Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 after India had become a republic. It was a successor to the United Provinces (UP) during the period of the Dominion of India (1947–1950), which in turn was a successor to the United Provinces (UP) established in 1935, and eventually of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh established in 1902 during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

. The state is divided into 18 divisions and 75 districts, with the

state capital Below is an index of pages containing lists of capital cities. National capitals *List of national capitals * List of national capitals by latitude *List of national capitals by population * List of national capitals by area * List of capital c ...

being Lucknow, and Prayagraj serving as the judicial capital. On 9 November 2000, a new state, Uttaranchal (now Uttarakhand), was created from Uttar Pradesh's western Himalayan hill region. The two major rivers of the state, the Ganges and its tributary Yamuna, meet at the

Triveni Sangam In Hindu tradition, Triveni Sangam is the confluence (Sanskrit: ''sangama'') of three rivers that is also a sacred place, with a bath here said to flush away all of one's sins and free one from the cycle of rebirth. Triveni Sangam in Allaha ...

in Prayagraj, a Hindu pilgrimage site. Other notable rivers are

Gomti The Gomti, Gumti or Gomati River is a tributary of the Ganges. According to beliefs, the river is the son of Rishi Vashishtha and bathing in the Gomti on Ekadashi (the 11th day of the two lunar phases of the Hindu calendar month) can wash a ...

and

Saryu The Sarayu is a river that originates at a ridge south of Nanda Kot mountain in Bageshwar district in Uttarakhand, India. It flows through Kapkot, Bageshwar, and Seraghat towns before discharging into the Sharda River at Pancheshwar at the I ...

. The forest cover in the state is 6.1 per cent of the state's geographical area. The cultivable area is 82 per cent of total geographical area and net area sown is 68.5 per cent of cultivable area. The state is bordered by Rajasthan to the west,

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

to the northwest, Uttarakhand and an international border with

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

to the north, Bihar to the east, Madhya Pradesh to the south, and touches the states of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to the southeast. It covers , equal to 7.3% of the total area of India, and is the fourth-largest Indian state by area. Though long known for sugar production, the state's economy is now dominated by the services industry. The service sector comprises travel and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

hotel industry A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

, real estate, insurance and financial consultancies. The

economy of Uttar Pradesh The economy of Uttar Pradesh is the third largest of all the states in India. The Nominal GDP of this state is Rs.20.48 trillion for the year 2022-23. in 2022-23. Uttar Pradesh has an urban population of 44,495,063. According to the 2011 c ...

is the third-largest state economy in India with in

gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is oft ...

and a per capita GSDP of . President's rule has been imposed in Uttar Pradesh ten times since 1968, for different reasons and for a total of 1,700 days. The state has currently three international airports,

Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport is an international airport serving Lucknow, the capital of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located in the Amausi area of the city 14 km far from the city centre, and was earlier also ...

(Lucknow), Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport (Varanasi) and Kushinagar International Airport (Kushinagar).

Allahabad Junction Prayagraj Junction (station code: PRYJ), is a railway station on the Howrah–Delhi main line, Prayagraj–Mau–Gorakhpur main line and Howrah–Prayagraj–Mumbai line. It is the headquarters of the North Central Railway zone. It is locat ...

is the headquarters of the North Central Railway and Gorakhpur Railway Station serves as the headquarters of the North Eastern Railway. The High Court of the state is located in Allahabad. The state contributes 80 seats and 31 seats to the lower house Lok Sabha and the upper house

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

, respectively. Inhabitants of the state are called either Awadhi, Bagheli, Bhojpuri, Braji, Bundeli, Kannauji, or Rohilkhandi depending upon their region of origin.

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

is practised by more than three-fourths of the population, with Islam being the next largest religious group. Hindi is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state, along with

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Bhojpuri is the second most widely spoken language of the state after Hindi. Uttar Pradesh was home to most of the mainstream political entities that have existed in ancient and medieval India including the Maurya Empire, Harsha Empire, Gupta Empire,

Pala Empire The Pāla Empire (r. 750-1161 CE) was an imperial power during the post-classical period in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. It is named after its ruling dynasty, whose rulers bore names ending with the suffi ...

, Delhi Sultanate, Mughal Empire as well as many other empires. At the time of Indian independence movement in the early 20th century, there were three major

princely states A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...

in Uttar Pradesh – Ramgadi, Rampur and

Benares Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tra ...

. The state houses several holy Hindu temples and pilgrimage centres. Uttar Pradesh has three

World Heritage sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

and ranks first among tourist destinations in India. Uttar Pradesh has several historical, natural, and religious tourist destinations, including Agra,

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district, and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the cap ...

, Ayodhya,

Kushinagar Kushinagar ( Hindustani: or ; Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is a town in the Kushinagar district in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is an important and popular Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha attained ''parinirvana''. Etym ...

, Mathura, Prayagraj, Varanasi and Vrindavan.

History

Prehistory

Modern human Early modern human (EMH) or anatomically modern human (AMH) are terms used to distinguish ''Homo sapiens'' (the only extant Hominina species) that are anatomically consistent with the range of phenotypes seen in contemporary humans from extin ...

hunter-gatherers have been in Uttar Pradesh since between around 85,000 and 72,000 years ago. There have also been prehistorical finds in Uttar Pradesh from the Middle and Upper Paleolithic dated to 21,000–31,000 years old and Mesolithic/

Microlithic A microlith is a small Rock (geology), stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide. They were made by humans from around 35,000 to 3,000 years ago, across Europe, Africa, Asia an ...

hunter-gatherer settlement, near Pratapgarh, from around 10550–9550 BCE. Villages with domesticated cattle, sheep, and goats and evidence of agriculture began as early as 6000 BCE, and gradually developed between c. 4000 and 1500 BCE beginning with the Indus Valley civilisation and Harappa culture to the Vedic period and extending into the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

Ancient and classical period

Out of the sixteen '' mahajanapadas'' (lit. 'great realms') or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India, seven fell entirely within the present-day boundaries of Uttar Pradesh. The kingdom of Kosala, in the

Mahajanapada The Mahājanapadas ( sa, great realm, from ''maha'', "great", and ''janapada'' "foothold of a people") were sixteen kingdoms or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE during the second urba ...

era, was also located within the regional boundaries of modern-day Uttar Pradesh. According to Hinduism, the divine King

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

of the

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

epic reigned in Ayodhya, the capital of Kosala. Krishna, another divine king of Hindu legend, who plays a key role in the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

epic and is revered as the eighth reincarnation ( Avatar) of the Hindu god

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

, is said to have been born in the city of Mathura, in Uttar Pradesh. The aftermath of the

Mahabharata yuddh The Kurukshetra War ( sa, कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध ), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the ''Mahabharata ( sa, महाभारत )''. The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle be ...

is believed to have taken place in the area between the Upper Doab and

, (in what was Kuru Mahajanapada), during the reign of the Pandava King Yudhishthira. The kingdom of the Kurus corresponds to the

Black and Red Ware Black and red ware (BRW) is a South Asian earthenware, associated with the neolithic phase, Harappa, Bronze Age India, Iron Age India, the megalithic and the early historical period. Although it is sometimes called an archaeological culture, the ...

and Painted Gray Ware culture and the beginning of the Iron Age in northwest India, around 1000 BCE. Control over Gangetic plains region was of vital importance to the power and stability of all of India's major empires, including the

Maurya The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

(320–200 BCE), Kushan (100–250 CE), Gupta (350–600), and Gurjara-Pratihara (650–1036) empires. Following the Huns' invasions that broke the Gupta empire, the

Ganges-Yamuna Doab ''Doab'' () is a term used in South Asia Quote: "Originally and chiefly in South Asia: (the name of) a strip or narrow tract of land between two rivers; spec. (with) the area between the rivers Ganges and Jumna in northern India." for the tract ...

saw the rise of

Kannauj Kannauj ( Hindustani pronunciation: ənːɔːd͡ʒ is a city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is a corrupted form of the class ...

. During the reign of

Harshavardhana Harshavardhana (IAST Harṣa-vardhana; c. 590–647 CE) was a Pushyabhuti emperor who ruled northern India from 606 to 647 CE. He was the son of Prabhakaravardhana who had defeated the Alchon Huna invaders, and the younger brother of Rajya ...

(590–647), the Kannauj empire reached its zenith. It spanned from Punjab in the north and

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

in the west to Bengal in the east and

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

in the south. It included parts of central India, north of the Narmada River and it encompassed the entire Indo-Gangetic plain. Many communities in various parts of India claim descent from the migrants of Kannauj. Soon after Harshavardhana's death, his empire disintegrated into many kingdoms, which were invaded and ruled by the Gurjara-Pratihara empire, which challenged Bengal's

for control of the region. Kannauj was several times invaded by the south Indian Rashtrakuta Dynasty, from the 8th century to the 10th century. After the fall of the Pala empire, the Chero dynasty ruled from the 12th century to the 18th century.

Delhi Sultanate

Parts or all of Uttar Pradesh was ruled by the Delhi Sultanate for 320 years (1206–1526). Five dynasties ruled over the Delhi Sultanate sequentially: the Mamluk dynasty (1206–90), the Khalji dynasty (1290–1320), the

Tughlaq The Tughlaq dynasty ( fa, ), also referred to as Tughluq or Tughluk dynasty, was a Muslim dynasty of Indo- Turkic origin which ruled over the Delhi sultanate in medieval India. Its reign started in 1320 in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the ...

dynasty (1320–1414), the

Sayyid dynasty The Sayyid dynasty was the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, with four rulers ruling from 1414 to 1451. Founded by Khizr Khan, a former governor of Multan, they succeeded the Tughlaq dynasty and ruled the sultanate as a vassal of the Ti ...

