Indore is the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh . It is situated on the Malwa plateau, just south of the Satpura Range. It is the capital of the Indore district.

History

Indore was formerly ruled by Maratha Maharajas of the Holkar dynasty. The Dynasty's founder, Malhar Rao Holkar (1694-1766), was granted control of Maratha armies in Malwa in 1724, and in 1733, he was installed as the Maratha governor of the region. By the end of his reign, the Holkar state was de facto independent. His daughter-in-law Ahilya Bai Holkar succeeded him, ruling from 1767 to 1795. She ruled from a palace-fort at Maheshwar, south of Indore on the Narmada River. Ahilya Bai Holkar was an architectural patron, who donated Hindu temples across India. In 1818, the Holkars were defeated by the British in the Third Anglo-Maratha War, and the Holkar kingdom became part of the British Raj.

After the independence of India in 1947, Indore, together with a number of neighboring princely states, became part of the Indian state of Madhya Bharat. Indore became the summer capital of the state. On November 1, 1956, Madhya Bharat was merged into Madhya Pradesh state.

Indore District

Area 3,898 sq km, population 2,585,321 (2001 census), a 41% increase from its 1991 population of 1,830,870. The Indore District is bounded by the districts of Ujjain to the north, Dewas to the east, Khargone (West Nimar) to the south, and Dhar to the west. Indore is the administrative center and chief city of the district.

Indore Division