Mohammadzaidmansoori at 08:22, 9 November 2025

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{{short description|Province of British India, and later, Dominion of India (1903–1950)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox former subdivision
| native_name =
| conventional_long_name = Central Provinces and Berar
| common_name = Central Provinces and Berar
| nation = [[British India]]
| status_text = [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|Province of British India]]
| era =
| year_start = 1903
| date_start =
| event_start = Merger of the [[Central Provinces]] and [[Berar Province]]
| year_end = 1950
| date_end =
| event_end = Creation of [[Madhya Bharat]] State
| event1 =
| date_event1 =
| p1 = Central Provinces
| p2 = Berar Province
| s1 = Madhya Pradesh (1956–2000)
| s2 = Maharashtra
| flag_p1 = British Raj Red Ensign.svg
| flag_p2 = British Raj Red Ensign.svg
| flag_s1 = Flag of Madhya Pradesh.svg
| image_flag = British Raj Red Ensign.svg
| image_coat = Coat of arms of the Central Provinces and Berar.png
| image_map = Central Provs 1909.jpg
| image_map_caption = <small>Central Provinces and Berar in 1909, showing the districts, divisions, and princely states under the authority of the province, as well as the 1905 changes to the eastern boundary</small>
| stat_area1 =
| stat_year1 = 1941
| stat_pop1 = 16,813,584
| demonym =
| capital = [[Nagpur]]
| today =
}}

The '''Central Provinces and Berar''' was a [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|province]] of [[British Raj|British India]] and later the [[Dominion of India]] which existed from 1903 to 1950. It was formed by the merger of the [[Central Provinces]] with the province of [[Berar Province|Berar]], which was territory leased by the British from the [[Hyderabad State]]. Through an agreement signed on 5 November 1902, 6th [[Nizam]] [[Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI]] leased Berar permanently to the British for an annual payment of 25 lakhs rupees. [[Lord Curzon]] decided to merge Berar with the Central Provinces, and this was proclaimed on 17 September 1903.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/BULDHANA/his_british%20period.html|title=Gazetteers of the Bombay Presidency-Buldhana district-History-British Period|publisher=Buldhana District Gazetteer website|access-date=25 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006221954/http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/BULDHANA/his_british%20period.html|archive-date=6 October 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Central Provinces]] was formed in 1861 by the merger of the [[Saugor and Nerbudda Territories]] and [[Nagpur Province]]. Administration of the [[Berar Province|Berar]] region of the [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad]] [[princely state]] was assigned to the Chief Commissioner of the [[Central Provinces]] in 1903, and for administrative purposes, Berar was merged with the Central Provinces to form the Central Provinces and Berar on 24 October 1936.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rulers.org/indprov.html|title=Provinces|access-date=28 September 2014}}</ref> After Indian Independence in 1947, a number of [[princely state]]s were merged into the Central Provinces and Berar, which, when the [[Constitution of India]] went into effect in 1950, became the new Indian state of [[Madhya Bharat]], merged with [[Madhya Pradesh]] in 1956, also meaning ''Central Province.''

As its name suggests, the province was situated in the center of the Indian peninsula. It comprised large portions of the broad belt of hill and plateau which interposes between the plains of the Ganges and the Deccan Plateau. The Central Provinces and Berar were bounded on the north and northeast by the [[Central India Agency]], including the [[Bundelkhand Agency|Bundelkhand]] and [[Bagelkhand Agency|Bagelkhand]] agencies, and along the northern edge of [[Sagar district|Saugor District]] by the [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh|United Provinces]]; on the west by the princely states of [[Bhopal State|Bhopal]], Gwalior & [[Indore State|Indore]] and by the [[Khandesh District]] of [[Bombay Presidency]]; on the south by [[Hyderabad State]], and on the east by [[Orissa Province|Orissa]] (till 1936, a part of [[Bihar and Orissa Province]]) and the [[Eastern States Agency]].

