At present the historical Malwa region includes districts of western Madhya Pradesh and parts of south-eastern Rajasthan.

Several prominent people in the history of India have lived in Malwa, including the poet and dramatist Kalidasa, the author Bhartrihari, the mathematicians and astronomers Varahamihira and Brahmagupta, and the polymath king Bhoja.

Ujjain had been the political, economic, and cultural capital of the region in ancient times, and Indore is now the largest city and commercial center.

Malwa became part of the Gupta Empire during the reign of Chandragupta II (375–413), also known as Vikramaditya, who conquered the region, driving out the Western Kshatrapas.

The Gupta period is widely regarded as a golden age in the history of Malwa, when Ujjain served as the empire's western capital.

King Bhoja, who ruled from about 1010 to 1060, was known as the great polymath philosopher-king of medieval India; his extensive writings cover philosophy, poetry, medicine, architecture, construction, town planning, veterinary science, phonetics, yoga, and archery.

Khan started the Malwa Sultanate and established a capital at Mandu, high in the Vindhya Range overlooking the Narmada River valley.

In 1531, Bahadur Shah of Gujarat, captured Mandu, executed Mahmud II (1511–31), and shortly after that, the Malwa sultanate collapsed.

At the end of the 18th century, Malwa became the venue of fighting between the rival Maratha powers and the headquarters of the Pindaris, who were irregular plunderers.

The volcanic, clay-like soil of the region owes its black colour to the high iron content of the basalt from which it formed.

Due to its altitude of about 550 to 600 meters above mean sea level, the region has comparatively cool evenings against the hot days during the summer season.

The shrubs or small trees include species of Grewia, Ziziphus mauritiana, Casearia, Prosopis, Capparis, Woodfordia, Phyllanthus, and Carissa.

Wildlife: Sambhar (Cervus unicolor), Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), and Chinkara (Gazella bennettii) are some common ungulates.

[21] During the last century, deforestation has happened at a fast rate, leading to environmental problems such as acute water scarcity and the danger that the region is being desertified.

This crop resulted in development of close connections between the economies of Malwa, the western Indian ports and China, bringing international capital to the region in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The brown soil in parts of the region is particularly suitable for the cultivation of such unalu (early summer) crops as wheat, gram (Cicer arietinum) and til (Sesamum indicum).

Overall, the main crops are jowar, rice, wheat, coarse millet, peanuts and pulses, soya bean, cotton, linseed, sesame and sugarcane.

Indore is recognised as the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh, and is the main centre for trade in textiles and agro-based products.

A typical snack of Malwa is the bhutta ri kees (made with grated corn roasted in ghee and later cooked in milk with spices).

Chakki ri shaak is made of wheat dough, which is washed under running water, steamed and then used in a gravy of curd.

Legends of Raja Bhoj and Bijori, the Kanjar girl, and the tale of Balabau are popular themes for folk songs.

Kalidasa also wrote the epic poems Raghuvamsha ("Dynasty of Raghu"), Ritusamhāra and Kumarasambhava ("Birth of the war god"), as well as the lyric Meghaduuta ("The cloud messenger").

Swang is a popular dance form in Malwa; its roots go back to the origins of the Indian theatre tradition in the first millennium BC.

[28] The biggest festival of Malwa is the Simhastha mela, held every 12 years, in which more than 40 million pilgrims take a holy dip in river Shipra.

Since the fourth century BC, Ujjain has enjoyed the reputation of being India's Greenwich,[32] as the Prime Meridian of the Hindu geographers.

Close to Mandu is Maheshwar, a town on the northern bank of Narmada River that served as the capital of the Indore state under Ahilyabai Holkar.

The Bada Ganpati temple houses what is possibly the largest Ganesh idol in the world, measuring 7.6 m from crown to foot.

During the month of Moharram, thousands of people from all over the world visit the shrine of Hazrat Imam Hussain there, which is a replica of the Iraqi original.

The region includes the Madhya Pradesh districts of Dewas, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Ratlam, Shajapur, Agar, Ujjain, Indore, Barwani, Burhanpur, Dhar, Jhabua, Khandwa, Khargone, Alirajpur and Rajgarh.

A survey in 2001 found only four dialects: Ujjaini (in the districts of Ujjain, Indore, Dewas and Sehore), Rajawari (Ratlam, Mandsaur and Neemuch), Umadwari (Rajgarh) and Sondhwari (Jhalawar, in Rajasthan).