|
Uttar Pradesh is the most
populous and fifth largest state in the Union of India. Uttar Pradesh
covers a large part of the densely populated Gangetic plain. Uttar
Pradesh can be divided into three regions by different geographical
conditions: Himalayan region - North, the Gangetic plains - Middle,
and the Vindhyan hills and plateau - South. 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. It shares an
international border with Nepal and Tibet in northeast, by the Indian
states of Himachal Pradesh in northwest, by Haryana, Rajasthan and
Delhi in West and by the state of Madhya Pradesh in south and the
state of Bihar in southeast. With nearly 176 million inhabitants,
Uttar Pradesh is not only the most populous state in India but also
the most populous subnational entity in the world. Only five countries
(the People's Republic of China, India itself, the USA, Indonesia and
Brazil) have higher populations. It is also one of the most
economically and socially backward states in India. On virtually every
index of social development, whether literacy, infant mortality or
unemployment, Uttar Pradesh ranks among the lowest in India; the
situation is compounded by the fact that figures for females is
invaribly much lower than for males on every parameter. In sheer
magnitude Uttar Pradesh is half the size of France, thrice that of
Portugal, and four times of Ireland. Seven Switzerland and ten
Belgium's could easily fit in this mammoth state. A little bigger than
England, Uttar Pradesh has one out of every 36 persons in the World
living here. The travel time from Ghazipur to Ghaziabad or from Churk
to Chamoli within U.P. will easily exceed a cruise across the oceans.
Uttar Pradesh represents the heart of India. For the same reason it
has been referred to as the Madhya Desh (Central Province) in
mythological descriptions.
Climate
The climate varies from moderately temperate in the Himalayan region
to tropical monsoon in the central plains and southern upland regions.
In the plains, the average temperatures vary from 54.5 to 63.5 F (12.5
to 17.5 C) in January to 81.5 to 90.5 F (27.5 to 32.5 C) in May and
June. The highest temperature recorded in the state was 121.8 F (49.9
C) at Gonda on May 8, 1958. Rainfall in the state ranges from 40-80
inches (1,000-2,000 millimeters) in the east to 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 become a
recurring problem and cause heavy damage to crops, life, and property,
particularly in the eastern part of the state. Periodic failure of
monsoons results in drought conditions and crop failure. In the
Himalayan region, annual snowfall averaging 10 to 15 feet is common
between December and March.
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. The most
commonly spoken language in urban areas is Urdu/Hindi. Regardless of
the script used, the language of Lucknow is called Lucknowie Urdu. It
is a pure form of literary Urdu used by most Urdu poets. Urdu is one
of the two official languages of the state. 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.
Education
The State of U.P. has made investments over the years in all sectors
of education and has achieved some success. As a result, some progress
in adult education has been made and the census of 2001 indicates a
male literacy rate of 70.23 % and a female literacy rate of 42.98 %.
At the level of higher education and technical education Uttar Pradesh
has 16 general universities, famous among those are Uttar Pradesh
Technical University (UPTU), Allahabad University, Banaras Hindu
University and Aligarh Muslim University, one prestigeous Indian
Institute of Technology (Kanpur), one Indian Institute of Management (Lucknow),
one Indian Institute of Information Technology (Allahabad), one
National Institute of Technology (Allahabad) and large number
polytechnics, engineering institutes and industrial training
institutes.
Agriculture
The western region of the state is more advanced in terms of
agriculture. Majority of the population depends upon farming as its
main occupation. Wheat, rice, sugar cane, pulses, oil seeds and
potatoes are its main products. Sugar cane is an important cash crop
almost through out the state and sugar mills and other cane crushers
who produce gur and Khandsari are common throughout the state. Uttar
Pradesh is an important state in so far as horticulture is concerned.
Apples and mangoes are produced in the state.
Mineral Resources
The state is poor in mineral resources. The only considerable deposits
are of limestone in Mirzapur, Dehra Dun and Almora districts. These
are being quarried and are used largely in cement manufacture.
Dolomite occurs in small quantities in Bandal and Varanasi districts,
gypsum in Tehri Garhwal, Nainital and Dehra Dun districts, andalusite
in Mirzapur district, magnetite in Almora and Pithoragarh districts,
pyrophyllite and diaspore in Jhansi and Hamirpur districts,
phosphorite in the Musoorie area and bauxite in Karvi tehsil of Banda
district and in southern part of Varanasi district. The occurrence of
stibnite, a source of antimony has been reported from Chamoli
district. At Singrauli in Mirzapur district coalfield is located.
Places of Interest
From Tourism point of view U.P. is divided into four parts i.e.
Western UP
Hastinapur (Meerut), Vrindavana (Mathura), Mathura, Garhmukteshwara
(Ghaziabad), Agra, Fathepur Sikri (Agra), Peeran Kaliyar (Sahranpur),
Golagokarannath (Kheri), Sankissa, Kannauj, Kampil (Farrukhabad),
Soron (Etah),Naimisharanya, Chakratirtha (Sitapur), Shukratal (Muzaffaranagar),
Bithur (Kanpur), Lucknow, Deva Sharif (Barabanki).
Eastern UP
Gorakhnath Temple (Gorakhpur), Sarnath (Varanasi), Saidpur Bhitri (Ghazipur),
Shringverpur (Allahabad), Kaushambi, Chunar, Vindhyachala (Mirzapur),
Devipatan (Gonda), Magahar (Basti), Bhrigu Temple (Ballia), Shravasti,
Ayodhya (Faizabad), Kushinagar, Chitrakut, Jaunpur etc
Budhist Circuit
This includes Sarnath, Piparhwa, Samhita, Shrawasti and Kaushambi.
Bundelkhand Region
This includes all the tourist spots of the Jhansi Division.
 |
Skype : 