Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh (`tär prä`dĭsh), state (2001 provisional pop. 166,052,859), 92,804 sq mi (240,363 sq km), N central India. The capital is Lucknow. Other important cities are Allahabad, Bareilly, Kanpur, and Varanasi. The most populous state of India, it was formed in 1950 by merging the United Provinces and the small former princely states of Benares, Rampur, and Tehri. It was somewhat decreased in 2000 when the state of Uttaranchal was carved from its northwestern section. Hindi is the main language. There is a hilly region along the southern border, but most of the state is a low-lying alluvial plain formed by the Yamuna, Ganges, and Ghaghara rivers. The moderate rainfall is supplemented by an extensive system of barrage and canal irrigation and by wells and pumps that draw on groundwater. The mild climate generally permits two harvests a year; wheat, rice, millet, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, and jute are grown. The economy is predominantly agricultural, and industry is centered on processing sugar and cotton; the once-important manufacture of brooches and artwares, such as ornamental brasses, has declined. Building stone and high-grade sand for the glass industry are abundant. Adequate railroads and roads ensure efficient distribution. Numerous universities are supported by this prosperous state. The state is governed by a chief minister and cabinet responsible to a bicameral legislature with one elected house and by a governor appointed by the president of India.

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Uttar Pradesh

 formerly United Provinces of Agra and Oudh

State (pop., 2001: 166,197,921), north-central India. It is bordered by Nepal, the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Uttaranchal, and Delhi national capital territory and covers an area of 93,933 sq mi (243,286 sq km); its capital is Lucknow. The state, the most populous in the country, lies largely in the plains formed by the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. The region was the setting of two great Sanskrit epics, the Mahabharata and Ramayana, and the scene of the rise of Buddhism after the 6th century BC. It was ruled by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in the mid-3rd century BC, the Gupta dynasty (c. AD 320–c. 415), and King Harsa (606–647). The Mughals gained control in the 16th century, at which time the city of Agra became a chief centre. The British arrived in the late 18th century; by the 1830s they held sway and eventually formed the North-Western Provinces, to which Oudh was later annexed. The area was the main scene of the Indian Mutiny of 1857. The current province was formed in 1902 and became a state of India in 1947. In 2000 the northern portion of it was made into the state of Uttaranchal. Uttar Pradesh is a major silica-producing state, yet agriculture is its most important economic sector. Its noted tourist meccas are Agra and Varanasi.