== History ==

=== British India ===
The Central Provinces comprised 19th-century British conquests from the [[Mughal Empire|Mughals]] and [[Maratha Empire|Marathas]] in central India, and covered much of present-day [[Chhattisgarh]] with portions of [[Madhya Pradesh]], and [[Maharashtra]] states. Its capital was [[Nagpur]].<ref>Hunter, Sir William Wilson, et al. (1908). ''[[Imperial Gazetteer of India]]'', 1908-1931; Clarendon Press, Oxford</ref>

After the defeat of the [[Maratha Army|Marathas]] in the [[Third Anglo-Maratha War]], the territories north of the [[Satpura Range]] ceded in 1817 by the Maratha [[Peshwa]] (parts of Saugor and Damoh) and in 1818 by [[Appa Sahib]], were in 1820, formed into the [[Saugor and Nerbudda Territories]] under an agent to the [[Governor-General of India|governor-general]]. In 1835 the Saugor and Nerbudda Territories were included in the newly formed [[North-Western Provinces]] (which later became the United Provinces of Agra & Oudh). In 1842, in consequence of an uprising, they were again placed under the jurisdiction of an agent to the governor-general. They were restored to the North-Western Province in 1853.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=683}}

In 1818, the Maratha [[House of Bhonsle|Bhonsle]] Maharajas of [[Nagpur kingdom|Nagpur]] submitted to British sovereignty. In 1853, on the death of Raghoji III without heirs, Nagpur was annexed by the British under the [[doctrine of lapse]]. Until the formation of the Central Provinces in 1861, [[Nagpur Province]], which consisted of the Nagpur Division, [[Chhindwara]] and Chhattisgarh, was administered by a commissioner under the central colonial government.
[[Image:Central Provinces India 1903.gif|thumb|Central Provinces and Berar, 1903. Princely states are shown in yellow.]]
The Saugor and Nerbudda Territories were joined with the Nagpur province to constitute the new Central Provinces in 1861. on 1 October 1903 Berar was placed under the administration of the commissioner of the Central Provinces. In October 1905, most of [[Sambalpur]] and the princely states of [[Bamra]], [[Rairakhol]], [[Sonepur, Orissa|Sonpur]], [[Patna, Odisha|Patna]], and [[Kalahandi]] were transferred from the Central Provinces and Berar to [[Bengal]], while the Hindi-speaking [[Chota Nagpur Tributary States|Chota Nagpur States]] of [[Changbhakar|Chang Bhakar]], [[Korea State|British Korea]], [[Surguja]], Udaipur, and [[Jashpur district|Jashpur]] were transferred from Bengal to the Central Provinces & Berar.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=683}}

In 1903, the Marathi-speaking [[Berar Province|Berar]] region of the [[Hyderabad State|Hyderabad]] [[princely state]] was placed under the administration of the Governor of the Central Provinces, although it officially remained part of Hyderabad, leased in perpetuity by the Government of India. In 1905, most of [[Sambalpur district]] and the [[princely states]] of [[Bamra State|Bamra]], Rairakhol, [[Sonepur State|Sonpur]], [[Patna State|Patna]], and [[Kalahandi State|Kalahandi]] were transferred to [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal Province]] and the princely states of [[Changbhakar]], [[Korea State|Korea]], [[Surguja State|Surguja]], [[Udaipur State, Chhattisgarh|Udaipur]], and [[Jashpur State|Jashpur]] were transferred from Bengal to the Central Provinces.<ref>''Imperial Gazetteer of India'', (New ed.), Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1908-1909. Vol. 10, Page 1.</ref>

The [[Government of India Act 1912]] permitted the creation of legislative councils for provinces under a chief commissioner, and on 8 November 1913, the Central Provinces Legislative Council was formed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/AMRAVATI/his_modern%20period.html |title=The Gazetteers Department - AMRAVATI |access-date=4 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008134014/http://maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/AMRAVATI/his_modern%20period.html |archive-date=8 October 2010 }}</ref> The [[Government of India Act 1919]] changed the administrator of the province from a chief commissioner to a governor, and enlarged the legislative council and expanded the voting franchise.

