Uttar Pradesh
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| Uttar Pradesh | |
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| Capital - Coordinates |
Lucknow - |
| Largest city | Kanpur |
| Population (2001) - Density |
166,052,859 (1st) - 721/km² |
| Area - Districts |
238,566 km² (5th) - 70† |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Establishment - Governor - Chief Minister - Legislature (seats) |
1950-02-02 - T.V. Rajeswar - Mulayam Singh Yadav - Bicameral (404 + 108) |
| Official language(s) | Hindi, Urdu |
| Abbreviation (ISO) | IN-UP |
| Website: www.upgov.nic.in | |
 Seal of Uttar Pradesh |
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| † The decision to possibly create an additional six districts is pending. | |
Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: उत्तर प्रदेश, Urdu: اتر پردیش, translation: Northern Province, IPA: [ʊt̪t̪ər prəd̪eːʃ], pronunciation ), often referred to as U.P., is the most populous and fifth largest state in the Republic of India. It is notable as the most populous sub-national division in the world. U.P. has the largest urban area and population; it is possibly the state with the largest number of million-plus cities (at least seven).
Uttar Pradesh covers a large part of the highly fertile and densely populated upper Gangetic plain. It shares an international border with Nepal and is bounded by the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar. The administrative and legislative capital of Uttar Pradesh is Lucknow; its high court is based at Allahabad. Other notable cities in Uttar Pradesh include Kanpur, Agra, Varanasi (Banaras), Meerut, Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Gorakhpur, Mathura and NOIDA.
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[edit] History
[edit] Ancient
Uttar Pradesh has an important place in the history of Hinduism, as well as the history of ancient India. Control over the region was vital to the power and stability of all of India's empires and kingdoms.Kanpur had been a financial capital of UP.
The known history of Uttar Pradesh goes back to 4000 years ago, when the Aryans first made it their home in 2000 BC. This heralded the Vedic age of the Indian civilisation and Uttar Pradesh was its home. The Aryans first inhabited the Doab region and the Ghagra plains and called it the Madhya Desha (midland) or Aryavarta (the Aryan land) or Bharatvarsha (the kingdom of Bharat, an important Aryan king). In the ages to come, Aryans moved to other parts of the Indian subcontinent, reaching as far as to Kerala and Sri Lanka in the south.
The ancient Hindu kingdom of Kosala in Ayodhya, where Lord Rama of the Ramayana reigned, was located here and Lord Krishna, revered as the eighth Avatara of Vishnu, was born in the city of Mathura. The Chaukhandi Stupa marks the spot where Lord Buddha met his first disciples. The Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath commemorates Buddha's first sermon.
The Mahabharat war and the aftermath took part in the area between Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. It was ruled under King Yudhishtira after the Mahabharat.
After that, this area was sometimes divided between petty kingdoms or formed important parts of larger empires from the east or the west, including the Mauryan, Gupta and Kushan empires.
The Kannauj Empire originated from the heart of the Ganga Yamuna Doab and covered areas from Afghanistan to Kashmir, Bengal and the Vindhyas. This empire was at its zenith during the reign of Harshavardhana.
Even today many communities in various parts of India --- from Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Bengal boast of being descendants of migrants from Kannauj --- reflecting its glory in the past.
[edit] Medieval
Causing the fall of the Rajput came the Muslims rulers and what we call UP today once again became the catalyst for things to come. Much of the state formed part of the various Muslim Sultanates who ruled from Delhi.
U.P. became the heart land of the Moghul empire who called the place 'Hindustan' which became the second name of U.P. (after Aryavarta/ Madhyadesh). Even today UP-ites call themselves 'Hindustani' rather than Uttar Pradeshi. Hindustan is another name for India.
Agra and Fatehpur Sikri were important as the capital city of Akbar, the great Mughal Emperor of India. The city of Lucknow was established by the Muslim nawabs of Oudh in the 18th century.
The Mughals ruled almost the entire Indian subcontinent (including Pakistan and Afghanistan from Delhi, Agra and Allahabad (at different times). Even when the Mughal Empire disintegrated, Hindustan remained their last territory --- which now was confined to the Doab region including Delhi.
Other areas of Hindustan (U.P.) were ruled by different rulers. Oudh was ruled by the Nawabs of Oudh, Rohilkhand by Afghans, Bundelkhand by the Marathas and Benaras by its own king, while Nepal controlled Kumaon-Garhwal.
