Madhya Pradesh – History, Capital, and Significance

Madhya Pradesh covers around 308,252 km per sq. area of the country and is considered the second largest State. It is bounded by Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Rajasthan. The capital of Madhya Pradesh is Bhopal, and also a famous place. It is situated in the centre of India and named the heart of India. It is a vast state and the country’s hub of diamonds and copper, and formed in 1956. It is placed in 5th place in the context of population.

There are 52 districts in Madhya Pradesh consisting of 92% Hindus and the rest 8% of other communities such as Muslim, Sikh, Jain, and Buddhist. It is a state with the availability of rich minerals. Madhya Pradesh has many topographic and geographical features. It is one of the most prosperous lands with a long and ancient existence covering a large part of Indian history. It is situated in the surrounding plateau region. It is a religious place consisting of many pilgrimage centers, increasing its popularity among India’s people.  

Madhya Pradesh – A Glimpse

Capital land of Madhya Pradesh

The capital of Madhya Pradesh is Bhopal, the administrative headquarters of the Bhopal district and the Bhopal division; it is named the ‘city of Lakes’ because of its beautiful natural and artificial lakes. 

The famous palace of this city are Taj-Ul- masjid Taj Mahal Palace. The name of Bhopal is derived from the word ‘Bhojpal’ Or ‘Bhoj’s dam,’ which maintains the water flow of Bhopal lakes, which the former ruler, Raja Bhoj, formed. It was a princely state that Nawabs of Bhopal ruled for a long time. Later, the Britishers conquered it. Bhopal is also known for the disastrous incident that happened in 1984 due to the industrial explosions. The city gets its name from a headquarters town which is also part of Madhya Pradesh at that time.

History of Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh started during the middle Pleistocene era and came forward till the end of Malwa culture. It is identified from the arts and paintings that this State was a significant part of Indian history from 1500 BCE- 2100 BCE. It was believed that it is the 9th most populated State of the country. During the 6th century, Ujjain became the centre of Indian urbanization. In 320 BCE, when Chandragupta Maurya arrived in India to establish The Mauryan empire, he included Madhya Pradesh with northern India. It was believed that Ujjain was also the capital of the Avanti kingdom and was the central region among all the parts of Madhya Pradesh.

After the decline of the Mayan empire, it was ruled by the Sakas, Satavahanas, and KushanasAfter the independence of India, Madhya Pradesh was formed in 1950 by the former British provincial agency and the Makrai and Chhattisgarh which are the princely States, and Nagpur was the capital of the State at that time. The Central India Agency formed the entire states of Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh, and Bhopal. Then in 1956, all the newly formed states were merged into Madhya Pradesh, and the rest of the Marathi-speaking southern region, which included Nagpur, emerged into Bombay estate.

At the last moment, Jabalpur was considered the newly administered capital, while Bhopal was made the state capital due to political pressure. In November 2000, due to the Madhya Pradesh Reorganization Act, the southeastern part split up to form the new State named Chattisgarh. Ashoka was the last Mauryan ruler who ruled Madhya Pradesh.  

Art and culture

Every carving work done in the temples of Madhya Pradesh shows the prosperous history of Madhya Pradesh. Paintings of almost decades are shown on the foothill of the Vidhya range, and the Bhimbetka rock shelter is the art pieces done during the prehistoric period still have a great significance on the art and culture of Madhya Pradesh. This State speaks about its diversity by itself. Once you start exploring this place, you will get many different and precious arts worth watching. Some parts are:

Bagh painting

Bagh painting is also called block painting. It is done on clothes as a print and is often used for doing henna. These blocks are made of wood with the help of carving. It is considered one the most hassle-free and very comfortable art as you have to dip it into ink, paste it on the cloth piece, and then remove it. Hence, it is most liked among the people of Madhya Pradesh.

