Madhya Pradesh travel guide

Background

The land

Geography

Madhya Pradesh has some magnificent scenery. The dominating Vindhyan mountains run diagonally across the heart of Madhya Pradesh while the Kaimur range runs to the north and east, overlooking the Gangetic plain around Varanasi and Allahabad. Both rise to 600 m but are frequently cut by deep forest-clad ravines. Behind the Kaimur range is the Baghelkhand plateau while the Hazaribagh range juts into the state in the east. The Narmada rising in the east, flows west to the Arabian Sea, along with the Tapti to its south. Black volcanic soils are often visible across the state, but in some places the land is stony and inhospitable. Between Gwalior and Jhansi the Chambal River has dug deep gorges, creating a badlands area which dacoits have enjoyed as hideouts.

Climate

Most rain falls between June and September, increasing from about 1000 mm in the west to 2000 mm in the east. March to May is hot and dry: average maximum temperatures exceed 33°C and often reach 44°C. The average daily maximum during the monsoon is 30°C and the minimum 19°C, when the landscape turns green and places like Mandu are particularly attractive. Winters are dry and pleasant. The average daily maximum temperature from November to February is 27°C and the minimum 10°C.

History

Rock paintings and stone artefacts prove the existence of Stone Age cultures. Although the region was incorporated into successive states from the empire of Asoka to that of the Mughals, it was rarely the centre of a major power.

In the 10th century a number of dynasties controlled different parts of the region, most notably the Chandelas at Khajuraho. Gwalior was conquered in the 11th century by the Muslims, whose influence spread southeast under the Khaljis into Malwa during the 13th century. Akbar annexed this into his empire in the mid-16th century. The Scindia and Holkar dynasties of Marathas ruled independently at Gwalior and Indore respectively during the 18th century.

Under the British the region became known as the Central Provinces and under the state re-organization after Independence the modern state of Madhya Pradesh was created.

Culture

Even though the majority of the former state of Madhya Pradesh’s tribal people now have their own state of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh remains the home of many tribals, including Bhils, Gonds and Baigas. Many have been painfully absorbed into the mainstream of Indian life. Hindi is the most widely spoken language. On each of the borders the languages of neighbouring states – particularly Marathi and Gujarati in the west – are quite commonly used. The Bhils speak Bhili and the Gonds Gondi, independent in origin to the Indo-European and Dravidian language groups.

Textiles are important but Madhya Pradesh also has a strong traditional village handicraft industry. Handloom Chanderi and Maheshwar silks are especially sought after. The tribal people produce attractive handicrafts.

Modern Madhya Pradesh

Under the leadership of Digvijay Singh’s, the last Congress Party Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh was one of the first states to tackle its huge government overspend problem. By June 2002 the policy had led Madhya Pradesh to being one of the first states to return to financial surplus. However, the policies proved electorally suicidal, and the BJP swept the INC aside in both the Assembly elections of 2003 and the Lok Sabha elections of 2004. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections the BJP bucked the national trend, winning 25 of the 29 seats, the INC taking the other four. With the formation of Chhattisgarh the state legislative assembly lost 90 of its seats to the new state, reducing the total to 230. Here the BJP also formed a majority government, and took 10 of the 11 Lok Sabha seats. In 2005 Shivraj Singh Chauhan became MP’s chief minister.

In the Lok Sabha elections in spring 2009 the BJP won 16 of the 29 seats in Madhya Pradesh, down from 25 in 2004 but still better than the party’s performance elsewhere in India. Congress took 12 seats. The state’s chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who had been mooted as a potential prime ministerial candidate in the case of victory, was openly critical of his party’s election strategy, and, unlike fellow prominent BJP leader, Gujarat’s Narendra Modi, has called for a radical redefinition of ‘Hindutva’ along developmental rather than communal lines.