166-1110: Uttar Pradesh : Bijnor , Fatehgarh , Kannauj , Hardoi , Bithoor , Kanpur , Lucknow ( Gomti tributary), Prayagraj , Mirzapur , Varanasi , Ghazipur , Ballia , Kasganj , Farrukhabad , Narora Bihar : Begusarai , Bhagalpur , Patna , Vaishali , Munger , Khagaria , Katihar Jharkhand : Sahibganj West Bengal : Murshidabad , Palashi , Nabadwip , Shantipur , Kolkata , Serampore , Chinsurah , Baranagar , Diamond Harbour , Haldia , Budge Budge , Howrah , Uluberia , Barrackpore Delhi : ( Yamuna ) tributary Rajshahi Division : Rajshahi , Pabna , Ishwardi Dhaka Division : Dhaka , Narayanganj , Gazipur , Munshiganj , Faridpur Chittagong Division : Chandpur , Noakhali 43,900 m/s (1,550,000 cu ft/s) The Ganges ( / ˈ ɡ æ n dʒ iː z / GAN -jeez ; in India: Ganga , / ˈ ɡ ʌ ŋ ɡ ɑː / GUNG -ah ; in Bangladesh: Padma , / ˈ p ʌ d m ə / PUD -mə )
332-628: A water sharing dispute arose between India and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) after India declared its intention to build the Farakka Barrage. The original purpose of the barrage, which was completed in 1975, was to divert up to 1,100 m/s (39,000 cu ft/s) of water from the Ganges to the Bhagirathi-Hooghly distributary to restore navigability at the Port of Kolkata . It was assumed that during
498-678: A bench was established at Lucknow. Allahabad continues to be an important administrative base of today's Uttar Pradesh and has several administrative headquarters. Uttar Pradesh continued to be central to Indian politics and was especially important in modern Indian history as a hotbed of the Indian independence movement . The state hosted modern educational institutions such as the Aligarh Muslim University , Banaras Hindu University and Darul Uloom Deoband . Nationally known figures such as Ram Prasad Bismil and Chandra Shekhar Azad were among
664-514: A dense population, Eastern Uttar Pradesh ( Purvanchal ) faces notable socio-economic disparities. For 2021–22 the GDDP for Purvanchal it is ₹5.37 lakh crore, while for Western Uttar Pradesh it is ₹9.44 lakh crore. For the Bundelkhand and Central Uttar Pradesh regions, the GDDP remained ₹99,029.34 crore and ₹3.36 lakh crore, respectively. As of 2021–22, the per capita annual income in eastern districts
830-641: A focal point for the 1857 rebellion against British rule. The state houses several holy Hindu temples and pilgrimage centres. Along with several historical, natural and religious tourist destinations, including Agra , Aligarh , Ayodhya , Bareilly , Gorakhpur , Kanpur , Kushinagar , Lucknow , Mathura , Meerut , Prayagraj , Varanasi , and Vrindavan , Uttar Pradesh is also home to three World Heritage sites . Modern human hunter-gatherers have been in Uttar Pradesh since between around 85,000 and 72,000 years ago. There have also been prehistorical finds in
996-616: A mayor and councilors elected from wards. Nagar Palika Parishad or Municipal Council, serves medium-sized towns like Bela Pratapgarh , Jalaun , or Bisalpur and are governed by a chairperson and councilors. Nagar Panchayat which operate in smaller towns and semi-urban areas like Badlapur, Jaunpur , Bikapur , or Chilkana Sultanpur , are governed by a chairman and councilors. There are 14 Municipal Corporations , while Noida and Greater Noida in Gautam Budha Nagar district are specially administered by statutory authorities under
1162-641: A new channel. This new main channel of the Brahmaputra is called the Jamuna River. It flows south to join the Ganges-Padma. During ancient times, the main flow of the Brahmaputra was more easterly, passing by the city of Mymensingh and joining the Meghna River. Today this channel is a small distributary but retains the name Brahmaputra, sometimes Old Brahmaputra. The site of the old Brahmaputra-Meghna confluence, in
1328-409: A religious iconoclast himself, asked for a handful of his ashes to be thrown into the Ganges. "The Ganga", he wrote in his will, "is the river of India, beloved of her people, round which are intertwined her racial memories, her hopes and fears, her songs of triumph, her victories and her defeats. She has been a symbol of India's age-long culture and civilization, ever-changing, ever-flowing, and yet ever
1494-653: A republic. It is a successor to the United Provinces , established in 1935 by renaming the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh , in turn established in 1902 from the North-Western Provinces and the Oudh Province . Though long known for sugar production, the state's economy is now dominated by the services industry. The service sector comprises travel and tourism , hotel industry , real estate , insurance and financial consultancies. The economy of Uttar Pradesh
1660-507: A sacred river to Hindus along every fragment of its length. All along its course, Hindus bathe in its waters, paying homage to their ancestors and their gods by cupping the water in their hands, lifting it, and letting it fall back into the river; they offer flowers and rose petals and float shallow clay dishes filled with oil and lit with wicks (diyas). On the journey back home from the Ganges, they carry small quantities of river water with them for use in rituals; Ganga Jal, literally "the water of
1826-435: A sage, Kapila , whose intense meditation has been disturbed by the sixty thousand sons of King Sagara . Livid at being disturbed, Kapila sears them with his angry gaze, reduces them to ashes, and dispatches them to the netherworld. Only the waters of the Ganges, then in heaven, can bring the dead sons their salvation. A descendant of these sons, King Bhagiratha , anxious to restore his ancestors, undertakes rigorous penance and
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#17330861362311992-700: A well-developed irrigation system. They suffer from waterlogging and large-scale user tracts. In addition, the area is fairly arid. The state has more than 32 large and small rivers; of them, the Ganga , Yamuna , Saraswati , Sarayu , Betwa , and Ghaghara are larger and of religious importance in Hinduism . Cultivation is intensive in the state. Uttar Pradesh falls under three agro-climatic zones viz. Middle Gangetic Plains region (Zone–IV), Upper Gangetic Plains region (Zone–V) and Central Plateau and Hills region (Zone–VIII). The valley areas have fertile and rich soil. There
2158-547: Is 625 km (388 mi) long, with a drainage basin of 25,820 km (9,970 sq mi). The Hooghly River empties into the Bay of Bengal near Sagar Island . Between Malda and the Bay of Bengal, the Hooghly river passes the towns and cities of Murshidabad , Nabadwip , Kolkata and Howrah . After entering Bangladesh, the main branch of the Ganges river is known as the Padma . The Padma
2324-405: Is 79 per cent and for women 59 per cent. In 2001 the literacy rate in the state stood at 56 per cent overall, 67 per cent for men and 43 per cent for women. A report based on a National Statistical Office (NSO) survey revealed that Uttar Pradesh's literacy rate is 73 per cent, less than the national average of 77.7 per cent. According to the report, in the rural region, the literacy rate among men
2490-420: Is 80.5 per cent and women is 60.4 per cent, while in urban areas, the literacy rate among men is 86.8 per cent and women is 74.9 per cent. Hindi is the primary official language and is spoken by the majority of the population. Bhojpuri is the second most spoken language of the state, it is spoken by almost 11 per cent of the population. Most people speak regional languages classified as dialects of Hindi in
2656-532: Is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through India and Bangladesh . The 2,525 km (1,569 mi)-long river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand . It flows south and east through the Gangetic plain of North India , receiving the right-bank tributary, the Yamuna , which also rises in the western Indian Himalayas, and several left-bank tributaries from Nepal that account for
2822-418: Is a result of various factors, such as sex-selective abortion , female infanticide , and discrimination against girls and women. The state's 2001–2011 decennial growth rate (including Uttrakhand) was 20.1 per cent, higher than the national rate of 17.64 per cent. It has a large number of people living below the poverty line . As per a World Bank document released in 2016, the pace of poverty reduction in
2988-769: Is a turbulent Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand , and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges , the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism . In the Hindu faith, history, and culture, the Bhagirathi is considered the source stream of the Ganges. However, in hydrology , the other headstream Alaknanda , is considered the source stream on account of its great length and discharge. The Bhagirathi and Alaknanda join at Devprayag in Garhwal and are thereafter known as
3154-773: Is about 1,080,000 km (420,000 sq mi), of which 861,000 km (332,000 sq mi) is in India (about 80%), 140,000 km (54,000 sq mi) in Nepal (13%), 46,000 km (18,000 sq mi) in Bangladesh (4%), and 33,000 km (13,000 sq mi) in China (3%). Sometimes the Ganges and Brahmaputra–Meghna drainage basins are combined for a total of about 1,600,000 km (620,000 sq mi) or 1,621,000 km (626,000 sq mi). The combined Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna basin (abbreviated GBM or GMB) drainage basin
