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The ancestors of the founders of Indore were the hereditary Zamindars of the region which spread from the banks of Narmada to the borders of rajputana. In Mughal times, the founders of these families received title as Chaudhari, which established their claim to the land. In the 18th century, control of Malwa passed to the Peshwa clan, and the Chaudharis came to be known as "Mandloi"s (derived from Mandals) because of the language they used and eventually the Holkars conferred the title of Rao Raja upon the family). The family retained its possessions of royalty, which included having an elephant, Nishan, Danka and Gadi even after the advent of Holkars and also retained the right of performing the first puja of Dushera (Shami Pujan) before the Holkar rulers.
Under Mughal rule, the family enjoyed great influence and was accorded confirmatory sanads by the Emperors Aurangzeb, Alamgir, and Farukhshayar, confirming their 'Jagir' rights. Rao Nandlal Chaudhary Zamindar, upon visiting the court of Delhi, received a special place in the emperor’s court along with two jewel studded swords (now on display in the Royal British Museum under the family's name) and confirmatory sanads. Raja Savai Jai singh of Jaipur, a personal friend of his, gifted him with a special "Gold Langar" which guaranteed a special place to him in all the Durbars of India. The family’s respectability and influence over Malwa was instrumental in the ascent of the Peshwas and Holkars to rulership of this region.
Rao Nandlal Chaudhary, the founder of Indore, was the Chief Zamindar (landlord), and had an army of 2000 soldiers. In 1713, Nizam was appointed as the controller of the Deccan plateau area, which renewed the struggle between the Marathas and the Mughals. From time to time the Maratha invaders kept harassing the people of Malwa and thus Nandlal Chaudhari arranged to pay Rs.25000000 to them in return for guaranteeing the safety and security of his people, upon which the invaders returned to the Deccan.
While visiting the temple of Indreshwar near the banks of river Saraswati, Nandlalsingh found the location to be safe and strategically located, being surrounded by rivers on all sides. He started moving his people in, and constructed the fort of Shree Sansthan Bada Rawala to protect them from harassment by Marathas and Mughals. The city was named Indrapur (after Lord Indreshwar), and eventually came to be known as Indore.
Baji Rao Peshwa finally received the Viceroyalty of Malwa in 1743 A.D. and was bound by a treaty forbidding him from ever infringing upon the rights of Zamindars. Malhar Rao Holkar was one of the four signatories who guaranteed the proper fulfillment of the conditions. Upon victory the Peshwas appointed Malhar Rao Holkar as a “Subhedar”, which marked the beginning of Holkars' reign in Malwa.
Thus, Indore came to be ruled by the MarathaMaharajas of the Holkar dynasty. The dynasty's founder, Malhar Rao Holkar, (1694-1766), was granted control of Malwa Maratha armies in 1724, and in 1733, was installed as the Maratha governor of the region. By the end of his reign, the Holkar state was de facto independent. He was succeeded by his daughter Ahilyabai Holkar who ruled from 1767 to 1795. She ruled from a palace-fort at Maheshwar, south of Indore on the Narmada River. Ahilyabai Holkar was an architectural patron who donated money for the construction of Hindu temples across India. In 1818, the Holkars were defeated by the British in the Third Anglo-Maratha War, and the Holkar kingdom became a part of the British Raj. As a result of this defeat in the Battle of Mahidpur, the treaty of Mandsaur was signed, through which the Cantonment town of Mhow was handed over to the British. The treaty also decreed that the capital of the Holkar state would shift from Maheshwar to Indore.
In early 20th century, Indore was the home of Seth Hukumchand Jain, who became the first Indian to establish a jute mill in India. He is regarded to a pioneer of Indian industry, and a founder of several institutions and industries in Indore and nearby area.
After India's independence in 1947, Indore, along with a number of neighbouring princely states, became part of the Indian state of Madhya Bharat. Indore was designated the summer capital of this newly created state. On November 1, 1956, Madhya Bharat was merged into Madhya Pradesh and Bhopal was chosen as the capital.
The city palace was the seat of administration of the rulers of the Malwa region – The Holkars (26 May 1728 to 20 April 1948). The Rajbada was burnt in the 1984 riots, and thus converted into a garden, till 2006 when the present Maharani of Indore, H.H. Ushadevi Holkar, decided to rebuild the wada to its past glory. H.H. Ushadevi Holkar invited architects Himanshu Dudwadkar and Shreya Bhargava to design this challenging project and in 2007 the Rajwada found its place back in history. It became the only historic structure in India to have been rebuilt with exactly the same style, materials and method of construction as those of 250 years ago.
