Burhânpur is the site of a considerable manufacture of fine cottons, silks, and rich brocades. Iron ore is raised and smelted in many places. The principal imports are British woollens, cottons, silks, cutlery, cashmere shawls, pearls from the Persian Gulf, Ceylon diamonds, and agates from Bundelkhand, gold, silver, mercury, copper, lead, and zinc. The chief exports are opium, cotton, tobacco, dyes, and iron. The Indore and Ajmere narrow-gauge railway, now (1879) in course of construction, will pass through the west of Gwalior state, while a railway on the broad gauge, to connect Gwalior town with Agra, is approaching completion.

During the hot and dry seasons the climate is not unhealthy, but during the rainy season fevers prevail, especially in the north. The range of the thermometer is unusually small, except during the sultry season, when it sometimes rises to nearly 100° during the day. The average rainfall during the rainy season is 50 inches.

The population of the north-eastern part of this territory is of many elements, comprising, besides Marhattâs (the ruling race), Bundelas, Jâts, and Râjputs, with some less distinctly defined divisions of Hindus and Mahometans. There is perhaps no part of India where the tribes of Brâhmans are so various and their number so great as in the southern and south-western parts. The Mahometan population is estimated at about a twentieth of the whole. Including the cessions to Sindhia under the treaty of 1860, the territories of the Gwalior state were in 1875 estimated to contain a population of about 2,500,000 souls. The total revenue in 1875 was <£1,200,000. Education is afforded by 92 schools attended by 3206 pupils.

The Gwalior family, whose armies and chiefs have played so conspicuous a part in the history of India, and whose representative now rules over a state larger than Scotland and Wales united, and richer than many independent kingdoms, was founded by Ranoji Sindhia, whose father was pdtel (head-man) of a Deccan village. Once in the household of the peshwâ, Ranoji’s rise was rapid, and he was soon at the head of the bodyguard. After heading many Marhattâ raids through Malwa into Hindustan, he was at the time of his death the acknowledged possessor of lands which still form part of the Gwalior state. He was succeeded by his son Mahâdaji Sindhia, whose ability as a statesman and a soldier has rarely been surpassed. At his death he was succeeded by his grand-nephew Daulat Rao Sindhia. The power of Sindhia was at this time most dangerous to the. British Government, who now began to take measures to check the power of this chief. Sindhia entered into a league with the raja of Berar to defeat their aim, but their allied armies were defeated in 1803 at Assaye by a British force commanded by General Sir Arthur Wellesley, subsequently duke of Wellington. By the end of the same year, the Marhattâs were completely overthrown, and Sindhia was compelled to sue for peace and to sign a treaty by which he resigned his conquered territories. Eventually, by a treaty concluded in 1805, Gwalior and Gohad were ceded to Sindhia. Daulat Râo died at Gwalior in 1827 without an heir. On his deathbed, he left the state and succession in the hands of the British Government. The succession of a boy of the Sindhia family, Mιigat Rao, to whom it was thought the wishes of Daulat Râo turned, was admitted by the British Government. The young maharaja was subsequently married to the granddaughter of Daulat Râo, and took the name of Janakji Sindhia. In 1843 he died without issue. His widow, with the concurrence of the chief nobles, adopted Bajirât Râo, a lad eight years of age. The British Government recognized the adoption, and Bajirât Râo, under the name of Bâji Rao Sindhia, succeeded, and is the present ruler (1879). Early in the regency disturbances took place, and the advance of British troops on Gwalior became necessary to restore order. Two battles, Maliârâjpur and Panniar, were fought on the same day—the 29th December 1843—between the British forces and the mutinous army. They both resulted in the total defeat of the Gwalior troops. No event of historical importance has taken place since, except the revolt between the Gwalior contingent and Sindhia’s aπny iu 1857. The maharaja’s conduct throughout has been conspicuous for its loyalty. In recognition of his services, the Government conferred upon him the right of adoption, together with lands yielding a revenue of £30,000.

