Indore
Indore /ɪnˈdɔːr/ (About this soundlisten) is the most populous and the largest city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.[10] It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and has campuses of both the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Management.[11] Located on the southern edge of Malwa Plateau, at an average altitude of 553 meters (1,814 ft) above sea level[12], it has the highest elevation among major cities of Central India. The city is 190 km (120 mi) west of the state capital of Bhopal. Indore had a census-estimated 2011 population of 1,994,397 (municipal corporation)[13] and 2,170,295 (urban agglomeration).[5] The city is distributed over a land area of just 530 square kilometres (200 sq mi), making Indore the most densely populated major city in the central province. It comes under Tier 2 cities in India.
Indore traces its roots to its 16th century founding as a trading hub between the Deccan and Delhi. The city and its surroundings came under Hindu Maratha Empire on 18 May 1724 after Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao I assumed the full control of Malwa. During the days of the British Raj, Indore State was a 19 Gun Salute (21 locally) princely state (a rare high rank) ruled by the Maratha Holkar dynasty, until they acceded to the Union of India.[14] Indore served as the capital of the Madhya Bharat from 1950 until 1956.
Indore's financial district, based in central Indore, functions as the financial capital of Madhya Pradesh and is home to the Madhya Pradesh Stock Exchange.
Indore has been selected as one of the 100 Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under the Smart Cities Mission.[15] It also qualified the first round of Smart Cities Mission and was selected as one of the first twenty cities to be developed as Smart Cities.[16] Indore has been part of Swachh Survekshan since its inception and had ranked 25th in 2016.[17] It has been ranked as India’s cleanest city four years in a row as per the Swachh Survekshan for the years 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Etymology
The city is named after its Indreshwar Mahadev Temple, where Indra is the presiding deity.[22] It is believed that Indra himself did Tapasya (meditation) in this place and led sage Swami Indrapuri to establish the temple. Later, Tukoji Rao Holkar renovated the temple.[23]
History
Maratha Raj (Holkar era)
By 1720, the headquarters of the local pargana were 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 the full control of Malwa, and appointed his commander Malhar Rao Holkar as the Subhedar (Governor) of the province.[24] Nandlal Chaudhary accepted the suzerainty of the Marathas.
On 29 July 1732, Bajirao Peshwa-I granted Holkar State by merging 28 and one-half parganas to Malhar Rao Holkar, the founding ruler of 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
British Occupation (Indore/Holkar State)
In 1818, the Holkars were defeated by the British during the Third Anglo-Maratha War, in the Battle of Mahidpur by virtue of which the capital was again moved from Maheshwar to Indore. A residency with British resident was established at Indore, but Holkars continued to rule Indore State as a princely state mainly due to efforts of their Dewan Tatya Jog. During that time, Indore was established the headquarters of British Central Agency. Ujjain was originally the commercial centre of Malwa. But the British administrators such as John Malcolm decided to promote Indore as an alternative to Ujjain, because the merchants of Ujjain had supported anti-British elements.[25]
In 1906 electric supply was started in the city, fire brigade was established in 1909 and in 1918, first master-plan of city was made by noted 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. With the introduction of Railways in 1875, the business in Indore flourished during the reigns of Maharaja Shivaji Rao Holkar, Maharaja Tukoji Rao Holkar III and Maharaja Yeshwant Rao Holkar.
Post-independence
After India's independence in 1947, Holkar State, along with a number of neighbouring princely states, acceded to Indian Union. In 1948, with the formation of Madhya Bharat, Indore became the summer capital of the state. On 1 November 1956, when Madhya Bharat was merged into Madhya Pradesh, the state capital was shifted to Bhopal. Indore, a city today of nearly 4.5 million(2018) residents, has transformed from a traditional commercial urban centre into a modern dynamic commercial capital of the state.
Demographics
Indore is the most populous city in Madhya Pradesh. Indore is also the largest metropolitan city in Central India. According to the 2011 census of India, the population of Indore city (the area under the municipal corporation and outgrowths) is 1,994,397.[13] The population of the Indore metropolis (urban agglomeration that includes neighbour areas) is 2,170,295.[5] In 2011, the city had a population density of 25,170 people per square mile (9,718/km²), rendering it the most densely populated of all municipalities with over 100,000 population in the Madhya Pradesh. As per 2011 census, the city of Indore has an average literacy rate of 87.38%, higher than the national average of 74%. Male literacy was 91.84%, and female literacy was 82.55%[26] In Indore, 12.72% of the population is under 6 years of age (as per census 2011). The average annual growth rate of population is around 2.85% as per the statistics of census 2001. Religion-wise, according to the 2011 census reports, Hindus constitute the majority, 80.18% of Indore's total population, while Muslims are 14.09%, Jains 3.25%, and others 2.48%
Hindi is the official language of the Indore city, and is spoken by majority of the population. A number of Hindi dialects such as Bundeli, Malawi and Nimadi are spoken in significant numbers. Other languages with substantial number of speakers include Marathi, Urdu, Sindhi, Gujarati and Punjabi.[27][28][29][30]
According to 2012 figures, around 6,000 Pakistani Hindu migrants live in the city (out of a total 10,000 in the state).[31] Majority of them are Sindhi People.