Starting from the latter half of the 18th century, a series of battles finally gave British accession to the last Mughal territory -- the Doab, as also Bundelkhand, Kumaon and Banaras divisions. Delhi, Ajmer and Jaipur were also included in this territory. They called it the North western provinces (of Agra). Its capital shifted twice between Agra and Allahabad. The area may seem big compared to today's mini states the size of earlier divisions, but at the time it was one of the smallest British province.
After the failed freedom war of 1857, when things settled, the British made a major revamp and truncated the Delhi region and gave it to Punjab, and the Ajmer-Merwar region to Rajputana
[edit] Modern
At the same time it included Oudh into the state. The new state was called the North Western Provinces of Agra and Oudh, which in 1902 was renamed as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It was commonly referred to as the United Provinces or its acronym UP. In 1920, the capital of the province was shifted from Allahabad to Lucknow.
The high court continued to be at Allahabad, but a bench was established at Lucknow. Allahabad continues to be an administrative base of today's Uttar Pradesh and has several administrative headquarters.
Uttar Pradesh continued to be central to Indian culture and politics and was especially important in modern Indian history as a hotbed of both the Indian Independence Movement and the Pakistan Movement. The city of Allahabad was home to prominent nationalists such as Motilal Nehru, Purushottam Das Tandon, and Lal Bahadur Shastri. Allahabad was also home to a record five Prime Ministers of India: Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Vishwanath Pratap Singh and Rajiv Gandhi.
After independence, the state was renamed Uttar Pradesh ("northern province") by its first chief minister, Govind Ballabh Pant.
Pant, who was well known to Jawaharlal Nehru, was popular in the local party and left his mark in Lucknow before December 27, 1954, when Nehru called him to Delhi to make him Home Minister. He was succeeded by Dr. Sampoornanand, a university professor and classicist. A Sanskrit scholar, he was in office till 1957 before becoming governor of Rajasthan
Sucheta Kripalani was sworn in in October 1963, and became India's first woman chief minister, until a two-month long strike by state employees in March 1967 caused her to step down. The confusion and chaos ended only with the defection of Charan Singh from the Congress with a small set of legislators. He set up a party called the Jana Congress which formed the first non-Congress government in U.P. and ruled for over a year.
Fellow socialist Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna of the Bharatiya Lok Dal was Chief Minister for part of the 1970s, and was dismissed, along with several other non-Congress chief ministers, shortly after the imposition of the Emergency, when Narain Dutt Tewari - later chief minister of Uttarakhand - became chief minister. The Congress Party lost heavily in 1977 following the lifting of the Emergency, but roared back to power in 1980, when Mrs. Gandhi handpicked the man who would become her son's principal opposition, V.P. Singh, to become Chief Minister.
In 2000 the Himalyan portion of the state — the Garhwal and Kumaon divisions — were formed into a new state called Uttarakhand (meaning the northern part of the state).
[edit] Geography
Uttar Pradesh can be divided into two distinct hypsographical regions:
- The Gangetic Plain in the centre — highly fertile alluvial soils; flat topography broken by numerous ponds, lakes and rivers; slope 2 m/km
- The Vindhya Hills and plateau in the south — hard rock Strata; varied topography of hills, plains, valleys and plateau; limited water availability.
The climate is generally tropical monsoon, but variations exist due to difference in altitudes.
[edit] Constituent regions
The state comprises the Doab region (including the upper Doab and the lower doab with the Brij bhumi in its centre), which runs along its western border from north to south, the Rohilkhand in the north, Awadh (Oudh) (the historic country of Koshal) in the centre, the northern parts of Bagelkhand and Bundelkhand in the south, and the south-western part of the Bhojpur country, commonly called Purvanchal ("Eastern Province"), in the east.
[edit] Divisions and districts
Uttar Pradesh state consists of seventy districts, which are grouped into seventeen divisions: Agra, Azamgarh, Allahabad, Bijnor, Kanpur, Ghaziabad,Gorakhpur, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Devipatan, Faizabad, Bahraich, Bareilly, Basti, Mirzapur, Moradabad, Meerut, Lucknow, Varanasi,Sultanpur, Farrukhabad and Saharanpur.It has 403 constituencies. The largest district in terms of population is Allahabad followed by Kanpur Nagar (Census 2001).
