Indore

Indore, today the largest city of Madhya Pradesh, began as a small trading village on the banks of the Saraswati and Khan rivers. It grew at a crossroads of caravan routes linking the Deccan with Malwa, Rajputana and the Ganga plains. The name is generally traced to the Indreshwar Mahadev temple, said to have been established by a local zamindar, around which the early settlement of Indrapur/Indur developed into Indore.

In the early 18th century, as Maratha power expanded northwards, the Peshwas took control of the region and granted it to their officers, the Holkars. Indore gradually became the main centre of Holkar rule, alongside Maheshwar. Under rulers like Malhar Rao Holkar and especially Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar, the state prospered, and Indore emerged as a busy commercial town, attracting merchants, bankers and craftsmen.

After the Third Anglo–Maratha War (1818), the Holkar state came under British paramountcy; a separate British Residency and cantonment were established near the town. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, new planned areas with broad roads, markets and public buildings were laid out, easing crowding in the old bazaar streets.

After Independence, Holkar State merged into Madhya Bharat and then Madhya Pradesh. Indore evolved into the state’s commercial capital, known for industry, trade, education, and now IT and service sectors, while still retaining its bazaar culture, temples and Holkar heritage.