State Wise Study

Madhya Pradesh

Capital — Bhopal. Explore the geography, heritage, culture and every district below.

8,89,85,000Population
236Per km²
4Districts
Capital
Bhopal
Chief Minister
Mohan Yadav (BJP), serving since December 2023.
Governor
Mangubhai C. Patel, serving since July 2021.
Legislative Assembly
Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha), unicameral with 230 seats, located in Bhopal.
High Court
Principal seat in Jabalpur, with benches in Indore and Gwalior.

Geography & Rivers

Waterbodies, ranges & projects

Rivers
  • Narmada (longest in MP, flows westward through rift valley, sacred river with tributaries like Banjar, Tawa
  • central MP)
  • Tapti (parallel to Narmada, rift valley
  • southern MP)
  • Chambal (tributary of Yamuna, flows south to north
  • northern MP, agriculturally rich)
  • Shipra (sacred, site of Kumbh Mela
  • Indore, Ujjain, Dewas)
  • Kali Sindh, Parbati, Kuno, Sind, Betwa, Dhasan, Ken, Sunar (Yamuna tributaries, south to north
  • northern/eastern MP)
  • Son (Ganges tributary, from Maikal hills
  • eastern MP)
  • Tons, Rihand (Ganges tributaries
  • eastern MP)
  • Wainganga, Wardha, Pench, Kanhan (Godavari system
  • southern MP, Satpuras)
  • Hasdeo (Mahanadi basin
  • Anuppur district).
Lakes
  • Upper Lake (Bhojtal
  • Bhopal, major water source)
  • Lower Lake (Bhopal)
  • Tawa Reservoir (Hoshangabad)
  • Shahpura Lake (Bhopal)
  • Sangram Sagar Lake (Jabalpur)
  • Jalpari Lake (Jabalpur)
  • Halali Reservoir (spans Bhopal and Raisen)
  • Moti Lake (Bhopal)
  • Sharangpani Lake (Bhopal)
  • Choral Dam Lake (Indore)
  • Badi Jheel (Big Lake
  • Jabalpur)
  • Sagar Lake (Sagar)
  • Rani Talab (Rewa)
  • Rani Lake (Rewa).
Canals
  • Mahanadi Project Canals (eastern MP)
  • Wainganga Canal (Balaghat)
  • Tandula Canal (Balaghat)
  • Chambal Project Canals (northern MP, Morena, Bhind)
  • Barna Project Canals (Raisen, Sehore)
  • Tawa Project Canals (Hoshangabad)
  • Halali Project Canal (Vidisha)
  • Benganga Canal (Balaghat, Bhandara)
  • Dejla-Dewada Canal (Kunda river, Balaghat).
Mountain Ranges
  • Vindhya Range (northern bank of Narmada, boundary between north/south India
  • central/northern MP)
  • Satpura Range (southern bank of Narmada, includes Gawilgarh/Mahadeo Hills
  • southern MP, watershed for Godavari).
Major Projects
  • Bansagar Dam (on Son River
  • Rewa, multipurpose irrigation/hydropower)
  • Indirasagar Dam (on Narmada
  • Khandwa, irrigates Khandwa/Khargone)
  • Gandhi Sagar Dam (on Chambal
  • Mandsaur)
  • Tawa Dam (on Tawa
  • Hoshangabad)
  • Barna Dam (on Barna
  • Raisen)
  • Halali Dam (on Halali
  • Vidisha)
  • Omkareshwar Dam (on Narmada
  • Khandwa)
  • Madikheda Dam (on Sindh
  • Shivpuri)
  • Kundalia Irrigation Project (on Kalisindh
  • Rajgarh/Agar-Malwa)
  • Mohanpura Irrigation Project (on Newaj
  • Rajgarh)
  • Bheemgarh Dam (on Wainganga
  • Seoni)
  • Kutni Dam (on Kutni
  • Mandla).

Wildlife & Nature

Parks, sanctuaries & forests

National Parks
  • Bandhavgarh National Park (Umaria)
  • Kanha National Park (Mandla/Balaghat)
  • Satpura National Park (Hoshangabad)
  • Sanjay National Park (Sidhi)
  • Madhav National Park (Shivpuri)
  • Van Vihar National Park (Bhopal)
  • Mandla Plant Fossils National Park (Mandla)
  • Panna National Park (Panna)
  • Pench National Park (Seoni/Chhindwara)
  • Dinosaur National Park (Dhar).
Wildlife Sanctuaries
  • Amarkantak (Anuppur)
  • Bagh Caves (Dhar)
  • Bori Natural Reserve (Hoshangabad)
  • Ken Gharial (Chhatarpur)
  • Ghatigaon (Gwalior)
  • Kuno Palpur (Sheopur)
  • Nauradehi (Sagar)
  • Pachmarhi (Hoshangabad)
  • Panpatha (Shahdol)
  • Patalkot (Chhindwara)
  • Tamia (Chhindwara)
  • Chidi Kho (Chhindwara)
  • Narwar (Shivpuri)
  • Chambal (Morena)
  • Kukdeshwar (Neemuch)
  • Shikarganj (Raisen).
Forest Cover
  • Tropical Dry Deciduous. Cover: Approximately 77,000 sq km (25% of state area as of recent assessments, largest forest area in India)

