Malwa Union, also known as Madhya Bharat, is an erstwhile state of India in west central part of the country, which was founded on 28 May 1948, after the nation attained independence from the rule of the British Empire in India. It was formed with 25 princely states, which were earlier a part of the Central India Agency until 1947, with Jivaji Rao Scindia as its Rajpramukh. After the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed, the princely states of India were released from the dominion and authority of the British and had become entirely independent. During this period, most of the rulers of the Indian princely states readily acceded to the Union of India or to Pakistan, but the rulers of the states that were included in Malwa Union delayed. The territory covered a total area of 120,380 sq km. Indore was the summer capital, while Gwalior was the winter capital.
Malwa Union was bounded by the states of Bombay (currently Maharashtra and Gujarat) in the south west, Rajasthan in the north east, Vindhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in the east, Uttar Pradesh in the north, and Madhya Pradesh and Bhopal State in the south east. Madhya Bharat state was located in the Madhya Bharat plateau, which is surrounded by the Bundelkhand upland in the east, the East Rajasthan Uplands in the west, the Indo Gangetic plain in the north and the Malwa Plateau in the south.
History of Malwa Union
The Malwa Union comprised mostly Hindu populace and Hindi speaking people. Madhya Bharat, along with the Bhopal State and the states of Vindhya Pradesh, were merged into Madhya Pradesh on 1st November 1956. The former Indian state of Madhya Bharat consisted of 16 districts, which were primarily divided into 3 Commissioners` Divisions that were later reduced to two divisions. These districts were Mandsaur District, Nimar District, Jhabua District, Dhar District, Ratlam District, Dewas District, Indore District, Ujjain District, Shajapur District, Bhilsa District, Rajgarh District, Shivpuri District, Guna District, Morena Districtm, Gird District and Bhind District.
Administration of Malwa Union
The Rajpramukh was the nominal head of the state of Madhya Bharat and it also contained the post of an Uparajpramukh. It had a Vidhan Sabha that consisted of ninety nine members, who were elected from seventy nine constituencies. The state also had nine Lok Sabha constituencies in the territory. Jivaji Rao Scindia was appointed as the Rajpramukh of the state on 28 May 1948 and served the position until 31 October 1956. The first Chief Minister of the former Indian state was Liladhar Joshi. In May 1949, he was succeeded by Gopi Krishna Vijayvargiya. Takhatmal Jain became the 3rd Chief Minister of Madhya Bharat state on 18 October 1950. The Hindu Mahasabha won 11 seats and the Indian National Congress won 75 seats in the first general election in the year 1951. On 3 March 1952, Mishrilal Gangwal, from Congress party, became the state Chief Minister. On 16 April 1955, Takhatmal Jain was again appointed as the Chief Minister, after the resignation of Mishrilal Gangwal. He held the office of the state until 31 October 1956.