Chanderi art

Chanderi art came from a beautiful place surrounded by forest hills and lakes, and to earn their livelihood, people of this region made fabric and named it Chanderi. It is one of the most liked fabrics among women in Madhya Pradesh and all over India. They prefer wearing a Chanderi sari during special and auspicious occasions. 

The complex art of Madhya Pradesh proves its rich culture and heritage. Madhya Pradesh is highly specialized in varied kinds of art and culture. And different art pieces include- folk painting, durries, jute works, woodcraft, Zari embroidery, etc. if you want to understand the limits of art and culture of a place, you should highly look upon the locals. In contrast, the locals of Madhya Pradesh are impressively notable with their handwork, like they create bamboo crafts for hunting, fish gathering, etc., during their free time. Tourists prefer visiting these locals to collect the antique material as a memorandum of their trip. 

Tourist places of Madhya Pradesh’s Capital – Indore

Madhya Pradesh is located in the central part of the country and is famous for its unique tourist places. Many tourists come from around the world to explore these beautiful places. In addition, the State is renowned for its vibrant culture and different heritage sites.

Rajwada shows

The royal splendour of the Maratha empire, and it is one of the most important sites of the Madhya Pradesh Holkars. It is a seven-story structure with gardens. It resembles the Indo-Saracenic style. The Timing of this tourist place is around 10 AM-5 PM (MONDAY closed ) 

• Location – Rajwada circle, near Holkar cloth market Indore, MP 

Safar Bazar

It shows the culture of Indore Food Street. It is the best place for foodies and food bloggers. Many dishes are available here, like Dahi vadas, petha, paan, and kachori chaat. The time of this tourist place is around 8 AM- 12 PM. The location is Safar Bazar, Indore, MP 

Patalpani Falls

 is a popular tracking spot in Indore, and it is the best peaceful place for enjoying a picnic with your loved ones. The riming is around 11 AM – 8 PM location is Kekariay Dabri near Indore MP

Lotus lake

it is also called a Gulawat. Talabat is another site in Indore and an ideal place for photographers. It has calm water and a beautiful Lake, and a dense bamboo plantation ends with exotic birds, enhancing the Lake’s beauty. The Timing of this Lake is around 11 AM-8 PM, and the location is Gurda Khedi Gulawat Indore MP

Upper Lake

It is also called Bhopal. It is an eminent lake constructed by King Bhoj in the 11th century. Some people say that King Bhoj built this Lake to cure himself of skin disease. Upper lake is the most famous Lake in MP. The Timing of this Lake is sunrise to sunset. The location is Upper Lake Bhopal MP.

Famous food of Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh provides everything that satisfies tourists’ wants and takes inspiration from its neighbouring State, Rajasthan, UP, and Maharashtra. The historical importance f this place is food, businesses, and culture MP includes some tribal flavours in the cuisines. Here are some delicious dishes that you must try when you are exploring MP:

1. Poha is a healthy and super light cuisine in different parts of the country. It is made with steamed, flattened rice with slightly cooked onion and tomatoes and served with green chilies, curry leaves, and lemon. It is one of the most refreshing dishes consumed as a snack or a meal. You can do it with plain yogurt and vegetable salad.  
2. Dal Bafla– it is served in many parts of MP. It is a mouth-watering cuisine that is similar to the Rajasthani dal bati. It is a wheat ball cooked in ghee and served with Dal and coriander sauce. This dish is a source of vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. 
3. Seekh kabab–  in any part of the State, you will be served many non-veg cuisines, which are highly inspired by Mughal style Seekh Kabab is one of the favorite non-veg dishes of MP. It is a slice of well-wrapped meat that makes your taste buds go with its meat that melts in your mouth. 
4. Bhopali gosht korma– it is another famous cuisine of MP. This nawabi cuisine offers a great taste of spices with mutton as the main ingredient.  

