Anglo Maratha war IN 1817- 1818.The Holkar dynasty had to admit defeat and give up a large portion of the territories under them. Matters came to an extreme when the English started intervening in their succession right. Two of the successors abdicated under mysterious circumstances. The History of Indore became murkier and dark as days went by till the independence of India when in 1947 the state came under the dominion of India.

ALIRAJPUR

The District is named after its head quarter Alirajpur which was capital of the former princely state of Alirajpur. The territory is hilly and many of the inhabitants are Bhil’s. Being tribal dominated community Alirajpur area was being ruled by tribal kings in 15th century.

After the freedom in 1947, Alirajpur territory was absorbed into Indian Union. After that this area became a part of Madhya Bharat Administrate. After constitution of Madhya Pradesh on 1st November, 1956 Alirajpur came into Jhabua district. Although demand of a separate district for Alirajpur was raised but Jhabua was in between Petlawad and Thandla Tahsils on one side and between Jobat and Alirajpur on the other side. Therefore Jhabua was declared as a district headquarter. Since then Alirajpr was division headquarter having three big block development offices Alirajpur, Sondwa and Kattiwara respectively. Out of these Sondwa and Kattiwara Tappa were tahil adquarter. Simultaneously a demand of separate district for Alirajpur was being raised regularly.

The villages Vakhatgarh, Mathwar Kakrana etc. were connected with Narmada river in the interior. Public representative, public and political parties were also demanding of separate district for Alirajpur time to time. During Assembly elections 2003, Uma Bharti promised to make Alirajpur as a separate district. Since then the demand of district for Alirajpur was raised strongly. Due to the pressure of regional public, organizations and Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan delcared Alirajpur a separate district on 17th May, 2008 and thus a new administrative unit, Alirajpur was formed.

BARWANI

Town Barwani was the capital of old Barwani State before 1948. This small State was spared by British, Mughals and Marathas because of its rocky terrain and less productive soil. The Rana dynasty ruled the state throught the history. The history of this dynasty goes back to 13th century.

Town Barwani was also know as Badnagar and Siddha Nagar. The place is also famous for Chool Giri, Jain pilgrimage centre of Bawangaja.

Barwani has a Historic Symbol which is known as TIR-GOLA. It is located at Khandwa-Baroda Road, in front of Sagar Vilas Palace and was built in the memory of late son of Raja Ranjit Singh.

Before Independence Barwani was known as ‘The Paris of Nimar’.

BURHANPUR

Medieval History:-In 1536 A.D., the Mughal Emperor Humayun, after his conquest of Gujarat, had visited Burhanpur and Asirgarh via Baroda, Broach (Bharuch) & Surat. Raja Ali Khan (1576-1596 A.D.), also known as Adil Shah, was asked to submit to Akbar, when the latter had sent an expedition to Khandesh, in the summer of 1577 A.D. The former, to avoid the unequal contest with the mighty Akbar, dropped his royal title of Shah and accepted the Suzerainty of Akbar.This marked an epoch in the Deccan policy of the Mughals, for Khandesh was used as a base for the future Conquest of Deccan. Raja Ali Khan constructed many buildings like Jama Masjid in the upper portion of the fort of Asir in 1588 A.D., Jama Masjid at Burhanpur in 1590 A.D., Idgah at Asir, mausoleums & Serai at Burhanpur and Serai & Mosque at Zainabad.

Bahadur Khan (1596-1600 A.D.) successor of Raja Ali Khan declared his independence & refused to pay homage to Akbar & his son Prince Daniyal, which enraged Akbar, who marched towards Burhanpur in 1599 and occupied the City without any opposition on 8th April 1600 A.D. Akbar paid a visit to Asirgarh, so as to inspect it personally, where he stayed for 4 days before returning to his Head Quarter at Burhanpur.

ShahJahan’s Operation:-Prince Khurram was nominated as the Governor of the Deccan in 1617 AD, by Jahangir to succeed Prince Parviz, and was bestowed the title of Shah by Jahangir. Khurram led the Mughal army to a peaceful victory by which Jahangir was pleased with his success & conferred him the title of Shah Jahan on 12th October, 1617 AD. After the death of Jahangir in 1627, Shah Jahan ascended the throne of Mughal empire. Due to troubled conditions in the Deccan, he reached Burhanpur (Deccan) on the 1st March 1630, where he stayed for the following two years, conducting operations against Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, and Golkunda. On 7th June 1631, Shah Jahan lost his beloved & favourite wife Mumtaz Mahall at Burhanpur, and her body was buried at first in the Garden of Zainabad, across the river Tapti. Early in December of the same year (1631 AD), the remains of her body were sent to Agra. Later on 6th March 1632, Shah Jahan left Burhanpur for the north, after appointing Mahabat Khan as the viceroy of the Deccan.