Heritage & Forts

UNESCO, Ramsar & monuments

World Heritage Sites
  • Khajuraho Group of Monuments (Chhatarpur, 1986)
  • Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi (Raisen, 1989)
  • Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka (Raisen, 2003).
Forts
  • Gwalior Fort (Gwalior)
  • Orchha Fort (Niwadi)
  • Datia Fort (Datia)
  • Chanderi Fort (Ashoknagar)
  • Ajaigarh Fort (Panna)
  • Bandhavgarh Fort (Umaria)
  • Madan Mahal Fort (Jabalpur)
  • Raisen Fort (Raisen)
  • Asirgarh Fort (Burhanpur)
  • Bajrangarh Fort (Guna)
  • Ahilya Fort (Maheshwar, Khandwa)
  • Gohad Fort (Bhind)
  • Dhar Fort (Dhar)
  • Vijayraghavgarh Fort (Katni)
  • Narsinghgarh Fort (Rajgarh)
  • Mandla Fort (Mandla)
  • Garh Kundar (Tikamgarh)
  • Singorgarh (Damoh)
  • Hathi Mahal (Mandu).

Art & Culture

Language, dance, folk & people

Languages

Hindi

Folk Arts
GaurBadhai
Dance Forms
MachTippani
State Song

Mera Madhya Pradesh

Tribes
  • Bhil (western MP, Jhabua, Alirajpur, Dhar, Barwani)
  • Gond (southern/eastern MP, Mandla, Chhindwara, Betul, Seoni)
  • Baiga (eastern MP, Mandla, Balaghat, Dindori)
  • Bharia/Bhumiya (central MP, Chhindwara, Jabalpur)
  • Sahariya (northern MP, Sheopur, Morena, Gwalior)
  • Korku (southern MP, Betul, Chhindwara, Khandwa)
  • Kol (eastern MP, Rewa, Satna, Sidhi)
  • Andh (southern)
  • Bhaina (eastern)
  • Bhatra (eastern)
  • Agariya (iron-smelters, scattered).

Economy & Agriculture

Crops & soil profile

Major Crops
  • Wheat (major cereal, northern/central)
  • Soybean (leading producer, Malwa plateau)
  • Rice (eastern, Balaghat, Mandla)
  • Maize (central)
  • Jowar (sorghum, dry areas)
  • Gram (chickpea, pulses)
  • Tur (pigeon pea)
  • Urad (black gram)
  • Moong (green gram)
  • Cotton (western)
  • Sugarcane (scattered).
Soil Types
  • Black soil (Regur, deep medium/shallow
  • central/western MP, 36.53% area, cotton/wheat)
  • Red and yellow soil (eastern/northern, low fertility)
  • Alluvial soil (northern river valleys, fertile for wheat/rice)
  • Laterite soil (hilly regions, poor for crops)
  • Mixed soil (scattered, combination of black/red).

Famous Personalities

Notable people from Madhya Pradesh

  • Maharani Avantibai Lodhi, Rani Durgavati, Shankar Dayal Sharma, Lata Mangeshkar (singer, Indore)
  • Chandra Shekhar Azad (freedom fighter, Bhavra)
  • Atal Bihari Vajpayee (former PM, Gwalior)
  • Tansen (musician, Gwalior)
  • Kishore Kumar (singer, Khandwa)
  • Jaya Bachchan (actress, Jabalpur)
  • Amir Khan (musician, Indore)
  • Osho (Rajneesh, philosopher, Kuchwada)
  • Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar (constitution architect, Mhow)
  • Ashutosh Rana (actor, Gadarwara)
  • Divyanka Tripathi (actress, Bhopal)
  • Paridhi Sharma (actress, Indore)
  • Isha Malviya (actress/model, Madhya Pradesh)
  • Palak Muchhal (singer, Indore)
  • Aishwarya Khare (actress, Bhopal).

Districts of Madhya Pradesh

Tap a district to study it in detail

4 listed
G Guna HQ: Guna G Gwalior N North Garo Hills S Shivpuri