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{{Short description|Group of centrally located Indian states}}
{{For|the political office of the British Indian Empire|Central India Agency}}
[[File:Zonal Councils.svg|thumb|300px|[[Zonal Council]]s of India; this definition should not be taken as standard.]]
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}

'''Central India''' is a loosely defined [[region of India]]. There is no clear official definition and various ones may be used. One common definition consists of the [[States and union territories of India|states]] of [[Chhattisgarh]] and [[Madhya Pradesh]],<ref>[https://www.andbeyond.com/destinations/asia/india/central-india/ "Discover Central India’s iconic destinations"], andbeyond.com</ref> which are included in almost all definitions. Like some other definitions this takes the part of northern India that is "central" on an east-west axis. Thus the [[Central Zonal Council]] set up by the Indian government includes both these states, plus [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Uttarakhand]] to the north, the last taking the region to the border with Tibet/China in the [[Himalayas]].
[[File:Map of India.svg|thumb|Map of India with [[States and union territories of India|states]]]]

Another approach, historically more usual, is to base "Central India" on a north-south axis, making it the part of India that is south of [[North India]] and north of [[South India]]; the definition of North India also varies hugely, but that of South India is generally agreed. This definition includes either some or all of the [[Deccan]], in particular [[Maharashtra]], and may or may not include some of the [[Gangetic Plain]] to the north. If Maharashtra is included "Central India" includes a good part of the western coast, including [[Mumbai]], but the eastern coast is never included, as [[Odisha]] stretches down to meet [[Andhra Pradesh]], and these are counted in [[Eastern India|Eastern]] and Southern India respectively (and none of the eastern coast is part of the [[Hindi Belt]]).

Another definition is "the hill-country south of the Ganges plain", but north of the Deccan.<ref>Blurton, T. Richard, ''Hindu Art'', p. 187, 1994, British Museum Press, {{ISBN|0 7141 1442 1}}</ref> Some official divisions of the country do not recognise any "Central" division at all.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.cea.nic.in/reports/monthly/installedcapacity/2015/installed_capacity-11.pdf| title=Executive summary of month of November 2015| publisher=Central Electricity Authority, Ministry of Power, Government of India| access-date=15 December 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051607/http://www.cea.nic.in/reports/monthly/installedcapacity/2015/installed_capacity-11.pdf#| archive-date=4 March 2016| url-status=dead| df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Another definition, which treats the Deccan as a different unit, defines "Central India" as Madhya Pradesh and "eastern and central [[Uttar Pradesh]]".<ref>Michell, George (1990), ''The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India, Volume 1: Buddhist, Jain, Hindu'', p. 138, 1990, Penguin Books, {{ISBN|0140081445}}</ref> "Madhya Pradesh" means "central province", while "Uttar Pradesh" means "northern province", though when adopted in 1950 it had the advantage of preserving the common "UP" abbreviation for what was formerly the [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh]]. This definition is rather similar to the territories, all [[princely states]], grouped by the [[British Raj]] in 1854 as the [[Central India Agency]] (not to be confused with the [[Central Provinces]], bordering this to the south).

The ''Memoir of Central India'' by Sir [[John Malcolm]], [[Governor of Bombay]] begins with a definition:
<blockquote>The country termed Central India is, roughly speaking, the region lying between the [[21st parallel north|twenty-first]] and [[25th parallel north|twenty-fifth degrees]] of north latitude, and the [[73rd meridian east|seventy-third]] and [[80th meridian east|eightieth degrees]] of east longitude...<ref>[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0emFWxyNbNIC&pg=PA1 ''Memoir of Central India''], p. 1, Sir [[John Malcolm]]</ref></blockquote>

Depending on definition, [[Indore]], the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh, is the largest city in the region. Other major [[Cities of India|cities]] include [[Gwalior]], [[Agra]], [[Bhopal]], [[Dehradun]], [[Lucknow]], and [[Raipur]]. The states share many [[Languages of India|linguistic]] and [[Culture of India|cultural]] characteristics with the [[Northern India|Northern Region]] including the predominance of [[Hindi]].

==History==
The Bhimbetka caves show evidence of paleolithic settlements in present-day Madhya Pradesh. Stone age tools have also been discovered at various places along the Narmada river valley. Chalcolithic sites have been discovered at a number of places including Eran, Kayatha, Maheshwar, Nagda, and Navdatoli. Rock shelters with cave paintings, the earliest of which can be dated to 30,000 BCE, have also been discovered at a number of places. The settlements of humans in present-day Madhya Pradesh developed primarily in the valleys of rivers such as Narmada, Chambal, and Betwa. During the early Vedic period, the Vindhya mountains formed the southern boundary of the Indo-Aryan territory.

The [[Holkars]], a powerful family of the [[Maratha Empire]] were based out of Indore. Later, the territory that now comprises Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were ruled by numerous princes who entered into [[subsidiary alliance]] with the [[British India|British]].

After [[Independence of India|independence]], the states of [[Madhya Bharat]], [[Vindhya Pradesh]], and [[Bhopal]] were merged into Madhya Pradesh in 1956. In 2000, the new state of [[Chhattisgarh]] was carved out of [[Madhya Pradesh]].

==Language==
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Krishna speaking Hindi.webm|thumb|A Hindi speaker, recorded in [[Taiwan]].]]
The region is part of the [[Hindi belt]], and [[Modern Standard Hindi]] is the predominant language. Other Hindi belt languages such as [[Chhattisgarhi]] are also common regionally. Besides these [[Indo-Aryan languages]], the [[Munda languages|Munda-family language]] [[Korku language|Korku]] is also spoken in Central India.

== See also ==
* [[List of regions of India]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Geographic location
|width = auto
|Centre = Central India
|North = [[North India]]
|Northeast = [[East India]]
|East = [[East India]]
|Southeast = [[East India]]
|South = [[South India]]
|Southwest = [[Western India]]
|West = [[Western India]]
|Northwest = [[North India]]
}}

{{Geography of India}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Regions of India]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]

Central India - Revision history

Antoniomec: cleanup

>Tom.Reding: +{{Authority control}} (3 IDs from Wikidata), WP:GenFixes on