(1414–51), and the

Lodi dynasty The Lodi dynasty ( ps, لودي سلسله; fa, سلسله لودی) was an Afghan dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1451 to 1526. It was the fifth and final dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and was founded by Bahlul Khan Lodi when he ...

(1451–1526).

Medieval and early modern period

In the 16th century, Babur, a Timurid descendant of

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kü ...

and Genghis Khan from

Fergana Valley The Fergana Valley (; ; ) in Central Asia lies mainly in eastern Uzbekistan, but also extends into southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan. Divided into three republics of the former Soviet Union, the valley is ethnically diverse and in the ...

(modern-day

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

), swept across the Khyber Pass and founded the Mughal Empire, covering

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, along with modern-day

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, Pakistan and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. The Mughals were descended from Persianised Central Asian

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

(with significant Mongol admixture). In the Mughal era, Uttar Pradesh became the heartland of the empire. Mughal emperors Babur and Humayun ruled from Delhi. In 1540 an Afghan, Sher Shah Suri, took over the reins of Uttar Pradesh after defeating the Mughal King Humanyun. Sher Shah and his son Islam Shah ruled Uttar Pradesh from their capital at Gwalior. After the death of

Islam Shah Suri Islam Shah Suri (reigned: 1545–1554) was the second ruler of the Suri dynasty which ruled the part of India in the mid-16th century. His original name was Jalal Khan and he was the second son of Sher Shah Suri. History On his father's de ...

, his prime minister Hemu became the ''de facto'' ruler of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and the western parts of Bengal. He was bestowed the title of '' Hemchandra Vikramaditya'' (title of

Vikramāditya Vikramaditya (IAST: ') was a legendary king who has been featured in hundreds of traditional stories including those in ''Baital Pachisi'' and '' Singhasan Battisi''. Many describe him as ruler with his capital at Ujjain (Pataliputra or Prati ...

adopted from Vedic Period) at his formal coronation took place at

Purana Quila Purana Qila () is one of the oldest forts in Delhi, India. Built by the second Mughal Emperor Humayun and Surid Sultan Sher Shah Suri, it is thought by many to be located on the site of the ancient city of Indraprastha. The fort formed the in ...

in Delhi on 7 October 1556. A month later, Hemu died in the Second Battle of Panipat, and Uttar Pradesh came under Emperor Akbar's rule. Akbar ruled from Agra and Fatehpur Sikri. In the 18th century, after the fall of Mughal authority, the power vacuum was filled by the Maratha Empire, in the mid-18th century, the Maratha army invaded the Uttar Pradesh region, which resulted in Rohillas losing control of Rohilkhand to the Maratha forces led by Raghunath Rao and Malharao Holkar. The conflict between Rohillas and Marathas came to an end on 18 December 1788 with the arrest of

Ghulam Qadir Ghulam Kadir, fully Ghulam Abd al Qadir Ahmed Khan ( ur, غلام عبد القادر احمد خان, unknown – 3March 1789), was a leader of the Afghan Rohilla during the late 18th century in the time of the Mughal Empire. He is particularly ...

, the grandson of Najeeb-ud-Daula, who was defeated by the Maratha general Mahadaji Scindia. In 1803–04, following the

Second Anglo-Maratha War } The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) was the second conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. Background The British had supported the "fugitive" Peshwa Raghunathrao in the First Anglo-Maratha War ...

, when the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

defeated the Maratha Empire, much of the region came under British suzerainty.

British India era

Starting from Bengal in the second half of the 18th century, a series of battles for north Indian lands finally gave the

accession over the state's territories. Ajmer and Jaipur kingdoms were also included in this northern territory, which was named the " North-Western Provinces" (of Agra). Although UP later became the fifth-largest state of India, NWPA was one of the smallest states of the British Indian empire. Its capital shifted twice between Agra and Allahabad. Due to dissatisfaction with British rule, a serious rebellion erupted in various parts of North India, which became known as the Indian Rebellion of 1857; Bengal regiment's sepoy stationed at

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

cantonment, Mangal Pandey, is widely considered as its starting point. After the revolt failed, the British divided the most rebellious regions by reorganising their administrative boundaries, splitting the Delhi region from 'NWFP of Agra' and merging it with Punjab, while the Ajmer– Marwar region was merged with Rajputana and Oudh was incorporated 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 Prayagraj, but a bench was established at Lucknow. Prayagraj continues to be an important administrative base of today's Uttar Pradesh and has several administrative headquarters. Uttar Pradesh continued to be central to Indian politics and was especially important in modern Indian history as a hotbed of the Indian independence movement. Uttar Pradesh hosted modern educational institutions such as the Aligarh Muslim University,

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...

and Darul Uloom Deoband. Nationally known figures such as

Ram Prasad Bismil Ram Prasad Bismil ( Hindi: राम प्रसाद "बिस्मिल") (11 June 1897 — 19 December 1927) was an Indian poet, writer, revolutionary and an Indian freedom fighter who participated in the Mainpuri Conspiracy of 1918, a ...

and

Chandra Shekhar Azad Chandra Shekhar Tiwari ( (23 July 1906 – 27 February 1931), popularly known as Chandra Shekhar Azad, was an Indian revolutionary who reorganised the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) under its new name of Hindustan Socialist Republican ...

were among the leaders of the movement in Uttar Pradesh, and

Motilal Nehru Motilal Nehru (6 May 1861 – 6 February 1931) was an Indian lawyer, activist and politician belonging to the Indian National Congress. He also served as the Congress President twice, 1919–1920 and 1928–1929. He was a patriarch of the Neh ...

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

Madan Mohan Malaviya Madan Mohan Malaviya ( (25 December 1861 — 12 November 1946) was an Indian scholar, educational reformer and politician notable for his role in the Indian independence movement. He was president of the Indian National Congress four times and ...

and Gobind Ballabh Pant were important national leaders of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

. The

All India Kisan Sabha All India Kisan Sabha ( AIKS; lit. ''All India Farmers Union'', also known as the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha), is the peasant or farmers' wing of the Communist Party of India, an important peasant movement formed by Sahajanand Saraswati in 1 ...

(AIKS) was formed at the Lucknow session of the Congress on 11 April 1936, with the famous nationalist Swami Sahajanand Saraswati elected as its first President, in order to address the longstanding grievances of the peasantry and mobilise them against the

zamindari A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as ...

landlords attacks on their occupancy rights, thus sparking the Farmers movements in India. During the Quit India Movement of 1942,

Ballia Ballia is a city with a municipal board in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The eastern boundary of the city lies at the junction of two major rivers, the Ganges and the Ghaghara.The city is situated east of Varanasi and about 380 ...

district overthrew the colonial authority and installed an independent administration under

Chittu Pandey Chittu Pandey (10 May 1895 – 6 December 1946), popularly referred to as the ''Sher-e Ballia'' (Lion of Ballia), was an Indian independence activist and revolutionary. Pandey was born in Rattuchak, a village in Ballia District of Uttar Pradesh i ...

. Ballia became known as "Baghi Ballia" (Rebel Ballia) for this significant role in India's independence movement.

Post-independence

After India's independence, the United Provinces were renamed "Uttar Pradesh" ("northern province"), preserving UP as the acronym, with the change coming into effect on 24 January 1950. The state has provided nine of India's prime ministers, including current Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is MP from Varanasi, which is more than any other state and is the source of the largest number of seats in the Lok Sabha. Despite its political influence since ancient times, its poor record in economic development and administration, poor governance, organised crime and corruption have kept it among India's backward states. The state has been affected by repeated episodes of caste and communal violence. In Ayodhya in December 1992 the disputed

Babri Mosque Babri Masjid (IAST: Bābarī Masjid; meaning ''Mosque of Babur'') was a mosque in Ayodhya, India, at a site believed by many Hindus to be the birthplace of Hindu deity Rama. It has been a focus of dispute between the Hindu and Muslim communi ...

was demolished by radical Hindu activists, leading to widespread violence across India. In 2000, northern districts of the state were separated to form the state of Uttarakhand.

Geography

Uttar Pradesh, with a total area of , is India's fourth-largest state in terms of land area and is roughly of same size as United Kingdom. It is situated on the northern spout of India and shares an international boundary with Nepal. The Himalayas border the state on the north, but the plains that cover most of the state are distinctly different from those high mountains. The larger

Gangetic Plain The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, around half of Pakistan, virtually all of Bangla ...

region is in the north; it includes the

, the Ghaghra plains, the Ganges plains and the

Terai , image =Terai nepal.jpg , image_size = , image_alt = , caption =Aerial view of Terai plains near Biratnagar, Nepal , map = , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption = , biogeographic_realm = Indomalayan realm , global200 = Terai-Duar savanna a ...

. The smaller Vindhya Range and plateau region are in the south. It is characterised by hard rock strata and a varied topography of hills, plains, valleys and plateaus. The Bhabhar tract gives place to the terai area which is covered with tall

elephant grass The term Elephant grass may refer to the following grass species: * The Asian '' Miscanthus giganteus'', also known as giant miscanthus, commonly used as a biomass crop * The African '' Cenchrus purpureus'', also known as Napier grass, Uganda grass ...

and thick forests interspersed with

marshes A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

and

swamps A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

. The sluggish rivers of the bhabhar deepen in this area, their course running through a tangled mass of thick undergrowth. The terai runs parallel to the bhabhar in a thin strip. The entire alluvial plain is divided into three sub-regions. The first in the

eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

tract consisting of 14 districts which are subject to periodical floods and

droughts A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

and have been classified as scarcity areas. These districts have the highest density of population which gives the lowest per capita land. The other two regions, the

central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and the

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, are comparatively better with a well-developed irrigation system. They suffer from waterlogging and large-scale user tracts. In addition, the area is fairly arid. The state has more than 32 large and small rivers; of them, the Ganga, Yamuna,

Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a g ...

