Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh
State
From top, left to right: Dulhadev temple at the Khajuraho Group of Monuments, Great Stupa of Sanchi, Ancient city of Mandu, Chital deer at Kanha National Park, Marble Rocks, Bhimbetka rock shelters and Kundalpur Jain temples
Emblem
Etymology: Madhya (meaning 'central') and Pradesh (meaning 'province or territory')
Anthem: "Mera Madhya Pradesh" ("My Madhya Pradesh")[1]of
Location of Madhya Pradesh in India
Country	India
Region	Malwa, Bundelkhand, Baghelkhand, Nimar, Mahakoshal and Gird (Gird region also includes Chambal division)
Formation	1 November 1956
Capital	Bhopal
Largest city	Indore
Divisions	List Bhopal division Chambal division Gwalior division Indore division Jabalpur division Narmadapuram division Rewa division Sagar division Shahdol division Ujjain division
Government
• Body	Government of Madhya Pradesh
• Governor	Anandiben Patel (additional charge)[2][3]
• Chief Minister	Shivraj Singh Chouhan (BJP)[4]
• Legislature	Unicameral (230 seats)
• Parliamentary constituency	Lok Sabha (29 seats) Rajya Sabha (11 seats)
• High Court	Madhya Pradesh High Court
Area
• State	308,245 km2 (119,014 sq mi)
Area rank	2nd
Population  (2011)[5]
• State	72,626,809
• Rank	5th
• Density	240/km2 (610/sq mi)
• Urban	20,059,666
• Rural	52,537,899
GDP (2020-21) [6]
• Total	₹9.18 lakh crore (US$130 billion)
• Per capita	₹98,418 (US$1,400)
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
PIN	45xxxx-46xxxx-47xxxx-48xxxx
ISD code	91-07xxx
ISO 3166 code	IN-MP
Vehicle registration	MP
HDI (2018)	0.606[7] medium · 33rd
Literacy (2011)	70.6%[5]
Sex ratio (2011)	931 ♀/1000 ♂[8]
Official language	Hindi[9]
Website	mp.gov.in
Symbols of Madhya Pradesh Emblem Emblem of Madhya Pradesh Song Mera Madhya Pradesh Dance Maanch Mammal Barasingha Bird Indian Paradise Flycatcher Fish Mahseer[10] Flower white lily[11] Fruit Mango Tree Banyan Tree

Madhya Pradesh (/ˌmʌðjə prəˈðeɪʃ/, Hindi: [ˈmədʱjə pɾəˈdeːʃ] ( listen); meaning Central Province) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Gwalior, Ujjain, Satna, Sagar, Rewa, Betul, Balaghat, Khandwa, Shivpuri, Damoh and Chhindwara being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second largest Indian state by area and the fifth largest state by population with over 75 million residents. It borders the states of Uttar Pradesh to the northeast, Chhattisgarh to the southeast, Maharashtra to the south, Gujarat to the west, and Rajasthan to the northwest.^[12]

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 Anglo Maratha Wars 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, Madhya Pradesh state was created with Nagpur as its capital: this state included the southern parts of the present-day Madhya Pradesh and northeastern portion of today's Maharashtra. In 1956, this state was reorganised and its parts were combined with the states of Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh and Bhopal to form the new Madhya Pradesh state, the Marathi-speaking Vidarbha region was removed and 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.

The economy of Madhya Pradesh is the tenth-largest state economy in India with ₹8.09 lakh crore (US$110 billion) in gross domestic product and a per capita GDP of ₹90,000 (US$1,300).^[6] Madhya Pradesh ranks 32nd among Indian states in human development index.^[7] Rich in mineral resources, Madhya Pradesh has the largest reserves of diamond and copper in India. More than 30% of its area is under forest cover. Its tourism industry has seen considerable growth, with the state topping the National Tourism Awards in 2010–11.^[13] In recent years, the state's GDP growth has been above the national average.^[14] In 2019-20, states's GSDP was recorded at 9.07.^[15]

Madhya Pradesh Intro articles: 35

History

Isolated remains of Homo erectus found in Hathnora in the Narmada Valley indicates that Madhya Pradesh might have been inhabited in the Middle Pleistocene era.^[16] Painted pottery dated to the later mesolithic period has been found in the Bhimbetka rock shelters.^[17] Chalcolithic sites belonging to Kayatha culture (2100–1800 BCE) and Malwa culture (1700–1500 BCE) have been discovered in the western part of the state.^[18] 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 epics—Malava, Karusha, Dasarna and Nishada—have also been identified with parts of Madhya Pradesh.

