PANTH PIPLODA - the smallest British India province

We all have heard of the British provinces in India such as Bombay, Madras, Bengal, Assam, Punjab etc. Some of us even know about the island province in Rajputana - Ajmer-Merwara. But the story of Panth Piploda province is so rare that it's always left out while narrating the British Indian narratives. This was the tiniest British province located in the labyrinth of Central India Agency, so small that it could be hardly noticed on any map.

Located in today's Ratlam district of Madhya Pradesh, it was separated from Bombay Province in 1935. If one looks at a zoomed-in map of the territory, Panth Piploda is sandwiched between Central India Agency states such as Indore, Dhar and Ratlam, and states of Gwalior Residency such as Ujjain. It's interesting to note that Panth Piploda was made a Chief Commissioner's Province in 1942 and it continued to remain till 1947. That means the territory was a British province for a mere 5 years, the shortest time-span in history.

Another interesting fact is that Panth Piploda had something known as 'half village'. Panth Piploda had some 10½ villages and the village of Sabdi was divided into a British territory and Piploda estate (part of Central India Agency). The province was so small that it was being decided to annex it to Ajmer-Merwara province after independence.

Even the name 'Panth Piploda' is interesting in its origin. Several villages of the Chambal Valley (where it is situated) were renewed their road systems and so the prefix 'Panth' was added to several villages. Hence the names such as Panth Piplai, Panth Melki, Barodiya Panth, Baroda Panth, Jalodiya Panth, Nawad Panth etc. could be found. The province was among few other 'island' British provinces that were surrounded by other states or provinces from all sides. Others were - Delhi, Ajmer-Merwara and Coorg (these provinces and Andaman & Nicobar Islands were later combined under Lieutenant Governor's Province) . The connection went down to a point that while drafting the constitution, it was suggested by B.R. Ambedkar to treat these former provinces alike and draft similar governing laws, to which certain concerns were raised by fellow lawyers and lawmakers. Eventually, the region went to the newly created Madhya Bharat (1948-1956).

Panth Piploda was just a village which came under direct British administration. It's history isn't like other provinces such as Bombay or Bengal or Madras. The reason why such an arrangement was made because the ruling family were mere cash collectors and didn't hold any property rights over these villages. Since the money was submitted directly to a British Political Agent under Malwa Agency (part of Central India Agency), it was decided later to separate it out as a stand-alone province.

Here's a map of Panth Piploda province. Enlarged, its current location is shown with respect to neighboring towns and cities in today's India.