The Malwa Agency was an administrative division of the Central India Agency, which was under the rule of the British Empire in India. The Malwa Agency was established in the year 1895 and was formed with the merger of Princely states of India, particularly in the Northern Malwa region, which was earlier under the administration and authority of a Resident of British India or political agent appointed for Indore. The British resident was headquartered at Neemuch and Mandsaur.
The Malwa Agency included several Indian princely states namely Ratlam State, Jaora State, Sitamau State, Sailana State, Piploda State, Panth Piploda Estate and certain regions of the princely state of Indore, princely state of Gwalior, the princely state of Tonk and the Dewas Senior and Junior states. The princely states that were incorporated in the Malwa Agency are discussed as follows-
Ratlam State
The Princely state of Ratlam was a part of the Malwa agency of Central India. The rulers of the region were Suryavanshi Rathors. Maharaja Ratan Singh was the first ruler of the Ratlam state, which was spread over a total area of 902 square miles. It was closely interwoven with the regions of the princely states of Kanwas, Sailana and Semaliya.
Jaora State
The Princely state of Jaora was established by a Muslim of Afghan descent named Abdul Ghafur Muhammad Khan. The princely state was confirmed by the British administration through the Treaty of Mandsaur in the year 1818. The Jaora state, including the dependencies of Piploda and Panth Piploda, covered a total area of 1,471 sq km. The princely state of Jaora was divided into 4 tehsils, namely Barkhera, Tal, Barauda and Jaora. Cotton, millets, opium and maize were the major crops.
Sitamau State
The Princely state of Sitamau belonged to Malwa Agency, which was under the Central India Agency. The state was established in the year 1701 and was ruled by the Rathore clan. The princely state was scattered over a total area of 523 sq km.
Sailana State
Sailana was an Indian princely state during the rule of the British Empire in India. The territory was founded in 1736, by Jai Singh, who was the great grandson of Ratan Singh. He established the city of Sailana as the new capital of the princely state in 1736. The princely state of Sailana covered a total area of 769 sq km.
Piploda State
The princely state of Piploda was founded by Rawat Sawalsinghji in 1547. It was ruled by Rajputs of the Dodia dynasty. The Piploda state was spread across a total area of 91 sq km. until 1924, the territory was a dependency of Jaora state, after which it was considered as a separate princely state. The region was acceded to the Union of India by the native ruler of the state on 15th June 1948. Piploda was included as a part of Ratlam District of Madhya Bharat state.
Panth Piploda Estate
Panth Piploda Estate was the smallest province under the administration of the British government of India, which is presently situated in the Ratlam district in the state of Madhya Pradesh. It covered a total area of 65 sq km and consisted of the total population of 5267. The province was situated in the Malwa Agency and comprised of several different enclaves. The region was bordered by the princely states of Dewas, Jaora and Gwalior.
In the year 1907, the princely states of Dewas Senior and Dewas Junior were included in the Malwa Agency. Malwa Agency was merged with Bhopawar Agency in 1925, in order to create the Malwa and Bhopawar Agency in 1925. Later in 1927, the territory was renamed as the Malwa and Southern States Agency in 1927. The Dewas States were reassigned to Bhopal Agency in the year 1931 and later in 1934 the agency was again renamed as Malwa Agency.
After India became independent from the British dominion in 1947, the native rulers of these states acceded to the newly formed Union of India, also known as Dominion of India. These were merged with the state of Madhya Bharat. On 1st November 1956, Madhya Bharat was amalgamated with the state of Madhya Pradesh.
