UPKAR PRAKASHAN, AGRA-2

ByDr. C.L. Khanna

Revised byDhiraj Pandey

Revised & Enlarged Edition

© Publishers

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ISBN : 978-81-7482-408-0

Code No. 939

Printed at : UPKAR PRAKASHAN (Printing Unit) Bye-pass, AGRA

CONTENTS

1. Uttar Pradesh : At a Glance ................................................................................... 3–72. Uttar Pradesh : An Introduction............................................................................. 8–93. History of Uttar Pradesh ....................................................................................... 10–144. Role of Uttar Pradesh in Independence Movement............................................... 15–185. Geological Structure and Physical Divisions of Uttar Pradesh ............................. 19–206. Rivers and Lakes of Uttar Pradesh ........................................................................ 21–247. Climate of Uttar Pradesh ....................................................................................... 25–278. Soils of Uttar Pradesh............................................................................................ 28–299. Forests, Animals and Birds of Uttar Pradesh ....................................................... 30–33

10. Mineral Wealth of Uttar Pradesh........................................................................... 34–3511. Natural Regions of Uttar Pradesh .......................................................................... 36–3712. Population and Area in Uttar Pradesh ................................................................... 38–4113. Education in Uttar Pradesh .................................................................................... 42–5014. Agriculture in Uttar Pradesh.................................................................................. 51–5315. Industries in Uttar Pradesh .................................................................................... 54–5816. Irrigation and Multipurpose Projects in Uttar Pradesh .......................................... 59–6417. Transport and Communication in Uttar Pradesh ................................................... 65–6718. Co-operative in Uttar Pradesh ............................................................................... 68–6919. Labour and Employment in Uttar Pradesh. ........................................................... 70–7120. News Papers and Magazines of Uttar Pradesh ...................................................... 72–7421. Famous Towns, Religious Centres and Tourist Places of Uttar Pradesh .............. 75–8022. Fairs, Festivals and Folk Songs of Uttar Pradesh .................................................. 81–8223. Scheduled Tribes of Uttar Pradesh ........................................................................ 83–8724. Museums of Uttar Pradesh .................................................................................... 88–8825. Administration of Uttar Pradesh............................................................................ 89–9226. Local Self-Government in Uttar Pradesh .............................................................. 93–9427. Information and Public Relation in Uttar Pradesh................................................. 95–9528. Social Welfare ....................................................................................................... 96–10029. Rural Development in Uttar Pradesh ..................................................................... 101–10430. Panchayati Raj ....................................................................................................... 105–10731. Regional Development .......................................................................................... 108–10932. Land Reform.......................................................................................................... 110–11233. Urbanization Trends in Uttar Pradesh .................................................................. 113–11734. Uttar Pradesh Budget 2016-17 .............................................................................. 119–12035. Uttar Pradesh : Export Policy and Achievement .................................................. 121–12736. Uttar Pradesh : Present Day................................................................................... 128–13037. Division, District, Tehsil and Development Blocks of Uttar Pradesh................... 131–148

● Objective Questions and Answers ...................................................................... 149–176

Uttar PradeshGeneral Knowledge

1 Uttar Pradesh : At a Glance

Location—Latitude 25′′-31° N and longitude77°-84° E.

Creation of state—It was created on 1stApril, 1937 as United Province which wasrenamed to as Uttar Pradesh in 1950.

Area—2,40,928 sq. km. (7.3% of thecountry's geographic area).

Population—As per Census 2011, the totalpopulation of Uttar Pradesh is 19,98,12,341. UttarPradesh holds 1st position in population wise andbecome the most populous state of India.

Only four countries namely China, USA,Indonesia and Brazil have a population higherthan that of Uttar Pradesh.

Capital—LucknowNeighbouring states/ country—Uttar

Pradesh is bounded by Uttarakhand and Nepal inNorth, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in South,Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi in West and Biharand Jharkhand in East.

