Central Provinces and Berar in the context of "Vidarbha"

Madhya Pradesh (/ˌmɑːdjə prəˈdɛʃ/; Hindi: [ˈmədʱjə pɾəˈðeːʃ] ; lit. 'Central Province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal. Other major cities includes Indore, Gwalior, Ujjain, Jabalpur and Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the second largest Indian state by area and the fifth largest state by population with over 72 million residents. It borders the states of Rajasthan to the northwest, Uttar Pradesh to the northeast, Chhattisgarh to the east, Maharashtra to the south, Gujarat to the west.

The area covered by the present-day Madhya Pradesh includes the area of the ancient Avanti Mahajanapada, whose capital Ujjain (also known as Avantika) arose as a major city during the second wave of Indian urbanisation in the sixth century BCE. Subsequently, the region was ruled by the major dynasties of India. The Maratha Empire dominated the majority of the 18th century. After the Third Anglo-Maratha War in the 19th century, the region was divided into several princely states under the British and incorporated into Central Provinces and Berar and the Central India Agency. After India's independence, the Central Provinces and Berar was renamed as Madhya Pradesh with Nagpur as its capital, this state included the southern parts of the present-day Madhya Pradesh and northeastern portion of today's Maharashtra while Central India Agency was renamed as Madhya Bharat which includes parts of present day north western Madhya Pradesh became a separate state with Gwalior as its capital and Jiwajirao Scindia as Rajpramukh (Governor). In 1956, these states were reorganised and its parts were combined with the states of Vindhya Pradesh and Bhopal to form the new Madhya Pradesh state, the Marathi-speaking Vidarbha region was removed and merged with the Bombay State. This state was the largest in India by area until 2000, when its southeastern Chhattisgarh region was designated a separate state.

Orissa Province was a province of British India created in April 1936 by the partitioning of the Bihar and Orissa Province and adding parts of Madras Presidency and Central Provinces. Its territory corresponds with the present-day state of Odisha.

On 22 March 1912, both Bihar and Orissa divisions were separated from the Bengal Presidency as Bihar and Orissa Province. On 1 April 1936, Bihar and Orissa Province was split to form Bihar Province and Orissa Province. Parts of the Ganjam district and the Vizagapatam district of Madras Presidency were transferred to Orissa Province along with portions of the Vizagapatam Hill Tracts Agency and Ganjam Hill Tracts Agency and Khariar region of Central Provinces and Berar.

The Central Provinces was a province of British India. It comprised British conquests from the Mughals and Marathas in central India, and covered parts of present-day Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra states. Nagpur was the primary winter capital while Pachmarhi served as the regular summer retreat. It became the Central Provinces and Berar in 1903.

The Central Provinces was formed in 1861 by the merger of the Saugor and Nerbudda Territories and Nagpur Province. The district of Nimar which was administered by the Central India Agency was added in 1864. It was almost an island encircled by a sea of "native States" such as Bhopal State and Rewa State to the north, the Chota Nagpur States and Kalahandi State to the east, and the Nizam's territories of Hyderabad to the south and Berar to the west.

Chief Commissioner's Province refers to a middle-level and minor type of province in British India and in the post-colonial successor states, not headed by a (lieutenant-)governor but by a Chief commissioner, notably :

• in present India :
  • Chief Commissioner's Province of Ajmer-Merwara (the British Political Agent in Rajputana served as ex officio Chief Commissioner)
  • Chief Commissioner's Province of Delhi
  • Chief Commissioner's Province of Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  • Chief Commissioner's Province of Assam
  • Central Provinces and Berar
  • Chief Commissioner's Province of Coorg (the British Resident in Mysore served as ex officio Chief Commissioner)
  • Chief Commissioner's Province of Himachal Pradesh
• in present Pakistan :
  • North-West Frontier Province
  • Chief Commissioner's Province of Balochistan (the British Political Agent in Baluchistan served as ex officio Chief Commissioner)

Chief commissioner's province refers to the province that was not in the direct control of the Lieutenant Governor of British India. In Pakistan the province Baluchistan was the chief commissioner's provinces.

Chhattisgarh Division was an administrative division of the Central Provinces of British India. It was located in the east of the Central Provinces and encompassed the upper Mahanadi River basin, in the central part of present-day Chhattisgarh state of India.

With the advent of the British the town of Raipur, headquarters of Chhattisgarh Division, gained prominence over Ratanpur, the historical capital of the territory.The Central Provinces became the Central Provinces and Berar in 1936 until the Independence of India.The major languages spoken are Chhattisgarhi, Odia, Hindi and numerous tribal languages.