Jaora State: Information

Jaora State was a 13 gun-salute princely state of the British Raj. It was part of the Malwa Agency.

The total area of the princely state, with the dependencies of Piploda and Panth-Piploda, was 1,471 km2. Jaora state was divided into four tehsils, Jaora, Barauda, Tal, and Barkhera. The chief crops were millets, cotton, maize and opium.

Jaora State was founded by Abdul Ghafur Muhammad Khan, who received the title of Nawab from the Mughal emperor in 1808. In 1818 the state became a British protectorate. Abdu'l Ghafur Muhammad Khan was a cavalry officer serving the Pashtun leader Muhammad Amir Khan. He later served the Holkar maharaja of Indore State, subduing Rajput territories in northern Malwa and pillaging their lands. The state was confirmed by the British government in 1818 by the Treaty of Mandsaur.

During the reign of Nawab Muhammad Iftikhar Ali Khan (ruled 1895 - 1947), Piploda became a separate state in 1924, and Panth-Piploda became a province of British India in 1942. Nawab Muhammad Usman 'Ali Khan (ruled 1947 - 1948) acceded to the Government of India on 15 June 1948.