Nagpur Province

Nagpur Province नागपुर
Province of British India
← 1853–1861 →
Flag
Map of the Central provinces of British India
History
•	British annexation of Nagpur State	1853
•	Merger with the Saugor and Nerbudda Territories	1861

Nagpur Province was a province of British India that covered parts of present-day Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh states. The city of Nagpur was the capital of the province.

In 1861 it was merged into the Central Provinces together with the Saugor and Nerbudda Territories.

History

Nagpur Province was formed in 1853 when the British annexed the princely state of Nagpur by virtue of the Doctrine of lapse. The Province included the domains of the Maratha Bhonsle Maharajas of Nagpur, powerful members of the Maratha Confederacy who conquered large tracts of central and eastern India in the 18th century. In 1818, at the conclusion of the Third Anglo-Maratha War, the Bhonsle Maharaja submitted to a subsidiary alliance, and Nagpur became a princely state under the suzerainty of the British crown. In 1853, on the death of Maharaja Raghoji III without heirs, Nagpur was annexed by the British under the doctrine of lapse. It was thereafter administered by a commissioner under the Governor-General of India.

In 1861, Nagpur Province was merged with the Saugor and Nerbudda Territories to constitute the new Central Provinces and Berar administrative division. The districts of Nagpur, Bhandara, Chada, Wardha, and Balaghat became the Nagpur Division of the new province, while Durg, Raipur, and Bilaspur became the Chhattisgarh Division. Chhindwara District was added to Nerbudda Division.

Districts

• Chhindwara
• Nagpur
• Bhandara
• Chanda
• Wardha
• Balaghat
• Durg
• Raipur
• Bilaspur

Provincial Commissioners

• ----- Mansel (took office on 13 March 1854, before resident at Nagpur), 1854
• Captain Elliot, 1854 - 1855
• G. Plowden, 1855 - 1860
• (vacant) 1860 - 1861