Gwalior
Gwalior is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is known as the Music City of India having the oldest musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political centre in Madhya Pradesh. Gwalior is among the seven cities selected for new startup centres under India's growing innovation ecosystem. On World Cities Day, UNESCO Director - General Audrey Azoulay announced Gwalior's inclusion among 55 new world creative cities in the UCCN from India. This tag elevates Gwalior's identity internationally, spotlighting its artists, music traditions and vibrant culture. It lies in the northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of New Delhi, the capital city of India and from Bhopal, the state capital, Gwalior occupies a strategic location in the Gwalior Chambal region of India. The grand historic city and its fortress have been ruled by several Indian kingdoms. From the Alchon Huns in the 5th century AD to Gurjara Pratihara dynasty in the 8th century AD. It was passed on to Kachchhapaghatas in the 10th century AD. Later it fell into the hands of the Delhi Sultanate in the 12th century AD, it was then passed on to the Tomars in the 13th century AD who were the vassal rulers of the Delhi Sultanate.
The Mughal Empire conquered the city and its fortress in the 16th century AD. When the Mughal Empire was declining, it fell into the hands of Jat rulers, then to the English in 1730, and last it was passed on to the Scindia Dynasty of Maratha Empire in the early 18th century.
Gwalior is a premier 21 Gun Salute State along with Hyderabad, Mysore, Jammu & Kashmir and Baroda.
Gwalior was the capital of Madhya Bharat from 1948 till 1956 and Moti Mahal was made the legislative assembly.
Gwalior was one of the major locations of rebellion during the 1857 uprising. During British Raj Gwalior became winter capital of Central India Agency. Post Independence Gwalior was made the capital of the state of Madhya Bharat from 1948 till 1956 which later became a part of the larger state of Madhya Pradesh. Prior to Indian independence on 15 August 1947, Gwalior remained a princely state of the British Raj with the Scindia as the rulers.
Besides being the administrative headquarters of Gwalior district and Gwalior division, Gwalior has many administrative offices of the Chambal division of northern Madhya Pradesh. Several administrative and judicial organisations, commissions and boards have their state and national headquarters situated in the city
Post-independence, Gwalior has emerged as an important industrial and tourist attraction in central India, while many industries and administrative offices came up within the city. Before the end of the 20th century, it became a million plus agglomeration and now it is a metropolitan city in central India. Gwalior is surrounded by industrial and commercial zones of neighbouring districts on all three main directions.
High rocky hills surround the city from all sides, on the north it just forms the border of the Ganga-Yamuna Drainage Basin. The city however is situated in the valley between the hills. Gwalior's metropolitan area includes Lashkar, Old City, Gwalior West, Gwalior East, Greater Gwalior, and Morar Cantonment. In April 2021, it was found that Gwalior had the best air quality index among the four major cities in Madhya Pradesh. Gwalior has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under PM Narendra Modi's flagship Smart Cities Mission.
Etymology and History
Gwalior derived its name from the Gwalior Fort itself, which was earlier known as Gopgiri, Gop Parvat or Gopachal during Gupta period. In ancient time this region was known as Gopashetra roughly translated to "the land of Gopis" or "the land associated to Cowherds". The name is believed to have connections with the Gopis of the Lord Krishna mythology. It is said that the area was once inhabited by cowherds and associated with pastoral activities, especially in the times of Mahabharata. This may refer to the cultural or historical ties with Lord Krishna worship, which had an influence on the region. Gwalior was the major commercial and trade route during Samudragupta reign. According to some legends, Gwalior was founded in 600 CE after a local chieftain, Suraj Sen, who was cured of leprosy from a drink given to him by a hermit named Gwalipa. Suraj subsequently set up a city and fort and named them after Gwalipa.The earliest historical record found at Gwalior is the Gwalior inscription of the Alchon Hun ruler Mihirakula. It describes Mihirakula's father Toramana as "a ruler of the earth, of great merit, who was renowned by the name of the glorious Tôramâna; by whom, through heroism that was specially characterized by truthfulness, the earth was governed with justice", and his Mihirakula as "the lord of the earth" as of 520 CE.
