Gwalior Residency
Encyclopedia
Gwalior Residency was a political office in the British Indian Empire
, which existed from 1782 until the British withdrawal from India in 1947. The Gwalior residency dealt with a number of Princely States of Central India, principally Gwalior State
, but also the states of Benares and Rampur
, the Chhabra
pargana
(district) of Tonk State
, the small states of Raghugarh, Khaniadhana, Paron
, Garha
, Umri
, Bhadaura, and the small estates (thakur
s or diwans) of Dharmaoda, Sirsi
, Khiaoda, Kathaun, and Agra Barkhera.
The population of the residency was 2,187,612 in 1901, of whom Hindu
s numbered 1,883,038, or 86 percent; animists
170,316, or 8 percent; Muslim
s 103,430, or 4 percent; and Jains 30,129, or 1 percent. In 1901 the residency had an area of 17825 square miles (46,166.5 km²), 17020 square miles (44,081.6 km²) of which belonged to Gwalior State. The density of population was 123 persons per square mile. By 1931 the population of the areas covered by the Residency had grown to over 3.5 million. The charge contained 6820 villages and sixteen towns in 1901, of which the chief were Lashkar
, Morar
, Gwalior, Guna
, Bhind
, Bhilsa, Narwar
, and Chanderi
. Bhilsa, Morena, and Guna were the chief centres for the sale of grain, and Chanderi for the manufacture of fine cloth.
After the Treaty of Salbai
was concluded in 1782 between the British and Maharaja Mahadji Sindhia of Gwalior, David Anderson, who contributed to drafting the treaty, was appointed resident at the Gwalior court. The court was a moving camp until 1810, when Mahadji's successor Daulat Rao Sindhia permanently fixed his headquarters near the fortress of Gwalior, on the spot where Lashkar city now stands. Daulat Rao Sindhia was forced to sign a treaty of subsidiary alliance
with the government of British India in 1817 at the conclusion of the Third Anglo-Maratha War
. The Resident at Gwalior answered directly to the Governor-General of India
until 1854, when Gwalior Residency was placed under the authority of the Central India Agency
. The fortress of Gwalior was captured by rebels during the Indian Rebellion of 1857
, and recaptured by British troops in 1858, who occupied the fortress until 1886. In 1860 the smaller states were made into a separate charge, under the officer commanding the Central India Horse at Guna
. This arrangement was abolished in 1896, when these states were again placed under the resident, with the officer commanding at Guna continuing to act as ex-officio assistant to the Resident, with very limited powers. In 1888 Khaniadhana state was transferred from the Bundelkhand Agency
to the Resident at Gwalior, and in 1895 the Gwalior State districts of Bhilsa and Isagarh
were transferred from Bhopal Agency
to the Gwalior Residency. In 1921 Gwalior Residency was separated from the Central India Agency, and the resident again answered directly to the Governor-General. In 1936 the princely states of Benares and Rampur
, which had previously been under the authority of the United Provinces
, were placed under the authority of the Gwalior resident.
The Resident, as the officer accredited to the Gwalior ruler, was also in all matters of general policy the channel of communication between the ruler and other political officers, such as the agents of Malwa
and Bhopawar, within whose charges isolated portions of Gwalior State were situated. He exercised a close supervision over the minor holdings of the residency, all criminal cases of any importance in which were either dealt with by him personally or submitted for his sanction and approval. He also had the powers of a District and Session Judge for portions of the Midland and Bina-Baran sections of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, which passed through the states of Gwalior, Datia
, Samthar
, Khaniadhana, and the Chhabra pargana.
The headquarters of the political officer were situated in the area known as The Residency, a piece of land measuring 1.17 square miles (3 km²) situated close to Morar, about four miles (6 km) to the east of Gwalior fort. The area was administered by the resident, and included three villages, the revenue from which were devoted to the upkeep of the Residency limits. In 1901 the population of the Residency was 1,391. The Great Indian Peninsula Railroad and Gwalior Light Railways and the Agra
-Bombay and Bhind
-Jhansi
high roads traversed the charge.