3320-542: Is about 10 per cent of India's GDP. According to a survey conducted by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), Uttar Pradesh's unemployment rate increased 11.4 percentage points, rising to 21.5 per cent in April 2020. Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of net migrants migrating out of the state. The 2011 census data on migration shows that nearly 14.4 million (14.7%) people had migrated out of Uttar Pradesh. Marriage
3486-408: Is about one-fourth of the national average at ₹12,741 while the state's average stood at ₹17,349. In 2009–10, the tertiary sector of the economy (service industries) was the largest contributor to the gross domestic product of the state, contributing 44.8 per cent of the state domestic product compared to 44 per cent from the primary sector (agriculture, forestry, and tourism) and 11.2 per cent from
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#17330861362313652-716: Is different ways to determine the river's length, its discharge , and the size of its drainage basin . The name Ganges is used for the river between the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers, in the Himalayas, and the first bifurcation of the river, near the Farakka Barrage and the India-Bangladesh Border. The length of the Ganges is frequently said to be slightly over 2,600 km (1,600 mi) long, about 2,601 km (1,616 mi), 2,525 km (1,569 mi) or 2,650 km (1,650 mi). In these cases
3818-472: Is eventually granted the prize of Ganges's descent from heaven. However, since her turbulent force would also shatter the earth, Bhagiratha persuades Shiva in his abode on Mount Kailash to receive the Ganges in the coils of his tangled hair and break her fall. The Ganges descends, is tamed in Shiva's locks, and arrives in the Himalayas. She is then led by the waiting Bhagiratha down into the plains at Haridwar, across
3984-609: Is governed by a parliamentary system of representative democracy . Uttar Pradesh is one of the seven states in India, where the state legislature is bicameral, comprising two houses: the Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) and the Vidhan Parishad (Legislative Council). The Legislative Assembly consists of 404 members who are elected for five-year terms. The Legislative Council is a permanent body of 100 members with one-third (33 members) retiring every two years. The state sends
4150-500: Is headed by a District Magistrate , who is also an IAS officer, and is assisted by several officers belonging to state services. District Magistrate being the head of the district administration, is responsible for maintaining law and order and providing public services in the district. At the block level, the Block Development Officer (BDO) is responsible for the overall development of the block . The Uttar Pradesh Police
4316-549: Is headed by an IPS officer of the rank of Director general of police . A Superintendent of Police , an IPS officer assisted by the officers of the Uttar Pradesh Police Service, is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order and related issues in each district. The Divisional Forest Officer, an officer belonging to the Indian Forest Service manages the forests, environment, and wildlife of
4482-497: Is home to approximately 140 species of fish, 90 species of amphibians , and also reptiles and mammals , including critically endangered species such as the gharial and South Asian river dolphin . The Ganges is the most sacred river to Hindus . It is worshipped as the goddess Ganga in Hinduism . The Ganges is threatened by severe pollution . This not only poses a danger to humans but also to many species of animals. The levels of fecal coliform bacteria from human waste in
4648-477: Is intensive cultivation on terraced hill slopes, but irrigation facilities are deficient. The Siwalik Range which forms the southern foothills of the Himalayas , slopes down into a boulder bed called 'bhabhar'. The transitional belt running along the entire length of the state is called the terai and bhabhar area. It has rich forests, cutting across it are innumerable streams which swell into raging torrents during
4814-749: Is joined by the Jamuna River , the largest distributary of the Brahmaputra . Further downstream, the Padma joins the Meghna River , the converged flow of Surma-Meghna River System taking on the Meghna's name as it enters the Meghna Estuary, which empties into the Bay of Bengal. Here it forms the 1,430 by 3,000 km (890 by 1,860 mi) Bengal Fan , the world's largest submarine fan , which alone accounts for 10–20% of
4980-460: Is longer than its main outlet via the Meghna River, resulting in a total length of about 2,704 km (1,680 mi), if taken from the source of the Bhagirathi, or 2,321.50 km (1,442.51 mi), if from Haridwar to the Hooghly's mouth. In other cases the length is said to be about 2,304 km (1,432 mi), from the source of the Bhagirathi to the Bangladesh border, where its name changes to Padma . For similar reasons, sources differ over
5146-464: Is more than any other state and is the source of the largest number of seats in the Lok Sabha . Despite its political influence since ancient times, its poor record in economic development and administration, poor governance, organised crime and corruption have kept it among India's backward states. The state has been affected by repeated episodes of caste-related and communal violence . In December 1992
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5312-587: Is mythologically known to be the source stream for the Ganges River. In hydrology, the Alaknanda is the source stream for the Ganges River due to its length and discharge. The Alaknanda River, including its tributaries, is 664.5 km (412.9 miles) and the Bhagirathi River, including its tributaries, is 456.5 km (283.7 miles). The Bhagirathi River is joined by several tributaries ; these are, in order from
5478-407: Is rescued by a celestial chariot which takes him instead to heaven. Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( / ˌ ʊ t ər p r ə ˈ d ɛ ʃ / UUT -ər prə- DESH ; Hindi: [ˈʊtːəɾ pɾəˈdeːʃ] ; abbr. UP ) is a state in northern India . With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in
5644-591: Is situated on the northern spout of India and shares an international boundary with Nepal. The Himalayas border the state on the north, but the plains that cover most of the state are distinctly different from those high mountains. The larger Gangetic Plain region is in the north; it includes the Ganges-Yamuna Doab , the Ghaghra plains, the Ganges plains and the Terai . The smaller Vindhya Range and plateau region are in
5810-461: Is so acute it can cause both drought and floods . Bangladesh, in particular, frequently experiences drought during the dry season and regularly suffers extreme floods during the monsoon. In the Ganges Delta, many large rivers come together, both merging and bifurcating in a complicated network of channels . The two largest rivers, the Ganges and Brahmaputra, both split into distributary channels,
5976-796: Is spread across Bangladesh, Bhutan , India, Nepal, and China. The Ganges basin ranges from the Himalaya and the Transhimalaya in the north, to the northern slopes of the Vindhya range in the south, from the eastern slopes of the Aravalli in the west to the Chota Nagpur plateau and the Sunderbans delta in the east. A significant portion of the discharge from the Ganges comes from the Himalayan mountain system. Within
6142-425: Is the fourth-largest economy in India, with an estimated gross state domestic product of ₹ 14.89 lakh crore (US$ 180 billion), contributing 8.4% of India's gross domestic product. According to the report generated by India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), in 2014–15, Uttar Pradesh has accounted for 19% share in the country's total food grain output. About 70% of India's sugar comes from Uttar Pradesh. Sugarcane
6308-461: Is the third-largest state economy in India, with ₹ 18.63 lakh crore (US$ 220 billion) in gross domestic product and a per capita GSDP of ₹ 68,810 (US$ 820). The High Court of the state is located in Prayagraj . The state contributes 80 seats to the lower house Lok Sabha and 31 seats and the upper house Rajya Sabha . On 9 November 2000, a new state, Uttaranchal (now Uttarakhand ),
6474-439: Is the high point of the Ganges basin. The other peaks over 8,000m in the basin are Kangchenjunga , Lhotse , Makalu , Cho Oyu , Dhaulagiri , Manaslu , Annapurna and Shishapangma . The Himalayan portion of the basin includes the south-eastern portion of the state of Himachal Pradesh, the entire state of Uttarakhand, the entire country of Nepal and the extreme north-western portion of the state of West Bengal. The discharge of
6640-422: Is the most important cash crop as the state is country's largest producer of sugar. As per the report generated by Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), total sugarcane production in India was estimated to be 28.3 million tonnes in the fiscal ending September 2015 which includes 10.47 million tonnes from Maharashtra and 7.35 million tonnes from Uttar Pradesh. With 359 manufacturing clusters, cement
