Gwalior () is the fourth largest city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh where it serves as the capital and the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division. It is an important cultural, industrial, sports and political centre. Known as the music city of India, it is home to the oldest musical gharana of the Indian subcontinent and of the earliest known epigraphical inscription that uses the number 0 (zero) as part of the Hindu numeral system. The grand historic city and its fortress have been ruled by several Indian kingdoms from the Alchon Huns to the Gurjara Pratihara and Kachchhapaghata dynasties. Later it fell into the hands of the Delhi Sultanate before passing on to their vassals, the Tomars.
The Mughal Empire conquered the city and its fortress in the 16th century. Following the decline of the empire, the city fell into the hands of Jat rulers, then to the British East India Company in 1730. The Scindia Dynasty of the Maratha Empire took control of the city in the early 18th century.
Gwalior was one of the major locations of the Sepoy Mutiny. Prior to Indian independence, the Kingdom of Gwalior remained a princely state of the British Raj with the Scindia as rulers and the city became the winter capital of the Central India Agency. Gwalior was a premier twenty-one Gun Salute State along with Hyderabad, Mysore, Jammu and Kashmir and Baroda.
Post Independence, the city became the capital of the short-lived state of Madhya Bharat, now part of the larger state of Madhya Pradesh. Located in its northern part, it is one of the counter-magnet cities hosting many administrative offices of the Chambal division including the state and national headquarters of several organisations, commissions and boards and is surrounded by industrial and commercial zones of neighbouring districts, Malanpur, Bhind, Banmore, Morena.
Gwalior occupies a strategic location in the historical Gird region. Surrounded by high rocky hills, the city is situated in the valley in the Ganga-Yamuna Drainage Basin. The city's metropolitan area includes Lashkar, Old City (Fort City), Gwalior West, Gwalior East, Greater Gwalior, and Morar Cantonment.
Gwalior is one of the cities selected under the central government's flagship Smart Cities Mission and startup centre programmes.
One of UNESCO's cities of Music as part of the world creative cities network, Gwalior's identity is strongly associated with its rich musical, artistic traditions and vibrant culture, making it one of India's most touristic cities.
Etymology and History
Gwalior derived its name from the Gwalior Fort itself, which was earlier known as Gopgiri, Gop Parvat (Shepherd's Hill) or Gopachal during Gupta period. In ancient time this region was known as Gopashetra roughly translated to "the land of Gopis" or "the land associated to Cowherds". The name is believed to have connections with the Gopis (the cow herdesses or cowherds girls) of the Lord Krishna mythology. It is said that the area was once inhabited by cowherds and associated with pastoral activities, especially in the times of Mahabharata. This may refer to the cultural or historical ties with Lord Krishna worship, which had an influence on the region. Gwalior was the major commercial and trade route during Samudragupta reign. According to some legends, Gwalior was founded in 600 CE (early 5th Century) after a local chieftain, Suraj Sen, who was cured of leprosy from a drink given to him by a hermit named Gwalipa. Suraj subsequently set up a city and fort and named them after Gwalipa.
The earliest historical record found at Gwalior is the Gwalior inscription of the Alchon Hun ruler Mihirakula. It describes Mihirakula's father Toramana (493–515) as "a ruler of the earth, of great merit, who was renowned by the name of the glorious Tôramâna; by whom, through (his) heroism that was specially characterized by truthfulness, the earth was governed with justice", and his Mihirakula as "the lord of the earth" as of 520 CE.
Around the 9th century, the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty controlled Gwalior and during their rule, they constructed the Teli ka Mandir temple. The Kachchhapaghata dynasty ruled the area c.950 –c.1192 CE, leaving remarkable architectural works such as the Sas and Bahu Temples. In 1021, Gwalior was attacked by forces led by Mahmud Ghazni.
In 1231 Iltutmish, ruler of the Mamluk dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, captured Gwalior after an 11-month-long effort and from then till the 13th century it remained under Muslim rule. In 1375, Raja Veer Singh was made the ruler of Gwalior and he founded the rule of the Tomar clan. During those years, Gwalior saw its golden period. The Jain Sculptures at Gwalior Fort were built under Tomar rule. Man Singh Tomar a Tomar Rajput made his dream palace, the Man Mandir Palace which is now a tourist attraction at Gwalior Fort. Babur described it as "the pearl in the necklace of forts of India and not even the winds could touch its masts". The daily light and sound show organised there apprise about the history of the Gwalior Fort and Man Mandir Palace. By the 15th century, the city had a noted singing school which was attended by the prominent figure of Hindustani classical music, Tansen. After death of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb the Jat ruler Bhim Singh Rana captured Gwalior from Mughals. Later in the 1740s, the Scindia Dynasty captured Gwalior from the Jats. It remained a princely state during the period of British rule.
Chaturbhuj Temple at Gwalior Fort has the world's very first occurrence of zero as a written number.
