The history of Indore starts with its foundation in 18^th century. When Rao Nandlal Chaudhary, the Zamindar of the place looked for the right place to establish his capital, he founded the region near Indreshwar temple. So, the place was originally called Indreshwar or Indreshpur. The name Indore should have been derived from this name.

Holkars served as local governors of Marathas. They collected taxes for them and were loyal to them. But they remained under the supremacy of Mughals. Mughal offered powers to the Nizam of Hyderabad to collect tax and that renewed the hostilities. Later when the power of Marathas weakened after their defeat in the Third Battle of Panipat by Ahmad Shah Abdali, Holkars turned the rulers of Indore. The first Holkar who founded the Holkar dynasty was Maharaja Malhar Rao Holkar. He retained control over Malwa plateau in 1724 and within few years became its governor.

Order of Holkar Kings

Malle Rao Holkar from 1764 to 1766

Rajamata Ahalya Bai from 1765 to 1795

Tukoji Holkar from 1795 to 1798

Yeshwant Rao Holkar from 1798 to 1811

Malhar Rao Holkar II from 1811 to 1834

Martand Rao Holkar – 1834

Hari Rao Holkar from 1834 to 1843

Khande Rao Holkar from 1843 to 1844

Tukoji Rao II Holkar from 1844 to 1886

Shivaji Rao Holkar from 1886 to 1903

Sir Tukoji Rao Holkar III from 1903 to 1926

Sir Yeshwant Rao Holkar II from 1926 to 1961

Maharani Ushadevi Holkar from 1961 till present

Among them, Rajamata Ahilya Bai was the one worth mentioning. She was married to Khande Rao, the son of Malhar Rao Holkar. She lost her husband in the battle of Kumbher in 1754 and she was about to commit sati. She was stopped from that. Her son was mentally challenged and she lost him too. This made her become the queen of Indore. She came to throne in 1766 and ruled over the place till 1795. She proved to be a benevolent queen and built many palaces, temples and dharmasalas.

After the death of Ahilya Bai in 1795, there were struggle among her men for the throne. Due to the civil war, British were able to establish their control over the region easily. In 1801 British established their head quarters of Central India at Indore. However, they did not want to earn the enmity of the Mughals who were above the Holkars and so they handed over the power to the Holkars in 1818 through an agreement.

After the Third Anglo Maratha War in 1818, Holkars were made as puppet kings with their capital at Indore. They became answerable to British. Holkars remained loyal to British and took sides with them during the First War of Indian Independence in 1857. The last two Holkars, Tukoji Rao III and Yeshwant Rao II got the title ‘Sir’ from British owing to their loyalty to them. After Indian independence, Yeshwant Rao II was instrumental in bringing Indore under Indian Union. Indore remained the part of Madhya Bharat state and when the new state of Madhya Pradesh emerged in 1956, the capital was shifted to Bhopal. The buildings of Holkar period could be seen in Indore photos and Indore videos.

Article Posted By : Sumazla  On February 10, 2012lView All Articles

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Indore , Indore photos , Indore videos