uttar pradesh

 Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: उत्तर प्रदेश, Urdu: اتر پردیش, pronounced [ˈʊtːər prəˈdeːʃ]  , "Northern Province"), [often referred to as U.P.] is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 190 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity.

With an area of 93,933 sq mi (243,286 km²), Uttar Pradesh covers a large part of the highly fertile and densely populated upper Gangetic plain. It shares an international border with Nepal to the north along with the Indian state of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh to the north-west, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan on the west, Madhya Pradesh on the south, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand on the south east and Bihar on the east. The administrative and legislative capital of Uttar Pradesh is Lucknow and the financial and industrial capital is Kanpur. The state's high court is based at Allahabad. It is home to many historical cities like VaranasiAgra. Kanpur is its largest city; other big cities are Meerut, Agra, Aligarh, Bareilly, Allahabad, Ghaziabad and Noida. and

Uttar Pradesh has an important place in the culture of India; it is considered to be the birthplace of Hinduism, has been the ancient seat of Hindu religion, learning and culture, and has many important sites of Hindu pilgrimage. The State is also important to Buddhism since its early days. The Chaukhandi Stupa marks the spot where Buddha met his first disciples. The Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath commemorates Buddha's first sermon. Also the town of Kushinagar is where Gautama Buddha died.

Throughout its history, the region of Uttar Pradesh was sometimes divided between petty kingdoms and at other times formed an important part of larger empires that arose on its east or west, including the Magadha, Nanda, Mauryan, Sunga, Kushan, Gupta, Pala and Mughal empires.

The Indo-Gangetic plain, that spans most of the state, is also the birth place of the Indo-Islamic syncretic culture of the medieval period. It holds much of the heritage of the Mughal Empire, including the world famous mausoleum Taj Mahal built by Shah Jehan, the magnificent tomb of Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great in Agra and Akbar's capital-palace in Fatehpur Sikri. It was a centre of nationalism during the British colonial period and has continued to play a prominent role in Indian political and cultural movements. The state has a rich heritage of traditional crafts and cottage industries of various types that employ highly skilled craftsmen and artisans.

Hindus and Muslims together constitute above 98% of the State's population. The remaining nearly 2% include Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Christians, and also the tribal population.

Geography

Uttar Pradesh shares an international border with Nepal and is bounded by the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar. The state can be divided into two distinct hypsographical regions: -

The larger Gangetic Plain region is in the north: it includes the Ganga-Yamuna Doab, the Ghaghra plains, the Ganga plains and the Terai. It has highly fertile alluvial soils and flat topography - (slope 2 m/km) - broken by numerous ponds, lakes and rivers.

The smaller Vindhya Hills and Plateau region is in the south: it is characterised by hard rock strata and varied topography of hills, plains, valleys and plateau; limited availability of water makes the region relatively arid.

Flora and Fauna:

Uttar Pradesh has 12.8% land under forest cover now. In spite of alarming deforestation and poaching of wild life, a diverse flora and fauna exists. Several species of trees, large and small mammals, reptiles and insects are found in the belt of temperate upper mountainous forests; medicinal plants are also found wild here, or are now grown on plantations. Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands support cattle. Moist deciduous trees grow in the upper Gangetic plain, including its riverbanks. In fact, this vast plain is so fertile and life supporting that any thing, which can live or grow anywhere, will do so here. Ganges and its tributaries are the habitat of a variety of large and small reptiles, amphibians, fresh-water fish and crabs. Mostly scrubs, trees like babool and animals like chinkara are found in the arid Vindhyas. The state’s important plants and animals include the following: -

Trees: pine, rhododendrons, silver fir, deodar, saal, oak, teak, sheesham, mango, neem, banyan, peepal, imli, jamun, mahua, semal, gular and dhak.

Medicinal plants: hinganDhak rauwolfia, sepentina, hexandrum, viala serpens, podophyllum, aephecra gerardiana.

Large vertebrates: elephant, tiger, bear, neelgai, wild pig, deer, wolf, jackal, fox, languor.

Birds: peacock, porcupine, gray quail, pigeon, swallow, maina, indian parakeet, crow and duck.

Reptiles: crocodile, gharial, goh, snakes, chameleon and other lizards.

Fish: Rohu, catla, khusa, parhan,patra, moi, korouch and singhi.

According to Hindu legend, Lord Rama’s warrior devotee Hanuman had brought life saving Sanjivani herbs from a mountain of this, or possibly the breakaway Uttarakhand, region.

