The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c15.72

v1.c15.72

Within the central hills there is a wide district drained north-eastward into the Jumna-Ganges chiefly by the rivers Chambal and Son. This district, much less fruitful than the plain of Hindustān, because less abundantly watered, and composed of rocky ground instead of alluvium, is ruled by native chiefs. The British suzerainty is exercised under the Viceroy by the Central Indian Agency. Of the chiefs of Central India the most important are Sindhia and Holkar, two Marāthās ruling Hindi populations. Sindhia's capital, Gwalior, lies a little south of Agra. It is dominated by an isolated rock fort, flat topped and steep sided, more than three hundred feet in height. Indore, Holkar's capital, lies in the land of Mālwā, on high ground about the sources of the Chambal river, a considerable distance south of Gwalior. In the neighbourhood is Mhow, one of the chief cantonments of the Indian army, placed on the high ground for climatic reasons, like Bangalore in southern India.