Editing Mhow

{{redirect| Dr. Ambedkar Nagar|other places|List of things named after B. R. Ambedkar#Places}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                    = Mhow
| official_name           = Dr. Ambedkar Nagar
| named_for               = [[B. R. Ambedkar]]
| other_name              = Mahu
| settlement_type         = Cantonment Town
| image_skyline           = Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Memorial Mhow.jpg
| image_alt               =
| image_caption           = [[Bhim Janmabhoomi]], [[B. R. Ambedkar|Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar]] Memorial Mhow
| nickname                =
| map_alt                 =
| map_caption             =
| pushpin_map             = India Madhya Pradesh#India
| pushpin_label_position  = right
| pushpin_map_alt         =
| pushpin_map_caption     = Location of Mhow in [[Madhya Pradesh]]
| coordinates             = {{coord|22.55|N|75.76|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type        = Country
| subdivision_name        = India
| subdivision_type1       = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1       = [[Madhya Pradesh]]
| subdivision_type2       = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name2       = [[Indore District|Indore]]
| established_title       = <!-- Established -->
| established_date        =
| founder                 =
| government_type         =
| governing_body          = Indore Metropolitan Region
| unit_pref               = Metric
| area_footnotes          =
| area_rank               =
| area_total_km2          =
| elevation_footnotes     =
| elevation_m             = 556
| population_total        = 85023
| population_as_of        = 2011
| population_rank         =
| population_density_km2  = auto
| population_demonym      =
| population_footnotes    =
| demographics_type1      = [[Language]]
| demographics1_title1    = Official
| demographics1_info1     = [[Hindi language|Hindi]]<ref name="langoff">{{cite web|title=52nd Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India|url=http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM52ndReport.pdf|website=nclm.nic.in|publisher=[[Ministry of Minority Affairs]]|access-date=21 July 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525141614/http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM52ndReport.pdf|archive-date=25 May 2017}}</ref>
| timezone1               = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1             = +5:30
| postal_code_type        = [[Postal Index Number|PIN]]
| postal_code             = 453441
| area_code_type          = Telephone code
| area_code  = 07324
| registration_plate      =
| website  =
| footnotes  =
}}

'''Mhow''', officially '''Dr. Ambedkar Nagar''', is a town in the [[Indore district]] in [[Madhya Pradesh]] state of India. It is located {{convert|23|km|mi|0}} south-west of [[Indore]] city, towards [[Mumbai]] on the old [[National Highway 3 (India)|Mumbai-Agra Road]]. It is the birthplace of Babasaheb [[B. R. Ambedkar]] .  after whom in 2003, the Government of Madhya Pradesh renamed the town ''Dr. Ambedkar Nagar'', a social political and economic reformer and town native.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Mhow-city-renamed-as-Dr-Ambedkar-Nagar/articleshow/48434.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023043527/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2003-06-28/india/27179994_1_bhopal-notification-madhya-pradesh-government|url-status=live|archive-date=23 October 2012|location=[[Bhopal]]|work=[[The Times of India]]|title=Mhow town renamed as Dr Ambedkar Nagar|date=28 June 2003|access-date=21 October 2017}}</ref>

==Etymology==
Some articles in popular literature state that 'MHOW' stands for '''M'''ilitary '''H'''eadquarters '''O'''f '''W'''arfare. However, this is a [[backronym]], and there is no proof to support the theory that the name of the village comes from the acronym.

==History==
This cantonment town was founded in 1818 by [[John Malcolm]] as a result of the [[Treaty of Mandsaur]] between the English and the [[House of Holkar|Holkar]]s who were the [[Maratha Empire|Maratha]] [[Maharaja]]s of Indore. John Malcolm's forces had defeated the Holkars of the [[Maratha Empire|Maratha Confederacy]] at the [[Battle of Mahidpur]] on 21 December 1817. It was after this battle that the capital of the Holkars moved from the town of [[Maheshwar]] on the banks of the [[Narmada]] to Indore.

Mhow used to be the headquarters of the [[5th (Mhow) Division]] of the [[Southern Command (India)|Southern Command]] during the [[British Raj]]. Today this small town is associated with the [[Indian Army]] and with [[B. R. Ambedkar]] who was born there.

Mhow was a meter gauge railway district headquarters during the British Raj and after 1947.<ref>Bombay Baroda and Central India Railway (B.B.& C.I. Railway) which later got incorporated in Western Railway.</ref> Mhow now has a broad gauge connection with Indore but regular train services are yet to commence.

According to [[Hinduism|Hindu]] religious texts, [[Janapav]] Kuti near Mhow is said to be the birthplace{{citation needed|date= March 2015}} of [[Parashurama]], an avatar of [[Vishnu]].