The Gwalior residency was abolished upon Indian Independence at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, when all treaty relations between the British crown and the princely states of India were nullified. The rulers of the states acceded to the Government of India
between 1947 and 1950, and most of the Gwalior Residency, including Gwalior State, were incorporated into the new Indian state of Madhya Bharat
, with Rampur and Benares going to Uttar Pradesh
. Madhya Bharat was merged into Madhya Pradesh
state on November 1, 1956.
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
, which existed from 1782 until the British withdrawal from India in 1947. The Gwalior residency dealt with a number of Princely States of Central India, principally Gwalior State
Gwalior state
Gwalior State was an Indian kingdom and princely state ruled by the Maratha dynasty. 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...
, but also the states of Benares and Rampur
Rampur, Uttar Pradesh
Rampur is a city and a municipality located in Rampur District in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Rampur district is located at Longitude 78-0-54 to 69-0-28 East and Latitude 28-25 to 29-10 North and spans an area of 2,367 km².It also gave its name to a former princely state of British...
, the Chhabra
Chhabra
Chhabra is a city and a municipality in Baran district in the state of Rajasthan, India.very near to the border of Madhya Pradesh.-Geography:Chhabra is located at . It has an average elevation of 257 metres...
pargana
Pargana
A pargana is a former administrative unit of the Indian subcontinent, used primarily, but not exclusively, by the Muslim kingdoms.Parganas were introduced by the Delhi Sultanate, and the word is of Persian origin. As a revenue unit, a pargana consists of several mouzas, which are the smallest...
(district) of Tonk State
Tonk, India
Tonk is a town in Rajasthan state, India. The town of Tonk is situated by road south from Jaipur, near the right bank of the Banas River. It is the administrative headquarters of Tonk District. Tonk was also the capital of the eponymous princely state of British India from 1817 to...
, the small states of Raghugarh, Khaniadhana, Paron
Paron
Paron is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France....
, Garha
Garha
The Garha or sometimes pronounced Gara and occasionally Gada are a Muslim community or caste found in the states of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, India.-History and origin:...
, Umri
Umri
Umri is a town and a nagar panchayat in Jalaun district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.-Demographics: India census, Umri had a population of 8816. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Umri has an average literacy rate of 60%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male...
, Bhadaura, and the small estates (thakur
Thakur (Indian title)
Thakur is an Indian feudal title in several Indian languages, literally meaning "lord". A Thikana is the state or estate of a Thakur. A Thakurani is the wife of a Thakur...
s or diwans) of Dharmaoda, Sirsi
Sirsi
-Geography:Sirsi is located at . It has an average elevation of 590 metres , and is situated in the heart of the Western Ghats. Sirsi is about 425 km from Bangalore. The nearest airport is located in Hubli, about 102 km from Sirsi....
, Khiaoda, Kathaun, and Agra Barkhera.
The population of the residency was 2,187,612 in 1901, of whom Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s numbered 1,883,038, or 86 percent; animists
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
170,316, or 8 percent; Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s 103,430, or 4 percent; and Jains 30,129, or 1 percent. In 1901 the residency had an area of 17825 square miles (46,166.5 km²), 17020 square miles (44,081.6 km²) of which belonged to Gwalior State. The density of population was 123 persons per square mile. By 1931 the population of the areas covered by the Residency had grown to over 3.5 million. The charge contained 6820 villages and sixteen towns in 1901, of which the chief were Lashkar
Lashkar
Lashkar , a Persian word for army, may refer to:* Lascar, a type of sailor or Militiaman employed by the British in South Asia.* A town in Madhya Pradesh that is now part of the Gwalior municipality in India...
, Morar
Morar
Morar is a small village on the west coast of Scotland, south of Mallaig. The name Morar is also applied to the wider district around the village....
