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Area : 2,40,928 sq km
Population :
199,581,477 (2011 Census)
Capital : Lucknow
Principal Languages : Hindi and Urdu
The
history of the State of Uttar Pradesh is very
ancient and interesting. It is recognised in the
later Vedic Age as Brahmarshi Desha or Madhya
Desha. Many great sages of the Vedic times like
Bharadwaja, Gautam, Yagyavalkya, Vasishta,
Vishwamitra and Valmiki flourished in this
state. Several sacred books of the Aryans were
also composed here. Two great epics of India,
Ramayana and
Mahabharata, appear to have been
inspired by Uttar Pradesh.
In the sixth century BC, Uttar Pradesh was
associated with two new religions - Jainism and
Buddhism. It was at Sarnath that Buddha preached
his first sermon and laid the foundations of his
order, and it was in Kushinagar in Uttar
Pradesh, where Buddha breathed his last. Several
centres in Uttar Pradesh like Ayodhya, Prayag,
Varanasi and Mathura became reputed centres of
learning. In the medieval period, Uttar Pradesh
passed under Muslim rule and led the way to new
synthesis of Hindu and Islamic cultures.
Ramananda and his Muslim disciple Kabir,
Tulsidas, Surdas and many other intellectuals
contributed to the growth of Hindi and other
languages.
Uttar Pradesh preserved its intellectual excellency
even under the British administration. The British combined Agra
and Oudh into one province, and called it United Provinces of
Agra and Oudh. The name was shortened to the United Provinces in
1935. In January 1950, the United Provinces was renamed as Uttar
Pradesh.
The State is bounded by Uttarakhand and Himachal
Pradesh in the north, Haryana in the west,
Madhya Pradesh in the south, and Bihar in the
east. Uttar Pradesh can be divided into two
distinct regions, (i) Southern hills and (ii)
Gangetic plain.
Agriculture is the main occupation of 66 per
cent of the population of the State. The net
cultivated area in the state is 167.50 lakh
hectares. In the year 2006-07 the State produced
260.27 lakh metric tonnes of wheat, 109.12 lakh
metric tonnes of rice, 18.14 lakh metric tonnes
of pulses and 7.54 lakh metric tonnes of
oilseeds and 1309.22 lakh tonnes sugar cane.
Total food grains production during 2006-2007
was 418.65 lakh metric tonnes.
During the year 2006-07 there were 6, 12, 338
small-scale industrial units involving a total
investment of Rs.7172 crore and employment
opportunities for 2396 thousand persons. About
73.20 lakh tonnes of sugar was produced in the
State during the year 2007-08. There were 68
textile units. Thirty-two automobile units with
an investment of Rs.5,740 crore provided jobs to
20280 persons.
It is planned to develop 102 sectors of New
Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA)
by the year 2011. The Authority includes
industrial sectors, housing sectors, group
housing sectors, residential buildings,
commercial assets and institutional sectors.
Steps have been taken to develop other
industrial areas in the state on the pattern of
Noida and Greater Noida. A Software Technology
Park has been set up in Kanpur while five more
Software Parks are proposed to be set up.
Under the public sector, mining of limestone,
magnetite, coal, rock phosphate, dolomite and
silicon-sand is carried out. The bulk production
of minor and some of the major minerals like
limestone, silica-sand, magnetite, pyrophyllite
and diaspore is mostly with the private sector.
Important mineral based industries include large
cement plants in Sonebhadra.
UP Power Corporation, UP State Power Generation
and UP Hydel Power Corporation had been formed
by reorganising UP State Electricity Board on 14
January 2000.
During 2001-02 the total installation capacity
was 4659 MW, in 2003-04 it was 4621 MW which has
now been raised upto 4706 MW. During the year
2001-02 the total power production was 226330
lakh KW and in the year 2003-04 it was 228355.
Power is an important input to accelerate the
process of economic growth. The installed
capacity of re-organized Uttar Pradesh during
Tenth Five Year Plan was 7821.82 MW. Only 56.6
per cent of 97135 villages were electrified and
7.88 lakh private tubewells were energised. At
the time of inception the total installed
capacity of UPSEB, including thermal and hydro,
was 2,635 MW which has now been raised to 5414
MW (derated 5,885.75 MW).
An expenditure of Rs.2,094.5256 crore was made
to raise the irrigation potential to a level of
267.99 lakh hectares. The irrigation potential
created in U.P. was 319.12 lakh hectares till
the end of 2004-05. Out of this only 231.61 lakh
hectares could be utilised. Additional
irrigation potential of 5.14 lakh hectares is
expected to be created in the year 2005-06 and
the target for 2006-07 is 7.41 lakh hectares.
Roads: The total road length of PWD in
the State is 131969 km. This includes 3794 km of
national highways, 8449 km of state highways,
119726 of other district roads and 72,931 km of
rural roads.
Railways: Lucknow is the main junction of
the northern network. Other important railway
junctions are Agra, Kanpur, Allahabad,
Mughalsarai, Jhansi, Moradabad, Varanasi, Tundla,
Gorakhpur, Gonda, Faizabad, Bareilly and Sitapur.
Aviation: There are airports at Lucknow,
Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Agra, Jhansi,
Bareilly, Hindon (Ghaziabad), Gorakhpur, Sarsawa
(Saharanpur) and Fursatganj (Rae-Barelli).
The
biggest congregation, perhaps of the world,
Kumbha Mela is held at Allahabad every twelfth
year and Ardh kumbh Mela every sixth year. Magh
Mela is also held at Allahabad in January when
the people come in large number to have a dip in
the holy Sangam. Among other fairs is the
fortnight long Jhoola fair of Mathura, Vrindavan
and Ayodhya, when dols are placed in gold and
silver jhoolas or cradles. A dip in the Ganga on
Kartik Poornamasi is supposed to be the holiest
and there are big congregations at
arhmukteshwar, Soran, Rajghat, kakora,
Bithur, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Ayodhya.
A famous cattle fair is held at Bateswar in Agra
district. Dewa in Barabanki district has became
famous because of the Muslim saint Waris Ali
Shah. Besides, important festivals of the
Hindus, Muslims, etc., are widely celebrated in
the state.
Uttar Pradesh has
varied attractions for all kinds of tourists.
Besides ancient places of pilgrimage like
Varanasi, Vindhyachal, Ayodhya, Chitrakoot,
Prayag, Naimisharanya, Mathura, Vrindavan, Dewa
Sharief, Dargah of Sheikh Saleem Chishti in
Fatehpur Sikri, Sarnath, Shravasti, Kushinagar,
Sankisa, Kampil, Piprahwa and Kaushambi, places
like Agra, Ayodhya, Sarnath, Varanasi, Lucknow,
Jhansi, Gorakhpur, Jaunpur, Kannauj, Mahoba,
Devgarh, Bithur, and Vindhyachal have rich
treasures of Hindu and Islamic architecture and
culture.
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