Modern History:-From the mid 16th Century to the early 18th century, the Nimar region (including Burhanpur, East Nimar,West Nimar Barwani District), was under the rule/impact of Aurangzeb, Bahadur Shah (Mughals), Peshwas, Sindhia, Holkar & Pawar (Marathas ), Pindaris etc. Later from early part of the mid 18th century, the management of the Nimar region came under the British.

The Burhanpur district did not remain unaffected by the Great Uprising of 1857, which swept the country, against the British rule. In connection with the so called Riots of 1857, Tatya Tope had gone through the region of Nimar and before marching out of the region, burnt the police stations and Govt. buildings at Khandwa, Piplod and a number of other places and escaped again to central India by way of Khargone.

The Burhanpur district was greatly affected with the beginning of freedom movement, Non-Co-operation movement, Civil Disobedience movement, Quit India Movement etc., to obtain the Independence of the Motherland India, from late 18th century till 15th August 1947. During this time Near by District Khandwa was visited by Swami Dayanad Saraswati of Arya Samaj fame, Swami Vivekanand,the great monk & founder of Ramkrishna Mission, Mahatma Gandhiji in 1921, Lokmanya Tilak etc.

Young Nationalists of the Nimar Region, like Haridas Chatterjee, Makhanlal Chaturvedi, Thakur Laxman Singh, Abdul Quadir Siddique has attended the Calcutta Session of Congress in 1917. Tilak has visited Khandwa during his whirl-wind tour to central province in 1918. The district did not fail to make its contribution in non-co-operative movement. Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930 has also been participated by many people of the district. Editor of swarajya S.M.Agarkar was also arrested and imprisoned. Nav Jawan Sabha was established at Khandwa in 1931. Students had also participated in this movement.

DHAR

The Paramaras ruled over a vast territory around Malwa for 400 years from the 9th to the 13th centuries. Vakpati Munja and Bhojadeva were the most famous rurlers of this dynasty. Munja was a great general, a poet of repute and a great patron of art and literature. His court was adorned by poets like Dhananjaya, Halayudha, Dhanika, Padmagupta, the author of Navasahasankacharita, Amitagati, etc. He excavated the Munja Sagar at Dhar and Mandu and built beautiful temples at a number of places.

Bhojadeva, the most illustrious of the Parmaras, was one of the greatest kings of ancient India. His name became a household word in India not only as a soldier but also as a builder, a scholar and a writer. Authorship of a large number of books on a variety of subjects like gramer, astronomy, poetics, architecture and asceticism is ascribed to him. He shifted his capital from Ujjain to Dhar, where the established a university for Sanskrit studies. It is known as the Bhoja Shala in which was enshrined the image of Goddes Saraswati. He rebuilt temples, including the magnificient temple at Bhojapur. Bhoja also created a large lake near Bhojapur.

In the year 1305, A.D. the whole of Malwa passed into the hands of Al-ud-din Khalji when Dhar and Mandu were also captured. Dhar continued to be under Delhi Sultans until the reign of Muhammed II. At that time, Dilawar Khan Ghuri was the Governor of Malwa. In 1401 A.D. he assumed royality and established an independent Kingdom of Malwa, with his capital at Dhar. His son and successor, Hoshang Shah moved the capital to Mandu. Hoshang Shah died in 1435 A.D. and was entomed in the splendid mausoleum which is still existing at Mandu. On Hoshang’s death his son, Ghazni Khan, succeeded him. He ordered his capital Mandu to be called “Shadiabad (the City of Joy). He, however, had a very short reign, as he was poisoned to death by Mahmud Khalji in 1436 A.D. Mahmud Khan ascended the throne and inaugurated the reign of the Khalji Sultans in Malwa. Khalji Sultans continued to rule Malwa till 1531 A.D. Later Malwa was captured by Sher Shah and was placed under the charge of Shujat Khan. Shujat Khan was succeeded by his son Baz Bahadur. Mandu and its environs reverberated with the stories of romance of Rupmati and Baz Bahadur. When Baz Bahadur was defeated and put to fight by the Mugal army, his beloved Rupmati took poison and put an end to her life to escape dishonour.In the administrative organisation of Akbar, Dhar was the Chief town of a Mahal in Mandu Sarkar of the Subah of Malwa. Akbar stayed at Dhar for seven days, while directing the invasion of the Deccan. He also visited Mandu a number of times. Mandu was also a favourite resort of Emperor Jahangir, who stayed here for over six months in 1616 A.D. In his memoirs, Jahangir has payed glowing tributes to the pleasant climate and prety scenery at Mandu Noorjahan shot four tigers with six bullets, from the back of an elephant, near Mandu.