, Gwalior, Guna
Guna
' means 'string' or 'a single thread or strand of a cord or twine'. In more abstract uses, it may mean 'a subdivision, species, kind, quality', or an operational principle or tendency....
, Bhind
Bhind
Bhind is a town in Bhind District, Madhya Pradesh, India.The chhatri of Malhar Rao Holkar at Alampur is great archaeology chhatri in Bhind district-Demographics:...
, Bhilsa, Narwar
Narwar
Narwar is a town and a nagar panchayat in Shivpuri district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Narwar is a historic town and the Narwar Fort is just east of the Kali Sindh River and is situated at a distance of 42 km from Shivpuri. Narwar was known as Narwar District during the times of...
, and Chanderi
Chanderi
Chanderi चंदेरी شندرئ is a town of historical importance in Ashoknagar District of Madhya Pradesh state in India. It is situated at a distance of 127 km from Shivpuri,37 km from Lalitpur,55 km from Ashok Nagar and about 45 km from Esagarh It is surrounded by hills southwest of...
. Bhilsa, Morena, and Guna were the chief centres for the sale of grain, and Chanderi for the manufacture of fine cloth.
After the Treaty of Salbai
Treaty of Salbai
The Treaty of Salbai was signed on May 17, 1782, by representatives of the Maratha Empire and the British East India Company after long negotiations to settle the outcome of the First Anglo-Maratha War. Under its terms, the Company retained control of Salsette and acquired guarantees that the...
was concluded in 1782 between the British and Maharaja Mahadji Sindhia of Gwalior, David Anderson, who contributed to drafting the treaty, was appointed resident at the Gwalior court. The court was a moving camp until 1810, when Mahadji's successor Daulat Rao Sindhia permanently fixed his headquarters near the fortress of Gwalior, on the spot where Lashkar city now stands. Daulat Rao Sindhia was forced to sign a treaty of subsidiary alliance
Subsidiary alliance
A subsidiary alliance is an alliance between a dominant nation and a nation that it dominates.-British policy in India:The doctrine of subsidiary alliance was introduced by Marquess Wellesley, British Governor-General of India from 1798 to 1805...
with the government of British India in 1817 at the conclusion of the Third Anglo-Maratha War
Third Anglo-Maratha War
The Third Anglo-Maratha War was the final and decisive conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an invasion of Maratha territory by 110,400 British East India Company troops, the largest...
. The Resident at Gwalior answered directly to the Governor-General of India
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
until 1854, when Gwalior Residency was placed under the authority of the Central India Agency
Central India Agency
The Central India Agency was a political office of the British Indian Empire, which covered the northern half of present-day Madhya Pradesh state. The Central India Agency was made up entirely of princely states, which were under native rulers...
. The fortress of Gwalior was captured by rebels during the Indian Rebellion of 1857
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
, and recaptured by British troops in 1858, who occupied the fortress until 1886. In 1860 the smaller states were made into a separate charge, under the officer commanding the Central India Horse at Guna
Guna, India
Guna is a city and a municipality in Guna district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Guna District and is located on the banks of Parbati river.- History :...
. This arrangement was abolished in 1896, when these states were again placed under the resident, with the officer commanding at Guna continuing to act as ex-officio assistant to the Resident, with very limited powers. In 1888 Khaniadhana state was transferred from the Bundelkhand Agency
Bundelkhand Agency
The Marathas ceded parts of Bundelkhand, which were later called later British Bundelkhand, to the British in the 1802 Treaty of Bassein. After 1802, many of the local rulers were granted sanads by the British, which entitled them to the lands they controlled at the death of Ali Bahadur, in return...
to the Resident at Gwalior, and in 1895 the Gwalior State districts of Bhilsa and Isagarh
Isagarh District
Isagarh District is a former administrative district of the princely state of Gwalior in central India. Gwalior state existed from the 18th century until shortly after Indian Independence in 1947. Geographically, the district included most of the present-day districts of Guna and Ashoknagar, along...