6806-456: Is the top sector of SMEs in Uttar Pradesh. The Uttar Pradesh Financial Corporation (UPFC) was established in 1954 under the SFCs Act of 1951 mainly to develop small- and medium-scale industries in the state. The UPFC also provides working capital to existing units with a soundtrack record and to new units under a single window scheme. In July 2012, due to financial constraints and directions from
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6972-514: Is used in Hindu ritual and is therefore present in all sacred waters. Despite this, nothing is more stirring for a Hindu than a dip in the actual river, which is thought to remit sins, especially at one of the famous tirthas such as Varanasi , Gangotri , Haridwar , or the Triveni Sangam at Prayagraj . The symbolic and religious importance of the Ganges is one of the few things that Hindus, even their skeptics, have agreed upon. Jawaharlal Nehru,
7138-406: The 2012 election . Religion in Uttar Pradesh (2011) Languages of Uttar Pradesh from 2011 census Uttar Pradesh has a very large population and a high population growth rate. From 1991 to 2001 its population increased by over 26 per cent. It is the most populous state in India , with 199,581,477 people on 1 March 2011. The state contributes to 16.2 per cent of India's population. As of 2021,
7304-543: The Babool ( Vachellia nilotica ) and animals such as the Chinkara ( Gazella bennettii ) are found in the arid Vindhyas. Tropical dry deciduous forests are found in all parts of the plains. Since much sunlight reaches the ground, shrubs and grasses are also abundant. Large tracts of these forests have been cleared for cultivation. Tropical thorny forests, consisting of widely scattered thorny trees, mainly babool are mostly found in
7470-1009: The Bay of Bengal . The Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna system is the second-largest river on earth by discharge . The main stem of the Ganges begins at the town of Devprayag , at the confluence of the Alaknanda , which is the source stream in hydrology on account of its greater length, and the Bhagirathi , which is considered the source stream in Hindu mythology . The Ganges is a lifeline to tens of millions of people who live in its basin and depend on it for their daily needs. It has been important historically, with many former provincial or imperial capitals such as Pataliputra , Kannauj , Sonargaon , Dhaka , Bikrampur , Kara , Munger , Kashi , Patna , Hajipur , Kanpur , Delhi , Bhagalpur , Murshidabad , Baharampur , Kampilya , and Kolkata located on its banks or those of its tributaries and connected waterways. The river
7636-559: The Chief Secretary assists the council of ministers. The Chief Secretary is also the administrative head of the government. Each government department is headed by a minister, who is assisted by an Additional Chief Secretary or a Principal Secretary , who is usually an officer of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary serves as the administrative head of
7802-456: The Department of Home and Confidential , is the largest police force in the world. Uttar Pradesh also reported the highest number of deaths – 41,746 – due to road accidents till December 2022, according to "Road Accidents in India" report of Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways . The UP Transport Department report also indicates that the primary cause of road accident fatalities
7968-592: The Hooghly River . Just before the border with Bangladesh the Farakka Barrage controls the flow of Ganges, diverting some of the water into a feeder canal linked to the Hooghly for the purpose of keeping it relatively silt-free. The Hooghly River is formed by the confluence of the Bhagirathi River and Ajay River at Katwa , and Hooghly has a number of tributaries of its own. The largest is the Damodar River , which
8134-687: The Huns ' invasions that broke the Gupta empire, the Ganges-Yamuna Doab saw the rise of Kannauj . During the reign of Harshavardhana (590–647), the Kannauj empire reached its zenith. It spanned from Punjab in the north and Gujarat in the west to Bengal in the east and Odisha in the south. It included parts of central India, north of the Narmada River and it encompassed the entire Indo-Gangetic Plain . Many communities in various parts of India claim descent from
8300-602: The Indian Rebellion of 1857 ; Bengal regiment 's sepoy stationed at Meerut cantonment , Mangal Pandey , is widely considered as its starting point. After the revolt failed, the British divided the most rebellious regions by reorganising their administrative boundaries, splitting the Delhi region from 'NWFP of Agra' and merging it with Punjab Province , while the Ajmer – Marwar region
8466-573: The Indo-Gangetic Plain . The Indo-Gangetic Plain is geologically known as a foredeep or foreland basin . Major left-bank tributaries include the Gomti River, Ghaghara River, Gandaki River and Kosi River; major right-bank tributaries include the Yamuna River, Son River, Punpun and Damodar. The hydrology of the Ganges River is very complicated, especially in the Ganges Delta region. One result
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#17330861362318632-502: The Kaimur Range and contributes an average flow of about 187 m/s (6,600 cu ft/s). After the Tamsa, the 625 km (388 mi) long Gomti River joins, flowing south from the Himalayas. The Gomti contributes an average annual flow of about 234 m/s (8,300 cu ft/s). Then the 1,156 km (718 mi) long Ghaghara River (Karnali River), also flowing south from
8798-590: The Mahabharata , in one of its popular ślokas , says, "If only (one) bone of a (deceased) person should touch the water of the Ganges, that person shall dwell honoured in heaven." As if to illustrate this truism, the Kashi Khanda (Varanasi Chapter) of the Skanda Purana recounts the remarkable story of Vahika , a profligate and unrepentant sinner, who is killed by a tiger in the forest. His soul arrives before Yama ,
8964-501: The National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC), Uttar Pradesh tops the list of states of encounter killings and custodial deaths. In 2014, the state recorded 365 judicial deaths out of a total 1,530 deaths recorded in the country. NHRC further said, of the over 30,000 murders registered in the country in 2016, Uttar Pradesh had 4,889 cases. A data from Minister of Home Affairs (MHA) avers, Bareilly recorded
9130-595: The North Central Railway and Gorakhpur is the headquarters of the North Eastern Railway . Lucknow and Moradabad serve as divisional Headquarters of the Northern Railway Division. Lucknow Swarna Shatabdi Express , the second fastest Shatabdi Express train, connects the Indian capital of New Delhi to Lucknow while Kanpur Shatabdi Express , connects New Delhi to Kanpur Central . This
9296-424: The Ramayana epic reigned in Ayodhya , the capital of Kosala. Krishna , another divine king of Hindu legend, who plays a key role in the Mahabharata epic and is revered as the eighth reincarnation ( Avatar ) of the Hindu god Vishnu , is said to have been born in the city of Mathura . The aftermath of the Kurukshetra War is believed to have taken place in the area between the Upper Doab and Delhi , (in what
9462-494: The Samajwadi Party , the Bahujan Samaj Party , the Bharatiya Janata Party , and the Indian National Congress . The political landscape of the state is often characterized by intense competition and polarization , leading to caste-based tensions and communal conflicts . Critics often suggest that despite Uttar Pradesh's significant political legacy of producing eight Prime Ministers , the state continues to struggle with issues that hinder its overall advancement. According to
9628-406: The Shraddha rites. Hindus also perform pinda pradana , a rite for the dead, in which balls of rice and sesame seed are offered to the Ganges while the names of the deceased relatives are recited. Every sesame seed in every ball thus offered, according to one story, assures a thousand years of heavenly salvation for each relative. Indeed, the Ganges is so important in the rituals after death that
9794-424: The Vedic period and extending into the Iron Age . Out of the sixteen mahajanapadas (lit. 'great realms') or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India, seven fell entirely within the present-day boundaries of the state. The kingdom of Kosala , in the Mahajanapada era, was also located within the regional boundaries of modern-day Uttar Pradesh. According to Hinduism, the divine King Rama of
9960-431: The Vishnupadi , which until now had been circling the cosmic egg. Flowing out of the vault, she plummets down to Indra's heaven, where she is received by Dhruva , once a steadfast worshipper of Vishnu, now fixed in the sky as the Pole star . Next, she streams across the sky forming the Milky Way and arrives on the moon. She then flows down earthwards to Brahma 's realm, a divine lotus atop Mount Meru , whose petals form