Sarayu The Sarayu is a river that originates at a ridge south of Nanda Kot mountain in Bageshwar district in Uttarakhand, India. It flows through Kapkot, Bageshwar, and Seraghat towns before discharging into the Sharda River at Pancheshwar at the I ...

Betwa The Betwa (Hindi: बेतवा, Sanskrit: वेत्रवती) is a river in Central and Northern India, and a tributary of the Yamuna. It rises in the Vindhya Range (Raisen) just north of Narmadapuram in Madhya Pradesh and flows northe ...

, and

Ghaghara Ghaghara, also called Karnali, is a perennial trans-boundary river originating on the Tibetan Plateau near Lake Manasarovar. The Karnali cuts through the Himalayas in Nepal and joins the Sharda River at Brahmaghat in India. Together they form th ...

are larger and of religious importance in

. Cultivation is intensive in the state. Uttar Pradesh falls under three agro-climatic zones viz. Middle Gangetic Plains region (Zone–IV), Upper Gangetic Plains region (Zone–V) and Central Plateau and Hills region (Zone–VIII). The

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

areas have fertile and rich soil. There is intensive cultivation on terraced hill slopes, but irrigation facilities are deficient. The

Siwalik Range The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indian ...

which forms the southern foothills of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

, slopes down into a boulder bed called 'bhabhar'. The transitional belt running along the entire length of the state is called the terai and bhabhar area. It has rich forests, cutting across it are innumerable streams which swell into raging torrents during the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

Climate

Uttar Pradesh has a humid subtropical climate and experiences four seasons. The winter in January and February is followed by summer between March and May and the monsoon season between June and September. Summers are extreme with temperatures fluctuating anywhere between 0 °C and 50 °C in parts of the state coupled with dry hot winds called the '' Loo''. The Gangetic plain varies from semiarid to sub-humid. The mean annual rainfall ranges from 650 mm in the southwest corner of the state to 1000 mm in the eastern and south eastern parts of the state. Primarily a summer phenomenon, the Bay of Bengal branch of the

Indian monsoon The Monsoon of South Asia is among several geographically distributed global monsoons. It affects the Indian subcontinent, where it is one of the oldest and most anticipated weather phenomena and an economically important pattern every year fro ...

is the major bearer of rain in most parts of state. After summer it is the southwest monsoon which brings most of the rain here, while in winters rain due to the '' western disturbances'' and north-east monsoon also contribute small quantities towards the overall precipitation of the state.

The rain in Uttar Pradesh can vary from an annual average of 170 cm in hilly areas to 84 cm in Western Uttar Pradesh. Given the concentration of most of this rainfall in the four months of the monsoon, excess rain can lead to floods and shortage to droughts. As such, these two phenomena, floods and droughts, commonly recur in the state. The climate of the Vindhya Range and

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

is subtropical with a mean annual rainfall between 1000 and 1200 mm, most of which comes during the monsoon. Typical summer months are from March to June, with maximum temperatures ranging from . There is a low relative humidity of around 20% and dust-laden winds blow throughout the season. In summer, hot winds called '' loo'' blow all across Uttar Pradesh.

Flora and fauna

The state has an abundance of natural resources. In 2011 the recorded forest area in the state was which is about 6.9% of the state's geographical area. In spite of rapid deforestation and poaching of wildlife, a diverse flora and fauna continue to exist in the state. Species in the state with respect to India, Uttar Pradesh is a

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

for 4.2% of all

Algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

, 6.4% of

Fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

, 6.0% of

Lichens A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Bryophytes, 3.3% of

Pteridophytes A pteridophyte is a vascular plant (with xylem and phloem) that disperses spores. Because pteridophytes produce neither flowers nor seeds, they are sometimes referred to as "cryptogams", meaning that their means of reproduction is hidden. Ferns, ...

, 8.7% of

Gymnosperms The gymnosperms ( lit. revealed seeds) are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, ''Ginkgo'', and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term ''gymnosperm'' comes from the composite word in el, γυμνό� ...

, 8.1% of

Angiosperms Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

. Several species of trees, large and small

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...

, reptiles, and insects are found in the belt of

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

upper mountainous forests. Medicinal plants are found in the wild and are also grown in

plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

. The Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands support cattle. Moist

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

trees grow in the upper Gangetic plain, especially along its riverbanks. This plain supports a wide variety of plants and animals. The Ganges and its tributaries are the

of large and small reptiles, amphibians, fresh-water fish, and crabs.

Scrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, Herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or ...

trees such as the

Babool ''Vachellia nilotica'', more commonly known as ''Acacia nilotica'', and by the vernacular names of gum arabic tree, babul, thorn mimosa, Egyptian acacia or thorny acacia, is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Africa, the Mi ...

(''Vachellia nilotica'') and animals such as the

Chinkara The chinkara (''Gazella bennettii''), also known as the Indian gazelle, is a gazelle species native to Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Taxonomy The following six subspecies are considered valid: * Deccan chinkara (''G. b. bennettii'') ...

(''Gazella bennettii'') are found in the arid Vindhyas. Notable indigenous trees are the

astringent An astringent (sometimes called adstringent) is a chemical that shrinks or constricts body tissues. The word derives from the Latin ''adstringere'', which means "to bind fast". Calamine lotion, witch hazel, and yerba mansa, a Californian pla ...

Azadirachta indica ''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus ''Azadirachta'', and is native to the Indian subcontinent and most of the countries in Afr ...

'', or ''neem'', which is widely used in rural Indian herbal medicine and the luxuriant '' Ficus religiosa'', or ''peepul'', consider the tree to be sacred by Hindu and Jain ascetics as this is the tree under which

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

is believed to have attained enlightenment. Tropical dry deciduous forests are found in all parts of the plains. Since much sunlight reaches the ground, shrubs and grasses are also abundant. Large tracts of these forests have been cleared for cultivation. Tropical thorny forests, consisting of widely scattered thorny trees, mainly

babool ''Vachellia nilotica'', more commonly known as ''Acacia nilotica'', and by the vernacular names of gum arabic tree, babul, thorn mimosa, Egyptian acacia or thorny acacia, is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Africa, the Mi ...

are mostly found in the southwestern parts of the state. These forests are confined to areas which have low annual rainfall (50–70 cm), a mean annual temperature of 25–27 °C and low humidity. Uttar Pradesh is known for its extensive

avifauna Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight s ...

. The most common birds which are found in the state are

doves Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

peafowl Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are ref ...

junglefowl Junglefowl are the only four living species of bird from the genus ''Gallus'' in the bird order Galliformes, and occur in parts of South and Southeast Asia. They diverged from their common ancestor about 4–6 million years ago. Although origin ...

black partridge The black partridge (''Melanoperdix niger''), also known as the black wood partridge, is a small (up to 27 cm long) partridge with a thick bill, grey legs and dark brown iris. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Melanoperdix''. ...

s, house sparrows,

songbirds A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5 ...

blue jay The blue jay (''Cyanocitta cristata'') is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to eastern North America. It lives in most of the eastern and central United States; some eastern populations may be migratory. Resident populations are a ...

parakeet A parakeet is any one of many small to medium-sized species of parrot, in multiple genera, that generally has long tail feathers. Etymology and naming The name ''parakeet'' is derived from the French wor''perroquet'' which is reflected in ...

quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New ...

s, bulbuls, comb ducks,

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. ...

snipe A snipe is any of about 26 wading bird species in three genera in the family Scolopacidae. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill, eyes placed high on the head, and cryptic/ camouflaging plumage. The ''Gallinago'' snipes have a ...

s, and parrots. Bird sanctuaries in the state include

Bakhira Sanctuary The Bakhira Bird Sanctuary is the largest natural flood plain wetland of India in Sant Kabir Nagar district of Eastern Uttar Pradesh. The sanctuary was established in 1980. It is situated 44 km west of Gorakhpur city 18 km away from kha ...

, National Chambal Sanctuary,

Chandra Prabha Sanctuary The Chandra Prabha Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Chandraprabha, is situated in Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh state in central India. It is well endowed with beautiful picnic spots, dense forests, and scenic waterfalls like Rajdari, Dev ...

Hastinapur Sanctuary Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in the Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh, India. It was established in 1986 and covers across Meerut, Muzzafarnagar, Ghaziabad, Bijnor, Meerut and Amroha districts. This area has not enjoyed prote ...

Kaimoor Sanctuary Kaimoor Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Sonbhadra and Mirzapur districts of southeastern Uttar Pradesh. The sanctuary reaches generally east and west along the Kaimur Range, extending to the Son River at its eastern end, and to the border of M ...

, and

Okhla Sanctuary Okhla Bird Sanctuary is a bird sanctuary at the Okhla barrage over Yamuna River. It is situated in Noida, Gautam Buddh Nagar district, on Delhi-Uttar Pradesh state border and known as a haven for over 300 bird species, especially waterbirds. In ...

. Other animals in the state include reptiles such as lizards, cobras,

kraits ''Bungarus'' is a genus of venomous elapid snakes, the kraits ("krait" is pronounced , rhyming with "kite"), found in South and Southeast Asia. The genus ''Bungarus'' has 16 species. Distribution Kraits are found in tropical Asia, from near Ir ...

