Mahidpur


Mahidpur City is a town and a municipality in Ujjain district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The modern town of Mahidpur is situated on the bank of river Shipra. It is located in the Malwa region. At present, the town is a tehsil place of Ujjain district.
Several chalcolithic remains have been excavated in this town. The Battle of Mahidpur between the Marathas and the British was also fought in this location.

Geography

It is situated at a distance of 56 km southwest of Ujjain town by bus and 18 km from Mahidpur-Road Railway station on Delhi-Mumbai line of Western Railway.
The town is well connected by road to Ujjain, Ratlam, Nagda, and Agar.

History

Mahidpur or mehidpur during British India was in Indore state of Central India, on the right bank of the Kshipra, above sea level, and north of Ujjain, which in 1901 had a population of 6,681. Mahidpur belonged to Rajewagh.Though of some antiquity and frequented by Hindu pilgrims, it is best known for the battle fought in the neighbourhood on 20 December 1817, in which Sir John Malcolm defeated the army of Holkar. The result was the Treaty of Mandasor and the pacification of Malwa. Mahidpur was again the scene of fights during the Indian Mutiny. The British cantonment, placed here in 1817, was removed in 1882.
Located at the bank of river Kshripra, city still has dilapidated old fort. Remnants of the war could be seen at a place named "Bhasmi Tekri". City also has one of the oldest Mahalakshmi temples in the battlefield. Tala Kunchi ki Bawdi near the battlefield is supposedly the underground link to flee Mahidpur fort.

Demographics

India census, Mahidpur had a population of 34,365. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Mahidpur has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 70%, and female literacy is 52%. In Mahidpur, 17% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Industry

A major chunk of the population is employed in the agricultural and related sectors, dealing directly or indirectly with the agricultural produce. Major crops grown are wheat, chick pea, pigeon pea, soybean, and corn. Mahidpur is known for agricultural produce such as ghee, mawa and namkin.