[edit] Population
With over 175 million inhabitants, Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India and is also the most populous country subdivision in the world. Only five countries (the People's Republic of China, India itself, the United States, Indonesia and Brazil) have a higher population (see List of countries by population). According to Indian Census 2001, 81% of the population follows Hinduism while second largest religious group is Muslim at about 18%[1]. However, Muslims are no longer considered a minority in Uttar Pradesh, the result of a High Court ruling in April 2007[2].
[edit] Languages
The state language is standard Hindi and Urdu has the status of second official language. While standard Hindi (Khari boli) is the official language, several regional Hindi 'dialects' are spoken throughout the state. Among these are, Awadhi, Bagheli, Bhojpuri, Braj, Bundeli, Punjabi. Bhojpuri is the second most-spoken language in the state, according to the language data in the 1991 Census of India. Urdu is prominent in Uttar Pradesh as Lucknow was once the center of Persianate culture in north India. The language of Lucknow ("Lakhnavi Urdu") is a form of high literary Urdu.
[edit] Politics
The current chief minister of Uttar Pradesh is Mulayam Singh Yadav, the leader of the Samajwadi Party (Socialist Party). The former Prime Minister of India, Atal Behari Vajpayee, represents the constituency of Lucknow. Unfortunately, the state has been marred by a lot of caste and muscle power based politics, which has been hindering a sound economic and moral development of the state.
The major political parties in the state are: Samajwadi Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, and the Bahujan Samaj Party. No party has received a majority in the state's Assembly since 1991 because of all this, and the current administration (since 2003) has been held up by useless and baseless parties and independents.
The state has a large number of village councils known as Panchayats just like the other states of India. One of the most developed Panchayats is Shahabad in Maharajganj District of Uttar Pradesh.
[edit] Education
The State of U.P. has made investments over the years in all sectors of education and has achieved some success.
The female literacy situation in Uttar Pradesh is dismal. Only one out of four in the 7+ age group was able to read and write in 1991. This figure goes down to 19% for rural areas, 11% for the scheduled castes, 8% for scheduled castes in rural areas, and 8% for the entire rural population in the most educationally backward districts. Possibly Bihar is the only state in India which fares worse than U.P. in education.
In terms of more demanding educational attainment (the completion of primary or secondary education), in 1992-1993 only 50% of literate males and 40% of literate females could complete the cycle of eight years of schooling involved in the primary and middle stages. One other notable feature of the Uttar Pradesh education system is the persistence of high levels of illiteracy in the younger age group. Within that age group, illiteracy was endemic in the rural areas. In the late 1980s, the incidence of illiteracy in the 10-14 age group was as high as 32% for rural males and 61% for rural females, and more than two-thirds of all rural girls in the 12-14 age group never went to school.
The problems of education system are exacting. Due to public apathy the schools are in disarray. While privately run schools (including those run by Christian missionaries) are functional, they are beyond the reach of ordinary people. The State government has taken steps to make the population totally literate. There are special programmes like the World Bank aided DPEP. Steps are being taken with the help of NGOs and other organizations to raise participation.
As a result, some progress in adult education has been made and the census of 2001 indicates a male literacy rate of 70.23% and a female literacy rate of 42.98%.
At the level of higher education and technical education Uttar Pradesh has 16 general universities and several other institutions, among which are Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, Lucknow University, Allahabad University, Banaras Hindu University, Aligarh Muslim University, Darul uloom Deoband, Kanpur University, Agra University [2], M.J.P.Rohilkhand University (Bareilly),Ch Charan Singh University (Meerut), Uttar Pradesh Technical University (UPTU), Madan Mohan Malaviya Engineering College, the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur), Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Indian Institute of Information Technology (Allahabad), National Institute of Technology (Allahabad), H.B.T.I.,Kanpur, B.I.E.T. Jhansi, I.E.T. Lucknow, world famous Asian Academy Of Film & Television and a large number of polytechnics, engineering institutes and industrial training institutes.
