Uttar Pradesh
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Uttar Pradesh (उत्तर प्रदेश) is the largest state in India. The administrative and legislative capital is Lucknow and the judicial capital is Allahabad. Other notable cities include Agra, Aligarh, Ayodhya, Varanasi (Benares) , Gorakhpur, Kanpur. Neighbouring states are Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar. Uttar Pradesh shares a border with Nepal.
In 2000, the Parliament of India carved out the northern part of Uttar Pradesh to form the state of Uttaranchal. Uttar Pradesh covers a large part of the densely populated plains around the Ganges and Yamuna. With 166 million inhabitants, it is not only the most populous state in India but also the most populous subnational entity in the world. Only 5 countries of the world (the People's Republic of China, India itself, the United States, Indonesia and Brazil) have a higher population than Uttar Pradesh (see List of countries by population). It is also one of the most economically backward states of India and the literacy rate, as is the case with the rest of India, is higher for males than females.
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History
Uttar Pradesh covers the area of the old princely state of Awadh (Oudh) and the British Province of Agra. The Province of Agra was originally the western-most British possession, after they expanded from Bengal, and it was therefore called the North-West Province. The North-West Province was renamed as the Province of Agra and was merged in 1858 with the Province of Oudh, to form the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, known after 1902 as the United Provinces. Though the state is in the centre of India, it was renamed Uttar Pradesh in 1947-1950, a Hindi name meaning "Northern Province" in order to retain the short form UP, by which it is best known in India.
Constituent Regions
The state comprises the regions of Rohilkhand in the northwest, The Doab, or Brij (Braj) (Braj-bhoomi) in the southwest, Awadh (Oudh) (the historic country of Koshal) in the centre, the northern parts of Bagelkhand & Bundelkhand in the south, and the south-western part of the Bhojpur country, commonly called Purvanchal ("Eastern Province"), in the east.
Languages
The languages of the different regions are distinct, and the language of the western parts, called (Khadiboli) is the basis for the official Hindi language, created during the late 19th century. "Hindi" is an Urdu word, derived from Arabic, meaning "Indian" in Arabic. Other languages are Koshali, Braj (which is more than two thousand years old), Koeli, Bagheli, Bundeli and Bhojpuri. The Bhojpuri ethnic homeland is divided between Nepal in the north, Bihar state in the east and Uttar Pradesh in the west.
Politics
List of political parties in the state
The current chief minister of Uttar Pradesh is Mulayam Singh Yadav, one of the leaders of the Samajwadi Party (Socialist Party). The former Prime Minister of India, Atal Behari Vajpayee, represents the constituency of Lucknow.
Divisions and Districts
Uttar Pradesh state consists of 70 districts, which are grouped into 17 divisions: Agra, Azamgarh, Allahabad, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Devipatan, Faizabad, Bareilly, Basti, Mirzapur, Moradabad, Meerut, Lucknow, Varanasi, and Saharanpur.
See Districts of Uttar Pradesh.
External link
| Indian States and Territories | |
|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | Arunachal Pradesh | Assam | Bihar | Chhattisgarh | Goa | Gujarat | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu and Kashmir | Jharkhand | Karnataka | Kerala | Madhya Pradesh | Maharashtra | Manipur | Meghalaya | Mizoram | Nagaland | Orissa | Punjab | Rajasthan | Sikkim | Tamil Nadu | Tripura | Uttaranchal | Uttar Pradesh | West Bengal | |
| Union Territories: Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Chandigarh | Dadra and Nagar Haveli | Daman and Diu | Lakshadweep | Pondicherry | |
| National Capital Territory: Delhi | |
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