, and gharials. Among the wide variety of fishes, the most common ones are mahaseer and

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

. Some animal species in Uttar Pradesh have gone extinct in recent years, while others, like the lion from the Gangetic Plain, the

rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...

from the

region,

Ganges river dolphin The Ganges river dolphin (''Platanista gangetica'') is a species of toothed whale classified in the family Platanistidae. It lives in the Ganges and related rivers of South Asia, namely in the countries of India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It is rel ...

primarily found in the Ganges have become

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

. Many species are vulnerable to poaching despite regulation by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

. File:Anandabodhi.jpg, Anandabodhi tree in Jetavana Monastery, Sravasti File:Tropaeolum majus.jpg, A hybrid nasturtium (''

Tropaeolum majus ''Tropaeolum majus'', the garden nasturtium, nasturtium, Indian cress or monks cress, is a species of flowering plant in the family Tropaeolaceae, originating in the Andes from Bolivia north to Colombia. An easily-grown annual or short-lived per ...

'') showing nectar spur, found mainly in

Hardoi district Hardoi district is a district situated in the center of Uttar Pradesh, India. The district headquarters is in the city of Hardoi. Hardoi is the third largest district of Uttar Pradesh. It falls under Lucknow division in the history region of A ...

File:Ganges calling.jpg, View of the

region File:Gavialis gangeticus, ZOO Praha 045.jpg, The threatened Gharial (''Gavialis gangeticus'') is a large fish-eating crocodilian found in the

Ganges River The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

Divisions, districts and cities

Uttar Pradesh is divided into 75 districts under these 18 divisions: The following is a list of top districts from state of Uttar Pradesh by population, ranked in respect of all India. Each district is governed by a District Magistrate, who is an

Indian Administrative Service The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...

officer appointed

Government of Uttar Pradesh The Government of Uttar Pradesh (ISO: Uttar Pradesh Sarkār; often abbreviated as GoUP) is the subnational government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh with the governor as its appointed constitutional head of the state by the President of I ...

and reports to Divisional Commissioner of the division in which his district falls. The Divisional Commissioner is an IAS officer of high seniority. Each district is divided into subdivisions, governed by a Sub-Divisional Magistrate, and again into Blocks. Blocks consists of

panchayats The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical menti ...

(village councils) and town

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. These blocks consists of urban units viz.

census towns In India and some other countries, a census town is designated as a town that satisfies certain characteristics. India In India, a census town is one which is not statutorily notified and administered as a town, but nevertheless whose population ...

and rural units called

gram panchayat Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...

. Uttar Pradesh has more metropolitan cities than any other state in India. The absolute urban population of the state is 44.4 million, which constitutes 11.8% of the total urban population of India, the second-highest of any state. According to the 2011 census, there are 15 urban agglomerations with a population greater than 500,000. There are 14

Municipal Corporations A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally owne ...

, while

Noida Noida, short for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, is a planned city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Noida is a satellite city of Delhi and is a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) o ...

and

Greater Noida Greater Noida is a planned city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city was created as an extension to Noida area under the ''UP Industrial Area Development Act, 1976''. Situated south-east of t ...

Gautam Budh Nagar district Gautam Buddha Nagar district is a district of Uttar Pradesh, named after Gautama Buddha. It is a part of Delhi NCR and is divided into 4 sub-divisions i.e. Noida, Greater Noida, Dadri and Jewar. Greater Noida is the administrative headquarters ...

are specially administered by statutory authorities under the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Development Act, 1976. In 2011, state's cabinet ministers headed by the then Chief Minister

Mayawati Kumari Mayawati (born 15 January 1956) is an Indian politician. She has served four separate terms as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. She is the national president of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which focuses on a platform of social cha ...

announced the separation of Uttar Pradesh into four different states of Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Avadh Pradesh and Paschim Pradesh with twenty-eight, seven, twenty-three and seventeen districts, respectively, later the proposal was turned down when

Akhilesh Yadav Akhilesh is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Akhilesh Das (1961–2017), educationist, professor, Indian politician and philanthropist * Akhilesh K. Gaharwar (born 1982), Indian academic and Professor at Texas A&M University * ...

lead Samajwadi Party came to power in the 2012 election.

Demographics

Uttar Pradesh has a large population and a high population growth rate. From 1991 to 2001 its population increased by over 26%. Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India, with 199,581,477 people on 1 March 2011. The state contributes to 16.2% of India's population. The population density is 828 people per square kilometre, making it one of the most densely populated states in the country. Uttar Pradesh has the largest scheduled caste population whereas scheduled tribes are less than 1 per cent of the total population. The

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species d ...

in 2011, at 912 women to 1000 men, was lower than the national figure of 943. The state's 2001–2011 decennial growth rate (including Uttrakhand) was 20.1%, higher than the national rate of 17.64%. Uttar Pradesh has a large number of people living below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

. As per

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

document (released in 2016), the pace of poverty reduction in the state has been slower than the rest of the country. Estimates released by the Reserve Bank of India for the year 2011–12 revealed that Uttar Pradesh had 59 million (598.19

lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For ex ...

) people below the poverty line, the most for any state in India. The central and eastern districts in particular have very high levels of poverty. The state is also experiencing widening consumption inequality. As per the report of the

Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is a ministry of Government of India concerned with coverage and quality aspects of statistics released. The surveys conducted by the Ministry are based on scientific sampling metho ...

(released on 7 January 2020), the state per capita income is below per annum. As per 2011 census, Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in India, is home to the highest numbers of both Hindus and Muslims. By religion, the population in 2011 was Hindus 79.7%, Muslims 19.3%, Sikhs 0.3%, Christians 0.2%, Jains 0.1%, Buddhists 0.1%, and others 0.3%. The literacy rate of the state at the 2011 census was 67.7%, which was below the national average of 74%. The literacy rate for men is 79% and for women 59%. In 2001 the literacy rate in Uttar Pradesh stood at 56% overall, 67% for men and 43% for women. A report based on a National Statistical Office (NSO) survey reveals that Uttar Pradesh's literacy rate is 73%—less than the national average of 77.7%. According to the report, in the rural region, the literacy rate among men is 80.5% and women is 60.4%, while in urban areas, the literacy rate among men is 86.8% and women is 74.9%.

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

is the official language of Uttar Pradesh and is spoken by the majority of the population (80.16%). Bhojpuri is the second most spoken language of the state, it is spoken by almost 11% of the population. Most people speak regional languages classified as dialects of Hindi in the census. These include

Awadhi Awadhi (; ), also known as Audhi (), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in northern India and Nepal. It is primarily spoken in the Awadh region of present-day Uttar Pradesh, India. The name ''Awadh'' is connected to Ayodhya, the ancient city ...

spoken in

Awadh Awadh (), known in British historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a region in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which was before independence known as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. It is synonymous with the Kośāla region of ...

in central Uttar Pradesh,

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...

spoken in

Purvanchal Purvanchal () is a subregion of the Bhojpuri region of India which comprises eastern Uttar Pradesh. Purvanchal region gained independence from the Avadh and Mughal rule under Zamindar Balwant Singh, a Bhumihar zamindar from Benaras State. I ...

in eastern Uttar Pradesh, and Braj Bhasha spoken in the Braj region in Western Uttar Pradesh.

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Other notable languages spoken in the state include Punjabi (0.3%) and

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

(0.1%).

Government and administration

The state is governed by a

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

representative democracy Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represe ...

. Uttar Pradesh is one of the seven states in India, where the state legislature is bicameral, comprising two houses: the

Vidhan Sabha The State Legislative Assembly, or Vidhan Sabha, or also Saasana Sabha, is a legislative body in the states and union territories of India. In the 28 states and 3 union territories with a unicameral state legislature, it is the sole legislati ...

(Legislative Assembly) and the

Vidhan Parishad The State Legislative Council, or Vidhan Parishad, or Saasana Mandali is the upper house in those states of India that have a bicameral state legislature; the lower house being the State Legislative Assembly. Its establishment is defined in Ar ...

(Legislative Council). The Legislative Assembly consists of 404 members who are elected for five-year terms. The Legislative Council is a permanent body of 100 members with one-third (33 members) retiring every two years. Since Uttar Pradesh sends the largest number of legislators to the national Parliament, it is often considered to be one of the most important states with respect to Indian politics. The state contributes 80 seats to the lower house of the Indian Parliament, Lok Sabha and 31 seats to the upper house of the Indian Parliament,

Uttar Pradesh government The Government of Uttar Pradesh (ISO: Uttar Pradesh Sarkār; often abbreviated as GoUP) is the subnational government of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh with the governor as its appointed constitutional head of the state by the President of I ...

is a

democratically Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

elected body in India with the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

as its constitutional head and is appointed by the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...

for a five-year term. The leader of the party or coalition with a majority in the Legislative Assembly is appointed as the

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

by the Governor, and the Council of Ministers are appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister. The governor remains a ceremonial head of the state, while the Chief Minister and his council are responsible for day-to-day government functions. The council of ministers consists of Cabinet Ministers and Ministers of State (MoS). The Secretariat headed by the Chief Secretary assists the council of ministers. The Chief Secretary is also the administrative head of the government. Each government department is headed by a Minister, who is assisted by an

Additional Chief Secretary The Chief Secretary is the top-most executive official and senior-most civil servant of the state government. The Chief Secretary is the ''ex-officio'' head of the state Civil Services Board, the State Secretariat, the state cadre Indian Admin ...

or a

Principal Secretary The Principal Secretary is a senior government official in various Commonwealth countries. * Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Pakistan * Principal Secretary to the President of Pakistan * Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Ind ...