The first elections for the Legislative Council under the 1919 [[Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms]] were in November and December 1920. The Council consisted of 71 members - 53 elected members, 2 ex-officio members (members of Executive Council), and 16 official and non-official nominated members (Zamindar owners declared as backward, Depressed Classes, Europeans and Anglo-Indians). Out of the 53 elected members, 40 came from general constituencies (30 rural and 10 urban), 7 communal constituencies and 6 special constituencies (Central Provinces & Berar Mining Association, Central Provinces & Berar Commerce & Industry Association, Berar Commerce & Industry, and Central Provinces & Berar Landholders). The Indian National Congress had decided at its Calcutta Conference to boycott the elections as part of the [[Non-cooperation movement (1919–22)|Non-cooperation Movement]], and many prominent nationalist leaders, including [[Ravishankar Shukla]], E. Raghavendra Rao, [[B. S. Moonje]], Daulat Singh, [[Makhan Lal Chaturvedi]], and Vishnudutta Shukla, either decided not to run, or withdrew their candidacies. The legislative seats went mostly to [[Indian Liberal Party|Liberals]] and Loyalists. [[Gangadhar Rao Chitnavis]] was nominated as the President of the Council.<ref name="PLNM">{{cite book|last1=Pateriya|first1=Raghaw Raman|title=Provincial Legislatures and the National Movement|year=1991|publisher=Northern Book Centre|location=New Delhi|isbn=81-85119-58-9}}</ref>

The Montagu-Chelmsford reforms also introduced the principle of [[dyarchy]], whereby certain responsibilities such as agriculture, health, education, and local government, were transferred to elected ministers but some responsibilities such as home, finance and revenue were reserved with the Members of the Executive Council of the Governor. Some of the Indians who served as members of the Governor's Executive Council were [[Moropant Vishvanath Joshi]] (Home) and E. Raghavendra Rao.

By 1923, the nationalists had decided to participate in the legislative elections, and in the November and December 1923 election, and the [[Swaraj Party]], which advocated Indian independence, won 41 of the 54 elected seats. 4 seats went to independents who generally allied with the Swarajists, four to the Liberals, and five to independents allied with the Liberals. The Swarajists were led by B. S. Moonje from Vidarbha, E. Raghavendra Rao from Mahakoshal, and [[S. B. Tambe]] and [[Balkrishna Ganesh Khaparde|B. G. Khaparde]] of Berar. S. M. Chitnavis was leader of the Liberals. Despite winning a majority of seats, the Swarajists, consistent with the party's policy of obstruction and non-acceptance of office, refused to form a government, and Governor [[Frank Sly]] selected Chitnavis and Syed Hifazat Ali, a Muslim independent, as ministers.<ref name="PLNM"/>

In the 1926 election, the Swarajists split, with one faction continuing with the policies of obstruction and non-acceptance of office, while the [[Responsive Cooperation Party]] which chose to participate in government. After the election B. S. Moonje formed a ministry by uniting Responsive Cooperation, Independent Congress, Liberal, and independent legislators into a National Party, with 33 members.<ref name="PLNM"/>

The ministry collapsed in 1933 due to infighting among the ministers and a new ministry was formed under Raghavendra Rao with Muhammad Yusuf Shareef and V. B. Choubal as ministers. This ministry collapsed in 1934 and a new ministry was formed with [[Balkrishna Ganesh Khaparde|B. G. Khaparde]] as Chief Minister and K. S. Naidu as the other minister. This ministry remained in office till 1937.<ref name="PLNM"/>

In 1933, the princely states in Chhattisgarh Division were transferred to the [[Eastern States Agency]], and Makrai to the [[Central India Agency]]. On 24 October 1936, the Central Provinces became the Central Provinces and Berar when it was fully merged with [[Berar Division]], although it remained under the nominal sovereignty of Hyderabad.<ref name="Olson, James S 1996. P. 227">Olson, James S. and Robert Shadle, eds. ''Historical Dictionary of the British Empire, Vol. 1.'' Greenwood Publishing Group, UK 1996. P. 227.</ref>

In 1935, the [[Government of India Act 1935|Government of India Act]] was passed by the British Parliament. This act provided for the election of a provincial assembly, with an electorate made up of men with a minimum of financial resources, and excluding women and the poor. Supervisory powers over the enclaved and attached Princely States were reserved to the Governor and removed from the authority of the popular provincial governments. Elections were held in 1937, and the [[Indian National Congress]] took a majority of the seats but declined to form the government. A minority provisional government was formed under E. Raghavendra Rao.<ref>{{cite web |title=Provincial Governments (Ministers) |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1937/apr/19/provincial-governments-ministers |website=Parliament.uk |access-date=7 September 2019}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable sortable"
! scope=col|Minister
! scope=col|Portfolio
|-
!scope=row|[[E. Raghavendra Rao]]
|Gaol, Police, Political, Military, Judicial, and Legal
|-
!scope=row|[[Balkrishna Ganesh Khaparde]]
|Revenue, Land Records, Survey, Settlement, Forest, Excise, Stamp, and Education
|-
!scope=row|Syed Wakil Ahmed Rizvi
|Finance, Local Self-Government, Medical, Public Health, and Public Works
|-
!scope=row|Dharamrao Bhujangrao
|Agriculture, Commerce, Industry, and Registration
|}