The climate of Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh has three seasons- winter, summer, and monsoon. In the summer season, the temperature of the State is around 34.6. The eastern part of Madhya Pradesh has high temperature than its western part. In May, the regions like Gwalior, Morena, and Datia experience a high temperature of over 42 °C. During the monsoon season, the entire State usually experiences rainfall from May- June. The northern part receives rainfall of m c m, and the western part receives less than 80 c of rain. The Winter season starts in November, and in n, the northern part, the temperature becomes very low compared to the southern region. The maximum temperature of the northern part is around 15 to 18 °C. The average rainfall is about 1,194mm, and the southern part has the highest rainfall while the north region receives 1,000 mm or less.

Famous personalities of Madhya Pradesh

Harishanker Parsai

he was a Hindi writer born on 2 August 1924. He was a very well-known Hindi literature humorist known for his direct way. He wrote Hindi articles on many topics which are social while some are imaginary. He was famous for satirical rewriting and even won the Athe Akademi award in 1982.

Lata Mangeshkar

Lata Mangeshkar is a well-known name in music. She is considered the best composer and singer in Bollywood. She started her career in 1942 and served around 70 decades in the Indian cinema. She has sung songs in thousands of movies and won many awards- 4filmfare awards, the Dada Sahib Phalke award, and Bharat Ratna. India is honoured to have a gem like her. 

DR. B.R. Ambedkar (14 April 1891- 6 December 1956)

He is one of the most known personalities not just of Madhya Pradesh but of India. He was famous for being a jurist, barrister, economist, and politician who supported the discrimination against Dalits. He also worked on the rights of women and backward classes. He is the constructor of the constitution of India.

Chandra Shekhar Azad

when you talk about the freedom of India, Chandra Shekhar Azad is the foremost name on the list. He was an Indian revolutionary who contributed his life against the Britishers for the independence of India. He belongs to Hithe Hindustan socialist republican army (HSRA).

JHALKARI BAI

She is a soldier woman who played a significant role in the rebellion of 1857. She has been an essential part of Rani Laxmi bai’s army. She fought against the east India company till her last breath and inspired many people to do so. She is a brave and kind woman.

Rivers of Madhya Pradesh

1. NARMADA is the most important river flowing through Madhya Pradesh and is considered this State’s lifeline. It is one of the purest rivers and covers around 1.321 km. It starts from the west and ends at the Arabian sea.
2. CHAMBAL– This river starts from the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh. It is one of the seven sacred rivers of India. It flows towards the Malwa plateau and then meets the Chamba range. It is situated on the river bank of Ujjain. 
3. SON– Son river is the second largest river channel after Yamuna, which merges with Ganga when it reaches Patna. It flows from Amarkantak and joins at Shahdol district. 
4. SINDH– it flows from the Malwa plateau and meets at Uttar Pradesh and meets the Yamuna river. 

Festivals of Madhya Pradesh

Lokhrang festival

is a cultural festival of MP in which dancers give their best performance. At this festival, the people perform different folk dances, music, and ethnic dances, and the tribal community exhibits a beautiful collection of handicrafts. This festival was organized by the Adivasi Lok Kala Academy of Madhya Pradesh.

Akhil Bhartiya Kalidas Samaroh

This festival was performed in March, in which great poets and writers from around the world come together for seven days of poetry recitation, story reading, and cultural performances. This festival is celebrated due to the notable poetry work of Kalidas. In addition, several plays by Kalidas were performed at this event.

Khajuraho Festival

Dance and music is the main feature of Madhya Pradesh. It is performed in the open area under the sky opposite Chitrangpur and Vishwanath temple. According to mythology, the deity treats lovers of music, dance, vocal singing, and instrumental music.

Holi

It is celebrated just two days before the last full moon of the lunar eclipse. On this day, people say goodbye to winter and welcome the summer season by colouring each other with colours and sharing sweets.

National parks of Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh contains ten national parks, which are given below-

• 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 
• Dinosaur national park.

