Purvanchal () is a subregion of the

Bhojpuri region The Bhojpuri region or Bhojpur is an area encompassing parts of the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand, and the Madhesh, Gandaki and Lumbini provinces of Nepal, where the Bhojpuri language is spoken as a mother tongue. His ...

of India which comprises eastern

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state 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 195 ...

. Purvanchal region gained

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

from the

Avadh 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 ...

and Mughal rule under

Zamindar A zamindar (Hindustani language, Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian language, Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous Raja, ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughal Em ...

Balwant Singh, a

Bhumihar Bhumihars, also called Babhan, are a Hindu caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, and Nepal. The Bhumihars claim Brahmi ...

zamindar from

Benaras State Benares or Banaras State was a kingdom and later princely state in what is today Uttar Pradesh, India. On 15 October 1948, Benares' last ruler signed the accession to the Indian Union. The state was founded by the local zamindar, Raja Balw ...

. In recent years there has been a demand for a separate state, bifurcation from the state

. Purvanchal region in spite of being politically active fares poorly in HDI index and remains most underdeveloped region of India, with lack of industries and employment opportunities people flocking to metro cities of

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 w ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

Demand for separate state

People from the state have demanded separate statehood for Purvanchal, with

Varanasi 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 t ...

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administra ...

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 ...

as its capital. * 1 June 2008: ''A separate state can ensure the security of borders as well as overall development in which the region is lagging far behind in comparison to western and central

'', said

Yogi Adityanath Yogi Adityanath (born on 5 June 1972 as Ajay Singh Bisht),

(then a BJP Member of Parliament from

; he became Chief Minister of

in 2017). * 8 July 2017: Union Minister

Ramdas Athawale Ramdas Bandu Athawale () (born 25 December 1959) is an Indian politician and social activist from Maharashtra. He is the president of the Republican Party of India (A), a splinter group of the Republican Party of India and has its roots in the S ...

states his support for the division of the state for development of the region of the Bhojpuri-speaking population. * 4 August 2018:

Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar demands separate statehood for Purvanchal, pushes for liquor ban. * 19 September 2018: the Purvanchal State Movement got national exposure when Vandana Raghuwanshi, an activist of " Purvanchal Rajya Janandolan", set a state-run Volvo bus on fire as it was about to depart for

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 divis ...

from Roadways Bus Station of

, in response to the central government's indifference to

Anuj Rahi Anuj may refer to: * Anuj (name), Indian masculine given name (including a list of persons with the name) ** Anuj (singer), an Indian-born Australian pop-singer * Anuj, Hamadan, a village in Iran * Anuj-e Olya, a village in Iran * Anuj-e Sofla, ...

Hindustani's hunger strike, which was on its 35th day.

Culture

It is a predominantly

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

-speaking region. Home to a few oldest living cities in the world, Purvanchal has always been appealing to people from everywhere for numerous reasons. With cities like Varanasi, Ayodhya, Sarnath, Kushinagar and Gorakhpur, Purvanchal will continue to mystify people for generations to come. Purvanchal is one of the most ancient regions of India, with a rich heritage and culture. Today it is among the most significant parts of Uttar Pradesh, for many reasons, be it politically, economically, spiritually or socially. Varanasi, Ayodhya, Gorakhpur and Kushinagar are some of the cities in Purvanchal that tell the tales of the rich legacy of their contribution to the nation. Their roots in ancient India highlight the brilliant ancestry that each of these cities possesses.

References

External links

Purvanchal Website
{{coord missing, Uttar Pradesh Regions of Uttar Pradesh Proposed states and union territories of India

Demand for separate state

Culture

See also

References

External links