Formerly, the city of Indore was known by many different names.The first expected name of the city was Indreshwar which was named after the Indreshwar Temple in the city, but the other books says that it was supposed to be Ahilyanagari (The city of Queen Ahilyabai Holkar ) .
The present name Indore originated from the Indreshwar temple constructed in 1741 by Ved Manuj. It is also called as Induru
Geography
Indore is located in the western region of Madhya Pradesh, and is close to the centre of India. Indore has an average elevation of 1 metre. It is located on an elevated plain, with the Yadri range to the south. Indore's maximum width is increasing to Dewas on one side to Mhow on other side which is makes total distance of 65km.
Indore has a transitional climate between a tropical wet and dry and a humid sub-tropical climate. Three distinct seasons are observed, summer, monsoon and winter. Summers start in mid-March and can be extremely hot in April and May. The highest temperatures recorded was 48 °C in 1994. Average Summer Temperature may go as high as 42-44.c (100.4 °F) but humidity is very low. Due to Indore's location on the southern edge of the Malwa Plateau, a cool breeze (also referred to as Shab-e-Malwa) in the evenings makes summer nights quite pleasant. The monsoon season starts in late June, with temperatures averaging around 26 °C (79 °F), with sustained, torrential rainfall and high humidity. The average rain fall is 36 inches. Winters start in mid-November and are dry, mild and sunny. Temperatures average about 4-15 °C (40-59 °F), but can fall close to freezing on some nights. In summer temperature can be sometimes as high as 48-50 °C and in winters it can be as low as 2°C.
Indore gets moderate rainfall of 35 to 38 inches (890 to 970 millimetres) during July-September due to the southwest monsoon.
City Window
Indore is the largest city in Madhya Pradesh. Popularly, Indore is also known as City of Temples and Mini Bombay. Due to its rich variety and taste of the snacks, it is aka the Namkeen capital of India.
Indore is specially known for its Cuisines. People from all over the globe comes here to have the taste of Indori food & Malwi Cuisine.
Till few years back Indore was the only city of India where movies were released on Thursday one day ahead from other cities.
Transport
The city is well connected via Rail, Road and Air transport services. Indore has for a long time been a rail and road transportation hub.
The major bus terminals are Sarwate bus terminal, Naulakha bus stand, Jinsi bus stand and Gangwal bus terminal. Indore has 175 low floor, disabled people friendly city bus services named Atal Indore City Transport Service Limited (AICTSL) and metro Taxi services.
The City Railway Division comes under Western Railways of Ratlam Division. The City of Indore has Indore Junction BG as the main and terminal station on the broad gauge line connecting it to the rest of the country. This has been builted earlier as a reason for lack of rail connectivity improvement to the north Indore city. In the Railway budget of 2009 Indore main railway station was listed to be transformed in Modern railway station with other 300 stations across India.
Indore is one of the several places in India with both meter gauge and broad gauge railways operational. Regular train services connect Indore to most parts of the country. Trains are also available from nearby Ratlam Junction, Ujjain Junction, Khandwa, and Bhopal Junction stations. These can be reached by train or road within 2-5 hrs.
Besides Indore Junction Broad Gauge station, Indore has several other local railway stations within the city such as :
Mhow
Lakshmibai Nagar
Rajendra Nagar
Lokmanya Nagar
Rau
Patalpani
Omkareshwar
Mandavgarh
Saifee Nagar
Choral
Indore lies on the longest remaining functional meter gauge line in India, between Ratlam and Akola. This meter gauge section is scheduled for conversion to standard broad gauge under Indian Railways' projected Unigauge system.
Roadways
Indore is well connected to other parts of India through national and state highways. There are some major highways which pass through Indore and connect it to some major cities. The major highways passing through the city are:
There are daily Bus Services operated by private operators as well as government transport agencies of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan connecting Indore to major cities across Central and Western India.
The Indore City Transport Service Corporation Limited (I.C.T.S.C.L INDORE) has proud of launching 125 General Low Floor, 120 New Semi-Low Floor and 50 AC Special City Buses within the City of Indore.The Indore City Bus came in existence in year-2004.It now operates more than 200 GPS and IVR enabled CITY BUSES, with 30 Routes.The Corporation set up more than 130 Bus Stop Stations with GPS LED Display of Bus Timings.
Indore is served by the Devi Ahilyabai Holkar International Airport. Indore airport is about 5 Kms from the city csntre and currently is restricted to domestic services. An international terminal is under construction and the integrated control room tower and building is supposed to be completed by February 2010.