10126-414: The government . Uttar Pradesh is divided into 75 districts under these 18 divisions: The following is a list of top districts from state of Uttar Pradesh by population, ranked in respect of all India. Each district is governed by a District Magistrate, who is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer appointed Government of Uttar Pradesh and reports to Divisional Commissioner of
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#173308613623110292-511: The monsoon . Uttar Pradesh has a humid subtropical climate and experiences four seasons. The winter in January and February is followed by summer between March and May and the monsoon season between June and September. Summers are extreme with temperatures fluctuating anywhere between 0–50 °C (32–122 °F) in parts of the state coupled with dry hot winds called the Loo . The Gangetic plain varies from semiarid to sub-humid. The mean annual rainfall ranges from 650 mm (26 inches) in
10458-540: The 12th century to the 18th century. Uttar Pradesh was partially or entirely ruled by the Delhi Sultanate for 320 years (1206–1526). Five dynasties ruled over the Delhi Sultanate sequentially: the Mamluk dynasty (1206–90), the Khalji dynasty (1290–1320), the Tughlaq dynasty (1320–1414), the Sayyid dynasty (1414–51), and the Lodi dynasty (1451–1526). The first Sultan of Delhi, Qutb ud-Din Aibak , conquered some parts of Uttar Pradesh, including Meerut , Aligarh , and Etawah . His successor, Iltutmish , expanded
10624-422: The 16th century, Babur , a Timurid descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan from Fergana Valley (modern-day Uzbekistan ), swept across the Khyber Pass and founded the Mughal Empire , covering India , along with modern-day Afghanistan , Pakistan and Bangladesh . The Mughals were descended from Persianised Central Asian Turks (with significant Mongol admixture). In the Mughal era, Uttar Pradesh became
10790-434: The 729 km (453 mi) long Kosi River , join from the north flowing from Nepal, contributing about 1,654 m/s (58,400 cu ft/s) and 2,166 m/s (76,500 cu ft/s), respectively. The Kosi is the third largest tributary of the Ganges by discharge, after Ghaghara (Karnali) and Yamuna. The Kosi merges into the Ganges near Kursela in Bihar . Along the way between Prayagraj and Malda , West Bengal ,
10956-399: The Alaknanda, Dhauliganga , Nandakini , Pindar , Mandakini and Bhagirathi. Their confluences, known as the Panch Prayag , are all along the Alaknanda. They are, in downstream order, Vishnuprayag , where the Dhauliganga joins the Alaknanda; Nandprayag , where the Nandakini joins; Karnaprayag , where the Pindar joins; Rudraprayag , where the Mandakini joins; and finally, Devprayag, where
11122-402: The Bhagirathi Granite. It then enters a wide valley and meets two tributaries near Jhala. The river continues to flow downwards to Uttarkashi and then through Dharasu, Chinyalisaur, and the old town of Tehri. From Tehri, the river reaches Devprayag via the Himalayas. At Devprayag, the Bhagirathi River converges with the Alaknanda River and travels onward as the Ganges River. The Bhagirathi River
11288-418: The Bhagirathi joins the Alaknanda to form the Ganges. After flowing for 256.90 km (159.63 mi) through its narrow Himalayan valley, the Ganges emerges from the mountains at Rishikesh , then debouches onto the Gangetic Plain at the pilgrimage town of Haridwar . At Haridwar, a headworks diverts some of its water into the Ganges Canal , which irrigates the Doab region of Uttar Pradesh , whereas
11454-413: The Brahmaputra, and the Surma-Meghna river system. In full flood only the Amazon is larger. The Indian subcontinent lies atop the Indian tectonic plate , a minor plate within the Indo-Australian Plate . Its defining geological processes commenced seventy-five million years ago, when, as a part of the southern supercontinent Gondwana , it began a northeastwards drift —lasting fifty million years—across
11620-456: The Civil Judges (Junior Division)/Judicial Magistrates and civil judges (Senior Division)/Chief Judicial Magistrate, the Uttar Pradesh higher judicial service comprises civil and sessions judges. The Subordinate judicial service (viz. The district court of Etawah and the district court of Kanpur Dehat) of the judiciary at Uttar Pradesh is controlled by the District Judge. Politics in Uttar Pradesh has been dominated by four political parties –
11786-481: The Ganges also differs by source. Frequently, discharge is described for the mouth of the Meghna River, thus combining the Ganges with the Brahmaputra and Meghna. This results in a total average annual discharge of about 38,000 m/s (1,300,000 cu ft/s), or 42,470 m/s (1,500,000 cu ft/s). In other cases the average annual discharges of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna are given separately, at about 16,650 m/s (588,000 cu ft/s) for
11952-485: The Ganges basin is governed by the Southwest Monsoon . About 84% of the total rainfall occurs in the monsoon from June to September. Consequently, streamflow in the Ganges is highly seasonal. The average dry season to monsoon discharge ratio is about 1:6, as measured at Hardinge Bridge . This strong seasonal variation underlies many problems of land and water resource development in the region. The seasonality of flow
12118-429: The Ganges flow at Farakka was less than 2,000 m/s (71,000 cu ft/s) then India and Bangladesh would each receive 50% of the water, with each receiving at least 1,000 m/s (35,000 cu ft/s) for alternating ten-day periods. However, within a year the flow at Farakka fell to levels far below the historic average, making it impossible to implement the guaranteed sharing of water. In March 1997, flow of
12284-399: The Ganges in Bangladesh dropped to its lowest ever, 180 m/s (6,400 cu ft/s). Dry season flows returned to normal levels in the years following, but efforts were made to address the problem. One plan is for another barrage to be built in Bangladesh at Pangsha , west of Dhaka . This barrage would help Bangladesh better utilize its share of the waters of the Ganges. The Ganges is
12450-478: The Ganges river passes the towns of Chunar , Mirzapur , Varanasi , Ghazipur , Ara , Patna , Chapra , Hajipur , Mokama , Begusarai , Munger , Sahibganj , Rajmahal , Bhagalpur , Ballia , Buxar , Simaria , Sultanganj , and Farakka . At Bhagalpur, the river begins to flow south-southeast and at Farakka, it begins its attrition with the branching away of its first distributary , the 408 km (254 mi) long Bhāgirathi-Hooghly , which goes on to become
12616-623: The Ganges". The Ganges is the embodiment of all sacred waters in Hindu mythology . Local rivers are said to be like the Ganges and are sometimes called the local Ganges. The Godavari River of Maharashtra in Western India is called the Ganges of the South or the 'Dakshin Ganga'; the Godavari is the Ganges that was led by the sage Gautama to flow through Central India. The Ganges is invoked whenever water
12782-423: The Ganges, about 19,820 m/s (700,000 cu ft/s) for the Brahmaputra, and about 5,100 m/s (180,000 cu ft/s) for the Meghna. The maximum peak discharge of the Ganges, as recorded at Hardinge Bridge in Bangladesh, exceeded 70,000 m/s (2,500,000 cu ft/s). The minimum recorded at the same place was about 180 m/s (6,400 cu ft/s), in 1997. The hydrologic cycle in
12948-424: The Ganges, and are granted instant salvation. If the death has occurred elsewhere, salvation can be achieved by immersing the ashes in the Ganges. If the ashes have been immersed in another body of water, a relative can still gain salvation for the deceased by journeying to the Ganges, if possible during the lunar "fortnight of the ancestors" in the Hindu calendar month of Ashwin (September or October), and performing
13114-585: The Ganges. In Hindu texts , Bhagiratha was a descendant of King Sagara of the Suryavamsha , or Solar Dynasty. He played an important role in the descent of the Ganges. The story of Bhagiratha is narrated in the Ramayana , Mahabharata , and the Puranas . Wanting to show his sovereignty, King Sagara performed a ritual known as ashvamedha , where a horse was left to wander for one year. However, Indra stole
13280-584: The High Court of the Uttar Pradesh judiciary on the advice of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India as well as the governor of Uttar Pradesh. Subordinate Judicial Service, categorised into two divisions viz. Uttar Pradesh civil judicial services and Uttar Pradesh higher judicial service are another vital part of the judiciary of Uttar Pradesh. While the Uttar Pradesh civil judicial services comprise
13446-677: The Himalaya, the Ganges basin spreads almost 1,200 km from the Yamuna-Satluj divide along the Simla ridge forming the boundary with the Indus basin in the west to the Singalila Ridge along the Nepal-Sikkim border forming the boundary with the Brahmaputra basin in the east. This section of the Himalaya contains 9 of the 14 highest peaks in the world over 8,000m in height, including Mount Everest which
13612-495: The Himalayas of Tibet through Nepal joins. The Ghaghara (Karnali), with its average annual flow of about 2,991 m/s (105,600 cu ft/s), is the largest tributary of the Ganges by discharge. After the Ghaghara confluence, the Ganges is joined from the south by the 784 km (487 mi) long Son River , which contributes about 1,008 m/s (35,600 cu ft/s). The 814 km (506 mi) long Gandaki River , then