The Congress reversed its decision and resolved to accept office in July 1937. Therefore, the Governor invited [[N. B. Khare]] to form the government in August 1937.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tomlinson|first1=B.R.|title=The Indian National Congress and the Raj, 1929–1942: The Penultimate Phase|date=18 June 1976|publisher=Macmillan Press Ltd|isbn=978-0-333-19369-3|page=91|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5OuCwAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Researches in social sciences|isbn = 9788173200038|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8VhuAAAAMAAJ|last1 = Mishra|first1 = Jai Prakash|year = 1993| publisher=Agam Kala Prakashan }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Baker|first1=David E. U.|title=Changing political leadership in an Indian province: the Central Provinces and Berar, 1919-1939|date=1979|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-561135-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y90BAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable sortable"
! scope=col|Minister
! scope=col|Portfolio
|-
!scope=row|[[N. B. Khare]]
|Premier, Home
|-
!scope=row|Yusuf Shareef
|Law and Justice
|-
!scope=row|P. B. Gole
|Revenue
|-
!scope=row|[[Ramrao Deshmukh]]
|Public Works
|-
!scope=row|[[Ravi Shankar Shukla]]
|Education
|-
!scope=row|[[Dwarka Prasad Mishra]]
|Local Self-government
|-
!scope=row|D. K. Mehta
|Finance
|}

Khare resigned in 1938, and [[Ravi Shankar Shukla]] next became Premier. In 1939, along with Congress leaders from other provinces, Shukla resigned in protest of the Governor-General's declaration of war on Germany without consulting with Indian leaders, and the Central Provinces & Berar came under [[Governor's Rule]]. Another round of elections were held in 1946, yielding another Congress majority, and Shukla again became Premier.<ref name="Olson, James S 1996. P. 227"/>

=== After Indian independence ===
India became independent on 15 August and the Central Provinces & Berar became a province of the [[Dominion of India]]. The princely states, which were under the Central Provinces before 1936, were merged into the province, and organized into new districts. When the [[Constitution of India]] went into effect in 1950, the Central Provinces & Berar was reorganized with territorial changes as the state of [[Madhya Pradesh]], which name also means ''Central Province.''

On 1 November 1956, Madhya Bharat, together with the states of [[Vindhya Pradesh]] and [[Bhopal State (1949–56)|Bhopal State]], was merged into Madhya Pradesh. In 1956, strong demand due to linguistic similarity from [[Marathi people|Marathi]] [[Irredentism|Irredentists]], the [[Berar Division|Berar]] and Nagpur divisions were transferred to [[Bombay State]]. In 1960, the Bombay State was partitioned into [[Maharashtra]] & [[Gujarat]]. In 2000, the eastern portion of Madhya Pradesh was split off to become the new state of [[Chhattisgarh]].<ref>Markovits, Claude (ed.) (2004). ''A History of Modern India: 1480–1950''. Anthem Press, London</ref>

==Demographics==
The 1911 census counted a population of 16,033,310 for the Central Provinces and Berar. Droughts in 1917 and 1920 caused famine in several districts, and the Central Provinces were affected by bubonic plague in 1911, 1912, 1915, 1917, and 1918, and by the [[1918 influenza pandemic]]. In the 1921 census, the population declined by 0.3% from 1911 to 15,970,660.<ref>[http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_And_You/old_report/census_1921.html 1921 Census of India. Accessed 16 November 2013] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208033950/http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_And_You/old_report/census_1921.html |date=8 February 2013 }}</ref>

