Panchmahal, also Panch Mahal, is a district in the western India, in the eastern portion of Gujarat state. Panch mahal means "five districts", and refers to the five districts that were transferred by the Sindhia Maharaja of Gwalior to the British.

History

Panchmahal were conquered from the Mughal Empire by the Maratha leader Sindhia in the eighteenth century. The Sindhias became Maharajas of Gwalior, and after 1818 were forced to recognize British sovereignty. The Panch Mahals were transferred in 1861 by the Sindhias to British India, where they became a district in the northern division of Bombay Presidency. The British district consisted of two separate parts, divided by the territory of a princely state. The southwestern portion was for the most part a level plain of rich soil; while the northern, although it comprised some fertile valleys, was generally rugged, undulating and barren, with but little cultivation. The area of the British district was 1606 sq. mi., and the population was 261,020 in 1901. The administrative headquarters were at Godhra, pop. (1901), 20,915. The ruins of Champaner , an old Hindu capital of Gujarat, was included in the district. It was the only district of Bombay Presidency that is administered on the non-regulation system, the collector being also political agent for Rewa Kantha agency. The mineral products comprised sandstone, granite and other kinds of building stone. Mining for manganese on a large scale was begun by a European firm. The principal crops were maize, millets, rice, pulse and oilseeds; there were manufactures of lac bracelets and lacquered toys; the chief export was timber. Both portions of the district were crossed by the branch of the Bombay and Baroda Railway from Anand, through Godhra and Dohad, to Ratlam; and a chord line was opened in 1904 from Godhra to Baroda city. The district suffered very severely from the famine of 1899-1900, and its population decreased 17% from 1891 to 1901 owing to the famine.