== Climate ==
Temperatures may go as high as 43 degrees Celsius during summers and as low as 4 degrees Celsius during winter. {{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}

==Demographics==
{{As of|2011}} India census,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.census2011.co.in/data/town/802275-mhow-cantt-madhya-pradesh.html|title = Mhow Cantt Cantonment Board City Population Census 2011-2021 &#124; Madhya Pradesh}}</ref> Mhow had a population of 85,023. Males constitute 54% of the population and females 46%. Mhow has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 65%. The Mhow Cantt Cantonment Board has population of 81,702 of which 43,888 are males while 37,814 are females as per report released by Census India 2011.

Population of Children with age of 0-6 is 9308 which is 11.39% of total population of Mhow Cantt (CB). In Mhow Cantt Cantonment Board, Female Sex Ratio is of 862 against state average of 931. Moreover, Child Sex Ratio in Mhow Cantt is around 908 compared to Madhya Pradesh state average of 918. Literacy rate of Mhow Cantt city is 85.78%; higher than state average of 69.32%. In Mhow Cantt, Male literacy is around 90.42% while female literacy rate is 80.37%.

== Cantonment ==
{{more citations needed section|date=August 2019}}
As early as 1818, the Indian Army has had a presence in Mhow. Up until World War II, Mhow was the headquarters of the [[5th (Mhow) Division|5th Division]] of the Southern Army. According to local legend, [[Winston Churchill]] also spent a few months in Mhow when he was a [[Subaltern (military)|subaltern]] serving with his regiment in India. The house on the mall where he is supposed to have lived, gradually crumbled due to neglect and age. It was pulled down and a jogger's park has been built on its grounds by the Infantry School.

Mhow houses three premier training institutions of the Indian Army; The Infantry School, The [[Military College of Telecommunication Engineering]] (MCTE) and The [[Army War College, Mhow|Army War College]].

In addition to these institutes, Mhow is where Army Training Command or ARTRAC was born. ARTRAC was based in Mhow from 1991 to 1994, before it shifted to Shimla ([[Himachal Pradesh]]). At that time its General Officer Commanding in Chief (GOC-in-C) was Lt. General [[Shankar Roy Chowdhary]] who went on to become the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). Its first GOC-in-C was Lt. General A.S. Kalkat who had earlier commanded the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka.  ARTRAC functioned from the old 19th century building of the present day Army Public School Mhow. This was used as All Arms Wing of MCTE for many decades. It was originally built and used as the British Military Hospital (BMH). The building is no longer in use and is being preserved as a heritage building. 

===The Infantry School===
The Infantry School is a training establishment of the [[Indian Army]]. It is responsible for the training of officers and infantry. The Commando Wing of this school is in [[Belgaum]], [[Karnataka]]. The Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) is a part of the Infantry School and has produced many medal winning shooters. Field Marshal [[Sam Manekshaw]] was the first Indian Commandant of this school from 1955 to 1956 when he was a Brigadier. The present Commandant is Lt Gen Gajendra Joshi.

===Military College of Telecommunication Engineering (MCTE)===
The first training institution in Mhow, MCTE was known as the School of Signals till 1967. It is the alma mater of the Corps of Signals. MCTE conducts telecommunications and information technology courses for officers, JCOS, NCOs and soldiers of the Indian Army. Officers and men from other countries also attend courses there. It also trains gentlemen cadets for a bachelor's degree in engineering at the Cadets Training Wing (CTW). On completion of their training, most of the cadets get commissioned into the Indian Army's Corps of Signals, however, some are also commissioned into other branches. Indian Army has also set up a Quantum Computing and an Artificial Intelligence centre at MCTE.{{fact|date=March 2022}}
The present Commandant is Lt Gen K H Gawas.

===The Army War College===
{{main|Army War College, Mhow}}
Army War College, Mhow (AWC) is a tactical training and research institution of the Indian Army. It develops and evaluates concepts and doctrines for tactics and logistics. The college trains about 1,200 officers, as well as paramilitary forces each year.

The college was originally established as the College of Combat at Mhow on 1 April 1971. It was spun out of the Infantry School, Mhow. It continued to operate from the campus of the Infantry School until 1988, when the college moved to its new campus. In 2003, the college was renamed as the Army War College, Mhow.

The college mainly conducts three courses—the Junior Command (JC) course, the Senior Command (SC) course and the Higher Command (HC) course. The former [[Chief of the Army Staff (India)|Chiefs of Army Staff (COAS)]] General K. Sundarji and General V. N. Sharma have served as the Commandant of the college. The present commandant is Lt Gen D P Pandey.