The 1931 census found a total population of 17,990,937 for the Central Provinces and Berar - 12,065,885 for the British districts, 3,441,838 for Berar, and 2,483,214 in the princely states.<ref>[http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_And_You/old_report/Census_1931n.html 1931 Census of India. Accessed 12 November 2013] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112223538/http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_And_You/old_report/Census_1931n.html |date=12 November 2013 }}</ref>

== Administration ==
The 1941 Census of India counted 16,813,584 persons in the province, of which 2,093,767 were urban and 14,719,817 were rural.<ref>[http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_And_You/old_report/TABLE_1941_1.HTM Census of India 1941, accessed 12 November 2013]</ref>

=== Districts ===
The Central provinces and Berar was made up of 22 districts, grouped into five divisions :
* [[Jubbulpore Division|Jubbulpore (Jabalpur) Division]] ({{cvt|18,950 |sqmi|disp=comma}}), which included [[Jabalpur District|Jubbulpore]], [[Sagar District|Saugor]] (Sagar), [[Damoh District|Damoh]], [[Seoni District|Seoni]], and [[Mandla District|Mandla]] districts.
* [[Nerbudda Division|Nerbudda (Narmada) Division]] ({{cvt|18,382 |sqmi|disp=comma}}), which included [[Narsinghpur]], [[Hoshangabad]], [[Nimar]], [[Betul district|Betul]], and [[Chhindwara]] districts.
* [[Nagpur Division]] ({{cvt|23,521 |sqmi|disp=comma}}), which included [[Nagpur District|Nagpur]], [[Bhandara District|Bhandara]], [[Chanda District|Chanda]], [[Wardha District|Wardha]], and [[Balaghat District|Balaghat]] districts.
* [[Chhattisgarh Division]] ({{cvt|21,240 |sqmi|disp=comma}}), which included [[Bilaspur District, Chhattisgarh|Bilaspur]], [[Raipur District|Raipur]], and [[Durg District|Durg]] (created 1905) districts.
* [[Berar Division]], which included Amraoti ([[Amravati District|Amravati]]), [[Akola District|Akola]], [[Ellichpur District|Ellichpur]], [[Buldana District|Buldhana]], [[Washim|Basim]], and [[Wun District|Wun]] districts.

=== Princely States ===
The Central provinces and Berar included also 15 [[princely states]], whose native rulers enjoyed [[indirect rule]] under [[British protectorate|British protection]].

[[Salute state]]s, in order of precendence :
* [[Kalahandi State|Kalahandi]] (Karond), title Maharaja, Hereditary salute of 9-guns
* [[Patna (princely state)|Patna]], title Maharaja, Hereditary salute of 9-guns
* [[Sonepur State|Sonepur]], title Maharaja, Hereditary salute of 9-guns

Non-salute states, alphabetically :
{{Div col}}
* [[Bamra State|Bamra]], title Raja
* [[Bastar State|Bastar]], title (Maha) Raja
* [[Chhuikhadan State|Chhuikandan]] (Kondka), title Mahant
* [[Kanker State|Kanker]], title Raja
* [[Kawardha State|Kawardha]], title Thakur
* [[Khairagarh State|Khairagarh]], title Raja
* [[Makrai State|Makrai]], title Raja (from 1899, Raja Hathiya Rai)
* [[Nandgaon State|(Raj) Nandgaon]], title Mahant
* [[Raigarh State|Raigarh]], title Raja Bahadur
* [[Rairakhol State]], title Raja
* [[Sakti State|Sakti]], title Rana
* [[Sarangarh State|Sarangarh]], title Raja
{{div col end}}

== See also ==
* [[Central Provinces]]
* [[Berar Province]]
* [[List of governors of the Central Provinces and Berar]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Central Provinces and Berar|volume=5|pages=681–683}} This contains a more-detailed account of the geography and history of the provinces up to the 19th century.

{{Presidencies and provinces of British India}}
{{Nagpur}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Central Provinces And Berar}}
[[Category:Central Provinces and Berar| ]]
[[Category:Subdivisions of British India]]
[[Category:Provinces of British India]]
[[Category:History of Chhattisgarh]]
[[Category:1950 disestablishments in India]]
[[Category:History of Vidarbha]]
[[Category:History of Madhya Pradesh]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1936]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1950]]
[[Category:1936 establishments in India]]

Central Provinces and Berar - Revision history

Mohammadzaidmansoori at 08:22, 9 November 2025