Indore (pop. 1,964,086; met area pop. 2,167,447) is a city in the west of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the state’s largest city. The name Indore comes from the Indreshwar temple, which was built in the town in 1741. The Khan River joins the Sarasvati River at Indore. The city was once the capital of the princely state of Indore, which was ruled by the Holkar dynasty. Today, it is a major manufacturing center.
Indore has a number of notable buildings. The Lal Bagh palace, which was the palace of the Holkar dynasty, was built in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. It was one of the grandest palaces in India at the time of its construction. Its gates are a reproduction of the gates of Buckingham Palace in London. The Holkars’ old palace, the Raj Wada, has been largely destroyed by a series of fires. The Bada Ganapati temple houses a statue 25 feet (8 meters) high of the Hindu god Ganesha. A Jain temple, the Kanch Mandir, is known for its glass mosaics.
The University of Indore, founded in 1964, is based in Indore. Indore has a number of other institutes of higher education, including a medical college and schools of science and technology. Indore also has an art school.
Indore is a center for the production of cotton textiles. Other products manufactured in Indore include chemicals, machinery, bicycles, and electronic goods. Pithampur, about 15 miles (25 kilometers) from Indore, is known as “the Detroit of India” because of its huge automobile-manufacturing industry.
Before Indore was founded in 1715, there was a minor trading center in the area, located on a pilgrimage route to the Narmada River. The Holkar dynasty ruled the city until 1818, when the Holkars lost a battle with the British. The area came under control of the United Kingdom, with the Holkars continuing as rulers of the nominally independent princely state of Indore. Indore continued to gain status as a trade center throughout the 1800’s. It was the summer capital of the state of Madhya Bharat from 1948 until 1956.
