Indore State, also known as Holkar State, was a kingdom in India. Its rulers belonged to the Maratha Holkar dynasty. After 1857, Indore became a 19-gun salute princely state under the British Raj.
Indore State was located in the present-day Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, with its capital at the city of Indore. The state had an area of 24,605 km2 and a population of 1,325,089 in 1931. Other important towns besides Indore were Rampura, Khargone, Maheshwar, Mehidpur, Barwaha, and Bhanpura; there were a total of 3,368 villages.
History
By 1720, the headquarters of the local pargana was transferred from Kampel to Indore due to the increasing commercial activity in the city. On 18 May 1724, the Nizam accepted the rights of the Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao I to collect chauth (taxes) from the area. In 1733, the Peshwa assumed full control of Malwa and appointed his commander Malhar Rao Holkar as the subahdar of the province.
On 29 July 1732, Bajirao Peshwa-I granted Holkar State by granting 28 and a half parganas to Malhar Rao Holkar, the founding ruler of the Holkar dynasty. His daughter-in-law Ahilyabai Holkar moved the state's capital to Maheshwar in 1767, but Indore remained an important commercial and military centre.
After the defeat of the Holkar rulers in the Third Anglo-Maratha War, an agreement was signed on 6 January 1818 with the British and the Indore State became a British protectorate. The Holkar dynasty was able to continue to rule Indore as a princely state mainly owing to the efforts of Dewan Tatya Jog.
The capital was moved from Maheshwar to Indore on 3 November 1818 and the Indore Residency, a political residency with a British resident, was established in the city. Later, Indore would be established as the headquarters of the British Central India Agency. In 1906, electrical infrastructure was installed in the city while a fire brigade was established in 1909. By 1918, the first master plan of the city was drawn by architect and town planner Patrick Geddes.
During the period of Maharaja Tukoji Rao Holkar II (1852–86), efforts were made for the planned development and industrial development of Indore. During the reigns of Maharaja Shivaji Rao Holkar, Maharaja Tukoji Rao Holkar III, and Maharaja Yeshwant Rao Holkar, business flourished thanks to the railways that had been introduced in the state in 1875.
In 1926, Maharaja Tukoji Rao III Holkar XIII abdicated after being implicated in a murder case involving a court dancer and her lover.
After the independence of India in 1947, Indore State, along with a number of neighbouring princely states, acceded to India. Yashwant Rao Holkar II, the last ruler of the state, signed the instrument of accession to the Indian Union on 1 January 1950. The territories of the state became part of the new Indian state of Madhya Bharat.
Rulers
The kings of Indore held the title of 'Maharaja' Holkar. The rulers of the state were entitled to a 19 gun salute by the British authorities. The Holkar State Darbar (Court) was composed of many Jagirdars, Sardars, Istamuradars, Mankaris and Zamindars.
Maharajas
Diwans of Indore
c. 1808 – 1811: Bala Ram Seth
1811 – December 1817: Ganpal Rao
1818 – April 1826: Tantia Jog (Tatya Jog) (died 1826)
April 1826 – 1827?: Raoji Trimbak
1827: Daji Bakhshi
1827? – 1829: Appa Rao Krishna
1829 – 1834?: Madhav Rao Phadnis
April 1834 – November 1836: Sardar Revaji Rao Phanse
1836 – 1839?: Abbaji Ballal (or Bhawani Bin) 1839? – 1840?: Bhao Rao Phanse (1st time) 1840? – October 1841: Narayan Rao Palshikar 1841 – 1842?: the ruler 1842? – 1848: Bhao Rao Phanse (2nd time) 1848 – 1849: Ram Rao Palshikar 1852 – 1872: Bhawani Singh Dube 1872 – 1875: Sir T. Madhava Rao (1828–1891) 1875 – 1881: R. Raghunatha Rao (1st time) (1831–1912) 1881? – 1884?: Shahamat Ali 1884 – 1886: Nana Moroji Trilokekar 1886 – 1888: R. Raghunatha Rao (2nd time) (s.a.) c. 1890s: Balkrishna Atmaram Gupte 1890–1913: Sir Shri Rai Bhadhur Nanak Chand Ji Airen (as First Prime Minister Of State) 4 April 1913 – October 1914: Narayan Ganesh Chandravarkar 1914 – 1916: .... 1916 – 1921: Ram Prasad Dube (1st time. Nephew of Bhawani Singh Dube.) November 1921 – 1923?: Chettur Sankaran Nair (1857–1934) 1923 – 1926: Ram Prasad Dube (2nd time)
Prime ministers
1890–1913: Sir Shri Rai Bhadhur Nanak Chand Ji Airen
February 1926 – 1939: Siremal Bapna (s.a.) 1939 – 1942?: Sardar Dina Nath 1942 – 1947: Raja Gyannath Madan 1947: R.G. Horton 1 September 1947 – 3 January 1948: E.P. Menon January 1948: N.C. Mehta 26 January 1948 – March 1948: M.V. Bhide