Climate:

The climate of Uttar Pradesh is predominantly subtropical, but weather conditions change significantly with location and seasons: -

Temperature: Depending on the elevation, the average temperatures vary from 12.5–17.5°C (54.5–63.5°F) in January to 27.5–32.5°C (81.5–90.5°F) in May and June. The highest temperature recorded in the State was 49.9°C (121.8°F) at Gonda on May 8, 1958.

Rainfall: Rainfall in the State ranges from 1,000–2,000 mm (40–80 inches) in the east to 600–1,000 mm (24–40 inches) in the west. About 90 percent of the rainfall occurs during the southwest Monsoon, lasting from about June to September. With most of the rainfall concentrated during this four-month period, floods are a recurring problem and cause heavy damage to crops, life, and property, particularly in the eastern part of the state, where the Himalayan-origin rivers flow with a very low north-south gradient.

Snowfall: In the Himalayan region of the State, annual snowfall averaging 3 to 5 metres (10 to15 feet) is common between December and March.

Droughts: Periodic failure of Monsoons results in drought conditions and crop failure.

Demographics

Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India with a population of over 190 million people as of July 1 2008. If it were a separate country, Uttar Pradesh would be the world's fifth most populous nation, next only to China, India, the United States of America and Indonesia. As of the 2001 census of India, slightly over 80% of Uttar Pradesh population is Hindu, while Muslims make up 18% of the population. The remaining population consists of Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians and Jains.

Social structure

The Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, the three Hindu upper castes people of the state, who have dominated the political and economic scene over the centuries, are in a majority. Besides the upper castes, there are other Hindu communities, among whom a major group comprises the backward classes, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The scheduled castes and scheduled tribes live in rural areas and are mostly dependent on agriculture, forming the landless labour class. Muslims, although educationally and economically weak as compared to the upper castes, are nevertheless interspersed in all strata of the population. There is also tribal population, the weakest of all, which is largely concentrated in the hilly terai-bhabhar and Vindhya regions. The Government of India has recognised five of the tribal communities as the disadvantaged scheduled tribes, viz. Tharus, Bhoksas, Bhotias, Jaunswaris and Rajis.

Tourism

Uttar Pradesh attracts a large number of visitors, both national and international; with more than 71 million domestic tourists (in 2003) and almost 25% of the All-India foreign tourists visiting Uttar Pradesh, it is one of the top tourist destinations in India.There are two regions in the state where a majority of the tourists go, viz. the Agra circuit and the Hindu pilgrimage circuit.

• The city of Agra, gives access to three World Heritage Sites: Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and the nearby Fatehpur Sikri:
  • Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."
  • Agra Fort is about 2.5 km northwest of its much more famous sister monument, the Taj Mahal. The fort can be more accurately described as a walled palatial city.
  • Fatehpur Sikri was the world famous 16th century capital city near Agra, built by the Mughal emperor Akbar the Great, whose mausoleum in Agra is also worth a visit.

In Agra itself, Dayal Bagh is a temple built in modern times that many visit. It is still under construction and would take an estimated one-century for completion. Its life-like sculptures in marble are unique in India. Agra's dubious modern attractions include Asia's largest Spa as well as Asia's first and only 6D theatre.

• The pilgrimage circuit includes the holiest of the holy cities of Hindus on the banks of sacred rivers Ganga and the Yamuna: Varanasi (also considered world's oldest city), Ayodhya (birth place of Lord Rama), Mathura (birth place of Lord Krishna) and Allahabad (the confluence or 'holy-sangam' of the sacred Ganga-Yamuna rivers).

Varanasi is widely considered to be one of the oldest cities in the world. It is famous for its ghats (bathing steps along the river), that remain bustling year round with devotees from all over India and beyond, who want to take a holy dip in the sacred Ganges River.

Mathura is wold-famous for its colourful celebrations of the Holi festival, which attracts many tourists also - thanks partly to the hype, which the Indian film industry has given to this highly entertaining socio-religious festival.

Every year, thousands gather at Allahabad to take part in the Magh Mela festival, which is held on the banks of the Ganges. The same festival is organised on a larger scale every 12th year and is called the Kumbha Mela, where over 10 million Hindu pilgrims congregate — the largest gathering of human beings in the world.

