INDORE, Madhya Pradesh

Main Attraction: INDORE- LALBAG PALACE

The palace was built by Maharaja Shivaji Rao Holkar during 1886-1921. Situated amidst dry and dusty gardens, it is architecturally quite similar to the New Palace. Lal Bagh Palace once hosted many royal receptions and even today, reflects the life style and taste of the Holkar Rulers.

The construction of the palace began in 1886 under Tukoji Rao Holkar II. It was carried out in three phases and the final phase was completed in 1921 under Tukoji Rao Holkar III. Owing to its unique style of construction, it was one of the most stylish residences in India. The entrance hall on the ground floor is in marble and displays prehistoric artifacts.

Brief History:

Indore is situated between the two earthly abodes of Lord Shiva- the two Jyotirlingas at Ujjain and Omkareshwar – on either side of this blessed city, which protect it from the evil, says folklore. Historian Raghuvir Singh is of the opinion that it was only in the 17th century that Indore underwent rapid metamorphosis, finding a respectable mention as a Kasba in the court records of Emperor Aurangazeb. By the 18th century, it had developed as a chief administrative headquarter – as a Pargana.

History bears testimony to the fact that the progress of Indore was initiated with the arrival of Marathas in 1703, who made the best of the weakening grip of the Mughals. Simultaneously, in the Malwa Plateau, Indore came under their focus. The year 1730 brought autonomy to Indore when the Peshwas gave the Jagir of Indore to Malhar Rao Holkar.

Tracing the etymology of Indore, we come across several interesting facts. One is that it got its name Indrapur from the famous Rashtrakut ruler Indra, whose empire extended over the entire Malwa region. Indrapur became Indoor and finally it became Indore. Another legends hold that in the year 1741, the Indreshwar temple was built and it is after the name of this temple that the region was named Indreshwar, to be subsequently renamed Indrapur. Under the influence of Marathas, it began to be called Indoor. It is interesting to note that the Britishers pronounced it as Indoure, which eventually became Indore.

After passing through many hands, Malwa went to a Nagar Brahmin Gridhar Bahadur, who vehemently opposed the influx of the Marathas. On the 6th January 1818, after the signing of the Treaty of Mandsaur, the capital of Malwa was transferred from Bhanpura to Indore. The Residency at Indore was built in 1818. In 1844, Tukoji Rao Holkar ascended the throne. The reign of Holkar dynasty continued in Indore till India got Independence in 1947.

The famous Parmar Rulers of Malwa made Dhar their capital, which became a great centre for education and trade in that era. Indore, which is situated near Dhar, can also boast of temples and idols of Parmar era.

Ahilya Bai Holkar has been a ruler par excellence who ruled but did not reign the Holkar State. She is known as a pious lady who made her name immortal in the annals of rulers of India as inheritor and preserver of Indian culture, religion and tradition, through charitable activities all over the country. Not a single place of pilgrimage one can parhaps, locate on the map of India, which could not receive her attention for construction of temples, dharamashala and annakshestra.

Though an administrator of a small state, yet she ruled over the heart of people all over the country. Even Mahadji Scindia was no match to her, who had complete hold of the politics of her age without participating in it actively. She can be called as the greater upholder of all religious beliefs.

Yeshwant Rao Holkar-I was a ruler who ruled the Holkar state believed in the dictum, “might is right”. His claim to succession hardly acknowledged hereditary, still he became the ruler by sheer dint of dauntless courage and diplomacy. In foresight he may be regarded as the first who could think in terms of nationalism and forming of national coalition of rulers of India against the British. He was

extremely agile. He was so much on move that he is known to spend evenings at Ratlam and mornings at Khandwa. As a commander and soldier, he won battles and defeated enemies with much larger armies.

Tukoji Rao II was the founder of institutions which paved the way for the development of modern Indore. He being a minor at the time of succession resulted in formation of Regency Council which was successful in implementing several reforms in the State. The Maharaja had the privilege of attending Viceroy Lord Canning’s Durbar at Jabalpur in 1860 and welcoming Lord Northbrook and the Prince of Wales at Indore in 1876. He was an able administrator in whose close surveillance a good number of new departments were organized. The credit for this may be shared with Sir. T. Madhav Rao KCSI, the Minister.

He was instrumental in solving knotty issues relating to neighbouring states including Baroda and Dhar, viz., the “Shoe Question” and “Dhar Case”. He developed cordial relations with most of the progressive rulers of India. Since Tukoji Rao III was not adult, a council of Regency was formed to run the administration of the state and this system continued upto 1911.

The Nationalist Movement in Indore began during Shivaji Rao’s reign and continued even after his demise, when a council of Regency under the British was running the Indore administration. The Nationalist Movement picked up momentum in the guise of the Shivaji Utsav. The citizens of Indore started celebrating them as solemn occasions for taking oath of freeing the motherland from foreign rule. Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak had converted the Ganesh Utsav as a nationalist means of mass mobilization. This strategy of Tilak was most successful in various cities of Maharashtra besides Indore. Gradually, the mass participation of Indoreans on Shivaji Utsav and Ganesh Utshav became a cause for concern for the British, who suspected that many intellectuals and government servants were using these festivals to spread the message of nationalism.

An important aspect of Indore’s history is that the establishment of factories, especially textile mills in the city, laid the ground for organized labour unions for safeguarding the rights of workers. The Nationalist Movement in Indore got a big boost by Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to the city on 30th March 1918. In 1921, political activists of the city established the Indore branch of Indian National Congress. The congress party head office was in Chhawni and Shri Arjunlal Sethi became its first President. In the same year Indore Rajya ‘Praja Parishad’ was also established, which subsequently passed a resolution asking the then Holkar Maharaja Tukoji Rao III to implement a responsible administrative set-up in the state. This democratic demand against royalty was crushed cruelly and harsh orders were issued, threatening the very existence of Praja Parishad. However, in spite of state repression, the political activities of Congress and Praja Mandal continued unabated, though in a somewhat secretive manner.

The trend of political party formation began in 1921 with the establishment of the Indore branch of Indian National Congress. In 1932, the Hindu Mahasabha came into existence, while in 1936, the Communists made their debut in the trade union and political arena. In 1946, the Socialist Party added a new dimension to Indore’s political scenario. In the post independence era, all these political outfits duly entered the electoral arena.

The birth of the new State of Madhya Bharat was heralded by the inaugural speech of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru at Gwalior on 28th May, 1948. The district of Indore became one of the 16 districts into which the state was then administratively divided. In order to satisfy the feelings of the people of the erstwhile state of Gwalior and Indore, it was decided that the headquarters of both the States, viz, Gwalior, and Indore would enjoy joint capital ship and that the Government would work at Gwalior for six and a half months in a year, and for the remaining five and a half months the capital would be at Indore.

In the period between 1948-56, popular ministries administered the State of Madhya Bharat. Liladhar Joshi headed the first popular Ministry in Madhya Bharat. Later G.K Vijayavargiya, Takhtmal Jain and Mishrilal Gangwal became the successive Chief Ministers. On the eve of the reorganisation of states, Takhtmal Jain was holding the office of the Chief Minister. This arrangement continued till 31th October 1956, when a new state of Madhya Pradesh was reorganised, under the Chief Ministership of Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla. The new state was born on 1st November, 1956.