Gwalior, the capital of Gwalior state, and fortress residence of the Mahârâjâ Sindhia, is situated in 26° 13' N. lat. and 78° 12' E. long., 65 miles S. from Agra, and 277 N.W. of Allahâbâd. Gwalior city has a threefold interest :—first, as a very ancient seat of Jain worship: secondly, for its example of palace architecture of the best Hindu period (1486-1516); and thirdly, as the fortress capital of one of the greatest native chiefs of India.

Jxin Remains.— There are several remarkable Hindu temples in Gwalior. One, known as the Sas Bahu, understood to be of Jain erection, is beautifully adorned with bas-reliefs, and is now resorted to both by the Vaishnav and Siva sects. It was finished in 1093 a. D., and, though much dilapidated, still forms a most picturesque fragment. An older Jain temple has been used as a mosque. Another temple in the fortress of Gw⅛lior is called the Teli-kα-Mandir, or “Oilman’s Temple.” This building was originally dedicated to Vishnu, but afterwards converted to the worship of Siva. The most striking part of the Jain remains at Gwalior is a series of caves or rock-cut sculptures, excavated in the rock on all sides, and numbering nearly a hundred, grèat and small. Most of them are mere niches to contain statues, though some are cells that may have been originally intended for residences. One curious fact regarding them is that, according to inscriptions, they were all excavated within the short period of about thirty-three years, between 1441 and 1474. Some of the figures are of colossal size; one, for instance, is 57 feet high, which is taller than any other in the north of India.

Hindu Palace Architecture.— The palace built by Mau Sinh (1486- 1516) forms the most interesting example of early Hindu work of its class in India. Another palace of even greater extent was added to this one in 1516; both Jahangir and Shah Jahan added palaces to these two,—the whole making a group of edifices unequalled for picturesqueness and interest by anything of their claes in Central India. Among the apartments in the palace was the celebrated chamber, named the Baradari, supported on 12 columns, and 45 feet square, with a stone roof, forming one of the most beautiful palace-halls in the world. It was, besides, singularly interesting from the expedients to which the Hindu architect was forced to resort to imitate the vaults of the Moslems. Of the buildings, however, which so excited the admiration of the emperor Bâbar, probably little now remains.

Rock Fortress.— The fort of Gwalior stands on an isolated rock. The face of the fort is perpendicular, and where the rock is naturally less precipitous it has been scarped. Its greatest length from northcast to south-west is a mile and a half, and the greatest breadth 300 yards. The rock attains its maximum height of 342 feet at the northern end. A rampart, accessible by a steep road, and farther up by huge steps cut out of the rock, surrounds the fort. The citadel stands at the north-eastern corner of the enclosure, and presents a very picturesque appearance. The old town of Gwalior, which is of considerable size, but irregularly built, and extremely dirty, lies at the eastern base of the rock. It contains the tomb of Muhammad Ghaus, which was erected during the early part of Akbar’s reign. The fort of Gwalior, according to Wilford, was built in 773 A.D. by Surya Sen, the raja of the neighbouring country. In 1196 Gwalior was captured by Mahmud Ghori; it then passed into the hands of several chiefs until in 1556 Akbar gained possession of it, and made it a state prison for captives of rank. Ou the dismemberment of the Delhi empire, Gwalior was seized by the Jit rânâ of Gohad. Subsequently it was garrisoned by Sindhia, from whom it was wrested in 1780 by the forces of the East India Company. A contest took place about the successor of Janakji, governor of Gwalior, the adopted son of Daulat Rao Sindhia, who died in 1843 without an heir. A revolution was impending, and the British Government had to interfere. Troops crossed the Chambal, and unexpectedly found the insurgent forces drawn up at Maharaj pur, a few miles distant from the fortress. A battle ensued on the 29th December 1843, resulting in the complete overthrow of the Marhattis. The British contingent stationed in the town was increased, and affairs were placed on a peaceful footing.