were transferred from Bhopal Agency
Bhopal Agency
Bhopal Agency was an administrative section of British India's Central India Agency . The Bhopal Agency was formed in 1818 at the conclusion of the Third Anglo-Maratha War , and consisted of the princely state of Bhopal , the other Princely States of :- Khilchipur , Kurwai , Narsingarh , ...
to the Gwalior Residency. In 1921 Gwalior Residency was separated from the Central India Agency, and the resident again answered directly to the Governor-General. In 1936 the princely states of Benares and Rampur
Rampur, Uttar Pradesh
Rampur is a city and a municipality located in Rampur District in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Rampur district is located at Longitude 78-0-54 to 69-0-28 East and Latitude 28-25 to 29-10 North and spans an area of 2,367 km².It also gave its name to a former princely state of British...
, which had previously been under the authority of the United Provinces
United Provinces of Agra and Oudh
The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 1902 to 1947; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces, by which the province had been commonly known, and by which name it was also a province of...
, were placed under the authority of the Gwalior resident.
The Resident, as the officer accredited to the Gwalior ruler, was also in all matters of general policy the channel of communication between the ruler and other political officers, such as the agents of Malwa
Malwa Agency
Malwa Agency was an administrative section of British India's Central India Agency . The Malwa Agency was formed in 1895 out of princely states in the Northern Malwa region formerly under the authority of the British agent for Indore...
and Bhopawar, within whose charges isolated portions of Gwalior State were situated. He exercised a close supervision over the minor holdings of the residency, all criminal cases of any importance in which were either dealt with by him personally or submitted for his sanction and approval. He also had the powers of a District and Session Judge for portions of the Midland and Bina-Baran sections of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, which passed through the states of Gwalior, Datia
Datia
Datia is a small rural town and a municipality in Datia district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the administrative center of Datia District. It was formerly the seat of the eponymous princely state in the British Raj. Datia is situated near Gwalior and on the border with Uttar...
, Samthar
Samthar
Samthar is a city and a municipal board in Jhansi district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.-Demographics: India census, Samthar had a population of 20,227. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Samthar has an average literacy rate of 55%, lower than the national average of...
, Khaniadhana, and the Chhabra pargana.
The headquarters of the political officer were situated in the area known as The Residency, a piece of land measuring 1.17 square miles (3 km²) situated close to Morar, about four miles (6 km) to the east of Gwalior fort. The area was administered by the resident, and included three villages, the revenue from which were devoted to the upkeep of the Residency limits. In 1901 the population of the Residency was 1,391. The Great Indian Peninsula Railroad and Gwalior Light Railways and the Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
-Bombay and Bhind
Bhind
Bhind is a town in Bhind District, Madhya Pradesh, India.The chhatri of Malhar Rao Holkar at Alampur is great archaeology chhatri in Bhind district-Demographics:...
-Jhansi
Jhansi
Jhansi Hindi:झाँसी, , Marathi: झाशी, is a historical city of India. Jhansi is the administrative headquarters of Jhansi District and Jhansi Division. The original walled city grew up around its stone fort, which crowns a neighboring rock. This district is on the bank of river Betwa.The National...
high roads traversed the charge.
The Gwalior residency was abolished upon Indian Independence at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, when all treaty relations between the British crown and the princely states of India were nullified. The rulers of the states acceded to the Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
between 1947 and 1950, and most of the Gwalior Residency, including Gwalior State, were incorporated into the new Indian state of Madhya Bharat
Madhya Bharat
Madhya Bharat , also known as Malwa Union was an Indian state in west-central India, created on 28 May 1948 from twenty-five princely states which until 1947 had been part of the Central India Agency, with Jivaji Rao Scindia as its Rajpramukh...
, with Rampur and Benares going to Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
. Madhya Bharat was merged into Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
state on November 1, 1956.