MALWA, an historic province of India, which has given its name to one of the political agencies into which Central India is divided. Strictly, the name is confined to the hilly table-land, bounded S. by the Vindhyan range, which drains north into the river Chambal; but it has been extended to include the Nerbudda valley farther south. Its derivation is from the ancient tribe of Malavas who founded the Vikrama Samvat, an era dating from 57 B.C., which is popularly associated with a mythical king Vikra maditya. The position of the Malwa or Moholo mentioned by Hsuan Tsang (7th century) is plausibly assigned to Gujarat. The first records of a local dynasty are those of the Paramaras, a famous Rajput clan, who ruled for about four centuries (800 1200), with their capital at Ujjain and afterwards at Dhar. The Mohammedans invaded Malwa in 1235; and in 1401 Dilawar Khan Ghori founded an independent kingdom, which lasted till 1531. In 1562 Malwa was annexed to the Mogul empire by Akbar. On the break-up of that empire, Malwa was one of the first provinces to be conquered by the Mahrattas, when it became a cockpit for fighting between the rival Mahratta powers, and the headquarters of the Pindaris or irregular plunderers. The i Pindaris were extirpated by the campaign of Lord Hastings in 1817, and the country was reduced to order by Sir John Malcolm. Malwa is traditionally the land of plenty, in which sufferers from famine could take refuge. But in 1899-190o it was visited by drought, followed by plague. A product used to be opium.
The Malwa agency, since Gwalior was removed from it, is left with an area of 2,704 so and a population (1931) of 439,138.
It comprises the states of Dewas (senior and junior branch), Jaora, Ratlam, Sitamau and Sailana, together with parts of Indore and Tonk, and about 35 petty estates and holdings. The head quarters of the political agent are at Nimach.
Malwa is also the name of a large tract in the Punjab, south of the river Sutlej, which is one of the two chief homes of the Sikhs, the other being known as Manjha. It includes the British
districts of Ferozpore and Ludhiana, together with the native states of Patiala, Jind, Nabha and Maler Kotla.
MAM. This Indian tribe, speaking a Maya dialect, occupies in part the departments of Huehuetenango, Quezaltenango, Toto nicapan and San Marcos in' Guatemala, and also some of the adjacent portion of Mexico. Long ago they extended farther south and east into the ancient kingdoms of the Cakchiquel and Quiche (q.v.), but they were defeated by the Quiche king, Kicab, in alliance with the Cakchiquel, and forced to withdraw to their present limits. Before the conquest the Mam were regarded by their neighbours of Maya stock as uncouth and provincial. The Cakchiquel "Annals" speak of them as barbarians who did not speak distinctly. Their very name means "the stutterers." From this and other evidence it is thought that they may represent an early wave of Maya migration into Guatemala, forced to retreat to their present mountainous habitat by later comers. In 1525, after a fierce resistance, the Mam were conquered by the Spaniards under Gonzalo de Alvarado. The campaign ended by the seige of the famous fortress of Zacaleu, which the Spaniards finally starved into submission. Traces of its circular walls en compassing a steep hill can be seen to-day. Among other impor tant ruins in this region Chalchitan should be mentioned. At present the Mam number somewhat more than ioo,000 individ uals, of whom less than 1 o.000 live in Mexico. Like the other Indians of the Guatemalan highlands they follow agriculture, and dress in coloured costumes of local manufacture.