The historically important towns of Sarnath and Kushinagar are located not far from Varanasi. Gautama Buddha gave his first sermon at Sarnath after his enlightenment and Kushinagar is where Gautama Buddha died; hence both are important pilgrimage sites for Buddhists. Also at Sarnath are the Pillars of AshokaLion Capital of Ashoka, both important archaeological artifacts with national significance. At a distance of 80 km from Varanasi, Ghazipur is famous not only for its Ganga Ghats but also for the Tomb of British potentate Lord Cornwallis, the Tomb is maintained by the Archeological Survey of India. and the

Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, also has several beautiful historical monuments such as Bara Imambara and Chhota Imambara. It has also preserved the damaged complex of the Oudh-period British Resident's quarters, which are being restored now.

Dudhwa National Park is one of the best tiger reserves in the country. Lakhimpur Kheri - home to the Tiger Reserve - and Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary - the most concentrated sanctuary in India with a large population of tigers as well as leopards - situated in Bahraich and bordering Nepal is also worth a visit. Some areas require a special permit for non-Indians to visit.

Taj Mahal	The Great gate (Darwaza-i rauza) - gateway to the Taj Mahal.	The Tomb of Salim Chisti	Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb at Agra
Amar Singh Gate at Agra Fort	Diwan-i-Khas – Hall of Private Audience at Fatehpur Sikri.	The Khas Mahal at Agra Fort	Jahangiri mahal at Agra Fort.
The five-storey Panch Mahal at Fatehpur Sikri	Buland Darwaza	Tomb of Akbar the Great	Mariam-uz-Zamani palace
Gateway to Bara Imambara	The Chhota Imambara	The Dhamekh Stupa is located in Sarnath where Gautama BuddhaDharma first taught the	Kushinagar is a town where Gautama Buddha died

Architecture:

Architectural legacies of the past millennia of the region of Uttar Pradesh survive to varying extent. The oldest of them fall within the purview of archeology or mythology; religious places in the State - identifiable in the narratives of Puranas and other sacred literature of Indian religions - have architectural edifices that are very old and have been built over repeatedly in course of time.

Medieval kings and emperors have left imposing monuments: forts, palaces, temples, mosques and mausoleums, whose external and internal grandeur reminds of the opulence of those times. British colonial buildings, built for the administration, judiciary, hospitals, banks, postal services, police, railways etc. are still seen in most of the cities; their architecture in most cases is purely functional.

Building of Fatehpur Sikri	Decorative art and embellishment	Interior architecture	Interior design
Detail of carving	View across Fatehpur Sikri	Central pillar of Diwan-i-Khas.	Detail of Jali

Art and craft:

Uttar Pradesh is famous for its rich heritage of art and craft. Most famous centres are the following:

Bareilly boasts for its Zari work, (a type of fabric decoration), Surma (Kohl) and Jhumka. Firozabad, the city of bangles, is also a hub for crafting many glass accessories. The glass artifacts produced in its factories are just amazing and are exported the world over.

Kannauj is well known for oriental perfumes, scents and rose water and also for traditional tobacco products.

Kanpur is internationally known for its leather craft; shoes and other leather items are made here for the Indian market and exported to foreign countries as well.

Khurja is famous for its ceramics pottery; in fact, the entire state is famous for its pottery not only in India but also around the world.

Lucknow, the capital, boasts of its cloth work and embroidery (chikan) work on silk and cotton garments.

Mirzapur and Bhadohi are known for carpets.

Moradabad is well known for its metal ware, especially brass artifacts. Pilibhit is known for its wood flutes and wooden footwear (Khadaon). Flutes are exported to Europe, America and other countries.

Saharanpur is known all over India and abroad for wood carving items produced here.

Varanasi is famous for its Banarasi saris and silk. A ‘banarasi sari’ is an essential part of any marriage in the state.

Festivals:

Religious practices are as much an integral part of everyday life, and a very public affair, as they are in the rest of India. Therefore, not surprisingly, many festivals are religious in origin, although several of them are celebrated irrespective of caste and creed.

Among the most important Hindu festivals are Diwali, Holi and Dashehra, which are also observed with equal fervour by Jains and Sikhs. Bāra Wafāṭ, Eid, BakreedMoharram are Muslim religious festivals. Mahavir Jayanti is celebrated by Jains, Buddha Jayanti by Buddhists, Guru Nanak Jayanti by Sikhs and Christmas by the Christians and

As part of nation-wide celeberations, the two secular National festivals of Independence Day and Republic Day are celebrated with great patriotic fervour in offices and main public places, on August 15 and January 26 respectively, by all Government offices, many socio-cultural organizations and other groups of persons.