Fast Facts :

Introduction :

The State is situated in Northern part of India and is surrounded by Tibet & Nepal in the North, Madhya Pradesh in the South, Haryana, Delhi & Rajasthan in the West and Bihar in the East. Often referred to as the cow belt or Hindi belt, Uttar Pradesh has been the most dominant state in Indian poltics and culture since Independence, producing over half of India's prime ministers. This is partly because it's the nation's most populous - it has as many inhabitants as Brazil - and partly because of the central role the region plays in the religious lanscape of Hindus. The Ganges River, which forms the backbone of Uttar Pradesh, is the sacred river of Hinduism, and four of the religion's seven holy towns are in the state, including Varanasi, the holiest of them all. Uttar Pradesh is also a places of major importance to Buddhists for it was at Sarnath, just outside Varanasi, that the Buddha first preached his message of the middle way. Most of Uttar Pradesh consists of the vast Ganges plain, an area of awesome flatness which often floods dramatically during the monsoon.

History :

Over 2000 years ago the area that became Uttar Pradesh was part of Ashoka's great Buddhist empire. Muslim raids from the north-west began in the 11th century, and by the 16th century the region was part of the famed Mughal empire whose capital was for some time at Agra and Fatehpur Sikri. Following the decline of the Mughal empire, the nawabs of Avadh rose to prominence in the central part of the region and were responsible for turning Lucknow into a flourishing center for the arts. When the British East India Company deposed the last nawab, the Uprising of 1857 began at Meerut, and its most tragic events took place in Lucknow and Kanpur. Agra was later merged with Avadh and the state became known as United Provinence. It was renamed Uttar Pradesh (Northern State) after Independence, and is often known simply as U.P.

Tourist Attraction at Uttar Pradesh :

Bharat Kala Bhavan :

Bharat Kala Bhavan lies within the sprawling grounds of Banaras Hindu University. Its outstanding collection of sculpture, painting and textiles began with the private collection of the enlightened Rai Krishnadasa. The sculpture collection includes terracotta and clay objects. Ancient terracotta varing from ritual icons to toys to utilitarian objects date to the Indus Valley Civilisation, Mauryan, Sunga and Gupta periods. Among the stone sculptures are red sandstone reliefs from the 2nd century B.C, Buddhist stupa at Bharhut and rare image and statues from well known schools like Gandhara, which saw the synthesis of Greek and Indian styles and Mathura, a powerful art centre during the Kushana period. The large and impressive collection of textiles contain precious example of Banaras silk and brocades, embroidered shawls from Kashmir and the rare Chamba rumals, once used to wrap ceremonial gifts and offering were richly embroidered pieces with designs and stories from the life of Krishna

Sarnath: Close to Varanasi lie Sarnath where Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon. Ashoka the great built a Stupa here in 234 BC. Today the crumbling ruins lie in the place.

Lucknow: The capital city of the state reached it acme during the Nawabi rule when it became a centre of music and Urdu poetry. Remnants of Nawabi Palaces, Imamabaras and the exquisite traditional handicrafts bear witness to bygone splendors.

Kushinagar: About 51kms from Gorakhpur, lie Kushinagar where Lord Buddha passed away. With the Nirvana Temple housing the statue of "Reclining Buddha" and a number of Stupas, it is one of the principal centres of Buddhist pilgrimage.

Dudhwa: Sprawling over an area of 614sq.km, this is one of the finest tiger reserves of India and one of the important tourist attractions in Uttar Pradesh. You may also come across a variety of other fauna, namely: Leopard, Swamp deer, Hispid hare, Bengal Florican etc.

Agra: The land is home to the Taj Mahal, which is the foremost of all tourist attractions in Uttar Pradesh as well as India. Built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife is as much as an emblem of India, not to mention that it is also one of the Seven Wonders of the World.