Chandragupta Maurya united northern India around 320 BCE, establishing the Mauryan Empire, which included all of modern-day Madhya Pradesh. Ashoka the greatest of Mauryan rulers brought 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 first century BCE, 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.^[19]

Subsequently, the region came under the control of the Gupta empire in the 4th and 5th centuries, and their southern neighbours, the Vakataka's. The rock-cut temples at Bagh Caves in the Kukshi tehsil of the Dhar district attest to the presence of the Gupta dynasty in the region, supported by the testimony of a Badwani inscription dated to the year of 487 CE.^[20] The attacks of 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.^[21] 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.^[22]

The Medieval period saw the rise of the Rajput clans, including the Paramaras of Malwa and the Chandelas of Bundelkhand. 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 northern 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.^[23] The Paramara king Bhoja (c. 1010–1060) was a renowned polymath. The small Gond kingdoms emerged in the Gondwana and Mahakoshal regions of the state. Northern Madhya Pradesh was conquered by the Turkic Delhi Sultanate in the 13th century. 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 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 Gujrat 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 and left Gwalior. After Hemu's defeat by Akbar at the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556, most of Madhya Pradesh came under the Mughal rule. Gondwana and Mahakoshal remained under the control of Gond kings, who acknowledged Mughal supremacy but enjoyed virtual autonomy.

The Mughal control weakened considerably after the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707. Between 1720 and 1760, the Marathas took control of 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 northern parts of the state. The most notable Maratha rulers of the region were Mahadji Shinde, 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 took control of 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. 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.^[24] Several notable leaders such as Chandra Shekhar Azad, B. R. Ambedkar, Shankar Dayal Sharma, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Arjun Singh 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, Bhopal was made the state capital.^[25] In November 2000, as part of the Madhya Pradesh Reorganization Act, the southeastern portion of the state split off to form the new state of Chhattisgarh.

• Mesolithic rock painting, Bhimbetka rock shelters, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

• Kandariya Mahadeva Temple, Khajuraho

• Bateshwar temple complex, Padavli, Morena

• Chausath Yogini Temple, Mitavli, Morena

• Sahastra Bahu Temples, Gwalior Fort

• Teli ka Mandir, Gwalior Fort

• Shiva Temple in Bhojpur

• Lakshmi Temple, Orchha

• Brahma statue with various deities at Amarkantak.

• Gwalior Fort, Gwalior

Madhya Pradesh History articles: 107

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).^[26]

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

Madhya Pradesh has a subtropical climate with a hot dry summer (April–June), followed by monsoon rains (July–September) and a cool and relatively dry winter. The average rainfall is about 1,194 mm (47.0 in). The southeastern districts have the heaviest rainfall, some places receiving as much as 2,150 mm (84.6 in), while the western and northwestern districts receive 1,000 mm (39.4 in) or less.

Ecology

According to the 2011 figures, the recorded forest area of the state is 94,689 km² (36,560 sq mi) constituting 30.72% of the geographical area of the state.^[27] It constitutes 12.30% of the forest area of India. Legally this area has been classified into "Reserved Forest" (65.3%), "Protected Forest" (32.84%) and "Unclassified Forest" (0.18%). Per capita forest area is 2,400 m² (0.59 acres) as against the national average of 700 m² (0.17 acres). The forest cover is less dense in the northern and western parts of the state, which contain the major urban centres. Variability in climatic and edaphic conditions brings about significant difference in the forest types of the state. In January 2019 1.5 million volunteers in the state planted 66 million trees in 12 hours along the Narmada river.^[28]

The major types of soils found in the state are:

• Black soil, most predominantly in the Malwa region, Mahakoshal and in southern Bundelkhand
• Red and yellow soil, in the Baghelkhand region
• Alluvial soil, in Northern Madhya Pradesh
• Laterite soil, in highland areas
• Mixed soil, in parts of the Gwalior and Chambal divisions

Flora and fauna

Madhya Pradesh is home to ten National Parks; Bandhavgarh National Park, Kanha National Park, Satpura National Park, Sanjay National Park, Madhav National Park, Van Vihar National Park, Mandla Plant Fossils National Park, Panna National Park, Pench National Park and Dinosaur National Park, Dhar.^[29][30]

There are also a number of nature reserves, including Amarkantak, Bagh Caves, Balaghat, Bori Natural Reserve, Ken Gharial, Ghatigaon, Kuno Palpur, Narwar, Chambal, Kukdeshwar, Narsinghgarh, Nora Dehi, Pachmarhi, Panpatha, Shikarganj, Patalkot, and Tamia. Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve in Satpura Range, Amarkantak biosphere reserve and Panna National Park are three of the 18 biosphere reserves in India. Most of them are located in eastern Madhya Pradesh near Jabalpur.