, who is usually an officer of

, the Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary serve as the administrative head of the department they are assigned to. Each department also has officers of the rank of Secretary, Special Secretary, Joint Secretary etc. assisting the Minister and the

. For purpose of administration, the state is divided into 18 divisions and 75 districts. Divisional Commissioner, an

IAS officer The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) is the administrative arm of the All India Services of Government of India. Considered the premier civil service of India, the IAS is one of the three arms of the All India Services along with the Indian ...

is the head of administration on the divisional level. The administration in each district is headed by a

District Magistrate A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal reve ...

, who is an

and is assisted by a number of officers belonging to state services. The

Uttar Pradesh Police The Uttar Pradesh Police (UP Police), (IAST: ), is the primary law enforcement agency within the Uttar Pradesh state of India. Established in 1863 as the Office of the Inspector General of Police, United Provinces under the ''Police Act, 1861'' ...

is headed by an IPS officer of the rank of

Director general of police Director general of police (DGP) is a rank in the Indian Police Service, held by the highest ranking police officer in a State or a Union Territory of India, typically heading the state or the UT police force. The DGP is appointed by the cab ...

. There are 8 Police Zones, 18 Police Ranges and 75 police districts in the state. An

IPS officer The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service (IA ...

in the rank of

Inspector General of Police An Inspector General of Police is a senior police officer in the police force or police service of several nations. The rank usually refers to the head of a large regional command within a police service, and in many countries refers to the most se ...

heads the zones, whereas an

of the rank of

Deputy inspector general of police A Deputy Inspector General of Police (abbreviated as DIG) is a high-ranking official position in Police in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka. India Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) is a rank ...

heads the ranges. A

Superintendent of Police Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territories ...

, an

and assisted by the officers of the Uttar Pradesh Police Service, is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order and related issues in each district. Vidhan Sabha (at day)

The judiciary in the state consists of the Allahabad High Court in Allahabad, the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court, district courts and session courts in each district or Sessions Division, and lower courts at the

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administ ...

level. The

appoints the chief justice of the High Court of the Uttar Pradesh judiciary on the advice of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India as well as the Governor of Uttar Pradesh. Other judges are appointed by the President of India on the advice of the Chief Justice of the High Court. Subordinate Judicial Service, categorised into two divisions viz. Uttar Pradesh civil judicial services and Uttar Pradesh higher judicial service is another vital part of the judiciary of Uttar Pradesh. While the Uttar Pradesh civil judicial services comprise the Civil Judges (Junior Division)/Judicial Magistrates and civil judges (Senior Division)/Chief Judicial Magistrate, the Uttar Pradesh higher judicial service comprises civil and sessions judges. The Subordinate judicial service (viz. The district court of

Etawah Etawah also known as Ishtikapuri is a city on the banks of Yamuna River in the state of Western Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Etawah District. Etawah's population of 256,838 (as per 2011 population census) m ...

and the district court of Kanpur Dehat) of the judiciary at Uttar Pradesh is controlled by the District Judge. Politics in Uttar Pradesh has been dominated by four political parties, the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the

, and the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

. Politicians from Uttar Pradesh have played prominent roles in

Union Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

with some of them having held the high positions of Prime Minister. Uttar Pradesh has been called India's under-achiever because it has provided India with eight

Prime Ministers A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is no ...

while remaining a poor state.

Crime and accidents

According to the

National Human Rights Commission of India The National Human Rights Commission of India (abbreviated as NHRC) is a statutory public body constituted on 12 October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Ordinance of 28 September 1993. It was given a statutory basis by the Protection ...

(NHRC), Uttar Pradesh tops the list of states of

encounter killings Encounter killing is a term used in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka since the late 20th century to describe extrajudicial killings by the police or the armed forces, supposedly in self-defence, when they encounter suspected gangsters or ...

and custodial deaths. In 2014, the state recorded 365 judicial deaths out of a total 1,530 deaths recorded in the country. NHRC further said, of the over 30,000 murders registered in the country in 2016, Uttar Pradesh had 4,889 cases. A data from

Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

(MHA) avers,

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The c ...

recorded the highest number of custodial death at 25, followed by Agra (21), Allahabad (19) and Varanasi (9).

National Crime Records Bureau The National Crime Records Bureau, abbreviated to NCRB, is an Indian government agency responsible for collecting and analyzing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Special and Local Laws (SLL). NCRB is headquartered in New ...

(2011) data says, Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of crimes among any state in India, but due to its high population, the actual per capita crime rate is low. The state also continues to top the list of states with maximum communal violence incidents. An analysis of Ministers of State of Home Affairs states (2014), 23% of all incidents of communal violence in India took place in Uttar Pradesh. According to a research assembled by State Bank of India, Uttar Pradesh failed to improve its

Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, whi ...

(HDI) ranking over a period of 27 years (1990–2017). Based on sub-national human development index data for

Indian states India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

from 1990 to 2017, the report also stated that the value of human development index in Uttar Pradesh has steadily increased over time from 0.39 in 1990 to 0.59 in 2017. The

, governed by the Department of Home, is the largest

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

force in the world. Uttar Pradesh also reported the highest number of deaths—23,219—due to road and rail accidents in 2015, according to NCRB data. This included 8,109 deaths due to careless driving. Between 2006 and 2010, the state has been hit with three terrorist attacks, including explosions in a landmark holy place, a court and a temple. The 2006 Varanasi bombings were a series of bombings that occurred across the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

holy city of Varanasi on 7 March 2006. At least 28 people were killed and as many as 101 others were injured. In the afternoon of 23 November 2007, within a span of 25 minutes, six consecutive serial blasts occurred in the Lucknow, Varanasi, and Faizabad courts, in which 28 people were killed and several others injured. The blasts came a week after the Uttar Pradesh police and central security agencies busted

Jaish-e-Mohammed Jaish-e-Mohammed ( ur, , literally "The Army of Muhammad", abbreviated as JeM) is a Pakistan-based: "The JEM is a Pakistan-based, militant Islamic group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in March 2000." Deobandi: "Deobandis like Masood Azha ...

terrorists who had planned to abduct

Rahul Gandhi Rahul Gandhi ( ; born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician and a member of the Indian Parliament, representing the constituency of Wayanad, Kerala in the 17th Lok Sabha. A member of the Indian National Congress, he served as the president o ...

. The

Indian Mujahideen Indian Mujahideen (IM) is an Islamic terrorist group which has been particularly active in India. The jihadist group was founded as an offshoot of the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) by several radicalized members including Iqbal Bh ...

has claimed responsibility for these blasts in an email sent to TV stations five minutes before the blast. Another blast occurred on 7 December 2010, the

blast Blast or The Blast may refer to: *Explosion, a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner *Detonation, an exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front Film * ''Blast'' (1997 film), ...

occurred at Sheetla Ghat in Varanasi in which more than 38 people were killed and several others injured.

Economy

Agriculture is the leading occupation in Uttar Pradesh and plays a vital role in the economic development of the state. In terms of net state domestic product (NSDP), Uttar Pradesh is the second-largest economy in India after

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

, with an estimated gross state domestic product of , and hence contributes 8.4% of India. According to the report generated by India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), in 2014–15, Uttar Pradesh has accounted for 19% share in the country's total food grain output. The state has experienced a high rate of economic growth in the past few years. Food grain production in the state in 2014–15 stood at 47,773.4 thousand tonnes. Wheat is the state's principal food crop and

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

is the main commercial crop particularly in Western Uttar Pradesh. About 70% of India's sugar comes from Uttar Pradesh. Sugarcane is the most important cash crop as the state is country's largest producer of sugar. As per the report generated by Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), total sugarcane production in India was estimated to be 28.3 million tonnes in the fiscal ending September 2015 which includes 10.47 million tonnes from Maharashtra and 7.35 million tonnes from Uttar Pradesh IT Park, Noida, Uttar Pradesh (2011-06-18)

IT Park, Noida, Uttar Pradesh (2011-06-18)

State industries are localised in the Kanpur region, the fertile

purvanchal Purvanchal () is a subregion of the Bhojpuri region of India which comprises eastern Uttar Pradesh. Purvanchal region gained independence from the Avadh and Mughal rule under Zamindar Balwant Singh, a Bhumihar zamindar from Benaras State. I ...

lands and the Noida region. The

Mughalsarai Mughalsarai (; English: '' Mughal Tavern''), officially known as Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Nagar, is a city and a municipal board in the Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh. Located around from Varanasi, it is an important railway junction ...

is home to several major locomotive plants. Major manufacturing products include engineering products, electronics, electrical equipment, cables, steel, leather, textiles, jewellery, frigates, automobiles, railway coaches, and wagons.

is the sports capital of India and also a jewellery hub. More small-scale industrial units is situated in Uttar Pradesh than in any other state, with 12 per cent of over 2.3 million units. With 359 manufacturing clusters, cement is the top sector of

SMEs Superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) systems store energy in the magnetic field created by the flow of direct current in a Superconductivity, superconducting coil which has been Cryogenics, cryogenically cooled to a temperature below ...

in Uttar Pradesh. The Uttar Pradesh Financial Corporation (UPFC) was established in the year 1954 under the SFCs Act of 1951 mainly to develop small- and medium-scale industries in the state. The UPFC also provides working capital to existing units with a sound track record and to new units under a single window scheme. In July 2012, due to financial constraints and directions from the state government, lending activities have been suspended except for State Government Schemes. The state has reported total private investment worth over Rs. 25,081 crores during the years of 2012 and 2016. According to a recent report of World Bank on Ease of Doing Business in India, Uttar Pradesh was ranked among the top 10 states and first among Northern states. According to the Uttar Pradesh Budget Documents (2019–20), Uttar Pradesh's debt burden is 29.8 per cent of the GSDP. The state's total financial debt stood at in 2011. Uttar Pradesh has not been able to witness double digit economic growth despite consistent attempts over the years. The GSDP is estimated to have grown 7 per cent in 2017–18 and 6.5 per cent in 2018–19 which is about 10 per cent of India's GDP. According to a survey conducted by the

Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) is an independent private limited entity that serves both as an economic think-tank as well as a business information company. CMIE research group has built databases on the Indian economy and pr ...