[edit] Economy
[edit] Macro-economic trend
This is a chart of trend of gross state domestic product of Uttar Pradesh at market prices estimated by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.
| Year | Gross State Domestic Product |
|---|---|
| 1980 | 155,540 |
| 1985 | 277,480 |
| 1990 | 555,060 |
| 1995 | 1,062,490 |
| 2000 | 1,730,680 |
^ includes Uttarakhand
Uttar Pradesh's gross state domestic product for 2004 is $1.2 trillion in current prices. After partition, the new Uttar Pradesh state produces about 92% of the output of the old Uttar Pradesh state. Uttar Pradesh is the second largest econmy in India after Maharashtra. Under the ambitious policy of Mulayam Singh, Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh has emerged a robust industrial and agriculture centre. It is one of the eight states in India that have been chosen for FDI. In the fiscal year 2005-2006 it received an investment of Rs.124.67 billion.
[edit] Agriculture
Uttar Pradesh is a very fertile region and a major contributor to the national foodgrain stock. Partly this is due to the fertile regions of the Indo-Gangetic plain, and partly owing to irrigation measures such as the Ganga Canal. It is also home to 78% of national livestock population. This chart shows the national share of major food commodities from Uttar Pradesh.
| Commodity | National Share |
|---|---|
| Potato | 47% |
| Sugarcane | 45% |
| Wheat | 38% |
| Groundnut | 34% |
| Molasses | 34% |
| Sugar | 30% |
| Tobacco | 20% |
[edit] Industry
Over 3% of the S&P CNX 500 conglomerates have corporate offices in Uttar Pradesh.
- See also: List of conglomerates in Uttar Pradesh
[edit] Tourism
Uttar Pradesh attracts a large number of both national and international visitors. There are two regions in the state where a majority of the tourists go. These are the city of Agra and the holy cities: the cities of Varanasi, Ayodhya, Mathura, and Allahabad, by the sacred rivers — the Ganga and the Yamuna are all located in the state. The state hosts a Kumbha Mela every 12 years, where over 10 million Hindus congregate — the largest gathering of human beings in the world.
A vast number of tourists visit the Taj Mahal in Agra. Another important tourist attraction in Agra is the Agra Fort. Also famous is a 16th century capital city built by the Mughal emperor Akbar known as Fatehpur Sikri near Agra. Dayal Bagh is a temple built in modern times that many visit. It is still under construction, and would take an estimated one century for completion. The life-like carving in marble is not seen anywhere else in India.
Millions of tourists and pilgrims visit the cities of Allahabad, Varanasi and Ayodhya, as those are considered to be the holiest cities in India. Every year thousands gather at Allahabad to take part in the festival on the banks of the Ganges, the Magh Mela. The same festival is organised in a larger scale every 12th year and attracts millions of people and is called the Kumbha Mela.
Varanasi is widely considered to be the second oldest city in the world after Jerusalem. It is famous for its ghats (steps along the river) which are populated year round with people who want to take a dip in the holy Ganges River.
About 13 km from Varanasi is the historically important town of Sarnath. Gautama Buddha gave his first sermon at Sarnath after his enlightenment and hence is an important pilgrimage site for the Buddhists. Also at Sarnath are the Ashoka Pillar and the Lion Capital, both important archaeological artifacts with national significance.
Some areas require a special permit for non-indians to visit.
[edit] Arts and crafts
Uttar Pradesh is famous for its arts and crafts. Specific regions such as Varanasi for its saris and silk, Mirzapur and Bhadohi for its carpets, Agra and Kanpur for their leather craft, Moradabad for its metal ware, Lucknow for its cloth work and embroidery, and the entire state for its pottery are not only famous in India but around the world.
[edit] See also
- Bhagwan Swaminarayan
- Hinduism
- History of India
- Ramayana
- Mahabharata
- Mughal Empire
- Indian Independence Movement
[edit] References
[edit] Major Cities
Agra • Allahabad • Ghaziabad • Kanpur • Lucknow • Meerut • Varanasi
[edit] Other towns
Aligarh • Bahraich • Ballia • Banda • Bareilly • Bijnor • Bulandshahr • Etawah • Faizabad • Firozabad • Ghazipur • Gonda • Gorakhpur • Jhansi • Kannauj • Mathura • Mirzapur • Moradabad • Muzaffarnagar • Noida • Raebareli • Rampur • Saharanpur.Dehli
[edit] External links
- ^ [1]
- ^ Muslims in UP not minority: HC Press Trust of India - April 5, 2007
- Official Website of the Government of Uttar Pradesh
- Uttar Pradesh at the Open Directory Project (suggest site)
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