Demographics
Indore's total population in 2001 was reported to be 1, 516, 918. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Indore showed the best progress in the field of Education. As per 2001 census, the city of Indore has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy was 75%, and Female literacy was 64% which have been increased recently by year 2009 to 89% average literacy rate with Male literacy of 95% and Female literacy of 84% In Indore, 18% of the population is under 6 years of age. The average annual growth rate of population is around 2.85% as per the statistics of census 2001. Hindi is the main language spoken here. A considerable population of Indore can speak as well as understand Marathi due to the rule of Marathas (Holkars). Malwi is the local language spoken in Indore and its surrounding regions.
Like all other large cities, Indore too has several shopping malls, movie cinemas, restaurants and hotels. The Trade and Commerce is mostly same in all seasons except a special hike in retailing during the Diwali and New Year season. Indore's main trade is in clothing, Medicines and Educational services.
Industrial Areas
Pithampur, Sanwer, Mhow, are industrial areas of Indore having more than 2000 factories in the city . Pithampur is also known as the Detroit of India.
Land Development
From the Year-2001 Indore has become a place of interest for Construction and Real estate companies. Today many new Townships, Colonies, Malls and Theatres are developing very fastly which are recieving a vast and best response so as they are increasing rapidly. Many townships for example Indore Greens and others are being developed by multi national companies.
Education
Indore has many well-known institutions. Indore University, now Devi Ahilya Vishwa Vidyala (DAVV).
The Educational Multimedia Research Centre (EMRC) of the Devi Ahilya University is one of 17 media centres of UGC carrying out media production and runs two electronic media courses (MBA Media Management & M.Sc. Electronic Media).
In addition, the is a prestigious college of science. It is also one of the oldest science colleges, being established on 10 June 1891.
Daly College, Indore
Schools
The city is excellent in primary and secondary education too. Most of the schools in Indore include affiliation of Central Board of Secondary Education as well as I.C.S.E courses.
Colleges
Indore has developed as a centre for preparing students for higher education. There are a number of coaching centres that prepare students for entry into various Indian institutions.
There are also several local Business Schools, engineering colleges and medical institutions.
Media
Local media in Indore is strong and flourished. Indore has been seat of journalism in the state for a long time. There are a number of newspapers, magazines, and local radio and television stations.
There are about 19 Hindi dailies, two English dailies, 26 weeklies and monthlies, 3 quarterlies and one annual paper published from the city.
Although Nai Dunia is one of the oldest newspaper publication, with a history of 59 years, This newspaper has India’s first news base web portal which is in 9 regional languages i.e. Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, Malyalam and Hindi.
Indore has two cricket stadiums, Nehru Stadium and Usha Raje Cricket Stadium. There are also some sports club for lawn tennis & table tennis. Indore has organised various International cricket matches. Usha Raje Stadium is the biggest cricket stadium of Madhya Pradesh and has a capacity of around 45, 000 spectators and offers excellent International cricket facilities to facilitate day-night domestic and international cricket matches. Two matches have been played in the Usha Raje stadium between India and England. India was fortunate to win both matches.
Indore is also a traditional powerhouse for the game of basketball which has been growing in popularity over the last 3 to 4 decades. It is the home of India's first National Basketball Academy and has a world class indoor basketball stadium. Indore has successfully organised various National Basketball Championships and all this was single handed achievement and unparalled dedication of Late Dr. J.M.Sharma. Dr. Sharma pioneered and led a very active basketball community in Indore and has left an indelible mark on national and international scene.
The list of noted cricketers include Col. C. K. Naidu, Jamshed Nusserwanji Bhaya, Captain Mushtaq Ali, Hiralal Gaekwad (Ghassu), Narender Hirwani, Amay Khurasia and Sanjay Jagdale. Other well-known sportspersons are late Dr. Sharma (Basketball) and Manas Mishra (Powerlifting), Shankar Laxman & Saleem Sherwani (hockey) (Mhow tehsil).
Indore city has a variety of cultures. Over the years the city of Indore has welcomed people from all castes, creed and colour. People from all corners of the country have migrated & settled in the heart of Madhya Pradesh for their livelihood, education or just for its peaceful culture.
Indore also has a INTACH (Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage) chapter, which is currently engaged in preserving, documenting and conserving the rich heritage of Indore.
Food
Indore is famous for its culinary range. People of Indore (Malwa) are well known gastronomes.
Indore is known for its wide variety of "Namkeens", Poha & Jalebi, Chaats (snacks), various types of restaurants, and Bengali & Rajasthani sweets, as well as dishes such as Bafle-Gosht - a delicacy of Indore and Malwa Region
On 24th Feb, 2008 6.30 pm, a Guinness Book of World Record representative announced Indore to be the host of the biggest tea party with over 30, 000 people sipping the Brook Bond Red Label tea, breaking the previous record of 14, 718 people taking tea in Nishiao city of Japan in 2006. The event, organised by Dainik Bhaskar, also raised funds to the tune of Rs.50 million for city development.
