Gwalior District Overview :

Gwalior is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located 343 kilometres (213 mi) south of Delhi, the capital city of India, 120 kilometres (75 mi) from Agra and 414 kilometres (257 mi) from Bhopal, the state capital, Gwalior occupies a strategic location in the Gird region of India. The city and its fortress have been ruled by several historic northern Indian kingdoms. From the Kachchhapaghatas in the 10th century, Tomars in the 13th century, it was passed on to the Mughal Empire, then to the Maratha in 1754, followed by the Scindia in the 18th century. A study of urban pollution in 2016 found the city to have the highest level of air pollution in India, and the second highest in the world.

History :

According to legend, Gwalior was founded in 8 AD after a local chieftain, Suraj Sen, was cured of leprosy from a drink given to him by a holy man called Gwalipa. Suraj subsequently set up a town 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 Toramana; 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 AD.

Scindia is a Maratha clan in India. This clan included rulers of the Gwalior State in the 18th and 19th centuries, collaborators of the colonial British government during the 19th and the 20th centuries until India became independent, and politicians in independent India.

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.The Scindia family ruled Gwalior until India's independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, when the Maharaja Jivajirao 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.

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.

Demographics :

As of 2011's India census, Gwalior had a population of 1,069,276. 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 of 1,117,740.

Religion :

Hinduism is practiced by the majority of the people in Gwalior (88.84%). Other religions practised include Islam (8.58%), Jainism (1.41%), Sikhism (0.56%), Christianity (0.29).

Languages :

Hindi is the official language of Gwalior. It is also the most spoken language followed by Marathi and Bundelkhandi.

Geography :

Gwalior is located at 26.22°N 78.18°E  in northern Madhya Pradesh 300 km (186 miles) from Delhi. It has an average elevation of 197 metres (646 feet). Most part of it comes under the Bundelkhand area.

Economy :

Gwalior is surrounded by three industrial areas – Sitholi, Banmore and Malanpur. All three of these sectors are on NH 75, NH-3 and NH 92 respectively, with Malanpur being the largest. The city once had large manufacturing industries, such as Gwalior Grasim and J.C. MILLS of Birlanagar, but now this sector is left with only one major factory – J.B.Mangharam Ltd. The important industries in the other sectors are dairy, chemical, manufacturing, and textiles. Handicraft and small industries are also found like Gwalior potteries. Gwalior is also an important historical and tourism sector of the country. Therefore, the tourism sector also puts an effect into the city's economy. Gwalior is one of the CMAs to New Delhi to dissipate the load of urbanization from NCR. There are some manufacturing set-ups of some companies like UFlex (Flex Industries Ltd), SRF, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Cadbury, J. K. Tyres, Surya Bulbs, SiyaRam and Railway spring factory Sitholi.' Most of the Local population is involved with trading firms or are self-employed. Many run OMEs and SMEs with Gwalior and Agra as the local market. The city is scattered with coaching institutes and educational institutions which provide employment to a large section of city's population.

Tourism :

• Gopachal Parvat is situated on the mountainous terrain at the slopes of Gwalior Fort. Gopachal Parvat contains unique statues of Jain Tirthankaras. The idol of Parshvanath seated on a lotus (carved out of a single stone) is the largest in the world, towering at 14 metres (46 ft) in height and 9 metres (30 ft) in breadth. There is a series of 26 Jain statues in a single line. Built between 1398 and 1536 by Tomar kings, these Jain Tirthankar statues are one of a kind in architecture.
• Municipality Museum, is situated a little distance from Rani Lakshmibai's tomb.
• Modern 5D is Madhya Pradesh's first multi-dimensional theatre launched in the 2011 trade fair of Gwalior. It was built by Gwalior's leading enterprise Modern Techno Projects (P) Ltd. Modern 5D is recognised as India's first own multi-dimensional theatre.
• Shyam Vatika is a banquet hall which has the world's largest indoor mural, as recognised by Guinness World Records.
• Sas-Bahu Temple - A 9th-century shrine, Sas-Bahu temple in the fort allures not only the devotees but also the tourists with its artistic value. Despite what its name may suggest, these temples are not dedicated to Sas (mother-in-law) and Bahu (daughter-in-law) but rather the short form of Shashtra Bahu, another name for Lord Vishnu. These temples situated adjacent to each other and the larger one is elaborately decorated with carvings and sculptures. The roof of the larger temple is adorned with a lotus carving.
• Teli-ka-Mandir : Teli Ka Mandir (Telangana Mandir) - A structure of about 100 feet, Teli Ka Mandir in Gwalior Fort distinguishes itself from the other compositions of its time because of its unique architecture. Though the roof of the temple holds a Dravidian style, the sculptures are typically North Indian. The temple bears a close resemblance to the temple of Prathihara Vishnu, and is filled with images of coiled serpents, passionate couples, river goddesses, and a flying Garuda. The temple architecture follows the Indo-Aryan and Nagara styles and is believed to be among the oldest constructions in the fort. The Telika Mandir, or 'oil-man's temple', owes its name to Teli, a term for an oil grinder or oil dealer. Many suggestions have been put forward to explain this name historically, but in fact the name is not old, the temple being used for processing oil before the British occupied the fort and used the building, albeit temporarily, as a coffee shop. 
• Jain rock-cut sculptures - A striking part of the Jain remains at Gwalior is a series of caves or rock-cut sculptures, excavated in the rock on all sides, and numbering nearly a hundred, great and small. Most of them are mere niches to hold statues, though some are cells that may have been originally intended for residences. According to inscriptions, they were all excavated within a short period of about thirty-three years, between 1441 and 1474.One of the colossal figures is 57 ft (17 m) high, taller than any other in northern India.
• Gurudwara Datta Bandi Choodh- Gwalior Fort also has the Gurudwara, built in the memory of the sixth Sikh, Guru Har Gobind. This Gurudwara is particularly large and grand, built entirely of marble with coloured glass decorating the main building. Recital of the Guru Granth Sahib takes place here and Mughal kings used to visit Gwalior regularly. There is a Gurdwara that was converted to a mandir of "kalli devi" and process is on to take it back by Sikhs.
• Jai Vilas Mahal : Also called Jai Vilas Palace, is the residential palace turned museum of the Maratha rulers of Gwalior - the Scindias. The palace has notable collections of antiques. The museum is one of the largest in Madhya Pradesh and has the world's largest chandelier[citation needed] and the complex is a mixture of British and Hindu architecture. The palace was constructed in 1874 as an attempt to bring the palace of Versailles to Gwalior.
• Gaus Mohammad tomb : Chatris of Scindias is situated close to the city near Achaleshwar temple and is the burial place for the Scindias who ruled the city for numerous years. Designated persons like Maharaja Madhavrao Scindia, Vijayaraje Scindia and His Highness Jivajirao Scindia were cremated here.
• Tansen's tomb: Gwalior is the birthplace of the musician Tansen. He was one of the "Nine Gems of Akbar".
• Sun Temple : Located in Morar Cantonment, the Sun Temple "Vivsvaan mandir" is dedicated to the sun god Surya. Designed as a facsimile of the Sun temple of Konark in Odisha, the temple was sponsored and built in the 1980s by the Birla family.