Gwalior resident. The Resident, as the officer accredited to the Gwalior ruler, was also in all matters of general policy the channel of communication between the ruler and other political officers, such as the agents of Malwa and Bhopawar, within whose charges isolated portions of Gwalior State were situated. He exercised a close supervision over the minor holdings of the residency, all criminal cases of any importance in which were either dealt with by him personally or submitted for his sanction and approval. He also had the powers of a District and Session Judge for portions of the Midland and Bina-Baran sections of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, which passed through the states of Gwalior, Datia, Samthar, Khaniadhana, and the Chhabra pargana. The headquarters of the political officer were situated in the area known as The Residency, a piece of land measuring situated close to Morar, about four miles (6 km) to the east of Gwalior fort. The area was administered by the resident, and included three villages, the revenue from which were devoted to the upkeep of the Residency limits. In 1901 the population of the Residency was 1,391. The Great Indian Peninsula Railroad and Gwalior Light Railways and the Agra-Bombay and Bhind-Jhansi high roads traversed the charge. The Gwalior residency was abolished upon Indian Independence at the stroke of midnight on 15 August 1947, when all treaty relations between the British crown and the princely states of India were nullified. The rulers of the states acceded to the Government of India between 1947 and 1950, and most of the Gwalior Residency, including Gwalior State, were incorporated into the new Indian state of Madhya Bharat, with Rampur and Benares going to Uttar Pradesh. Madhya Bharat was merged into Madhya Pradesh state on 1 November 1956. Population and Geography The population of the residency was 2,187,612 in 1901, of whom Hindus numbered 1,883,038, or 86 percent; animists 170,316, or 8 percent; Muslims 103,430, or 4 percent; and Jains 30,129, or 1 percent. In 1901 the residency had an area of , of which belonged to Gwalior State. The density of population was 123 persons per square mile. By 1931 the population of the areas covered by the Residency had grown to over 3.5 million. The charge contained 6820 villages and sixteen towns in 1901, of which the chief were Lashkar, Morar, Gwalior, Guna, Bhind, Bhilsa, Narwar, Ujjain and Chanderi. Bhilsa,