Principal Languages—Hindi and UrduDistricts (Till 31.03.2015)—75Division (Till 31.03.2015)—18Tehsils (Till 31.03.2015)—340Blocks (Till 31.03.2015)—821Total Villages (2014-15)—1,06,774No. of Inhabited Villages (2014-15)—97,814No. of Unhabited Villages (2014-15)—8,960Cities—915Economic Zones—4Nagar Nigams—14Nagar Palika Parishads—193Nagar Panchayats (Town Area)—423Members of Vidhan Sabha—404Members of Vidhan Parishad—100Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh—

80Rajya Sabha members from Uttar

Pradesh—31State Animal of Uttar Pradesh—Swamp

DeerState Bird of Uttar Pradesh—Sarus CraneState Flower of Uttar Pradesh—Palash

(Butea monosperma)

State Language of Uttar Pradesh—Hindi

State Tree of Uttar Pradesh—Ashok Tree

Agriculture—Crops Rabi and Kharif, pulses,sugarcane, vegetables, mango and guava.

Principal Crops—Paddy, Wheat, Barley,Millet, Maize, Urad (Black Gram), Moong (GreenGram), Arhar etc.

Principal Minerals—Lime-Stone, Dolomite,Soap Stone, Gypsum, Bauxite, Glass-sand,manganese, Non-plastic fire clay etc.

Principal Handicrafts—Chikan-work, Emb-roidery, wood work, wooden toys and furniture,Clay-toys, carpet weaving, Silk & Brassware work.

Main Industries—Cement, vegetable oils,textiles, cotton yarn, sugar, jute, Lock & Scissors,Carpet, Brassware, Glassware & Bangles.

Main Folklores—Kajari, Chaiti, Alha, PuranBhagat, Dhola Bhartrihari, Birha, Rasiya.

Main Folk Dances—Pandav, Karma, Char-kula, Paidanda, Tharu, Dhobiya, Rai and Shera.

Tourist and Historical Places—Varanasi,Vindhyachal, Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Prayag,Naimisharanya, Mathura, Vrindavan, DewaSharief, Dargah of Sheikh Saleem Chisti inFatehpur Sikri, Sarnath, Shravasti, Kushinagar,Sankisa, Kampil, Piprahwa and Kaushambi, Agra,Ayodhya, Sarnath, Varanasi, Lucknow, Jhansi,Gorakhpur, Jaunpur, Kannauj, Mahoba, Devgarh,Bithur, and Vindhyachal.

Main Rivers—Ganga, Yamuna, Gomti,Ramganga and Ghaghara.

Physical Features—Uttar Pradesh can bedivided into three distinct hypsographicalregions—

● The sub-Himalayan Terai region in the North-Highly fertile soil, thick forests with rich floraand fauna.

● The Gangetic Plain in the centre—Highlyfertile alluvial soils; flat topography brokenby numerous ponds, lakes and rivers; slope2 m/km.

4 | U.G.K.

● The Vindhya Hills and plateau in thesouth—Hard rock Strata; varied topographyof hills, plains, valleys and plateau; limitedwater availability.

Agro-climatic zones-9 agro-climatic zones,namely, Bhabhar & Tarai, Western Plain, Central-Western Plain, South-Western Plain, Central Plain,Bundelkhand, North-Eastern Plain, Eastern Plain,and Vindhyan region.

Economic regions—Western, Eastern,Central and Bundelkhand.

Cultivated area (2012-13)—165.64 lakh ha

Major crops—Rice, wheat, maize, sugarcane,chickpea and pigeonpea.

Major vegetables—Potato, Peas & Cabbage

Major fruit grown—Mango, Guava, Banana,and Litchi.

Important spices produced in the State—Onion (6th among States) Turmeric, Chili, Garlic,Fennel, Fenugreek and Coriander

Gross cropped area (2012-13)—258.21 lakhha.

Land Holdings—Cultivable area (2012-13)—24170403 hectare

(82.1% of total geographical area)

U.G.K. | 5

Net area sown (2014-15)—165·64 lakhhectare

Gross cropped area (2014-15)—25·896 millionhectare

Area sown more than once (2012-13)—9·257million hectare

Cropping intensity of—53·54 %.Net irrigated area (2012-13)—139·29 lakh

hectare (By canals—18·3%, by tubewells—71·5%and by others—10·2%).

Gross irrigated area (2013-14)—204·03 lakhhectare

Percentage of net irrigated sown area—83·07%.

