Gwalior State ग्वालियर रियासत |
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Princely state of British India | ||||||
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Gwalior state in 1903 | ||||||
Capital | Lashkar | |||||
History | ||||||
• | Established | 1761 | ||||
• | Accession to India | 1948 | ||||
Area | ||||||
• | 1931 | 68,291 km2(26,367 sq mi) | ||||
Population | ||||||
• | 1931 | 3,523,070 | ||||
Density | 51.6 /km2 (133.6 /sq mi) | |||||
Today part of | Madhya Pradesh, India | |||||
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. |
Gwalior State was an Indian kingdom and princely state during the British Raj. It was ruled In subsidiary alliance with the British by the Scindia dynasty of the Marathas and was entitled to a 21-gun salute. The state took its name from the old town of Gwalior, which, although never the actual capital, was an important place because of its strategic location and the strength of its fort. The state was founded in the early 18th century by Ranoji Sindhia, as part of the Maratha Confederacy. Under Mahadji Sindhia (1761–1794) Gwalior State became a leading power in northern India, and dominated the affairs of the confederacy. The Anglo-Maratha Wars brought Gwalior State under British suzerainty, so that it became a princely state of the British Indian Empire. Gwalior was the largest state in the Central India Agency, under the political supervision of a Resident at Gwalior. In 1936, the Gwalior residency was separated from the Central India Agency, and made answerable directly to the Governor-General of India. After Indian Independence in 1947, the Sindhia rulers acceded to the new Union of India, and Gwalior state was absorbed into the new Indian state of Madhya Bharat.
The state had a total area of 64,856 km2 (25,041 sq mi), and was composed of several detached portions, but was roughly divided into two, the Gwalior or Northern section, and the Malwa section. The northern section consisted of a compact block of territory with an area of 44,082 km2 (17,020 sq mi), lying between 24º10' and 26º52' N. and 74º38' and 79º8' E. It was bounded on the north, northeast, and northwest by the Chambal River, which separated it from the native states of Dholpur, Karauli, and Jaipur in the Rajputana Agency; on the east by the British districts of Jalaun and Jhansi in the United Provinces, and by Saugor District in the Central Provinces; on the south by the states of Bhopal, Khilchipur, and Rajgarh, and by the Sironj pargana of Tonk State; and on the west by the states of Jhalawar, Tonk, and Kotah in the Rajputana Agency.