`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 Lucknow or Lakhnau , city (1991 pop. 1,669,204), capital of Uttar Pradesh state, N central India, on the Gomati River. An educational and cultural center, it has varied industries, including food processing, railroad shops, and handicrafts...... Click the link for more information. . Other important cities are Allahabad Allahabad , city (1991 pop. 844,546), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India. On the site of Prayag, an ancient Indo-Aryan holy city, Allahabad is at the junction of two sacred rivers, the Yamuna and the Ganges.
..... Click the link for more information. , Bareilly Bareilly , city (1991 pop. 617,350), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India, on the Ramganga River. It is a district administrative headquarters, a transportation, and a sugar-refining and cotton-trading center.
..... Click the link for more information. , Kanpur Kanpur , city (1991 pop. 2,029,889), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India, on the Ganges River. A major industrial center, it produces chemicals, textiles, leather goods, and food products. It is also a transportation hub with an airport.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Varanasi Varanasi , formerly Benares , city (1991 pop. 1,030,863), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India, on the Ganges River. Although a rail hub and trade center, Varanasi is chiefly important as a holy city.
..... Click the link for more information. . 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.
Uttar Pradesh
formerly United Provinces of Agra and OudhState (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.
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
a state in northern India, in the basin of the Ganges and one of its tributaries, the Yamuna. Area, 294,000 sq km. Population, 88.4 million (1971); mostly Hindustani. Its major cities are Lucknow (its capital), Kanpur, Agra, Varanasi (Benares), and Allahabad.
The Indo-Gangetic Plain covers about four-fifths of the area of the state. Most of the remaining territory is in the Himalayas, the main peak of which, Nanda Devi, rises to an elevation of 7,816 m. The state has a tropical monsoonal climate, with frequent droughts and summer floods.
Uttar Pradesh is an agricultural region. More than 70 percent of the population is engaged in agriculture (1971). Most of the rural population consists of peasants who own little or no land and rent plots from landowners. In 1952 ownership of land by the landed gentry was abolished.
Of the total cultivable land area, which amounts to 20 million hectares (ha), approximately 17 million ha is in use; 28 percent is irrigated, and more than 17 percent is sown twice annually. The major irrigational channels are the Upper Ganges, Lower Ganges, and Sarda canals. Wells are also widely used for irrigation.
The main food crops are rice (approximately 17 percent of all crops); wheat (16 percent); legumes, including gram; barley; millet crops, including bajra and jowar (sorghum); and potatoes. The main industrial crop is sugarcane; Uttar Pradesh accounts for over half the land in India used for its cultivation. Oil-bearing plants (rape and mustard), cotton, and jute are also grown. The most important animals raised are bulls and oxen.
Industry is based primarily on the processing of agricultural materials. Of primary importance is the food-processing industry, especially sugar refining. Uttar Pradesh produces more than one-half of India’s cane sugar, the main production centers being Rampur, Gorakhpur, and Merath. The leather and footwear industry is also important. Cotton and wool are also produced, mainly in the city of Kanpur.
Uttar Pradesh has enterprises for the manufacture of paper and tobacco products, a factory for the production of precision instruments in Lucknow, and a factory for the manufacture of electrical equipment in Hardwar that was built with the assistance of the USSR. The state also has repair shops and enterprises servicing the railroad industry. Hand-crafted objects produced include such widely used items as cloth, footwear, carpets, brocades, saris, and jewelry.
There is navigation on the Ganges to Kanpur, on the Ghaghra to Faizabad, and on the Ganges irrigational canals.
A. I. MEDOVOI
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