Total number of land holdings (2010-11)—233·25 lakhs

Marginal farmers (2010-11)—185·32 lakh(79·5%)

Small farmers—30·53 lakh (13·0%)Canals and projects—Upper Ganga Canal,

Middle Ganga Canal, Lower Ganga Canal, EasternYamuna Canal, Agra Canal, Sarda Canal,Ramganga Canal, Betwa Canal, Ken Canal,Matatila Canals, Rihand Project Canal, DhasanCanal, Tanda, Dalmau, Bhopauli, Doharighat,Belan pump canals, Tumaria, Khoh, Baur,Rampura, Lalitpur dams and Kotari project.

Soil Types of Uttar Pradesh and theirArea

Soil Types Area (ha) Districts Covered

Bhabar soils 510510 Saharanpur, BijnourTarai soils 1686740 Pilibhit, Bareilly, Rampur,

Bahraich, Srawasti, Bal-rampur, Siddharth N agar,Kushinagar, Maharaj-ganj, Deoria

Alluvial soils 18185300 Central, eastern, western,south western part of thestate

Vindhyansoils

1501290 Mirzapur, Varanasi,Allahabad, Sonbhadra

Bundelkhandsoils

3192440 Jhansi, Jalaun, Hamirpur,Banda, Lalitpur, Mahoba,Chitrakoot

Aravali soils 63290 South western area ofAgra

Recorded Forest area (2013-14)—16,583 sq.km (6.88 % of total geographical area).

Reserved forests—70·31%Protected forest—8·56%Unclassed forests—21·12%Forest cover (2013)—14,349 sq. kmVegetation—Very dense forests—1623 km2

Moderately dense forests—4550 km2

Open forests—8176 km2

Mineral Resources of Uttar Pradesh

Mineral Locality DistrictReserves (In lakh

tonnes As on31st March, 2006)

Uses

Bauxite Rajauan Chitrakoot 94·22 Alluminium, Refractory IndustryChina Clay Naudiha, Ramgarh, Garda Sonbhadra 165·0 Ceramics, Refractory IndustryCoal Kakri, Bina, Dhughichua,

KhariaSonbhadra 7220.00

(source–IBM)Thermal Power, Cement,Caramics Industries etc.

Diaspore Garhmau, Mailar,Gaurari, Tori

Jhansi, Mahoba,Lalitpur

0·50 Refractory

Pyrophyllite Garhmau, Mailar,Gaurari, Tori

Jhansi, Mahoba,Lalitpur

12·17 Refractory, Ceramics, Talc,Insecticide etc.

Feldspar Khajraha—Buzurg Jhansi 1·00 Ceramics IndustrySilica Sand Shankargarh, Bargarh,

LalapurAllahabad,Chitrakoot

150·00 Glass & Foundry Industry

Granite Kalapahar, Khailar,Kewal, Bijoli

Jhansi, Mahoba,Lalitpur, Banda,Sonbhadra

484919000M3(source–IBM)

Polished slab & tiles

Dolomite Bari Sonbhadra 200·00 Iron & Steel IndustryLimestone Bhalua, Kajrahat, Billi,

GhurmaSonbhadra 4000·00 Cement & Steel Industry

RockPhosphate

Pisnari & Tori Lalitpur 60·00 Fertilizer & ElementalPhosphorus Industry

Sillimanite Chhipiya Sonbhadra 32·00 Refractory Industry

6 | U.G.K.

InfrastructureEducational infrastructure (Approved)—

2014-15Universities 31

Colleges 4,284

Government Engineering Colleges 11

Government ITI College 325

Primary Schools 168906

Upper Primary Schools 76901

Higher Secondary Schools 22750

Health infrastructure—

Medical Colleges 54

District Hospitals 72

Primary Health Centres 4911

Allopathic Hospitals 5102

Ayurvedic Hospitals 2114

Homyopethic Hospitals 1575

Power (2013-14)

Production and Consumption of Power in U.P.S.

No. Item Year

2013-14 2014-15

1 2 3 4

1. Installed Capacity (MW) 5458 5460

2. Consumption (Crore KW) 5824 6370

3. Total Production (Crore KW) 2659 2637

4. Per Capita Power Consump-tion (KW hr)

299 278

5. Electrified Villages 87139 87086

Road type Road length (km)(2012-13)

National Highways 3250State Highways 7703Other District Roads 185495Total road length 196448

Railways—

● The railway network in Uttar Pradesh is thelargest in the country.