13778-468: The Hindu tradition, she is also considered the vehicle of ascent , from earth to heaven. As the Triloka-patha-gamini , (Sanskrit: triloka = "three worlds", patha = "road", gamini = "one who travels") of the tradition, she flows in heaven , earth , and the netherworld , and, consequently, is a "tirtha" or crossing point of all beings, the living as well as the dead. It is for this reason that
13944-479: The Lord of Death, to be judged for the afterworld. Having no compensating virtue, Vahika's soul is at once dispatched to hell . While this is happening, his body on earth, however, is being picked at by vultures, one of whom flies away with a foot bone. Another bird comes after the vulture, and in fighting him off, the vulture accidentally drops the bone into the Ganges below. Blessed by this event, Vahika, on his way to hell,
14110-657: The Sultanate's rule over Uttar Pradesh by defeating the King of Kannauj . During the reign of Sultan Balban , the Mamluk dynasty faced numerous rebellions in the state, but he was able to suppress them and establish his authority. Alauddin Khilji , extended his conquests to various regions in the state, including Varanasi and Prayagraj . Apart from the rulers, the Delhi Sultanate era also saw
14276-490: The United Provinces were renamed "Uttar Pradesh" ( lit. ' northern province ' ), preserving UP as the abbreviation of the state's name, with the change coming into effect on 24 January 1950. The new state was formed after the merger of several princely states and territories, including the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh , and the Delhi territory. The state has provided nine of India's prime ministers which
14442-527: The Uttar Pradesh Budget Documents (2019–20), Uttar Pradesh's debt burden is 29.8 per cent of the GSDP . The state's total financial debt stood at ₹ 2.09 lakh crore (US$ 25 billion) in 2011. Uttar Pradesh has not been able to witness double-digit economic growth despite consistent attempts over the years. The GSDP is estimated to have grown 7 per cent in 2017–18 and 6.5 per cent in 2018–19 which
14608-584: The Uttar Pradesh Industrial Development Act, 1976. In 2011, state's cabinet ministers headed by the then Chief Minister Mayawati announced the separation of Uttar Pradesh into four different states of Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Avadh Pradesh and Paschim Pradesh with twenty-eight, seven, twenty-three and seventeen districts, respectively, later the proposal was turned down when the Akhilesh Yadav –lead Samajwadi Party came to power in
14774-781: The afternoon of 23 November 2007, within a span of 25 minutes, six consecutive serial blasts occurred in the Lucknow, Varanasi, and Faizabad courts, in which 28 people were killed. Another blast occurred on 7 December 2010, the blast occurred at Sheetla Ghat in Varanasi in which more than 38 people were killed. In February 2016, a series of bomb blasts occurred at the Jhakarkati Bus Station in Kanpur , killing 2 people and injuring more than 30. figures in crores of Indian rupees In terms of net state domestic product (NSDP), Uttar Pradesh
14940-479: The belt of temperate upper mountainous forests. Medicinal plants are found in the wild and are also grown in plantations . The Terai–Duar savanna and grasslands support cattle. Moist deciduous trees grow in the upper Gangetic plain, especially along its riverbanks. This plain supports a wide variety of plants and animals. The Ganges and its tributaries are the habitat of large and small reptiles, amphibians , fresh-water fish, and crabs. Scrubland trees such as
15106-431: The bhabhar in a thin strip. The entire alluvial plain is divided into three sub-regions. The first in the eastern tract consisting of 14 districts which are subject to periodical floods and droughts and have been classified as scarcity areas. These districts have the highest density of population which gives the lowest per capita land. The other two regions, the central and the western , are comparatively better with
15272-577: The bulk of its flow. In West Bengal state, India, a feeder canal taking off from its right bank diverts 50% of its flow southwards, artificially connecting it to the Hooghly River . The Ganges continues into Bangladesh, its name changing to the Padma . It is then joined by the Jamuna , the lower stream of the Brahmaputra , and eventually the Meghna , forming the major estuary of the Ganges Delta , and emptying into
15438-613: The census. These include Awadhi spoken in Awadh in central Uttar Pradesh, Bhojpuri spoken in Purvanchal in eastern Uttar Pradesh, and Braj Bhasha spoken in the Braj region in Western Uttar Pradesh. These languages have also been recognised by the state government for official use in their respective regions. Urdu is given the status of a second official language, spoken by 5.4 per cent of
15604-434: The country. The state's per capita GSDP was ₹ 29,417 (US$ 350), lower than the national per capita GSDP of ₹ 60,972 (US$ 730). Labor efficiency is higher at an index of 26 than the national average of 25. Textiles and sugar refining, both long-standing industries in Uttar Pradesh, employ a significant proportion of the state's total factory labour. The economy also benefits from the state's tourism industry. The state has
15770-555: The department they are assigned to. Each department also has officers of the rank of Secretary, Special Secretary, Joint Secretary etc. assisting the Minister and the Additional Chief Secretary / Principal Secretary . For administration, the state is divided into 18 divisions and 75 districts. Divisional Commissioner , an IAS officer is the head of administration on the divisional level. The administration in each district
15936-465: The disputed Babri Mosque located in Ayodhya was demolished by Hindu activists, leading to widespread violence across India. In 2000, northern districts of the state were separated to form the state of Uttarakhand . Uttar Pradesh, with a total area of 240,928 square kilometres (93,023 sq mi), is India's fourth-largest state in terms of land area and is roughly of same size as United Kingdom. It
16102-533: The district, assisted by the officers of Provincial Forest Service and Uttar Pradesh Forest Subordinate Service. The judiciary in the state consists of the Allahabad High Court in Prayagraj , the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court , district courts and session courts in each district or Sessions Division, and lower courts at the tehsil level. The president of India appoints the chief justice of
16268-510: The division in which his district falls. The Divisional Commissioner is an IAS officer of high seniority. Each district is divided into subdivisions, governed by a Sub-Divisional Magistrate , and again into Blocks . Blocks consists of panchayats (village councils) and town municipalities . These blocks consists of urban units viz. census towns and rural units called gram panchayat . Uttar Pradesh has more metropolitan cities than any other state in India. The absolute urban population of
16434-456: The earthly continents. There, the divine waters break up, with one stream, the Bhagirathi, flowing down one petal into Bharatavarsha (India) as the Ganges. It is Shiva , however, among the major deities of the Hindu pantheon, who appears in the most widely known version of the avatarana story. Told and retold in the Ramayana , the Mahabharata and several Puranas , the story begins with
16600-432: The east, Madhya Pradesh , Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to the south. It is the fourth-largest Indian state by area covering 243,286 km (93,933 sq mi), accounting for 7.3 percent of the total area of India. Lucknow serves as the state capital , with Prayagraj being the judicial capital . It is divided into 18 divisions and 75 districts . Uttar Pradesh was established in 1950 after India had become
16766-610: The end of the 18th century, the course of the lower Brahmaputra changed dramatically, significantly altering its relationship with the Ganges. In 1787 there was a great flood on the Teesta River , which at the time was a tributary of the Ganges-Padma River. The flood of 1787 caused the Teesta to undergo a sudden change course, an avulsion , shifting east to join the Brahmaputra and causing the Brahmaputra to shift its course south, cutting
16932-457: The estimated population of the state is around 240 million people. The population density is 828 people per square kilometre, making it one of the most densely populated states in the country. It has the largest scheduled caste population whereas scheduled tribes are less than 1 per cent of the total population. The sex ratio in 2011, at 912 women to 1000 men, was lower than the national figure of 943. The low sex ratio in Uttar Pradesh,
17098-556: The fall of Mughal authority, the power vacuum was filled by the Maratha Empire , in the mid-18th century, the Maratha army invaded the Uttar Pradesh region, which resulted in Rohillas losing control of Rohilkhand to the Maratha forces led by Raghunath Rao and Malha Rao Holkar . The conflict between Rohillas and Marathas came to an end on 18 December 1788 with the arrest of Ghulam Qadir ,