==Government and politics==
Mhow has one seat in the [[Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly|State Legislative Assembly]] (the Vidhan Sabha). The first elected MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) was [[R.C. Jall]] ([[Indian National Congress]]) who belonged to the [[Parsi]] community.

Since 2008, the MLA from Mhow is [[Kailash Vijayvargiya]] of the [[BJP]] who was the Urban Administration Minister in the cabinet of Chief Minister [[Shivraj Singh Chouhan]]. Previous MLA: [[Antar Singh Darbar]] of the Indian National Congress.

Until 2009, Mhow Tehsil was part of the Indore Lok Sabha constituency. Under the delimitation exercise carried out all over the nation, Mhow is now in the [[Dhar]] Parliamentary constituency though it continues to be in Indore district for administrative purposes. Present Member of Parliament for Mhow is the Dhar MP [[Chhatar Singh Darbar]] of the BJP.

Mhow (and the rest of MP) went to the polls on Monday 25 November 2013. Mhow recorded what could well be its highest ever turnout in a Vidhan Sabha election - 78.11%. Total number of voters 220,553. As per Mhow Control Room: Men constitute 79.34% and Women 76.76% with Overall - 78.11%.

On 8 December 2013 [[Kailash Vijayvargiya]] of the BJP was declared the winner from Mhow Vidhan Sabha constituency. He defeated Antar Singh Darbar of the Indian National Congress.

On 11 December 2018 [[Usha Thakur]] of the BJP was declared the winner from Mhow Vidhan Sabha constituency. She defeated Antar Singh Darbar of the Indian National Congress.

Rajendra Harshwal was the first vice chairman of MHOW cantonment for BJP. Then also became a state minister (vice chairman) of Madhya Pradesh forest development corporation in Government of Madhya Pradesh in 2003.<ref>{{cite news |title=Forest Development Corporation Vice Chairman injured |url=https://www.oneindia.com/2006/07/29/forest-development-corporation-vice-chairman-injured-1154174792.html |access-date=18 April 2021 |work=One India |date=29 July 2006 |language=en}}</ref>

== Tourism ==
[[File:jamgate.jpg|thumb|[[Jamgate ]]|alt=|320x320px]]

Tourist spots in and around Mhow include:
* [[Bhim Janmabhoomi]], a memorial
* [[Patalpani waterfall]]
* [[Janapav]] hill Temple
*[[Christ Church, Mhow]]
*[[JamGate]]

=== Janapav===
{{main|Janapav}}
The river [[Chambal River|Chambal]] which flows through the dacoit infested areas of northern India is said to begin at the hill of Janapav which is in a village named Kuti, around 15&nbsp;km from Mhow town. On top of the hill of Janapav is a temple and ashram. According to local legend this used to be the ashram of [[Jamadagni]], the father of [[Parashurama]] (an [[Avatar]] or reincarnation of [[Vishnu]], the Hindu God of sustenance). A mela, or religious fair, is held at Kuti every year on the auspicious day of Kartik Purnima - the first full moon after [[Diwali]], which is also celebrated as [[Guru Nanak]]'s birthday by the [[Sikh]] community - and people from villages far and near come to pray and pay their obeisance. The next day the same mela shifts to the Balaji temple in Badgonda village.
[[File:Christ_Church_Mhow_Service_2021.jpg|thumb|A Sunday Service at the historical [[Christ Church, Mhow]]]]
The river Gambhir which eventually joins the Kshipra - the river on whose banks the ancient, holy city of [[Ujjain]] is built - also begins at the hill of Janapav. From there it flows north towards Mhow.

=== Infantry Research Center & Museum - Mhow===
[[File:Infantry_Research_Center_%26_Museum_-_Mhow.png|thumb|[[Infantry Research Center & Museum - Mhow ]]|alt=|150x150px|left]]

A world-class and one of its kind Indian Army Museum showcasing the history, courage, valour, and sacrifices of the Infantry as the ultimate cutting-edge combat arm, has been established at Mhow.

== Transport ==
[[File:MHOW based YDM-4 loco with 52957 (Ratlam-Mhow) Passenger.jpg|thumb|MHOW YDM-4 diesel loco with 52957 RTM MHOW Passenger]]
{{See also|Mhow railway station}}

The railway station, a meter gauge line, was founded in the 1870s as part of the Holkar State Railway. Mhow was connected to [[Indore]] and Khandwa by metre gauge railway lines. On 18 January 2008, the work of broad gauge track between Mhow-Indore was completed in 2016 and the services are currently active. On the other side the work is in progress for the gauge conversion to Khandwa. 
The cost of the gauge conversion would be about Rs.1421.25 crore and Mhow has [[YDM-4]] Metre Gauge(M.G) locomotives in [[Ratlam]] diesel loco shed.{{Clarify|date=May 2017}}
The Patalpani Kalakund Ghat Section will function as a heritage railway from 25 December 2018.

