Rajgarh is a town and municipal council in the Rajgarh district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Rajgarh district and lies in the Malwa region of central India. The town is situated on the banks of the Newaj River, a tributary of the Parbati, and functions as a local centre for trade, agriculture and district administration.
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| State | Madhya Pradesh |
| District | Rajgarh |
| Region | Malwa |
| Type | Town and municipal council; district headquarters |
| River | Newaj |
| Official language | Hindi |
Rajgarh lies in the north-western part of Madhya Pradesh, on the Malwa Plateau. The terrain in and around the town consists of gently undulating plains broken by low hills, with black cotton soil that supports extensive cultivation. The Newaj River, which flows past the town, is the principal watercourse of the area. The district shares boundaries with Guna, Shajapur, Sehore, Bhopal, Vidisha and Agar Malwa districts.
The town experiences a tropical climate with three well-defined seasons: a hot summer from March to mid-June, a south-west monsoon from late June to September, and a cool, dry winter from November to February.
Before the reorganisation of Indian states in 1956, Rajgarh was the seat of the princely state of Rajgarh, ruled by a Khichi Chauhan Rajput dynasty. The state acceded to the Indian Union after independence in 1947 and was integrated into the new state of Madhya Bharat, which was later merged into Madhya Pradesh on 1 November 1956. Rajgarh district was constituted with the town as its headquarters.
Rajgarh town is governed by a municipal council (nagar palika) under the Madhya Pradesh Municipalities Act. As the district headquarters, the town hosts the offices of the District Collector, the Superintendent of Police, the District and Sessions Court, and other district-level departments. For purposes of revenue administration, Rajgarh is also a tehsil within the district.
Rajgarh forms part of the Rajgarh Lok Sabha constituency, which sends one member to the lower house of the Indian Parliament. At the state level, the town lies within the Rajgarh Vidhan Sabha constituency of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
The economy of Rajgarh is predominantly agrarian. Soybean, wheat, gram, maize and pulses are the main crops grown in the surrounding countryside, while oilseed processing, flour milling and small-scale agro-industries form part of the local non-farm economy. The town acts as a market centre (mandi) for agricultural produce from nearby villages.
Rajgarh is connected by road to Bhopal, Biaora, Guna and Shajapur. National Highway 52 (formerly NH 3, the Agra–Mumbai corridor) passes through Biaora in the same district, providing inter-state connectivity. The nearest major railway junction is at Biaora–Rajgarh on the Indian Railways network, while the closest airport with scheduled services is Raja Bhoj Airport at Bhopal.
Hindi is the principal language spoken in Rajgarh, with Malvi widely used in everyday speech. The population includes Hindu, Muslim and Jain communities, reflecting the broader demographic profile of the Malwa region.