17264-455: The foot of Gangotri Glacier at Gomukh , at an elevation of 4,356 m (14,291 ft) and was mythologically referred to as residing in the matted locks of Shiva ; symbolically Tapovan, which is a meadow of ethereal beauty at the feet of Mount Shivling, just 5 km (3.1 mi) away. Although many small streams comprise the headwaters of the Ganges, the six longest and their five confluences are considered sacred. The six headstreams are
17430-451: The global burial of organic carbon . The Ganges Delta , formed mainly by the large, sediment-laden flows of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, is the world's largest delta, at about 64,000 km (25,000 sq mi). It stretches 400 km (250 mi) along the Bay of Bengal . Only the Amazon and Congo rivers have a greater average discharge than the combined flow of the Ganges,
17596-624: The grandson of Najeeb-ud-Daula, who was defeated by the Maratha general Mahadaji Scindia . In 1803–04, following the Second Anglo-Maratha War , when the British East India Company defeated the Maratha Empire, much of the region came under British suzerainty. Starting from Bengal in the second half of the 18th century, a series of battles for north Indian lands finally gave the British East India Company accession over
17762-907: The growth of Sufism in Uttar Pradesh. Sufi saints, such as Nizamuddin Auliya and Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki , lived during this period and their teachings had a significant impact on the people of the region. Sultanat era in the state also witnessed the construction of mosques and tombs, including the Atala Masjid in Jaunpur , the Jama Masjid in Fatehpur Sikri , and the Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq's Tomb in Tughlaqabad . In
17928-487: The heartland of the empire. Mughal emperors Babur and Humayun ruled from Delhi. In 1540 an Afghan, Sher Shah Suri , took over the reins of Uttar Pradesh after defeating the Mughal King Humanyun. Sher Shah and his son Islam Shah ruled Uttar Pradesh from their capital at Gwalior . After the death of Islam Shah Suri , his prime minister Hemu became the de facto ruler of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and
18094-544: The highest number of custodial death at 25, followed by Agra (21), Allahabad (19) and Varanasi (9). National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data from 2011 says, the state has the highest number of crimes among any state in India, but due to its high population , the actual per capita crime rate is low. The state also continues to top the list of states with maximum communal violence incidents. An analysis of Ministers of State of Home Affairs states (2014), 23 per cent of all incidents of communal violence in India took place in
18260-570: The horse to prevent the ritual from being successful. Learning that the horse had disappeared, King Sagara sent his sixty thousand sons to look for it. They eventually found the horse at the ashram of sage Kapila. Thinking that sage Kapila had stolen the horse, the sons interrupted him while he was in deep meditation. This infuriated sage Kapila and with his ascetic's gaze burned all sixty thousand sons to ashes. King Sagara sent his grandson, Amshuman , to ask sage Kapila what could be done to bring deliverance to their souls. Sage Kapila advised that only
18426-471: The largest number of legislators to the national Parliament. The state contributes 80 seats to Lok Sabha , the lower house of the Indian Parliament , and 31 seats to Rajya Sabha , the upper house. The Government of Uttar Pradesh is a democratically elected body in India with the governor as its constitutional head and is appointed by the president of India for a five-year term. The leader of
18592-399: The largest of which merge with other large rivers before themselves joining the Bay of Bengal. But this current channel pattern was not always the case. Over time the rivers in Ganges Delta have often changed course , sometimes altering the network of channels in significant ways. Before the late 12th century the Bhagirathi-Hooghly distributary was the main channel of the Ganges and the Padma
18758-467: The largest railway network in the country but in relative terms has only sixth-highest railway density despite its plain topography and largest population. As of 2015 , there were 9,077 km (5,640 mi) of rail in the state. The railway network in the state is controlled by two divisions of the Indian Railways viz. North Central Railway and North Eastern Railway. Allahabad is the headquarters of
18924-541: The leaders of the movement in Uttar Pradesh, and Motilal Nehru , Jawaharlal Nehru , Madan Mohan Malaviya and Govind Ballabh Pant were important national leaders of the Indian National Congress . The All India Kisan Sabha was formed at the Lucknow session of the Congress on 11 April 1936, with the famous nationalist Sahajanand Saraswati elected as its first president, to address the longstanding grievances of
19090-422: The locality of Langalbandh , is still considered sacred by Hindus. Near the confluence is a major early historic site called Wari-Bateshwar . In the rainy season of 1809, the lower channel of the Bhagirathi, leading to Kolkata, had been entirely shut; but in the following year it opened again and was nearly of the same size as the upper channel but both however suffered a considerable diminution, owing probably to
19256-468: The main flow of the Ganges to shift to the southeast and the Padma River. By the end of the 18th century, the Padma had become the main distributary of the Ganges. One result of this shift to the Padma was that the Ganges now joined the Meghna and Brahmaputra rivers before emptying into the Bay of Bengal. The present confluence of the Ganges and Meghna was formed very recently, about 150 years ago. Also near
19422-466: The mainstream political entities that existed in ancient and medieval India including the Maurya Empire , Harsha Empire , Gupta Empire , Pala Empire , Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire as well as many other empires. At the time of the Indian independence movement in the early 20th century, there were three major princely states in Uttar Pradesh – Ramgadi, Rampur and Benares and served as
19588-643: The migrants of Kannauj. Soon after Harshavardhana's death, his empire disintegrated into many kingdoms, which were invaded and ruled by the Gurjara-Pratihara empire, which challenged Bengal's Pala Empire for control of the region. Kannauj was several times invaded by the South Indian Rashtrakuta dynasty , from the 8th century to the 10th century. After the fall of the Pala empire, the Chero dynasty ruled from
19754-507: The mountains which stretch along the northern frontier, traverse the level country, and not a few of these, after uniting with each other, fall into the river called the Ganges. Now this river, which at its source is 30 stadia broad, flows from north to south, and empties its waters into the ocean forming the eastern boundary of the Gangaridai , a nation which possesses a vast force of the largest-sized elephants." (Diodorus II.37). In 1951
19920-451: The nectar of the gods which then plunges to the earth and waters it with sustenance. In the Vaishnava version of the myth, the heavenly waters were then a river called Vishnupadi ( Sanskrit : "from the foot of Vishnu"). As Vishnu as the avatar Vamana completes his celebrated three strides —of earth, sky, and heaven— he stubs his toe on the vault of heaven, punches open a hole and releases
20086-406: The net area sown is 68.5 percent of the cultivable area. Inhabitants of the state are called Awadhi , Brajwasi , or Bundeli , depending upon their region of origin. Hinduism is practised by more than three-fourths of the population, followed by Islam . Hindi is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state, along with Urdu . Uttar Pradesh was home to most of
20252-507: The new communication opened below the Jalanggi on the upper channel. Discharge of the Ganges River at Farakka Barrage (period from 1998/01/01 to 2023/12/31): The first European traveller to mention the Ganges was the Greek envoy Megasthenes (ca. 350–290 BCE). He did so several times in his work Indica : "India, again, possesses many rivers both large and navigable, which, having their sources in
20418-471: The overall precipitation of the state. The rain in Uttar Pradesh can vary from an annual average of 170 cm (67 inches) in hilly areas to 84 cm (33 inches) in Western Uttar Pradesh . Given the concentration of most of this rainfall in the four months of the monsoon, excess rain can lead to floods and shortage to droughts. As such, these two phenomena, floods and droughts, commonly recur in
20584-536: The party or coalition with a majority in the Legislative Assembly is appointed as the chief minister by the governor, and the council of ministers is appointed by the governor on the advice of the chief minister. The governor remains a ceremonial head of the state, while the chief minister and his council are responsible for day-to-day government functions. The Council of Ministers consists of Cabinet Ministers and Ministers of State (MoS). The Secretariat headed by