● The state is well-connected to other parts ofthe country by a railway network spanningover 8,763 km.

● The major sectors and industries serviced bythe railways include agriculture, cement,fertilisers, coal and manufacturing.

● Various parts of the state are catered to byfive of the 17 railway zones in India. Theseare Northern Railways, North EasternRailways, East Central Railways, NorthCentral Railways and West Central Railways.

● Lucknow is the main junction for theNorthern and North Eastern Railways.

● Intra-state rail network is well-developed,connecting the towns and the districtheadquarters of Uttar Pradesh.

● The Delhi Metro Rail links Noida andGhaziabad with Delhi.

Airports—

● The state has six domestic airports, located atAgra, Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Kanpur,Lucknow and Varanasi.

● International flights operate from ChaudharyCharan Singh International Airport, Lucknow,and Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport, Varanasi.

● New airports have been proposed at Shrawastiand Kushinagar districts.

● The Government of Uttar Pradesh is planningto develop an international airport betweenAgra and Mathura.

DemographyDescription 2011

Actual Population 199,812,341

Male 104,480,510

Female 95,331,831

Population Growth 20·23%

Percentage of total Population 16·50%

Sex Ratio 912

Child Sex Ratio 902

Density/km2 829

Total Child Population (0–6 Age) 30,791,331

Male Population (0–6 Age) 16,185,581

Female Population (0–6 Age) 14,605,750

Literacy 67·68 %

Male Literacy 77·28 %

Female Literacy 57·36 %

Total Literate 114,397,555

Male Literate 68,234,964

Female Literate 46,162,591

U.G.K. | 7

Largest District (km2)—

1. Lakhimpur Kheri 7680

2. Sonbhadra 6905

3. Hardoi 5986

4. Sitapur 5743

5. Allahabad 5482

Percentage of Child—

1. Siddharthnagar 18·96 %

2. Shrawasti 18·95 %

3. Bahraich 18·77 %

4. Balrampur 18·37 %

5. Budaun 18·06 %

High Density—

1. Ghaziabad 3971

2. Varanasi 2395

3. Lucknow 1816

4. Sant Ravidas Nagar 1555

5. Kanpur Nagar 1452

Top Population Growth—

1. Bahraich 46·48 %

2. Ghaziabad 42·27 %

3. Gautam Buddha Nagar 37·11 %

4. Chitrakoot 29·43 %

5. Balrampur 27·72 %

High Literacy—1. Gautam Buddha Nagar 80·12 %2. Kanpur Nagar 79·65 %3. Auraiya 78·95 %4. Etawah 78·41 %5. Ghaziabad 78·07 %

High Sex Ratio—1. Jaunpur 10242. Azamgarh 10193. Deoria 10174. Pratapgarh 9985. Sultanpur 983

Urban PopulationDescription Rural Urban

Population (%) 77·73 % 22·27 %Total Population 155,317,278 44,495,063Male Population 80,992,995 23,487,515Female Population 74,324,283 21,007,548Population Growth 17·97 % 28·82 %Sex Ratio 918 894Child Sex Ratio (0–6) 906 885Child Population (0–6) 25,040,583 5,750,748Child Percentage (0–6) 16·12 % 12·92 %Literates 85,284,680 29,112,875Average Literacy 65·46 % 75·14 %Male Literacy 76·33 % 80·45 %Female Literacy 48·48 % 60·96 %

2 Uttar Pradesh : An Introduction

The region known as Uttar Pradesh is theresult of the decentralisation and reorganisation ofthe area. The people who were the founder of thefuture of India have grown up in its soil. It hasdeveloped the new culture, civilization andhumanity. The Saints have meditated in the denseforests and caves of the region and have giventheir views to the people of the country.

