Gwalior State

The Gwalior State was a state within the Maratha Empire, and, later, a princely state of the British Raj located in Central India. It was ruled by the House of Scindia (anglicized from Shinde), a Hindu Maratha dynasty. Following the dissolution of the Confederacy, it became part of the Central India Agency of the Indian Empire under British suzerainty.

The state was entitled to a 21-gun salute when it became a princely state of the India. It took its eventual name from the old town of Gwalior, which, although not its first capital, was an important place because of its strategic location and the strength of its fort; it became later its capital after Daulat Rao Sindhia built its palace in the village of Lashkar, near the fort. The state was founded in the early 18th century by Ranoji Sindhia, as part of the Maratha Confederacy. The administration of Ujjain was assigned by PeshwaBajirao I to his faithful commander Ranoji Shinde and his Sarsenapati was Yasaji Rambhaji (Rege).

Under Mahadji Sindhia (1761–1794), Gwalior State became a leading power in Central India, and dominated the affairs of the confederacy. The Anglo-Maratha Wars brought Gwalior State under British suzerainty, such that it was reduced to a princely state of the Indian Empire. Gwalior was the largest state in the Central India Agency, under the political supervision of a Resident at Gwalior. During the 1857 Indian Rebellion, Jayajirao Scindia sided with the British, having "rendered us [British] considerable service", helping the East India Company suppress the rebellion using Gwalior troops.

In 1936, the Gwalior residency was separated from the Central India Agency, and made answerable directly to the Governor-General of India. After Indian Independence in 1947, the Scindia rulers acceded to the new Union of India, and Gwalior state was absorbed into the new Indian state of Madhya Bharat.