Madhya Bharat in the context of "Central Provinces and Berar"

Malwa (IPA: [maːlʋaː]) is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also synonymous with the former state of Madhya Bharat which was later merged with Madhya Pradesh. At present the historical Malwa region includes districts of western Madhya Pradesh and parts of south-eastern Rajasthan. Sometimes the definition of Malwa is extended to include the Nimar region south of the Vindhyas.

The Malwa region had been a separate political unit from the time of the ancient Malava Kingdom, and has been ruled by several kingdoms and dynasties. Malwa continued to be an administrative division until 1947, when the Malwa Agency of British India was merged into Madhya Bharat (also known as Malwa Union) state of independent India.

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.

Sir George Jiwajirao Scindia KStJ (26 June 1916 – 16 July 1961) was the monarch of the Gwalior state during the British Raj and later the Rajpramukh (Governor) of the Indian state of Madhya Bharat.Jiwajirao was the Maharaja, of the princely state of Gwalior in central India from 1925 until 1947. After the state was absorbed into independent India, he was granted a privy purse, certain privileges, and the use of the title Maharaja of Gwalior by the Government of India, which he retained until his death in 1961. He also served as the rajpramukh (governor) of the state of Madhya Bharat until 1956.

Vindhya Pradesh was a former state of India. It was created in 1948 as Union of Baghelkhand and Bundelkhand States from the territories of the princely states in the eastern portion of the former Central India Agency. It was named as Vindhya Pradesh on 25 January 1950 after the Vindhya Range, which runs through the centre of the province. The capital of the state was the former princely state of Rewa. It lay between Uttar Pradesh to the north and Madhya Pradesh to the south, and the enclave of Datia, which lay a short distance to the west, was surrounded by the state of Madhya Bharat.

Vindhya Pradesh was merged into Madhya Pradesh in 1956, following the States Reorganisation Act.

Vidisha (formerly known as Bhelsa and known as Besnagar and Bhaddilpur in ancient times) is a city in Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Vidisha district. It is located 62.5 km northeast of the state capital, Bhopal. The name "Vidisha" is derived from the nearby river "Bais", mentioned in the Puranas. "Vidisha" also finds its historic reference in ancient epic Ramayana, under the rule of Rama's youngest brother Shatrughna, later on under the rule of Shatrughna's younger son Shatrughati.

The district was created as Bhilsa District in 1904 by joining the tehsils of Vidisha (also known as Bhilsa) and Basoda (but not Basoda State) which were then part of Gwalior state. After India's independence in 1947, the former princely state of Gwalior became part of Madhya Bharat state, which was formed in 1948.