Government and politics
The administration of Indore is formed of two tiers—a citywide, and a local tier.[32] Most of the regions surrounding the city are administered by the Indore Development Authority (IDA). IDA works as an apex body for planning and co-ordination of development activities in the Indore Metropolitan Region (IMR) comprising Indore and its agglomeration covering an area of 398.72 km2. Primarily, IDA develops new residential areas. During the early stage of development of such areas, the IDA is responsible for developing basic infrastructure. Once a sizeable number of plots are sold, the area is formally transferred to the IMC, which is then responsible for the maintenance of the infrastructure in the area.[33]
The IDA consists of two appointed components; the collector of the district, who has executive powers, and the IDA Board which includes a chairman appointed by Government of Madhya Pradesh, Municipal Commissioner of Indore and five members form Town and Country Planning Department, Forest Department, Public Health Engineering, Public Works Department and MP Electricity Board[34] who scrutinise the collector's decisions and can accept or reject his budget proposals each year. The role of IDA is to implement the master plan for Indore prepared by the Town and Country Office, Bhopal.[35] The headquarters of the IDA is at Race Course Road, Indore.[36]
Indore City has been a metropolitan municipality with a mayor-council form of government. Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) was established in 1956 under the Madhya Pradesh Nagar Palika Nigam Adhiniyam. The IMC is responsible for public education, correctional institutions, libraries, public safety, recreational facilities, sanitation, water supply, local planning and welfare services. The mayor and councillors are elected to five-year terms. The Indore Municipal Corporation is a unicameral body consisting of 69 Council members whose districts are divided into 12 zones and these zones have been further divided into 69 wards defined by geographic population boundaries.[37]
The Indore Police, a division of the Madhya Pradesh Police, under direct control of Department of Home Affairs, Government of Madhya Pradesh is the law enforcement agency in Indore. Indore district is divided into 39 police stations and seven police outposts.[38]
Indore is also a seat for one of the two permanent benches of Madhya Pradesh High Court with Gwalior, the city, its agglomerates and other 12 districts of western Madhya Pradesh falls under the jurisdiction of Indore High Court.
In May 2019, Shankar Lalwani of Bharatiya Janata Party had been elected as the Member of Parliament from Indore.[39]
Economy
Indore is a commercial centre for goods and services. Indore had GDP of $14 billion as of 2011.[40] The city also hosts a Global Investors' Summit which attract investors from several countries.
Major industrial areas surrounding the city include Pithampur (phase I, II, III - alone host 1500 large, medium and small industrial set-ups[41]), Indore Special Economic Zone (around 3000 acres; 4.7 sq mi; 1214 ha[42]), Sanwer Industrial belt (1000 acres;1.6 sq mi; 405 ha[43]), LaxmiBai Nagar IA, Rau IA, Bhagirathpura IA, Kali Billod IA, Ranmal Billod IA, Shivaji nagar Bhindikho IA, Hatod IA,[43] IT Parks - Crystal IT Park (5.5 lakh square feet), IT Park Pardeshipura (1 lakh square feet[44]), Electronic Complex, individual SEZ such as TCS SEZ, Infosys SEZ, Impetus SEZ, Diamond Park, Gems and Jewellery Park, Food Park, Apparel Park, Namkeen Cluster and Pharma Cluster.
Pithampur is known as the Detroit of Madhya Pradesh.[45][46]
Madhya Pradesh Stock Exchange (MPSE) originally set up in 1919 is the only exchange in Central India and the third oldest stock exchange in India is located in Indore. Now the National Stock Exchange (NSE) has established an Investor Service Center in the city.[47]
TCS has officially started its offshore development center in Indore with a total area of the campus expected to be around 1.5 million square feet.[48] Collabera has also announced plans to open campuses in Indore. Infosys is setting up a new development centre at Indore at an investment of Rs 100 crore in phase one at super corridor.[49] Infosys demanded an area of 130 acres (53 ha) to open its new facility in Indore which will employ about 13,000 people. The government of MP has also done the land allotment.[50] Impetus, headquartered in Los Gatos, California, USA with multiple offshore offices in Indore has started operations at its 25-acres procured land from SEZ.[51][52] Besides these, there are several small and medium size software development firms in Indore. Webgility, a San Francisco-based ecommerce company that has had a presence in Indore since 2007, opened a 16,000-foot campus at NRK Business Park in 2017.
Culture
The Yeshwant Club (named after Late the Maharaja Yeshwant Rao II Holkar of Indore) and Sayaji Club/Hotel (named after Late the Maharaja Sayaji Rao III Gaekwad of Baroda) are big sponsors for art & music and invite talents from across world. The major art centres in Indore are the Devlalikar kala Vithika, Ravindra Natya Grah (RNG), Mai Mangeshkar Sabha Grah, Anand Mohan Mathur Sabhagrah, DAVV auditorium, and Brilliant Convention Centre.[53]
The city has a good rock/metal music culture which is growing. Nicotine, one of the city's earliest and most renowned bands, is widely known for being the pioneer of metal music in Central India.[54][55]
Aakshank, a college fest organised by Institute of Engineering and Technology, DAVV, witnesses a crowd of more than ten thousand. Many popular singers and bands perform here.
Indore was going to host IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) Awards 2020 from 27 to 29 March.[56] This has been postponed due to concerns regarding spread of Corona Virus
