Central Provinces

For other uses, see Central provinces.

Central Provinces, Berar and Hyderabad in 1903

Famine stricken children in Jabalpur, Central Provinces, in 1897

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. Its capital was Nagpur.

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

In 1903 the Marathi-speaking Berar region of the Hyderabad princely state was annexed to the Central Provinces, leading to the formation of Central Provinces and Berar.

On 8 November 1913 the Central Provinces Legislative Council was formed. The Council continued for Chief Commissioner of the Central Provinces. Between 1920 to 1936 the Legislative Council continued for the Governor of the Central Provinces. After 1936, Legislative Assembly of Central Provinces and Berar was formed.

On 24 October 1936, it became the new Central Provinces and Berar province. After Indian Independence in 1947, a number of princely states 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 Pradesh with Nagpur as its capital.

See also

• Nagpur Province
• Saugor and Nerbudda Territories
• Berar Province
• Central Provinces and Berar
• List of Governors of the Central Provinces and Berar

References

• Markovits, Claude (ed.) (2004). A History of Modern India: 1480-1950. Anthem Press, London.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.