Main festivals
All national festivals like Holi, Raksha Bandhan, Dussehra, Ganeshotsav, Deepavali, Ramzan, Gudi Padwa, Bhaubeej, Eid and other others like Nagpanchmi, Ahilya Utsav, are celebrated with equal enthusiasm.
Indore Development Authority (I.D.A) Chairman: Madhu Verma
Places of Interests
The Rajwada Palace of Indore
Rajwada - A seven storied palace built during the Holkar era. The main wada (the kings' residence) was rebuilt recently to its original glory by Ar Himanshu Dudwadkar and Shreya Bhargava and funded by Maharani Ushadevi Holkar.
Lal Bagh Palace - A beautiful palace spread across 200 acres (0.81 km) of land. It is now a museum and one can see the artefacts of the Holkar era.
Sitalamata Fall - A beautiful place near Manpur and about 65 km (40 mi) from Indore. You need to go around 5 km (3 mi) from the AB road.
Krishnapura Chhatri - By the banks of the much polluted Khan river, it is at a walking distance from Rajwada.
Devlalikar Kala Vithika - A well-known art gallery named after famous painter Vishnu Devlalikar
Khajrana Ganesh Temple - Temple of Lord Ganesha.
Patal Pani - A beautiful waterfall near Mhow. Patal Pani has a small railway station - the first after Mhow as one travels on the metre gauge track towards Khandwa.
The Temple of Janapao - On the National Highway 3 (India) road. 16 km (10 mi) from Mhow. The temple is on top of a hill in the village of Kuti. According to legend, it is the place where Jamadagni, the father of Parshurama, had his ashram. It is famous for a mela (fair) held on Kartik Purnima - the first full moon after Diwali,
Kajligarh - Nearly 20 km (12 mi) towards Khandwa on Khandwa road, its a very small old ruined fort situated near to a beautiful valley & small waterfall. Its worth watching during & after the rainy season. An Ideal one day outing spot which is yet unknown to even most of the Indorites
Thincha Falls - Located close to Kajligarh, its a beautiful waterfall near Simrol. Breathtaking beauty is what describes it the best. A must see during and after monsoons.
Annapurna Temple - A nice Hindu Temple, primarily of goddess Annapurna, in the west region of the city.
Zoo - The one and only one Zoo In Indore famous for number of animals.
Trivia
The gates of Lalbagh Palace, Indore, are a replica of the gates of Buckingham Palace in London. They were cast in England and then shipped to Indore.
Indore has a huge cricket bat called "Vijay Balla" made out of concrete with names of the players of the Indian team who won the 1971 series against Gary Sobers' West Indies team.
File:Bada Ganpati Indore.jpgBada Ganpati - The Biggest Idol of Lord Ganesha 40 feet (12 m) high idol at Bada Ganapati is the largest idol of Lord Ganesh in the world.
RRCAT(formerly CAT), Raja Rammanna Center for Advanced Technology is India's main Research center on Laser and Accelerator Technology, under the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India.
The famous Radio Mirchi 98.3(then 98.4) FM was started first in Indore, then spread to ten other cities of India including 4 metros.
Until the early 1990s, Bollywood movies were released on Thursdays in Indore, and released elsewhere on Fridays.
The first private landline telephone service in India was launched in Indore by Airtel by the name Touchtel.
Because of similarity between the lifestyles, fashion and taste Indore is nicknamed Mini Bombay.
The 250 year old Rajvada of Indore is the only structure in India which has been reconstructed as it existed using the similar materials and methods of construction in 2007 by architects Himanshu Dudwadkar and Shreya Bhargava.
Major General Sir John Malcolm, Central India, Part I, pp. 68-70
^ Major General Sir John Malcolm, Memoirs of Malwa (1912)
Major General Sir John Malcolm, Memoirs of Central India, Vol. I. pp.94-95
Patrick Geddes, "City Development", in A report to the Durbar of Indore Part 1. Indore:Historic Development" (1918)
Sukh Sampatti Rai Bhandari, History of the Indian States, Rajya Mandal Book Publishing House (1927)
"Malwa in Transition A Century of Anarchy", The First Phase 1698-1765 by Raghubir Singh of Sitamau. Year 1936.
"The Indore State Gazetteer". Volume 1-printed Under the authority of the Government of His Highness the Maharaja Holkar. Superintendent Holkar Government Press, Indore 1931.
"Memoirs of Central India", Volume I. by Major General Sir John Malcolm. Year 1823.
"Indore Holkar State Gazetteer". No.23, 1875.
"Malwa Sahitya". 5th Year Issue No.1. Year 1855.Indore.
"The Mandlik Papers and the Family". by Sardar M.V.Kibe. 1946.
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