Welcome to Gwalior!
Gwalior is a historic city in Madhya Pradesh. Gwalior's history is reflected most famously in its fort, but also in the architecture of other buildings, and in addition, the city is known as a center of Indian classical music.
Gwalior is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh lies in upper Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located 343 kilometres (213 mi) south of Delhi, the capital city of India, 120 kilometres (75 mi) from Agra and 414 kilometres (257 mi) from Bhopal, the state capital, Gwalior occupies a strategic location in the Gird region of India. The historic city and its fortress have been ruled by several historic northern Indian kingdoms. From the Kachchhapaghatas in the 10th century, Tomars in the 13th century, it was passed on to the Mughal Empire, then to the Maratha in 1754, followed by the Scindia in the 18th century. In April 2021, It was found that Gwalior had the best air quality index (AQI 152) amongst the 4 major cities in Madhya PradeshBesides being the administrative headquarters of Gwalior district and Gwalior division, Gwalior has many administrative offices of the Chambal division of northern Madhya Pradesh. Several administrative and judicial organisations, commissions and boards have their state and national headquarters situated in the city.
Gwalior was the winter capital of the state of Madhya Bharat which later became a part of the larger state of Madhya Pradesh. Prior to Indian independence on 15 August 1947, Gwalior remained a princely state of the British Raj with the Scindia as the local rulers. High rocky hills surround the city from all sides, on the north, it just forms the border of the Ganga- Yamuna Drainage Basin. The city however is situated in the valley between the hills. Gwalior's metropolitan area includes Gwalior city centre, Morar Cantonment, Lashkar Gwalior (Lashkar Subcity), Maharaj Bada, Phool Bagh, and Thatipur. Gwalior was one of the major sites of rebellion during the 1857 uprising. Post-independence, Gwalior has emerged as an important tourist attraction in central India while many industries and administrative offices came up within the city. Before the end of the 20th century, it became a million-plus agglomeration and now it is a metropolitan city in central India. Gwalior is surrounded by industrial and commercial zones of neighbouring districts (Malanpur - Bhind, Benmore - Morena) in all three main directions.
Gwalior has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under PM Narendra Modi's flagship Smart Cities Mission. The name Gwalior literally means the abode of Gwalas(the cow/buffalo herder). Since Gwalior falls in the region of the greater Braj area which can be assumed to be roughly a circular area of 200 to 250 km (120 to 160 mi) radius having its centre at Mathura, Braj culture has historically had great a connection to cows, buffaloes, milk, butter, curd etc. so, not just Gwalior but also a few other places in the area derive their name form things associated with cows, like a place 40 km (25 mi) from Gwalior known as Gohad (means periphery up to which cows used to go and return).