Madhya Pradesh: Population and administration

The CAG report puts Madhya Pradesh's population at around 7.33 crore, about six per cent of India's population. Tribes form over 20% of the population. The state is administered through 55 districts grouped into 10 divisions, with its capital at Bhopal and its High Court at Jabalpur.

Population

• The CAG State Finances Audit Report says the state is home to around 7.33 crore persons, six per cent of the country's population.
• The state portal says the population is over 7 crore.
• Area (CAG report): 3,08,252 sq.km., 9.38 per cent of India's geographical area; the state is the 2nd largest in the country.
• The majority is Hindu, with Muslims the largest minority community.

Tribes

• Tribes make up over 20% of the population and live mainly in the southern, south-western and eastern parts of the state. They depend on agriculture, forest produce and local craft.
• Gond: the best known tribe and the largest group; found on both sides of the Narmada in Mandla, Chhindwara, Betul and Seoni, and in the hills of the Vindhya and Satpura. Agaria, Pradhan, Ojhan and Solahas descend from the Gonds; sub-castes are Rajgond and Datoliya.
• Bhil: the second largest tribe, around Jhabua, Khargone, Dhar and Ratlam; known for guerrilla tactics and archery.
• Baiga: believe they descend from Dravid; found in Mandla, Balaghat, Shahdol and Sidhi.
• Saharia: in the north-west, mainly Gwalior, Shivpuri, Bhind, Morena, Sheopur, Vidisha and Raisen; most are cultivators.
• Bharia: mainly in Jabalpur and Chhindwara; Patalkot in Chhindwara is almost 90% Bharia. They are known for bamboo baskets.
• Korku: in Hoshangabad, Betul, Chhindwara, Harda and Khandwa; administered by a panchayat head called the Sarpanch.
• Kol: in Rewa, Sidhi, Satna, Shahdol and Jabalpur; mentioned in the puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata.
• Santia: a nomadic tribe of Malwa who consider themselves originally a martial Rajput tribe.
• Lesser-known tribes include Dhanuk, Panika and Saur.

Languages

• Hindi is the official language and the most widely spoken.
• English is the second language for many people in major towns and for the business class.
• Common regional dialects: Malwi, Bundeli, Bagheli and Nimari.

Administrative units

• The state has 55 districts grouped into 10 administrative divisions (CAG report).
• District history: 43 districts at first; 45 after 1972, when Bhopal was carved from Sehore and Rajnandgaon from Durg; 61 after 16 new districts in 1998; then the creation of Chhattisgarh in November 2000.
• Bhopal became the capital after the 1956 reorganisation; in 1950 the capital had been Nagpur.

Judiciary

• The Nagpur High Court was established by Letters Patent dated 2nd of January 1936.
• From 1st of November 1956, it became the High Court of Madhya Pradesh, with its seat at Jabalpur.
• Temporary benches at Indore and Gwalior were set up on 1st of November 1956; they were made permanent by a Presidential Notification of 28th of November 1968.
• On 1st of November 2000, the High Court of Chhattisgarh was set up at Bilaspur, and the Jabalpur High Court became the High Court of the successor state.

Economy indicator

• The CAG report gives the per capita Gross State Domestic Product at current prices as 1,56,381 in 2023-24, lower than the per capita GDP of 2,11,725.