20750-562: The peasantry and mobilise them against the zamindari landlords attacks on their occupancy rights, thus sparking the Farmers movements in India. During the Quit India Movement of 1942, Ballia district overthrew the colonial authority and installed an independent administration under Chittu Pandey . Ballia became known as "Baghi Ballia" (Rebel Ballia) for this significant role in India's independence movement. After India's independence,
20916-473: The plains first to the confluence with the Yamuna at Prayag and then to Varanasi, and eventually to Ganges Sagar (Ganges delta), where she meets the ocean, sinks to the netherworld, and saves the sons of Sagara. In honour of Bhagirath's pivotal role in the avatarana , the source stream of the Ganges in the Himalayas is named Bhagirathi, (Sanskrit, "of Bhagiratha"). As the Ganges had descended from heaven to earth in
21082-537: The plains of India, and to the sea where she liberated the sixty thousand sons of King Sagara. Due to Bhagiratha's role in the descent of the Ganges, the source stream came to be known as Bhagirathi. The headwaters of the Bhagirathi River are formed at Gaumukh at the foot of the Gangotri glacier . From Gaumukh the river reaches the town of Gangotri. From Gangotri, it travels down a deep gorge and arrives at Bhaironghati. The river continues to travel to Harsil and crosses
21248-402: The population. English is used as a means of communication for education, commerce, and governance. It is commonly spoken and employed as a language of instruction in educational institutions, as well as for conducting business transactions and managing administrative affairs. Other notable languages spoken in the state include Punjabi (0.3 per cent) and Bengali (0.1 per cent). The state
21414-555: The recorded forest area in the state was 16,583 km (6,403 sq mi) which is about 6.9% of the state's geographical area. In spite of rapid deforestation and poaching of wildlife, a diverse flora and fauna continue to exist in the state. Uttar Pradesh is a habitat for 4.2% of all species of Algae recorded in India, 6.4% of Fungi , 6.0% of Lichens , 2.9% of Bryophytes , 3.3% of Pteridophytes , 8.7% of Gymnosperms , 8.1% of Angiosperms . Several species of trees, large and small mammals , reptiles , and insects are found in
21580-491: The report of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released in 2020, the state per capita income is below ₹ 80,000 (US$ 960) per annum. As per 2011 census , Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in India, is home to the highest numbers of both Hindus and Muslims. The literacy rate of the state at the 2011 census was 67.7 per cent, which was below the national average of 74 per cent. The literacy rate for men
21746-570: The river Ganges begins at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers in the town of Devprayag in the Garhwal division of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The Bhagirathi is considered to be the source in Hindu culture and mythology, although the Alaknanda is longer, and therefore, hydrologically the source stream. The headwaters of the Alakananda are formed by snow melt from peaks such as Nanda Devi , Trisul , and Kamet . The Bhagirathi rises at
21912-402: The river near Varanasi are more than 100 times the Indian government's official limit. The Ganga Action Plan , an environmental initiative to clean up the river, has been considered a failure which is variously attributed to corruption , a lack of will in the government, poor technical expertise, poor environmental planning , and a lack of support from religious authorities. The upper phase of
22078-466: The river's source is usually assumed to be the source of the Bhagirathi River, Gangotri Glacier at Gomukh and its mouth being the mouth of the Meghna River on the Bay of Bengal. Sometimes the source of the Ganges is considered to be at Haridwar, where its Himalayan headwater streams debouch onto the Gangetic Plain. In some cases, the length of the Ganges is given by its Hooghly River distributary, which
22244-505: The river, however, can achieve the same results by bathing in any nearby body of water, which, for the true believer, takes on all the attributes of the Ganges. The karunasiri is an old theme in Hinduism with a number of different versions of the story. In the Vedic version, Indra , the Lord of Svarga ( Heaven ) slays the celestial serpent, Vritra , releasing the celestial liquid, soma , or
22410-471: The river, whose course has been roughly southwest until this point, now begins to flow southeast through the plains of northern India. The Ganges river follows a 900 km (560 mi) arching course passing through the cities of Bijnor , Kannauj, Farukhabad , and Kanpur . Along the way it is joined by the Ramganga , which contributes an average annual flow of about 495 m/s (17,500 cu ft/s) to
22576-486: The river. The Ganges joins the 1,444 km (897 mi) long River Yamuna at the Triveni Sangam at Prayagraj (previously Allahabad), a confluence considered holy in Hinduism. At their confluence the Yamuna is larger than the Ganges contributing about 58.5% of the combined flow, with an average flow of 2,948 m/s (104,100 cu ft/s). Now flowing east, the river meets the 400 km (250 mi) long Tamsa River (also called Tons ), which flows north from
22742-545: The same Ganga." In late May or early June every year, Hindus celebrate the karunasiri and the rise of the Ganges from earth to heaven. The day of the celebration, Ganga Dashahara , the Dashami (tenth day) of the waxing moon of the Hindu calendar month Jyeshtha , brings throngs of bathers to the banks of the river. A dip in the Ganges on this day is said to rid the bather of ten sins (dasha = Sanskrit "ten"; hara = to destroy) or ten lifetimes of sins. Those who cannot journey to
22908-399: The secondary sector (industrial and manufacturing). Noida , Meerut , and Agra rank as the top 3 districts with the highest per capita income, whereas Lucknow and Kanpur rank 7th and 9th in per capita income. During the 11th five-year plan (2007–2012), the average gross state domestic product (GSDP) growth rate was 7.3 per cent, lower than 15.5 per cent, the average for all states of
23074-463: The size of the river's drainage basin. The basin covers parts of four countries, India, Nepal , China , and Bangladesh; eleven Indian states, Himachal Pradesh , Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh , Bihar, Jharkhand , Punjab , Haryana, Rajasthan , West Bengal, and the Union Territory of Delhi . The Ganges basin, including the delta but not the Brahmaputra or Meghna basins,
23240-529: The source: The Bhilangna itself rises at the foot of the Khatling Glacier (elevation 3,717 m (12,195 ft)) approximately 50 km (31 mi) south of Gaumukh. The controversial Tehri dam lies at the confluence of the Bhagirathi River and the Bhilangna, at 30°22′32″N 78°28′48″E / 30.37556°N 78.48000°E / 30.37556; 78.48000 , near Tehri. Chaukhamba I
23406-420: The south. It is characterised by hard rock strata and a varied topography of hills, plains, valleys and plateaus. The Bhabhar tract gives place to the terai area which is covered with tall elephant grass and thick forests interspersed with marshes and swamps . The sluggish rivers of the bhabhar deepen in this area, their course running through a tangled mass of thick undergrowth. The terai runs parallel to
23572-447: The southwest corner of the state to 1,000 mm (39 inches) in the eastern and south eastern parts of the state. Primarily a summer phenomenon, the Bay of Bengal branch of the Indian monsoon is the major bearer of rain in most parts of state. After summer it is the southwest monsoon which brings most of the rain here, while in winters rain due to the western disturbances and north-east monsoon also contribute small quantities towards
23738-584: The southwestern parts of the state. Uttar Pradesh is known for its extensive avifauna . The most common birds which are found in the state are doves , peafowl , junglefowl , black partridges , house sparrows , songbirds , blue jays , parakeets , quails , bulbuls , comb ducks , kingfishers , woodpeckers , snipes , and parrots. Bird sanctuaries in the state include Bakhira Sanctuary , National Chambal Sanctuary , Chandra Prabha Wildlife Sanctuary , Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary , Kaimoor Wildlife Sanctuary , and Okhla Sanctuary . Other animals in
23904-541: The state from the Middle and Upper Paleolithic dated to 21,000–31,000 years old and Mesolithic / Microlithic hunter-gatherer settlement, near Pratapgarh , from around 10550–9550 BCE. Villages with domesticated cattle, sheep, and goats and evidence of agriculture began as early as 6000 BCE, and gradually developed between c. 4000 and 1500 BCE beginning with the Indus Valley Civilisation and Harappa culture to
24070-502: The state government, lending activities were suspended except for State Government Schemes. The state has reported total private investment worth over Rs. 25,081 crores during the years of 2012 and 2016. According to a 2015 report by the World Bank on the Ease of Doing Business in India , Uttar Pradesh was ranked among the top 10 states and was the first among the northern states. According to