(CMIE), Uttar Pradesh's

unemployment rate Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refere ...

increased 11.4 percentage points, rising to 21.5 per cent in April 2020. Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of net migrants migrating out of the state. The 2011 census data on migration shows that nearly 14.4 million (14.7%) people had migrated out of Uttar Pradesh. Marriage was cited as the predominant reason for migration among females. Among males the most important reason for migration was Work / Employment. In 2009–10, the

tertiary sector of the economy The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...

(service industries) was the largest contributor to the gross domestic product of the state, contributing 44.8% of the state domestic product compared to 44% from the primary sector (agriculture, forestry, and tourism) and 11.2% from the secondary sector (industrial and manufacturing). MSME sector is the second-largest employment generator in Uttar Pradesh, the first being agriculture and employs over 9.2 million people across the state. Under the leadership of Akhilesh Yadav, Uttar Pradesh has exceeded 11 five-year plan targets and has established several Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and generated 650,000 employment opportunities across the stat

During the 11th five-year plan (2007–2012), the average Gross domestic product, gross state domestic product (GSDP) growth rate was 7.3%, lower than 15.5%, the average for all states of the country. The state's per capita GSDP was , lower than the national per capita GSDP of . Labour efficiency is higher at an index of 26 than the national average of 25. Textiles and sugar refining, both long-standing industries in Uttar Pradesh, employ a significant proportion of the state's total factory labour. The economy also benefits from the state's tourism industry. The state's exports include footwear, leather goods, and sporting gear. The state is attracting

foreign direct investment A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country. It is thus distinguished from a foreign portfolio investment by a notion of direct co ...

which has mostly come in the software and electronics fields;

, Kanpur and Lucknow are becoming major hubs for the information technology (IT) industry and house the headquarters of most of the major corporate, media and financial institutions.

Sonebhadra Sonbhadra or ''Sonebhadra'' is the second largest district by area of Uttar Pradesh after Lakhimpur Kheri. It is the only district in India which borders four states, namely Madhya Pradesh to the west, Chhattishgarh to the south, Jharkhand in t ...

, a district in

eastern Uttar Pradesh Purvanchal () is a subregion of the Bhojpuri region of India which comprises eastern Uttar Pradesh. Purvanchal region gained independence from the Avadh and Mughal rule under Zamindar Balwant Singh, a Bhumihar zamindar from Benaras State. I ...

, has large-scale industries. Its southern region is known as the Energy Capital of India. In May 2013 Uttar Pradesh had the largest number of mobile subscribers in the country, a total of 121.60 million mobile phone connections out of 861.66 million in India, according to the telecom regulator,

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is a regulatory body set up by the Government of India under section 3 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997. It is the regulator of the telecommunications sector in India. ...

(TRAI). In November 2015, the

Ministry of Urban Development The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is a ministry of the Government of India with executive authority over the formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to the housing and urban development in Ind ...

selected sixty-one cities of Uttar Pradesh for a comprehensive development program known as the

Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission was renamed to Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and then relaunched by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi in June 2015 with the focus to establish infrastructure tha ...

(AMRUT). A package of was declared for the cities to develop service level improvement plan (SLIP), a plan for better functioning of the local urban bodies in the cities.

Transportation

Delhi Noida Direct flyway (Uttar Pradesh - 2011-06-18)

The state has the largest railway network in the country but in relative terms has only sixth-highest railway density despite its plain topography and largest population. As of 2011, there were of rail in the state. Allahabad is the headquarters of the North Central Railway and

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the Rapti river in the Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometers east of the state capital Lucknow. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur dis ...

is the headquarters of the North Eastern Railway. Other than Zonal Headquarters of Allahabad and Gorakhpur, Lucknow and Moradabad serve as divisional Headquarters of the Northern Railway Division. Lucknow Swarna Shatabdi Express, the second fastest shatabdi train, connects the Indian capital of

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

while Kanpur Shatabdi Express, connects

to Kanpur. This was the first train in India to get the new German LHB coaches. The railway stations of

, Agra Cantt, Lucknow NR,

Gorakhpur Junction Gorakhpur Junction railway station (station code:GKP) is located in the city of Gorakhpur in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It has the world's second longest railway platform after Hubli Junction railway station. It serves as the headquart ...

Kanpur Central Kanpur Central (formerly known as Cawnpore North Barracks, station code: CNB) is a central and junction railway station in the city of Kanpur and is one of the five central Indian railway stations. It is third busiest in country after Howrah ...

Mathura Junction Mathura Junction railway station is an important station on Agra–Delhi chord of Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Chennai lines. It is located in Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is one of the important North-Central Ra ...

and Varanasi Junction are included in the Indian Railways list of 50 world-class railway stations. The state has a large, multimodal transportation system with the largest road network in the country. The state is well connected to its nine neighbouring states and almost all other parts of India through the

national highways National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving motorways and major A roads in England. It also sets highways standards used by all f ...

(NH). It boasts 42 national highways, with a total length of 4,942 km (9.6% of the total NH length in India). The

Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) is a public sector passenger road transport corporation which services Uttar Pradesh, India, and adjoining states of North India. It operates as a state and interstate bus service and ...

was established in 1972 to provide economical, reliable, and comfortable transportation in the state with connecting services to adjoining states and boasts as being the only State Transport Corporation that runs in profit in the entire nation. All cities are connected to

state highways A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

, and all district headquarters are being connected with four lane roads which carry traffic between major centres within the state. One of them is Agra Lucknow Expressway, which is a 302 km (188 mi)

controlled-access highway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

constructed by

Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority The Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) is an authority set up in 2007 by the Government of Uttar Pradesh to develop expressway projects in the state. The headquarters of UPEIDA is located at Paryatan Bhawan in ...

(UPEIDA) to reduce vehicular traffic in previously congested roads. This expressway is country's largest Greenfield Expressway which reduced the travel time between Lucknow and Agra from 6 hours to 3.30 hours. Other district roads and village roads provide villages accessibility to meet their social needs as also the means to transport agriculture produce from village to nearby markets. Major district roads provide a secondary function of linking between main roads and rural roads. Uttar Pradesh has the highest road density in India, (1,027 km per 1000 km²) and the largest surfaced urban-road network in the country (50,721 km). The state has two international airports located in Lucknow (

) and

Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport is an international airport serving Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located at Babatpur, northwest of Varanasi. Formerly known as Varanasi Airport, it was officially renamed after Lal Bahadur Sh ...

in Varanasi. and six domestic airports located at

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra i ...

, Allahabad,

Ghaziabad Ghaziabad () is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and a part of Delhi NCR. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghaziabad district and is the largest city in western Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 1,729,000. Ghaziabad Mun ...

and Kanpur. The Lucknow Airport is the second-busiest airport in North India after the

Indira Gandhi International Airport Indira Gandhi International Airport is the primary international airport serving Delhi, the capital of India, and the National Capital Region (NCR). The airport, spread over an area of , is situated in Palam, Delhi, southwest of the New ...

, New Delhi. The state has also proposed creating the

Taj International Airport Noida International Airport is an international airport being constructed near Jewar in Gautam Buddha Nagar District, Uttar Pradesh in India. Once completed, it is planned to be India's largest airport. The Noida International Airport Limit ...

at Kurikupa near Hirangaon,

Tundla Tundla is a town and a municipal board in Firozabad district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Location Tundla is situated on NH2 which connects it to nearest major city of Agra, 24 km away, 17 km away from District Firozabad ...

Firozabad district Firozabad district forms one of the western districts of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which has Firozabad city as its district headquarters. The district is a part of the Agra division. History The city lies in the cultural region of Br ...

. Two more international airports have been proposed to be built at

and

Jewar Jewar is a town and a nagar panchayat in Gautam Buddha Nagar District in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Location Jewar is located in the suburbs of Greater Noida about from Noida, from Greater Noida, from Gautam Buddha University and ...

. The

Lucknow Metro Lucknow Metro is a rapid transit system serving the largest city and the capital of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow. Construction of the line begun on 27 September 2014 with the stretch from to Charbagh Railway Station which began its commercial op ...

and

Kanpur Metro The Kanpur Metro is a mass rapid transit (MRT) system in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. The metro is owned and operated by the Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC). The feasibility study for the project was done by RITES in June 2015. ...

(Orange line) has been operational since 9 March 2019 and 28 December 2021 respectively. The state's cities are witnessing a swift rise in the number of immigrants and this has called for the transformation of public modes of transport. A project was announced in 2014 to make regions of the state

bicycle-friendly Bicycle-friendly policies and practices help some people feel more comfortable about traveling by bicycle with other traffic. The level of bicycle-friendliness of an environment can be influenced by many factors including town planning and cyclin ...

. The work began in 2014 with a project in Lucknow, planning to give the city the largest cycle path network in India by 2016, covering up to 270 kilometres. The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav, visited Amsterdam in September 2014 and observed that

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...

was a common mode of transportation in the Netherlands. He then instructed officials in Uttar Pradesh to plan cycling corridors in order to take a greener approach to

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...

. The first cycle track in Lucknow was inaugurated at Kalidas Marg on 1 March 2015. A 35-km-stretch costing ₹310 million has been constructed in Lucknow, while another 31 km, estimated to cost ₹340 million, was still under construction as of 2015. It was reported in December 2015 that the bike tracks had not been particularly well-received by the public.