Rebellion of 1857 Gwalior was major centre in the 1857 rebellion, mainly because of Rani Lakshmibai. After Kalpi (Jhansi) fell into the hands of the British on 24 May 1858, Lakshmibai sought shelter at Gwalior Fort. The Maharaja of Gwalior, was not willing to give up his fort, but after negotiations, his troops capitulated and the rebels took possession of the fort. The British swifty charged against Gwalior in no time, the battle was fought by Lakshmibai. Indian forces numbered around 20,000, and British forces around 1,600 troops. Lakshmibai's example is remembered to this day by Indian nationalists. She died fighting in Gwalior. There is a statue erected at the cenotaph (Samadhi) of Lakshmibai on her horse at Chhatri of Rani Lakshmibai in Gwalior's Phoolbagh area where she died and was cremated which commemorates her contribution to the fight for independence. Tantia Tope and Rao Sahib escaped. Tantia Tope was later captured and hanged in April 1859.
Princely state of Gwalior
Scindia is a Maratha clan in India. This clan included rulers of the Gwalior State in the 18th and 19th centuries, who were a princely state during the period of British colonial rule until Indian independence. During independence, the clans became involved in politics.
The Scindia state of Gwalior became a major regional power in the second half of the 18th century and figured prominently in the three Anglo-Maratha Wars. (Gwalior first fell to the British in 1780.) The Scindias held significant power over many of the Rajput states, and conquered the state of Ajmer. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the city was briefly held by rebel forces in 1858 until they were defeated by the British.Columbia-Lippincott Gazetteer, p. 740 The Scindia dynasty ruled Gwalior until India's independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, when the Maharaja Jiwajirao Scindia acceded to the Government of India. Gwalior was merged with a number of other princely states to become the new Indian state of Madhya Bharat. Jivajirao Scindia served as the state's Rajpramukh, or the appointed governor, from 28 May 1948 to 31 October 1956, when Madhya Bharat was merged into Madhya Pradesh. Gwalior was the first princely state that was merged into India.
In 1962, Rajmata Vijayraje Scindia, the widow of Maharaja Jivajirao Scindia, was elected to the Lok Sabha, beginning the family's career in electoral politics. She was first a member of the Congress Party, and later became an influential member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Her son, Maharaja Madhavrao Scindia was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1971, representing the Congress Party, and served until his death in 2001. His son, Jyotiraditya Scindia, also in the Congress Party, was elected to the seat formerly held by his father in 2004, but later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2020.
Demographics
As of the 2011 Census of India, Gwalior had a population of 1,054,420. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Gwalior has an average literacy rate of 84.14%, higher than the national average of 74%: male literacy is 89.64% and female literacy is 77.92%. In Gwalior, about 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. The city's metropolitan population, which includes the commuter town of Morar Cantonment, was 1,102,884.
Religion
Hinduism is practised by the majority of the people in Gwalior (88.84%). Other religions practised include Islam (8.58%), Jainism (1.41%), Sikhism (0.56%), and Christianity (0.29). Gwalior has a long history of religious amity. The erstwhile Maharajas of the Scindia dynasty considered the Sufi saints to be their gurus and headed the Muharram procession every year.
Languages
Hindi is the predominant language of Gwalior, with nearly 96% of residents speaking it as their first language. Sindhi and Marathi are spoken by 1% each.
Geography
Gwalior is located at . in northern Madhya Pradesh from Delhi. It has an average elevation of . Most part of it comes under the Gird and Bundelkhand area.
Location
Waterways
The Tigra Dam is located on the outskirts of the city. The dam is now being used to store water from the Sank river and supply water to the city. The reservoir is used for leisure activities including speed boating, paddle boating, and water scooters.
The Swarna Rekha river is a reconstructed part of the Swarna Rekha river which was dried during the British raj. Boat rides run between Padav in central Gwalior to Gwalior Zoo.
Parks and gardens
The Lashkar part of Gwalior has many parks, including the Phool Bagh, or the garden of flowers, built to welcome the Prince of Cambridge.
Italian Garden – the garden which was used by the Scindias as a place of relaxation, is Italian in architecture with a water pool surrounded by musical fountains. Ambedkar Park and Gandhi Park are other prominent parks.
Gwalior Zoo provides a home for white tigers, serpents, golden pheasants, sambar, hyena, bison, and others.
Climate
Gwalior has a sub-tropical climate with hot summers from late March to early July, the humid monsoon season from late June to early October, and a cool dry winter from early November to late February. Under Köppen's climate classification the city has a humid subtropical climate. The highest recorded temperature was 48 °C and the lowest was −1 °C. Summers start in late March, and along with other cities like Jaipur and Delhi, are among the hottest in India and the world. Temperatures peak in May and June with daily averages being around , and end in late June with the onset of the monsoon. Gwalior receives 750 mm of rain on average per year, most of which is concentrated in the Monsoon months (from late June to early October). August is the wettest month with about 250 mm of rain. Winter in Gwalior starts in late October, and is generally very mild with daily temperatures averaging in the range, and mostly dry and sunny conditions. January is the coldest month with average lows in the 5-6 °C range (41-42 °F) and occasional cold snaps that plummet temperatures down to a single digit.
Gwalior has been ranked 26th best "National Clean Air City" (under Category 1 >10L Population cities) in India.
Environment Gwalior was found to have the second-highest level of air pollution according to a World Health Organization study in 2016. Particulates from the burning of garbage and fossil fuels make breathing the air of this city a hazard.