Indore is the largest city and commercial capital of the Indian state
of Madhya Pradesh . It is also known as The City of Holkars. The city
was built by a holkar, Rani Ahilya Bai, one of the famous queens of
India. Formerly a major trading centre, the city, along with its
satellite townships of Pithampur,Mhow and Dewas, has established itself
as a strong industrial base. The era of liberalisation has seen Indore
at the forefront of a number of privatisation initiatives which include
the country's first toll road and private telephone network. In the
midst of such vibrant industrial activity, the city still manages to
maintain its link with its glorious past.Indore is also called as 'Mini
Mumbai', due to the similar lifestyles of people residing here
History
The ancestors of the founders of Indore were the 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 the title of
Chaudhari, which established their claim to the land. In the 18th
century, the 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)[5]. 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 perform
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.
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 Mughals. The city was named Indrapur
(after Lord Indreshwar), and eventually came to be known as Indore.
Baji Rao Peshwa finally took control of Malwa in 1733 A.D. Malhar Rao
Holkar was one of the four signatories who guaranteed the proper
fulfillment of the conditions.[6] Upon victory the Peshwas appointed
Malhar Rao Holkar as a “Subhedar”, which marked the beginning of
Holkars' reign in Malwa.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]
Thus, Indore came to be ruled by the Maratha Maharajas 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