The nearest airport is [[Indore Airport|Indore]].

== In popular culture ==
Some books about Mhow include:

* ''Diaries and letters from India, 1895-1900'' by [[Violet Jacob]]; Non fiction
* ''Last Post At Mhow'' by Arthur Hawkey; London: Jarrolds, 1969; Non fiction
* ''Chinnery's Hotel'' by Jaysinh Birjepatil; Ravi Dayal Publishers (India); 2005; fiction
* ''The compound microscope'' by Dr. Ratna Gosain; 2020 non-fiction book 

There are references to Mhow in the works of [[Rudyard Kipling]]:

* His poem "The Ladies"
* A reference to the train from Ajmer to Mhow in Chapter 1 of ''[[The Man Who Would Be King]]'' (1888)
* A reference to Mhow in chapter 11 of ''[[Kim (novel)|Kim]]'' (1901)

== Notable people ==
* [[B.R. Ambedkar]], Indian politician and architect of India's constitution, was born in Mhow. His father Ramji Maloji Sakpal was posted here as a Subedar Major in a battalion of the British [[Indian Army]]'s [[Mahar Regiment]]. A memorial to Dr. Ambedkar in the shape of a Buddhist [[stupa]] is being built at a spot where his father's quarters used to be. It is located by the Mhow-Mandleshwar Highway (State Highway 1) and is in the Kali Paltan area of Mhow.
* Dr. [[Catherine Arnott]], a female British medical doctor and suffragette born in Mhow. She worked in the Mure Memorial Hospital, [[Lady Dufferin Hospital]] in [[Karachi]] and Jaswant Hospital for Women in Jodhpur
* [[Shankar Lakshman]], Indian hockey goalkeeper from Mhow ([[Indore]])
* Subedar Major [[Vijay Kumar (sport shooter)]], AVSM, SM (Retd) of the 16th Battalion Dogra Regiment, Indian Army won a silver medal at the London Olympics 2012 in the 25&nbsp;m rapid-fire pistol event. He had been posted at the Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) Mhow from 2003 till 2017. 
*[[Kishan Lal]], captain of Indian Hockey Team which won gold at the 1948 London Olympics belonged to Mhow. In the domestic circuit he played for the Indian Railways.
* In August 2004 Col (then Major) [[Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore]] of the Grenadier Regiment won a silver medal in the shooting event of the Athens Olympics. At that time Major (now Col) Rathore was posted to the Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) Mhow.
* [[Mukesh Kumar (golfer)|Mukesh Kumar]], eminent golfer belongs to Mhow. 
* The English cricketer and footballer [[Denis Compton]] was stationed in Mhow during World War II and he had played cricket for the Holkar (Indore) team in the [[Ranji Trophy]] (India's National Cricket Championship).
* [[Adela Florence Nicolson]], pen name Laurence Hope (1865-1904) a leading poet of the late 19th century and early 20th century lived in Mhow from 1895 to 1900 with her husband Major General Malcolm Hassels Nicolson of the Bombay Presidency Army.
* [[Violet Jacob]] Scottish writer and illustrator was in Mhow from 1895 to 1900 when her husband Major Arthur Otway Jacob was posted here. Her book Diaries and letters from India 1895–1900 is about her years in Mhow. She visited Mhow again in the 1920s.
* [[Dorothy Gill]], opera singer and actress was born in Mhow
* [[J. G. Greig]], Cricketer, born in Mhow
* [[Rajeev John George]] (1970–2005): A housing rights activist

== Universities and colleges ==
* [[Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University of Social Sciences]]
* [[Army War College, Mhow]]
* [[BANISS]]
* [[Military College of Telecommunication Engineering]]
* [[College of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Mhow]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Mhow|Dr. Ambedkar Nagar}}
*{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Mhow}}
* [http://www.dgde.gov.in/cantonments/web/626 Mhow cantonment]
* [https://bloggerdevkumar.blogspot.in/ Mhow Ki Khabrein - A blog dedicated to Mhow]

{{Indore Division}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mhow| ]]
[[Category:B. R. Ambedkar]]
[[Category:Cities in Malwa]]
[[Category:Cantonments of India]]
[[Category:Cantonments of British India]]
[[Category:Cities and towns in Indore district]]