• Langur monkey (Semnopithecus dussumieri), Orchha

• Tigress with cubs in Kanha Tiger Reserve

• Tickell's blue flycatcher, Bandhavgarh National Park

• Vultures in the nest, Orchha

• Male nilgais fighting, Lakeshwari, Gwalior district

Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Panna, and Satpura National Parks are managed as Project Tiger areas. The National Chambal Sanctuary is managed for conservation of gharial and mugger, river dolphin, smooth-coated otter and a number of turtle species. Ken-gharial and Son-gharial sanctuaries are managed for conservation of gharial and mugger. The barasingha is the state animal and the dudhraj is the state bird of Madhya Pradesh.

Based on composition, the teak and sal forests are the important forest formations in the state. Bamboo-bearing areas are widely distributed.

State symbols of Madhya Pradesh

Title	Symbol	Image
State animal	Barasingha[31][32] (Rucervus duvaucelii)
State bird	Indian paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi)[33]
State tree	banyan tree (ficus bengalensis)[34]
State fish	Mahasheer (Tor tor)[33]
State Flower	Madonna lily (Lilium candidum)[35]

Rivers

• Narmada River

• Son River, Umaria district, MP, India

• The River Narmada flows through a gorge of marble rocks in Bhedaghat, Jabalpur

• The Shri Ram Ghat on the Shipra River in Ujjain

• Betwa in the Ashoknagar District of Madhya Pradesh

The Narmada is the longest river in Madhya Pradesh. It flows westward through a rift valley, with the Vindhya ranges sprawling along its northern bank and the Satpura range of mountains along the southern. Its tributaries include the Banjar, the Tawa, the Machna, the Shakkar, the Denwa and the Sonbhadra rivers. The Tapti River runs parallel to Narmada, and also flows through a rift valley. The Narmada–Tapti systems carry an enormous volume of water and provide drainage for almost a quarter of the land area of Madhya Pradesh. The Narmada river is considered very sacred and is worshipped throughout the region. It is the main source of water and acts as a lifeline to the state.

The Vindhyas form the southern boundary of the Ganges basin, with the western part of the Ganges basin draining into the Yamuna and the eastern part directly into the Ganges itself. All the rivers, which drain into the Ganges, flow from south to north, with the Chambal, Shipra, Kali Sindh, Parbati, Kuno, Sind, Betwa, Dhasan and Ken rivers being the main tributaries of the Yamuna. Shipra River is one of the most sacred rivers of Hinduism. It is the site of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela, which is held every 12 years. The land drained by these rivers is agriculturally rich, with the natural vegetation largely consisting of grass and dry deciduous forest types, largely thorny. The eastern part of the Ganges basin consists of the Son, the Tons and the Rihand Rivers. Son, which arises in the Maikal hills around Amarkantak, is the largest tributary that goes into the Ganges on the south bank and that does not arise from the Himalayas. Son and its tributaries contribute the bulk of the monsoon flow into the Ganges, because the north bank tributaries are all snow fed. The forests in their basins are much richer than the thorn forests of the northwestern part of Madhya Pradesh.

After the formation of Chhattisgarh State, the major portion of Mahanadi basin now lies in Chhattisgarh. Presently, only 154 km² basin area of Hasdeo River in Anuppur District lies in Madhya Pradesh.

The Satpuras, in the Gawilgarh and Mahadeo Hills, also contain a watershed, which is south facing. The Wainganga, the Wardha, the Pench, the Kanhan rivers, discharge an enormous volume of water into the Godavari river system. The Godavari basin consists of sub-tropical, semi-moist forests, mainly in the valley of the Indrawati. There are many important multi-state irrigation projects in development, including the Godavari River Basin Irrigation Projects.

Regions

Madhya Pradesh is divided into the following agro-climatic zones:

Administration

Madhya Pradesh is administratively divided into 10 divisions and further 52 districts.^[36]

Cities

v t e Largest cities or towns in Madhya Pradesh As of the 2011 Census[37]
	Rank	Name	District	Pop.
Indore Bhopal	1	Indore	Indore	2,167,447	Jabalpur Gwalior
	2	Bhopal	Bhopal	1,883,381
	3	Jabalpur	Jabalpur	1,267,564
	4	Gwalior	Gwalior	1,101,981
	5	Ujjain	Ujjain	593,368
	6	Sagar	Sagar	370,296
	7	Dewas	Dewas	289,438
	8	Satna	Satna	283,004
	9	Ratlam	Ratlam	273,892
	10	Rewa	Rewa	235,422

Madhya Pradesh Geography articles: 108