Flora and fauna

The Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench pannanadSatpura national park manages the project tiger areas. The Chambal sanctuary cares for the gharial and mugger, river dolphin, smooth-coated otter, and many turtle species conservation. Barasingha and the dudhraj are the state symbol of Madhya Pradesh. In addition, Madhya Pradesh has many teaks, sal forests, and bamboo trees. 

Demographics

• Madhya Pradesh contains many tribal castes, communities, and scheduled tribes. The population of SC and ST are around 15.6% and 21.1%, respectively.
• Gond, Bhil, Baiga, Korku, and Bhadia are the leading tribal groups of Madhya Pradesh; according to the census of 2011.
• Halba, Kaul, Mariya, Malto, and Sahariya. Mandla, Dhar, Dindori, Barwani, Jhabua, and Alirajpur contain more than 50% of the tribal popular, and Jhabua and Alirajpur contain 90% of the tribal population.
• In Madhya Pradesh, there are 46 recognized scheduled tribes, three of which are “Special Primitive Tribal Groups” in the State.

Madhya Pradesh has 33rd rank in the human development index according to NITI AYOG. In addition, Madhya Pradesh has the 21st rank on sustainable development goals, and the state has the country’s 26th per-capital gross state domestic product.

According to the 2011 census, Hinduism is the main religion of the MP, while minorities are Muslim(6.6), Jain(0.8%), Buddhism (0.3%), Christians(0.3%), and Sikhs (0.2%) MP contain many pilgrims like Amarkantak, Rameshwar.

Government and administration

In the state legislative assembly, the MP has 230 seats. The State sends 40 members to form the parliament of Idia, 29 members are elected to the Lok Sabah, and 11 members are to the Rajya Sabah. The governor is the constitutional state head appointed by the president of India the chief minister is responsible for holding the executive powers the major political parties of MP are the Bhartiya Janta party and the Indian National Congress. MP has 52 districts divided into ten divisions. According to 2020 day, there are 52 jila, 376 tehsils, 313 janpad panchayats, 23043 villages, and 18 Nigam, 100 Nagar Palika, 264 Nagar panchayats.   

The economy of Madhya Pradesh

According to 2013-14, the State’s gross domestic product was 4,509 billion, and the per capita figure was US$871.45. Although the state growth rate was meager, around 3.5%the GDP growth has increased to 85 DURING THE YEAR 2011-12. Madhya Pradesh is famous for producing honey agriculture is the primary source of income. In addition, they cultivate wheat, soybean, gram, sugarcane, rice, maize, cotton, mustard, and arhar. The MP has five special economic zones: IT/ITeS, Mineral based, agro-base, good consumer companies, and commercial centers of the State. 

This State also provides a large reserver of diamond and copper and includes minerals like coal bed, methane, manganese, and dolomite. Madhya Pradeshcontainsn six ordnance factories located in Jaipur, a grey iron factory, a ga un carriage factory, Indian armed forces, and ordinance factories board. Madhya Pradesh was honored with the 10th national award for excellent work in the MGNREGA act 2005.

Conclusion

Madhya Pradesh is India’s oldest civilization, containing many different religions, traditions, and cultures and always on top of the food district places and d most important festivals. It covers a small area of India but significantly impacts its prosperity worldwide. Looking closely, you will feel how beauty and harmony have covered herself in these places. People are simplistic and nature lovers; they worship nature like a god as they think nature is the most worth praying thing in the universe. 

Faqs on Madhya Pradesh

What is the first capital of Madhya Pradesh?

Ans. Nagpur was the capital of Madhya Pradesh in 1956 and was initially the first as well.

Where is Kumh Mela celebrated?

Ans. Kumbh Mela is celebrated in Ujjain.

What is the largest river in Madhya Pradesh?

Ans. Narmada is the longest river in the State which arises from the Amarkantak range.

What is the highest waterfall in Madhya Pradesh?

Ans. Bahati Falls, the highest waterfall in Madhya Pradesh is located at Chichi Falls.

Also Read: Unveiling Ancient Secrets Of Indus Valley Civilization