Around the 9th century, the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty controlled Gwalior and during their rule, they constructed the Teli ka Mandir temple. The Kachchhapaghata dynasty ruled the area c.950 –c.1192 CE, leaving remarkable architectural works such as the Sas and Bahu Temples. In 1021, Gwalior was attacked by forces led by Mahmud Ghazni.
In 1231 Iltutmish, ruler of the Mamluk dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, captured Gwalior after an 11-month-long effort and from then till the 13th century it remained under Muslim rule. In 1375, Raja Veer Singh was made the ruler of Gwalior and he founded the rule of the Tomar clan. During those years, Gwalior saw its golden period. The Jain Sculptures at Gwalior Fort were built under Tomar rule. Man Singh Tomar a Tomar Rajput made his dream palace, the Man Mandir Palace which is now a tourist attraction at Gwalior Fort. Babur described it as "the pearl in the necklace of forts of India and not even the winds could touch its masts". The daily light and sound show organised there apprise about the history of the Gwalior Fort and Man Mandir Palace. By the 15th century, the city had a noted singing school which was attended by the prominent figure of Hindustani classical music, Tansen. After death of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb the Jat ruler Bhim Singh Rana captured Gwalior from Mughals. Later in the 1740s, the Scindia Dynasty captured Gwalior from the Jats. It remained a princely state during the period of British rule.
Chaturbhuj Temple at Gwalior Fort has the world's very first occurrence of zero as a written number.
Rebellion of 1857
Gwalior was major centre in the 1857 rebellion, mainly because of Rani Lakshmibai. After Kalpi fell into the hands of the British on 24 May 1858, Lakshmibai sought shelter at Gwalior Fort. The Maharaja of Gwalior, was not willing to give up his fort, but after negotiations, his troops capitulated and the rebels took possession of the fort. The British swifty charged against Gwalior in no time, the battle was fought by Lakshmibai. Indian forces numbered around 20,000, and British forces around 1,600 troops. Lakshmibai's example is remembered to this day by Indian nationalists. She died fighting in Gwalior. There is a statue erected at the cenotaph of Lakshmibai on her horse at Chhatri of Rani Lakshmibai in Gwalior's Phoolbagh area where she died and was cremated which commemorates her contribution to the fight for independence. Tantia Tope and Rao Sahib escaped. Tantia Tope was later captured and hanged in April 1859.Princely state of Gwalior
is a Maratha clan in India. This clan included rulers of the Gwalior State in the 18th and 19th centuries, who were a princely state during the period of British colonial rule until Indian independence. During independence, the clans became involved in politics.The Scindia state of Gwalior became a major regional power in the second half of the 18th century and figured prominently in the three Anglo-Maratha Wars. The Scindias held significant power over many of the Rajput states, and conquered the state of Ajmer. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the city was briefly held by rebel forces in 1858 until they were defeated by the British. The Scindia dynasty ruled Gwalior until India's independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, when the Maharaja Jiwajirao Scindia acceded to the Government of India. Gwalior was merged with a number of other princely states to become the new Indian state of Madhya Bharat. Jivajirao Scindia served as the state's Rajpramukh, or the appointed governor, from 28 May 1948 to 31 October 1956, when Madhya Bharat was merged into Madhya Pradesh. Gwalior was the first princely state that was merged into India.
In 1962, Rajmata Vijayraje Scindia, the widow of Maharaja Jivajirao Scindia, was elected to the Lok Sabha, beginning the family's career in electoral politics. She was first a member of the Congress Party, and later became an influential member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Her son, Maharaja Madhavrao Scindia was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1971, representing the Congress Party, and served until his death in 2001. His son, Jyotiraditya Scindia, also in the Congress Party, was elected to the seat formerly held by his father in 2004, but later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2020.