When Baji Rao Peshwa divided Malwa among Sindhia, Holkar and the three Pawar Chief, in 1832 A.D. Dhar was bestwed on Anand Rao Pawar. The rulers of Dhar held away over this area till 1948, except for a brief period of three years, following the grat Revolt of 1857.

Dhar was an important centre of Revolt, during the First War of Independence in 1857. Freedom fighters captured the Fort of Dhar which remained in their possession from July to October, 1857. The Bhils also took active part in the Revolt. The rebels paralysed the authority of the State and opposed the British. Consequently, a large force marched against Dhar under Colonel Durand, and captured the town. Just because three or four rounds were fired on the British troops by rebels, the British soldiers took a tribal revenge on the local people. They dragged civilians from their houses, killed them and looted their property ladies were dishonoured. The rebels defended the fort, till 31st October, 1857 when breach was caused. They, therefore, escaped through an underground passage.

As an aftermath of the Revolt, Dhar State was annexed to the British terriory. The British Government however, changed the decision of Government of India, and restored Dhar to Anand Rao III, on the 1st may 1860.

Mandu, clothed in green, with turbulent brooks and torrents rushing down into the encircling ravines, presents a magnificent spectacle. Thousands of tourists are drawn to Mandu, to have a glimpse of the splendid movements there.

Another place of great national importance is Bagh, where the caves have been excavated on the rockface of a lofty hill, on he bank of the Bagh river. The paintings at Bagh date back to a period between the 5th and the 7th centuries A.D., the Golden Age of Indian Art. Together with the Ajanta paintings, the Bagh paintings represent the finest traditions of Indian Art, which had a far-reaching influence on the Buddhist Art, not only in India, but on the entire Buddhist Art in Asia.

The majority of the population in Dhar District belongs to the Scheduled Tribes. The main tribes in the District are Bhils and Bhilalas. Their highest concentration is in Kukshi Tahsil.

JHABUA

The princely state of Jhabua was a guaranteed chiefship under the Bhoplwar Agency, Central India during the British Raj. It was bounded on the north by Kushalgarh State in the Rajputaua Agency, on the south by Jobat State, on the east by Ali-Raipur and Dhar, and on the west by the Pauch Mahals District of Bombay. The State lay wholly in the mountainous region of Malwa known as Rath which constituted of the western boundary of the Malwa plateau, and later became a part of the Malwa Agency in 1927.

After India’s independence in 1947, Jhabua’s last ruler signed the accession to the Indian Union on 15 June 1948, and Jhabua became part of the newly created Madhya Bharat state, which in 1956 was merged into Madhya Pradesh.

KHANDWA

Ancient Age: Explorations in the beds/tributaries of Narmada have revealed traces of the Paleolithic men in East Nimar district. Omkar Mandhata, a rocky island on the bank of Narmada river, about 47 miles North-West of Khandwa, is said to have been conquered by the Haihaya king Mahishmant, a scion of Yadu family, who had named the same as Mahishmati.

Sidhdhnath Temple, Omkareshwar

During the rise of Buddhism, the East Nimar region was included in Avanti Kingdom under Chand Pradyota Mahesana, which was later added to the growing empire of Magadha by Shishunaga.

From the early 2nd Century B.C. to late 15th Century A.D., the Nimar Region (earlier a part of Khandesh) underwent the ruling of many emperors from many dynasties, which include Mauryas, Sungas, Early Satvahanas, Kardamakas, Abhiras, Vakatakas, Imperial Guptas, Kalchuris, Vardhanas (of Harsha Vardhana fame), Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Paramaras, Faruki Dynasty etc.

Medieval Age:Peticularly Khandwa city in this district is not having remarkable history but the nearby district Burhanpur has glourious past during mogul-period and the impact of presence of such mighty places is obvious.

AsirGarh Burhanpur

In 1536 A.D., the Mughal Emperor Humayun, after his conquest of Gujarat, had visited Burhanpur and Asirgarh(both are now in Burhanpur District) via Baroda, Broach (Bharuch) & Surat. Raja Ali Khan (1576-1596 A.D.), also known as Adil Shah, was asked to submit to Akbar, when the latter had sent an expedition to Khandesh, in the summer of 1577 A.D. The former, to avoid the unequal contest with the mighty Akbar, dropped his royal title of Shah and accepted the Suzerainty of Akbar. This marked an epoch in the Deccan policy of the Mughals, for Khandesh was used as a base for the future Conquest of Deccan. Raja Ali Khan constructed many buildings like Jama Masjid in the upper portion of the fort of Asir in 1588 A.D., Jama Masjid at Burhanpur in 1590 A.D., Idgah at Asir, mausoleums & Serai at Burhanpur and Serai & Mosque at Zainabad (Near Burhanpur in Burhanpur District).