Sports

Traditional sports, now played mostly as a pastime, include

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

kabaddi Kabaddi is a contact team sport. Played between two teams of seven players, the objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their ...

, and track-sports or water-sports played according to local traditional rules and without modern equipment. Some sports are designed to display martial skills such as using a sword or 'Pata' (stick). Due to lack of organised patronage and requisite facilities, these sports survive mostly as individuals' hobbies or local competitive events. Among modern sports,

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

is popular and Uttar Pradesh has produced some of the finest players in India, including Dhyan Chand and, more recently, Nitin Kumar and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay. Ekana cricket stadium

Recently,

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

has become more popular than

. Uttar Pradesh won its first Ranji Trophy tournament in February 2006, beating Bengal in the final. It can also boast of routinely having three or four players on the national side.

Green Park Stadium Green Park Stadium is an international standards cricket stadium of Kanpur, India. Its seating capacity is 32,000 seats. It is the home ground of Uttar Pradesh cricket team. This arena is an International Test match venue. Green Park is under ...

in Kanpur, the only internationally recognised cricket stadium in the state, has witnessed some of India's most famous victories.

Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association ( hi, उत्तर प्रदेश क्रिकेट संघ), formerly United Provinces Cricket Team, is the governing body of the Cricket activities in the Uttar Pradesh state of India and the Utta ...

(UPCA) has headquarters in Kanpur. An

International Cricket Stadium International Cricket Stadium or Jay Kaylon Ground is a cricket ground in Kota, Rajasthan. The ground as established in 1974 with name of Municipal Stadium. The ground regularly hosts Ranji matches for Rajasthan cricket team. Till date the groun ...

with a capacity of 50,000 spectators, is being set up in the capital city of Uttar Pradesh.

Greater Noida Cricket Stadium The Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex or Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground is a cricket and association football stadium in Greater Noida, India, and it was the home ground of the Afghanistan national cricket team. In 2017, it lost ...

is another newly built international cricket stadium with a capacity of around 20,000 spectators. The

Buddh International Circuit The Buddh International Circuit ( hi, बुद्ध अंतरराष्ट्रीय परिपथ) is an Indian motor racing circuit situated in National Capital Region at Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The track shares its name wit ...

hosted India's inaugural F1 Grand Prix race on 30 October 2011. The circuit was designed by German architect and racetrack designer Herman Tilke to compete with other world-class race circuits. However, races were only held three times before being cancelled due to falling attendance and lack of government support. The government of Uttar Pradesh considered Formula One to be entertainment and not a sport, and thus imposed taxes on the event and participants.

Education

Uttar Pradesh has a long tradition of education, although historically it was primarily confined to the elite class and religious schools. Sanskrit-based learning formed the major part of education from the

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to the

Gupta period The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gold ...

s. As cultures travelled through the region they brought their bodies of knowledge with them, adding

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

scholarship to the community. These formed the core of Hindu-Buddhist-Muslim education until the rise of British colonialism. The present schools-to-university system of education owes its inception and development in the state (as in the rest of the country) to foreign Christian missionaries and the British colonial administration. Schools in the state are either managed by the government or by private trusts.

is used as a medium of instruction in most of the schools except those affiliated to the CBSE or the Council for ICSE boards. Under the 10+2+3 plan, after completing secondary school, students typically enroll for two years in a junior college, also known as pre-university, or in schools with a higher secondary facility affiliated with the Uttar Pradesh Board of High School and Intermediate Education or a central board. Students choose from one of three streams, namely

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically th ...

, commerce, or science. Upon completing the required coursework, students may enrol in general or professional degree programs. Some Uttar Pradesh schools, for example Delhi Public School (Noida), La Martinière Girls' College (Lucknow), and Step by Step School (Noida) have been ranked among the best schools in the country. Uttar Pradesh has more than 45 universities, including 5 central universities, 28 State university (India), state universities, 8 Deemed university, deemed universities, 2 IITs in Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, Varanasi and Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, AIIMS Gorakhpur and AIIMS Rae Bareli, 1 Indian Institutes of Management, IIM in Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, Lucknow, 1 National Institutes of Technology, NIT in Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, Allahabad, 2 Indian Institutes of Information Technology, IIITs, 1 National Law University in Lucknow and several polytechnics, engineering colleges and industrial training institutes. Institutes like the Aligarh Muslim University, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur), Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, Indian Institute of Management (Lucknow), Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (Allahabad), Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, Indian Institute of Information Technology (Allahabad), Indian Institute of Information Technology, Lucknow, Indian Institute of Information Technology (Lucknow), University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Kanpur, King George's Medical University, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Institute of Engineering and Technology, Lucknow and the Harcourt Butler Technical University are known worldwide for their quality education and research in their respective fields. The presence of such institutions provides the students of the state with ample opportunities for higher education. Integral University (Lucknow), The Integral University, a state level institution, was established by the Government of Uttar Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh Government to provide education in different technical, applied science, and other Academic discipline, disciplines. The Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies was founded as an autonomous organisation by the national Ministry of Culture (India), ministry of culture. Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Handicapped University is the only university established exclusively for the disabled in the world. A large number of Indian scholars are educated at different universities in Uttar Pradesh. Notable scholars who were born, worked or studied in the geographic area of the state include Harivansh Rai Bachchan,

, Harish Chandra and Indira Gandhi.

Tourism

Uttar Pradesh ranks first in domestic tourist arrivals among all states of India with more than 71 million, owing to its rich and varied topography, vibrant culture, festivals, monuments, ancient places of worship, and List of Buddhist temples, viharas. Uttar Pradesh is also home to three World Heritage Sites: the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, and the nearby Fatehpur Sikri. Uttar Pradesh is a favoured tourist destination in India due to the location of Taj Mahal, nearly 69 lakhs (6.9 million) people visited the Taj Mahal in 2018–19, up 6% from the previous year when the number stood at 64 lakhs (6.4 million). The monument earned almost in ticket sales in 2018–19. The state's tourism industry is a major contributor to the Economy of Uttar Pradesh, state's economy, growing at the rate of 21.60%. Religious tourism plays a significant role in Uttar Pradesh tourism as the state has some of the holiest Hindu shrines. Varanasi a major religious hub, is the Holy city, holiest of the seven sacred cities (''Sapta Puri'') in

and Jainism. Domestic tourists most commonly visit for religious purposes while foreign tourists visit for ghats along the river Ganges. Vrindavan is considered to be a holy place for Vaisnavism. Owing to the belief as to the birthplace of

, Ayodhya (Awadh) has been regarded as one of the seven most important pilgrimage sites. Millions gather at Allahabad to take part in the Magh Mela festival on the banks of the Ganges. This festival is organised on a larger scale every 12th year and is called the Kumbh Mela, where over 10 million Hindu pilgrims congregate in one of the largest gatherings of people in the world. Vindhyachal is a Hindu pilgrimage site having the temple of Vindhyavasini. Buddhist attractions in Uttar Pradesh include stupas and monasteries. The historically important towns of Sarnath where

gave his first sermon after his enlightenment and died at

; both are important pilgrimage sites for Buddhists. Also at Sarnath are the Ashoka pillar, Pillars of Ashoka and the Lion Capital of Ashoka, both important archaeological artefacts with national significance. At a distance of 80 km from Varanasi, Ghazipur district, Ghazipur is famous not only for its Ghats on the Ganges but also for the tomb of Lord Cornwallis, the 18th-century Governor of East India Company ruled Bengal Presidency. The tomb is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. The state has one National Park and 25 Wildlife Sanctuaries. Okhla Bird Sanctuary known as a haven for over 300 bird species out of which 160 bird species are migratory, travelling from Tibet, Europe & Siberia and Patna Bird Sanctuary in Etah district, is a major tourist attraction.

Healthcare

Uttar Pradesh has a large Publicly funded health care, public as well as private healthcare infrastructure. Although an extensive network of public and private sector healthcare providers has been built, the available Healthcare in India, health infrastructure is inadequate to meet the demand for health services in the state. In 15 years to 2012–13, the population of Uttar Pradesh increased by more than 25 per cent. The public health centres, which are the frontline of the government's health care system, decreased by 8 per cent. Smaller sub-centres, the first point of public contact, increased by no more than 2 per cent over the 25 years to 2015, a period when the population grew by more than 51 per cent. The state is also facing challenges such as a shortage of healthcare professionals, increasing cost of healthcare, the mushrooming of private healthcare and a lack of planning. As of 2017, number of government hospital in rural and urban areas of Uttar Pradesh are 4442 (39104 beds) and 193 (37156 beds), respectively. A newborn in Uttar Pradesh is expected to live four years fewer than in the neighbouring state of Bihar, five years fewer than in

and seven years fewer than in

. Uttar Pradesh contributed to the largest share of almost all Contagious disease, communicable and noncommunicable disease deaths, including 48 per cent of all typhoid deaths (2014); 17 per cent of cancer deaths and 18 per cent of tuberculosis deaths (2015). Uttar Pradesh's Maternal death, maternal mortality ratio is higher than the national average at 258 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births (2017), with 62 per cent of pregnant women unable to access minimum ante-natal care. Around 42 per cent of pregnant women, more than 1.5 million, deliver babies at home. About two-thirds (61 per cent) of childbirths at home in Uttar Pradesh are unsafe. State has the highest child mortality indicators, from the Infant mortality, neonatal mortality rate (NNMR) to the under-five mortality rate of 64 children who die per 1,000 live births before five years of age, 35 die within a month of birth, and 50 do not complete a year of life. A third of the rural population in the state has been deprived of primary healthcare infrastructure, according to the norms of the Indian Public Health Standards.

