About Indore

It is also the centre of trade and textile industry and home to many historical monuments and temples. A must visit, Indore is also affectionately called 'Mini Mumbai'.

History:
Indore is a city steeped in history. It was the capital city of the erstwhile Holkar rulers. The Holkars were of peasant origin and are believed to have migrated from the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh to the village of Hol, about 65 km from Pune in Maharashtra. The founder of the dynasty was Malhar Rao Holkar (1694-1766), who was appointed the chief general of the Peshwas in 1724 because of his valour and courage. In 1733, the Peshwa gifted him the Indore area, thereby making him the ruler of a vast area stretching from the Deccan to the Malwa plateau. After his death, his daughter-in-law, Ahilya Bai Holkar, succeeded him.

Ahilya Bai ruled Indore from 1767 to 1795 from a palace fort at Maheshwar on the northern bank of the Narmada River. Although she never stayed in Indore, it is during her reign that Indore grew up into a big and powerful city. She constructed several religious edifices in various parts of India, the Kashi Vishwanath or Visheshwar temple at Varanasi being the most notable among them.

Tukoji Rao Holkar was the commander of Ahilya Bai's armed force. On his death in 1797, his son Jaswant Rao seized power of Indore. Jaswant Rao Holkar was a brilliant guerrilla leader. He defeated the Scindias of Gwalior in 1803, and took on the British forces and besieged Delhi. He was, however, defeated at Dig and Farukhabad in November of 1804 and was compelled to make peace a year later. Soon after, in 1811, he became insane and died. In 1818, the Holkar kingdom became a part of the British Empire, after the British defeated them at Mahidpur.

Indore played an important role in the first Indian War of Independence of 1857 (popularly known as Sepoy Mutiny). The Sepoy Mutiny began on the first day of July in 1857, when 39 English subjects were killed. The then British resident at Indore, Colonel Henry Durand, who had brushed aside the possibility of an uprising, fled the city. But, the British finally managed to recapture power and, after a few months, Saadat Khan, who led the mutiny, was tried and sentenced to death.

Indore remained a princely state until 1947, and when India became independent, it became a part of India along with the other states.

Best Season, Climate and Clothing:
The climate of Indore is extreme because of its location (76°E, 23°N) in central India away from the sea. Winters (November to February) are cold with temperatures dipping down to around 10°C. During summer (April-June), the days are quite hot (35-40°C) with daytime temperatures reaching a high of 45°C. However, unlike other places in central India, the summer nights in Indore are quite pleasant because of the cool evening breeze, popularly referred to as Shab-e-Malwa. Indore experiences south-western monsoon rains in July-September. The best time to visit Indore is between October and March.