Shanwara Gate, Burhanpur

Shahjahan’s Operation:Prince Khurram was nominated as the Governor of the Deccan in 1617 AD, by Jahangir to succeed Prince Parviz, and was bestowed the title of Shah by Jahangir. Khurram led the Mughal army to a peaceful victory by which Jahangir was pleased with his success & conferred him the title of Shah Jahan on 12th October, 1617 AD. After the death of Jahangir in 1627, Shah Jahan ascended the throne of Mughal empire. Due to troubled conditions in the Deccan, he reached Burhanpur (Deccan) on the 1st March 1630, where he stayed for the following two years, conducting operations against Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, and Golkunda. On 7th June 1631, Shah Jahan lost his beloved & favourite wife Mumtaz Mahall at Burhanpur, and her body was buried at first in the Garden of Zainabad, across the river Tapti. Early in December of the same year (1631 AD), the remains of her body were sent to Agra. Later on 6th March 1632, Shah Jahan left Burhanpur for the north, after appointing Mahabat Khan as the viceroy of the Deccan.

Collector Office Building Khandwa

Modern Age:From the mid 16th Century to the early 18th century, the Nimar region (including East Nimar), was under the rule/impact of Aurangzeb, Bahadur Shah (Mughals), Peshwas, Sindhia, Holkar & Pawar (Marathas ), Pindaris etc. Later from early part of the mid 18th century, the management of the Nimar region came under the British.

The East Nimar district did not remain unaffected by the Great Uprising of 1857, which swept the country, against the British rule. In connection with the so called Riots of 1857, Tatya Tope had gone through the region of East Nimar district, and Khandwa and before marching out of the district, burnt the police stations and Govt. buildings at Khandwa, Piplod and a number of other places and escaped again to central India by way of Khargone.

The East Nimar district was greatly affected with the beginning of freedom movement, Non-Co-operation movement, Civil Disobedience movement, Quit India Movement etc., to obtain the Independence of the Motherland India, from late 18th century till 15th August 1947. During this time Khandwa was visited by Swami Dayanad Saraswati of Arya Samaj fame, Swami Vivekanand,the great monk & founder of Ramkrishna Mission, Mahatma Gandhiji in 1921, Lokmanya Tilak etc.

Young Nationalists of the district, like Haridas Chatterjee, Makhanlal Chaturvedi, Thakur Laxman Singh( of Burhanpur District), Abdul Quadir Siddique has attended the Calcutta Session of Congress in 1917. Tilak has visited the district during his whirl-wind tour to central province in 1918. The district did not fail to make its contribution in non-co-operative movement. Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930 has also been participated by many people of the district. Karmavir, weekly , was seized publication and its editor, Makhanlal Chaturvedi was sentenced to two years. Editor of swarajya S.M.Agarkar was also arrested and imprisoned. Nav Jawan Sabha was established at Khandwa in 1931. Students had also participated in this movement. They removed Union Jack from high school building and hoisted the tricolor, in this connection Raichand Bhai Nagda was fined and imprisoned.

The District also has contribution in Quit India Movement. The District Political Conference was held at Harsud sometime before August, 1942 had alerted the people for impending struggle.The Students of Robertson High School, Burhanpur( Burhanpur is now a new district but,formaly part of Khandwa District) hoisted Tri-colour on the school building on the 15th August. But it was removed by the police. The students organized the processions against this act of police till their demands of hoisting tricolor and pasting of photographs of national leaders did not met.

KHARGONE

According to historians, the civilization of Narmada Valley is very ancient. This area is associated with the Ramayana, Mahabharatkal, Satvahan, Kanishka, Abhiraoharsh, Chalukya, Bhoj, Holkar, Scindia, Mughal and British etc. There have been the effects of Jain, Yaduvanshi, Siddhanthi, Nagapanthi etc. in different periods. Remnants of ancient architecture are still capable of expressing historical texts in this area. This also proves to be found in the field of stone weapons. It is estimated that due to mixed land of Arya and Non-Varanasi civilizations, this area came to be known as “Nimayati” which, after a time, became negligent and changed into “Nimar” and then “Nimar”. (Nima = Half). In another opinion, this name was due to neem trees.

This region has always been important on the natural route connecting the northern and southern regions of India. In the various periods of history – this region has been a part of the empire of Hailar, Shinde, Pawar – the Ahir of Pehmar Asirigarh of Malwa, Muslim ruler of Mandu, Mughal and Peshwa and other Maratha warlords – of Maheshwar. With the formation of Madhya Pradesh state on November 1, 1956, this district came into existence as “West Nimar”. Due to the administrative requirements of time, on 25th May 1998, “West Nimad” was divided into two districts – Khargone and Barwani.