Culture

Language and literature

Several texts and hymns of the Vedic literature were composed in Uttar Pradesh. Renowned Indian writers who have resided in Uttar Pradesh were Kabir, Ravidas, and Tulsidas, who wrote much of his ''Ram Charit Manas'' in Varanasi. The festival of ''Guru Purnima'' is dedicated to Sage Vyasa, and also known as ''Vyasa Purnima'' as it is the day which is believed to be his birthday and also the day he divided the Vedas. There is a long literary and folk Hindi-language tradition in the state. In the 19th and 20th century, Hindi literature was modernised by authors such as Jaishankar Prasad, Maithili Sharan Gupt, Munshi Premchand, Suryakant Tripathi Nirala, Babu Gulabrai, Sachchidananda Vatsyayan, Sachchidananda Hirananda Vatsyayan 'Agyeya', Rahul Sankrityayan, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Dharamvir Bharati, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi, Swami Sahajanand Saraswati, Dushyant Kumar, Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Acharya Kuber Nath Rai, Bharatendu Harishchandra, Kamleshwar Prasad Saxena, Shivmangal Singh Suman, Mahadevi Varma, and Vibhuti Narain Rai. The state is sometimes called the 'Hindi heartland of India'.

became the language of state administration with the Uttar Pradesh Official Language Act of 1951. A 1989 amendment to the act added

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Braj Bhasha, Kannauji, and Hindustani language, Hindustani. Bhojpuri is an Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, Eastern Indo Aryan language spoken in the state.

Music and dance

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With each district of Uttar Pradesh having its unique music and tradition, traditional folk music in Uttar Pradesh has been categorised in three different ways including music transmitted orally, music with unknown composers and music performed by custom. The popular folk music of Uttar Pradesh includes sohar which is sung to celebrate the birth of a child, Kajari sung during the rainy season, Ghazal, Thumri and Qawwali which is a form of Sufi poetry is popular in the Awadh region, Rasiya (especially popular in Braj), which celebrate the divine love of Radha and Krishna. Khayal is a form of semi-classical singing which comes from the courts of Awadh. Other forms of music are Biraha, Chaiti, Chowtal, Alha-Khand, Alha, and Sawani. Kathak, a classical dance form, owes its origin to the state of Uttar Pradesh. The dance form is connected to classical Hindustani music where the rhythmic nimbleness of the feet is accompanied by either Tabla or Pakhawaj. Ramlila is one of the oldest dramatic folk dance which depicts the life of Lord Rama and is mainly performed during the Vijayadashami festival. Svanga is a dance drama of semi-historical tales and ballads. Traditional dance and musical styles are taught at the Bhatkhande Music Institute University in Lucknow, named after the musician Pandit Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande. Four of the six schools of this dance form, Lucknow gharana (tabla), Lucknow gharana, Ajrara gharana, Farukhabad gharana and Benares gharana, are situated in Uttar Pradesh.

Fairs and festivals

Diwali (celebrated between mid-October and mid-December) and Rama Navami are popular festivals in Uttar Pradesh. Chhath, Chhath Puja is the biggest festival of Purvanchal, eastern Uttar Pradesh and it is considered as Mahaparva by the Bhojpuri people. Kumbh Mela, organised in the month of Maagha (February—March), is a major festival held every twelve years in rotation at Allahabad on the river Ganges. Lath mar Holi is a local celebration of the Hindu festival of Holi. It takes place well before the actual Holi in the town of Barsana near Mathura. Taj Mahotsav, held annually at Agra, is a colourful display of the culture of the Braj area. Dev Deepawali (Varanasi), Ganga Mahotsav festival of Kartik Poornima celebrated fifteen days after Diwali. Vesak, Buddha Purnima, which marks the birth of

, is a major Hindu and Buddhist festival, while Christmas is celebrated by the minority Christian population. Other festivals are Eid ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha, Eid-ul-Adhaa/Bakreed, Vijayadashami, Makar Sankranti, Vasant Panchami, Ayudha Puja, Janmashtami, Sardhana Christian Fair, Maha Shivaratri, Mahavir Janma Kalyanak, Ayurved Jhansi Mahotsav, Mawlid, Bārah Wafāṭ, Lucknow Mahotsav, Moharram, Kabob and Hanuman Jayanti.

Cuisine

A typical day-to-day traditional vegetarian meal of Uttar Pradesh, like any other North Indian thali, consists of roti (flatbread), chawal, dal, Indian cuisine, sabji, raita and papad. On festive occasions, usually 'tava' (flat pan for roti) is considered inauspicious, and instead fried foods are consumed. A typical festive thali consists of Puri, Kachauri, sabji, pulav, Popadum, papad, raita, salad and desserts (such as sewai or Kheer). Lassi (yogurt-based) and chaach (traditional buttermilk) are most favoured drink in Uttar Pradesh. Many communities have their own particular style of cuisines, such as the Jains, Kayasths and Muslims. There are also certain sub-regional delicacies. Awadhi cuisine is world-famous for dishes such as kebab, biryani, keema and nihari. Sweets occupy an important place in the Hindu diet and are eaten at social ceremonies. People make distinctive Confectionery, sweetmeats from milk products, including khurchan, peda, gulabjamun, petha, makkhan malai, and chamcham. The chaat in Lucknow and Banarasi Paan is known across India for its flavour and ingredients. Paan, (betel leaves) being served with silver foil, India

Paan, (betel leaves) being served with silver foil, India

Awadhi cuisine is from the city of Lucknow. The cuisine consists of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.

has been greatly influenced by Mughlai cuisine, Mughal cooking techniques, and the cuisine of Lucknow bears similarities to those of Central Asia, Kashmir, Punjab and Hyderabad, India, Hyderabad; and the city is known for Nawabi foods. The bawarchis and rakabdars of Awadh gave birth to the Dum Pukht, dum style of cooking or the art of cooking over a slow fire, which has become synonymous with Lucknow today. Their spread consisted of elaborate dishes like kebabs (''shish kebab'' or ''shashlik''), kormas, biryani, kaliya, Kulcha, nahari-kulchas, zarda, sheermal, Roti, roomali rotis, and Paratha, warqi parathas. The richness of Awadh cuisine lies not only in the variety of cuisine but also in the ingredients used to like mutton, paneer, and rich spices including cardamom and saffron. Mughlai cuisine is a style of cooking developed in the Indian subcontinent by the kitchens of the Mughal Empire. It represents the cooking styles used in North India, especially Uttar Pradesh. The cuisine is strongly influenced by the Central Asian cuisine, cuisine of Central Asia, and has in turn strongly similarities to the regional cuisines of Kashmiri cuisine, Kashmir and the Punjabi cuisine, Punjab region. The tastes of Mughlai cuisine vary from extremely mild to spicy, and is often associated with a distinctive aroma and the taste of ground and whole spices.

Dress

The people of Uttar Pradesh dress in a variety of traditional and Western styles. Traditional styles of dress include colourful draped garments – such as sari for women and dhoti or lungi for men – and tailored clothes such as salwar kameez for women and kurta-pajamas, pyjama for men. Men often sport head-gear like topi or Pagri (turban), pagri. Sherwani is a more formal male dress and is frequently worn along with chooridar on festive occasions. European-style trousers and shirts are also common among the men.

Media

A number of newspapers and periodicals are published in Hindi, English, and Urdu. ''The Pioneer (Indian newspaper), The Pioneer'' was founded in Allahabad in 1865 by George Allen. ''Amar Ujala'', ''Dainik Bhaskar'', ''Dainik Jagran'', ''Rajasthan Patrika'' and ''Hindustan Dainik'' have a wide circulation, with local editions published from several important cities. Major English language newspapers which are published and sold in large numbers are ''The Telegraph (Kolkata), The Telegraph'', ''The Times of India'', ''Hindustan Times'', ''The Hindu'', ''The Statesman (India), The Statesman'', ''The Indian Express'', and ''Asian Age''. Some prominent financial dailies like ''The Economic Times'', ''The Financial Express (India), Financial Express'', ''Business Line'', and ''Business Standard'' are widely circulated. Vernacular newspapers such as those in

, Nepali language, Nepali, Gujarati language, Gujarati, Odia language, Odia,

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Punjabi are also read by a select readership. Doordarshan is the state-owned television broadcaster. Multi system operators provide a mix of Hindi, English, Bengali, Nepali and international channels via Cable television, cable. :24-hour television news channels, Hindi 24-hour television news channels are NDTV India, Zee News, Aaj Tak, News18 India, News18 Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand, ABP News and ABP Ganga. All India Radio is a public radio station. There are 32 private frequency modulation, FM stations available in major cities like Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Agra, and Noida. Cell phone providers include Vodafone Idea, Vi India, Bharti Airtel, Airtel, BSNL and Reliance Jio. Broadband internet is available in select towns and cities and is provided by the state-run BSNL and by private companies. Dial-up access is provided throughout the state by BSNL and other providers.

Notes

References

External links

Government

Official Website of Government of Uttar Pradesh

Official Website of Department of Home of Government of Uttar Pradesh

Official Website of Department of Tourism of Government of Uttar Pradesh

General information

* {{Authority control Uttar Pradesh, North India, * States and union territories of India States and territories established in 1950 1950 establishments in India Hindi-speaking countries and territories Urdu-speaking countries and territories

History

Prehistory

Ancient and classical period

Delhi Sultanate

Medieval and early modern period

British India era

Post-independence

Geography

Climate

Flora and fauna

Divisions, districts and cities

Demographics

Government and administration

Crime and accidents

Economy

Transportation

Sports

Education

Tourism

Healthcare

Culture

Language and literature

Music and dance

Fairs and festivals

Cuisine

Dress

Media

See also

Notes

References

External links

Government

General information