| Native Name: | Indūra rājya (Marathi) |
| Conventional Long Name: | State of Indore |
| Common Name: | Indore |
| Stat Area1: | 25,646 |
| Stat Year1: | 1931 |
| Stat Pop1: | 13,25,089 |
| Year Start: | 1732 |
| Date Start: | 29 July |
| Event Start: | Established |
| Status: | State Within the Maratha Confederacy (1731–1818) Protectorate of the East India Company (1818–1857) Princely State of the British Raj (1857–1947) State of the Dominion of India (1947–1948) |
| Year End: | 1948 |
| Date End: | 1 January |
| Event End: | Accession to Dominion of India |
| P1: | Maratha Confederacy |
| S1: | Dominion of India |
| Flag P1: | Flag of the Maratha Empire.svg |
| Border P1: | no |
| Flag S1: | Flag of India.svg |
| Flag Border: | no |
| Flag Caption: | Top: Flag (1732–1818) Bottom: Flag (1818–1950) |
| Image Map Caption: | Map of the territories of Indore State, some forming enclaves in neighbouring Gwalior and Bhopal states |
| Title Leader: | Raja |
| Year Leader1: | 1732–1766 (first) |
| Leader1: | Malhar Rao Holkar |
| Year Leader2: | 1926–1948 (last) |
| Leader2: | Yashwant Rao Holkar II |
| Today: | India ∟ Madhya Pradesh |
| Capital: | Indore |
| Image Flag2: | Flag of Indore.svg |
Indore State was a kingdom within the Maratha Confederacy ruled by the Maratha Holkar dynasty.[1] After 1857, Indore became a 19-gun salute princely state within the Central India Agency of the Indian Empire under British protection.
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.[2]
See also: Dewas Junior, Dewas Senior, Dhar State and Gwalior State.
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.[3]
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.
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.[4] The Holkar State Darbar (Court) was composed of many Jagirdars, Sardars, Istamuradars, Mankaris and Zamindars.[5] [6]
| Name | Birth | Death | Reign | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malhar Rao Holkar I | 1694 | 1766 | 1731 – 20 May 1766 | |
| 1745 | 1767 | 20 May 1766 – 5 April 1767 | ||
| Ahilya Bai Holkar (III)(f), regent and then Rani | 1725 | 1795 | April 1767 – 13 August 1795 | |
| 1723 | 1797 | 13 August 1795 – 29 January 1797 (also listed as co-ruler from April 1767) | ||
| ? | 1808 | 29 January 1797 – January 1799 | ||
| 1798 | 1806 | January 1799 – 1806 | ||
| 1776 | 1811 | 1806 – 27 October 1811 (regent from January 1799) | ||
| 1801 | 1833 | November 1811 – 27 October 1833 | ||
| Maharani Tulsi Bai (f), regent | ? | 1817 | November 1811 – 20 December 1817 | |
| 1830 | 1849 | 27 October 1833 – 2 February 1834 | ||
| 1795 | 1843 | 2 February 1834 – 24 October 1843 | ||
| 1828 | 1844 | 24 October 1843 – 17 February 1844 | ||
| Maharani Maji (f), first regency | ? | 1849 | 24 October 1843 – 17 February 1844 | |
| Tukoji Rao II Holkar XI (knighted 25 June 1861) | 1835 | 1886 | 27 June 1844 – 17 June 1886 | |
| Maharani Maji (f), second regency (s.a.) | ? | 1849 | 27 June 1844 – September 1849 | |
| Shivaji Rao Holkar XII (knighted 30 June 1887) | 1859 | 1908 | 17 June 1886 – 31 January 1903 | |
| Tukoji Rao III Holkar XIII (knighted 1 January 1918) | 1890 | 1978 | 31 January 1903 – 26 February 1926 | |
| Yashwant Rao II Holkar XIV (knighted 1 January 1935) | 1908 | 1961 | 26 February 1926 – 15 August 1947 | |
| Usha Devi Holkar | 1961 | present |
• 1879 -1884: Bakshi Khuman Singh (C.S.I.)
British Residents of the Indore Residency.[9]
Agents to the Governor-General for the Central India Agency. The headquarters of the agent were at Indore.
The Royal House of Indore awards the Order of Ahilya Holkar Sultanat, which is awarded in three classes. It was founded on November 22, 1900 by Maharaja Sir Tukojirao III Holkar XIII.[10]