24236-402: The state has been slower than the rest of the country. Estimates released by the Reserve Bank of India for the year 2011–12 revealed that the state had 59 million (59819,000) people below the poverty line, the most for any state in India. The central and eastern districts in particular have very high levels of poverty. The state is also experiencing widening consumption inequality. As per
24402-456: The state include reptiles such as lizards , cobras , kraits , and gharials . Among the wide variety of fishes, the most common ones are mahaseer and trout . Some animal species have gone extinct in recent years, while others, like the lion from the Gangetic Plain, the rhinoceros from the Terai region, Ganges river dolphin primarily found in the Ganges have become endangered . Many species are vulnerable to poaching despite regulation by
24568-470: The state is 44.4 million, which constitutes 11.8% of the total urban population of India, the second-highest of any state. According to the 2011 census , there are 15 urban agglomerations with a population greater than 500,000. Uttar Pradesh has a complex system of municipalities. Nagar Nigam (Municipal Corporation) are urban local bodies in large cities such as Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi and cities having population more than 4 million. These governed by
24734-469: The state's territories. Ajmer and Jaipur kingdoms were also included in this northern territory, which was named the " North-Western Provinces " (of Agra). Although UP later became the fifth-largest state of India, NWPA was one of the smallest states of the British Indian empire. Its capital shifted twice between Agra and Allahabad. Due to dissatisfaction with British rule, a serious rebellion erupted in various parts of North India, which became known as
24900-454: The state. According to a research assembled by State Bank of India , Uttar Pradesh failed to improve its Human Development Index (HDI) ranking over a period of 27 years (1990–2017). Based on sub-national human development index data for Indian states from 1990 to 2017, the report also stated that the value of human development index has steadily increased over time from 0.39 in 1990 to 0.59 in 2017. The Uttar Pradesh Police , governed by
25066-539: The state. The climate of the Vindhya Range and plateau is subtropical with a mean annual rainfall between 1,000 and 1,200 mm (39 and 47 inches), most of which comes during the monsoon. Typical summer months are from March to June, with maximum temperatures ranging from 30–38 °C (86–100 °F). There is a low relative humidity of around 20% and dust-laden winds blow throughout the season. In summer, hot winds called loo blow all across Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh has an abundance of natural resources. In 2011,
25232-401: The story of the avatarana is told at Shraddha ceremonies for the deceased in Hinduism, and Ganges water is used in Vedic rituals after death . Among all hymns devoted to the Ganges, there are none more popular than the ones expressing the worshipper's wish to breathe his last surrounded by her waters. The Gangashtakam expresses this longing fervently: O Mother! ... Necklace adorning
25398-433: The then unformed Indian Ocean. The subcontinent's subsequent collision with the Eurasian Plate and subduction under it, gave rise to the Himalayas, the planet's highest mountain ranges. In the former seabed immediately south of the emerging Himalayas, plate movement created a vast trough , which, having gradually been filled with sediment borne by the Indus and its tributaries and the Ganges and its tributaries, now forms
25564-425: The vehicle, drowsiness, poor road visibility, and engineering defects. Between 2006 and 2010, the state has been hit with three terrorist attacks, including explosions in a landmark holy place, a court and a temple. The 2006 Varanasi bombings were a series of bombings that occurred across the Hindu holy city of Varanasi on 7 March 2006. At least 28 people were killed and as many as 101 others were injured. In
25730-423: The water of the Ganges, which flowed in the heavens, could liberate them. Bhagiratha, Amshuman's grandson, undertook ascetic practices and won the favour of Brahma and Shiva . Brahma allowed the goddess Ganga to descend upon the earth, while Shiva broke Ganga's fall in the coils of his hair so that her force would not shatter the earth. When Ganga descended, Bhagiratha took her through the mountains, foothills,
25896-410: The western parts of Bengal. He was bestowed the title of Hemchandra Vikramaditya (title of Vikramāditya adopted from Vedic period ) at his formal coronation took place at Purana Qila in Delhi on 7 October 1556. A month later, Hemu died in the Second Battle of Panipat , and Uttar Pradesh came under Emperor Akbar 's rule. Akbar ruled from Agra and Fatehpur Sikri . In the 18th century, after
26062-399: The world – more populous than all but four other countries outside of India ( China , US , Indonesia , and Pakistan ) – and accounting for 16.5 percent of the population of India or around 3 percent of the total world population. The state is bordered by Rajasthan to the west, Haryana , Himachal Pradesh and Delhi to the northwest, Uttarakhand and Nepal to the north, Bihar to
26228-408: The worlds! Banner rising to heaven! I ask that I may leave of this body on your banks, Drinking your water, rolling in your waves, Remembering your name, bestowing my gaze upon you. No place along her banks is more longed for at the moment of death by Hindus than Varanasi, the Great Cremation Ground, or Mahashmshana . Those who are lucky enough to die in Varanasi, are cremated on the banks of
26394-399: The worst dry season the Ganges flow would be around 1,400 to 1,600 m/s (49,000 to 57,000 cu ft/s), thus leaving 280 to 420 m/s (9,900 to 14,800 cu ft/s) for the then East Pakistan. East Pakistan objected and a protracted dispute ensued. In 1996 a 30-year treaty was signed with Bangladesh. The terms of the agreement are complicated, but in essence, they state that if
26560-506: Was Kuru Mahajanapada), during the reign of the Pandava King Yudhishthira . The kingdom of the Kurus corresponds to the Black and Red Ware and Painted Gray Ware culture and the beginning of the Iron Age in northwest India, around 1000 BCE. Control over Gangetic plains region was of vital importance to the power and stability of all of India's major empires, including the Maurya (320–200 BCE), Kushan (100–250 CE), Gupta (350–600), and Gurjara-Pratihara (650–1036) empires. Following
26726-455: Was cited as the predominant reason for migration among females. Among males, the most important reason for migration was work and employment. Uttar Pradesh continues to have regional disparities, particularly with the western districts of the state showing higher development indicators such as per capita district development product (PCDDP) and gross district development product (GDDP) compared to other regions. Due to inadequate infrastructure and
26892-402: Was created from Uttar Pradesh's western Himalayan hill region. The two major rivers of the state, the Ganges and its tributary Yamuna , meet at the Triveni Sangam in Prayagraj, a Hindu pilgrimage site. Other notable rivers are Gomti and Saryu . The forest cover in the state is 6.1 percent of the state's geographical area. The cultivable area is 82 percent of the total geographical area, and
27058-416: Was merged with Rajputana and Oudh was incorporated into the state. The new state was called the North Western Provinces of Agra and Oudh, which in 1902 was renamed as the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh . It was commonly referred to as the United Provinces or its acronym UP. In 1920, the capital of the province was shifted from Allahabad to Lucknow . The high court continued to be at Allahabad, but
27224-425: Was only a minor spill-channel. The main flow of the river reached the sea not via the modern Hooghly River but rather by the Adi Ganga . Between the 12th and 16th centuries, the Bhagirathi-Hooghly and Padma channels were more or less equally significant. After the 16th century, the Padma grew to become the main channel of the Ganges. It is thought that the Bhagirathi-Hooghly became increasingly choked with silt, causing
27390-410: Was over-speeding, which accounted for 40 per cent of deaths. Drunken driving contributed to 10 per cent of fatalities, while 12 per cent of deaths were due to driving on the wrong side. Additionally, 10 per cent of accident deaths were caused by the use of mobile phones, and 5 per cent resulted from running red lights. The remaining 23 per cent of deaths were attributed to factors such as losing control of
27556-512: Was the first train in India to get the new German LHB coaches . The railway stations of Prayagraj Junction , Agra Cantonment , Lucknow Charbagh, Gorakhpur Junction , Kanpur Central, Mathura Junction and Varanasi Junction are included in the Indian Railways list of 50 world-class railway stations. The Lucknow Metro , along with the Kanpur Metro (Orange line), are rapid transit systems that serve Lucknow and Kanpur, respectively. Bhagirathi River The Bhāgīrathī (Pron: /ˌbʌgɪˈɹɑːθɪ/)
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