History

The United State of Madhya Bharat was formally inaugurated by Jawahar Lal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India on 28th May 1948 at Gwalior.Scindhia and Holkar were sworn in as the Rajpramukh and Up-Rajpramukh, respectively.It was decided to divide the Union into 6 districts and Bhind was one among them. As a result of reorganization of States on the formation of new Madhya Pradesh in November , 1956, Bhind District became a part of new Madhya Pradesh.

Puranic Bhind: During the time of Bharata war the entire betweenthe Yamuna and the Vindhyas was inhabited by the Chedis.The King Kasu Chaidya (identified with Vasu of the Mahabharata) is mentioned in a danastuti, found at the end of the hymn in the Rigveda. he puranic literature represents these Chedis as an off shoot of the Yadus. According to the puranic tradition, Manu’s grandson Pururavas Aila, founder of Lunar race , extended his sway into the Gangetic doab. Malwa and Eastern Rajputana, covering most probably Bhind district also.His great grandson Yayati is said to have reduced the whole of Madhyadesha and the surrounding region. After him his son Yadu, projenitor of Yadavas , became a mornarch of the territory , that was watered by Chambal , the Betwa and the Ken. The Yadus were supplanted by the Haihayas, who were again annihilated by the Yadus of Vidarbha. A member of this royal house , named Kanishka , became the king of Chedi -desha, comprising all the land lying to the south of the Yamuna, between the Chambal and the Ken. Thus the District , evidently lying in the area came under Aryan fold. The Chedi country is mentioned in the puranic list. It was , one of the Sixteen Mahajanapadas in the 6th Century BC. After some time the Chedi king of the Yadava lineage was over thrown by Vasu, a descendant of King Kuru of Hastinapur. A few generations later , the Chedi king of this line was King Shishupala, who abused Lord Krishna during the Rajasuya ceremony of the Pandavas and was slain by him at Indraprastha.

The Nandas: In the 4th Century AD , the whole of Aryavartya was incoperated in the vast empire of the Nandas. According to the Puranic evidence Mahapadma Nanda the founder of the Dynasty was the destroyer of all the Kshatrapas ( Sarva Kshatrantaka) and the sole monarch of the earth.

The Mauryas: The distributions of Asoka’s inscriptions indicate that in the 3rd Century BC he was the master of a vast empire, embracing the whole of India excepting the four states of extreme south, Asokan inscription at Gujar (in the adjacent Datia district) testfies the close association of the Mourya emperor with this region. Asoka inherited his empire from his father and grand father Bindusara and Chandragupta Mourya.

The Sungas: The last of the Maurya sovereigns, Brihadradha was murdered by his minister Pashyamitra Sunga in 187 BC and the Sunga dynasty was estableshed in the Central portion of the Maurya empire . The Sunga kings had their second capital at Vidisha.

The Early Nagas: In the first century A.D. the Gwalior region was under the rule of earlier Nagas. Padmavati(in Gwalior District),Mathura and Kantipuri(Morena District) were the headquarters of the three branches of these Naga rulers.Later the Kushanas supplanted the Nagas.

The Kushanas: Kanishka was the greatest of the Kushana emperors, His empire extended over Madhyadesha, Uttarapatha and Aparanta regions of ancient India strching from Bihar in the east to Khorasan in the west and from Khotan in the north to Konkan in the south.The District thus , was included in the Kushana empire. The downfall of Kushana power was complete in this area after the reign of Vasudeva. Their place was taken up again by the Nagas, who remained politically prominent in this area durng the third and 4th centuries AD.

The Nagas: The subsequent Naga rulers, like the earlier Nagas belonged to the three houses of Mathura , Kanthipuri and Padmavati, and ruled over territories around Padmavati Mathura and Vidisha. About 270 copper coins of various types , belonging to the Naga rulers were collected from village Akoda of Bhind District, some coins were found at Gohad also.

The Guptas: In the middle of the 4th century AD the Naga territory passed under the Gupta sovereignty.

The Hunas: During the reign of Bhanugupta (AD 495-510), or shortly before his accession , invasion of the Huna leader Toramana hastened the dissolution of the Gupta empire. The Huna empire included the territories from Punjab to Central India; even brought Magadha,Kausambi and Kasi under their sphere of influence.

The Vardhana Dynasty: In the beginning of the 7th century Ad Harshavardhan ascended the throne of Thaneshwar and became the king of Kanauj. During this dynasty Jainism flourished in the region.

The Gurjara Prathiharas: By the second quarter of the 8th century AD, this region along with Malwa came under the dynastic rule of a branch of the Gurjara Prathiharas.

The Kancchapaghatas: Vajradaman conquered Gwalior fort for Dhanga about A.D.977.After that his dynasty ruled over Gwalior region till the earlier part of the 12th Century.

The Sultanate Period: This region then passed under the occupation of the Sultans of Delhi. In the year 1195-96 Muhammad Ghuri attacked Sallakshanapala, the Pratihar chief of Gwalior Sallakshana accepted Ghuri’s suzerainty and was therefore allowed to rule his territory.

The Sur Dynasty: This region later came under the sway of the Sur Dynasty.

The Mughals: The District of Bhind formed most part of the Sarkar of Agra in the Subah of Agra. The district comprised mainly the Mahal of Hatkant which had a brick fort.the Mughal rule continued till the beginning of 18th Century. The town of Gohad , which is now part of Bhind district , was founded by a jat family. The tract around this town was captured by the Jat family in the latter part of the 17th Century.In about 1736 A.D., the Maratha army led by Baji Rao I, attacked the Raja of Bhadawar, and after putting him to flight, devastated his territory. Again in 1737, Malhar Rao Holkar attacked the territory of the Raja of Bhadawar and besieged his stronghold.

Post Mughal era: Lord Cornwallis I, under another treaty concluded with the Scindhia in November 1805 , the British are to cede to Maharaja Daulat Rao Schindia (1784-1827), the fortress of Gwalior and Gohad, including Gird Gohad and the Pargana of Bhind and it’s fortresses. From there the Histoty of Bhind District coincide with that of Gwalior tract. Daulat Rao Scindhia died in 1827 and was succeeded by Mugat Rao alia Jankoji Rao, a minor on adoption. He was succeeded by Jayaji Rao.After the revolt in 1857 (Sipoy revolt) Gwalior was attacked by the combined forces of Rani Laxmi Bai Rao Saheb and Tatya Tope in 1858. The British then stormed the Gwalior fort and took it on 1858 June 18. It was passed over to the Scindhia in March 1886. Jayaji Rao Scindhia passed away in June 1886 leaving behind his son Madhav Rao Scindia. madhav Rao Scindhia was invested with ruling powers on 15 December 1894. The period of his rule is described as one of consolidation and steady progress. The Gwalior Light railway from Gwalior to Bhind was constructed in 1897 and was started in 1899.On 5th June 1925 He passed away. He was succeeded by Jiwaji Rao Scindia.It was in his time the Independence movement became strong. The United State of Madhya Bharat was formally inaugurated by JawaharLal Nehru, on 28 May 1948 at Gwalior. Scindhia and Holkar were sworn in as the Rajapramukh and UpRajapramukh respectively.Bhind was one of the 6 districts of Madhya Bharat.