State Summary

            Uttar Pradesh, meaning Northern Province, is the largest state that covers approximately 92,437 square miles of India. Hinduism is the number one practiced religion with Islam following. Although being one of the largest states it is also one of the poorest. The population of Uttar Pradesh or U.P. is 131 million people though only a small percentage can read and write. The main occupation in U.P. is farming; popular crops grown are corns, millet, pulses (ex. Beans and peas), rice, wheat and sugar canes of which Uttar Pradesh is the chief producer in the nation. Major products are manufactured from U.P. also. Some products manufactured are automobiles, chemicals, electronic equipment, fertilizers, leather goods, and textiles. If you thought that was the end of U.P.'s economy you were wrong. They have mines and quarries, which produce limestone, magnetite, Phosphate sale, and silica. Many tourist attractions are all over the Uttar Pradesh as well, such the Taj Mahal and the Kumbh Mela that is held in Allahabad every 12years and is the largest religious gathering in the entire world. But where did the "Uttar Pradesh" come from? In 200 BC it was apart of the Mauryan Empire which later fell in 185 BC and then controlled by principalities (princes ruling a certain kingdom). During the years 320-500AD, the Gupta Empire ruled U.P. During this time period art, dance, music flourished. Later, Turks invaded and created a Muslim empire known as the Delhi Sultanate, but in the mid-1500's it became the political and cultural heart of the Mughal Empire. In the 600's Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal in Agra for his wife Mumtaz. The 1700s roll around n the Mughal Empire comes crashing down and different kingdoms such as Oudh and Varanasi arose. The British penetrated through U.P. around 1765; during the British rule Uttar Pradesh was called the United Provinces. The Uttar Pradesh was the center of the Sepoy Rebellion in 1857.Many nationalist came from U.P. too such as Gandhi, Motilal Neru, and Madan Monan Malaviya. After India's independence, in 1950 the name United Provinces was changed to Uttar Pradesh.