Major part of Uttar Pradesh is the part ofGanga-Yamuna plains, known as ‘Aryavart’,‘Central province’ and ‘Hindustan’. According toLegends ‘Daksh Prajapati’ the son of Brahmastarted Manav dynasty at Kankhal near Haridwarand ‘Ishvaku’, the son of Manu, establishedAyodhya its capital near Faizabad. Sagar,Mandhata, Dileep, Raghu, Dashrath and Ram, thegreat kings were the people of this dynasty‘Purkha’ of Chandravansh established its statesnear Prayag. Purkha's second son Amavasu madeKannauj his capital. ‘Nahashu’ the son ofAmavasu jointly ruled over Kannauj orPratishthan ‘Yayati’ the son of Nahashu called‘Chakravarti Samrat’ not only of Uttar Pradeshbut also of India. Five sons of Yayati extendedtheir region to South-West and Eastern India.Hastinapur near Meerut by ‘Kuruvansh’, Mathuraby ‘Yaduvansh’, Kannauj by ‘Gadhivansh’Kaushambi by ‘Vatshvansh’, Varanasi by‘Kshatravraddha’ were the capitals in the State.The name ‘Bharatvarsh’ was given to the region inthe name of ‘Bharat’ the son of Dushyant, the kingof ‘Kuru dynasty’. In Ahichhatra near Bareilly,these five founded their States. According to theinvention made by Archaeological DepartmentHastinapur, Kannauj, Kaushambi, Mathura andAhichhatra have their glorious history.

In British period excavation of ancient placeswas started in Uttar Pradesh. During thisexcavation and survey many cultural areas of pre-historic period were found. On the basis of theserecords and the stone used in the stone age periodand its manufacturing and the deposits, thehistorical period can be classified into differentages. The stone age instruments were found in

Belan near Vindhyachal and valley of Son in UttarPradesh.

Archaeological discoveries in Vindhyandeposits and rock deposits near the lake basins ofGanga valley are the archaeological records whichthrow light on temporary settlements and theleading life of human beings. Besides this smallstone instruments and caves of cultured age werealso found. Many wall paintings were found inthese caves. Excavation at Koldihava, Magahraand Panchoha throw light on the paddy culti-vation, pastoralism and stone age. It is proved thatpre-historic wealth in the state is the result ofmany cultures, which throw light on the sovereignpersonality of the State in which the differentreligions, different cultures and different castescan be seen.

In the excavation of Archaeological depart-ment, the remnants of different historical periodsfrom stone age to neo-palaeolithic age, the copperage, the Indus valley civilization and mud tabletdiagrams were found in Uttar Pradesh. MauryaStupa, Jain Stupas, Buddha Vihar, Kushan Samratand famous temples of Nagas are the proof ofancient civilization in Uttar Pradesh. When Aryanscame in India, they made Uttar Pradesh their‘Karmsthali’. It is the state where Ram andKrishna were born. Ramayana and Mahabharatwere written. The ‘Karm-upadesh’ of the Geeta,the heritage of our country was established fromhere. Except Ramayan and Mahabharat, there isno epic in the world, which has influenced theindividual, the society and the life. These are thepillars of Indian life, morality and philosophy. Ithas united India leaving aside different castes,religions and languages.

There are many scattered places in the statewhose historical events are full of Hindu, Muslim,Jain, Sikh, Buddha and Christian saints only.Many pilgrims places and festivals are the sourceof attraction for Indians. The Ganga-YamunaDoab in the state is the area which has been theplace of Ram and Krishna Lila and workable placeof Buddha, Vardhaman Mahavir. Here not only

U.G.K. | 9

Hindus but Muslim emperors have constructedtemples. Govind Dev temple made by emperorAkbar is well known. Beside this KardemeshwarMahadev temple constructed at ‘PanchkoshiMarg’ enroute to Mathura and Varanasi, Ayodhya,Rehman Khera and Tiket Rai Temple at Kanpurare worth mentioning.

Before the 6th century B.C. Buddha attainedenlightenment at Sarnath (10 km away fromVaranasi) and preached his first sermon there. Heestablished the religion which extended uptoChina, Japan and Indo-China. It is unfortunate thatthe religion which originated from this land, hasdisappeared in this land.

Adi Shankaracharya, who renovated theHindu religion came to Kashi from extreme South.His tomb is built in the mid of snow coveredHimalayan ranges in Uttarakhand. Here is built thefamous Kedarnath temple. He established the fourreligious places known as Badrinath (North), Puri(East), Dwarika (West), Shiringari (South). Theestablishment of these religious places was hiseffort to see India in a unity.

Many learners, reformers and teachers wereattracted toward Uttar Pradesh in medieval period.Their main object was to discover the original lan-guage of India. It was the place where the tradi-tional educational institutes provided the religiousand cultural linkages. Many artists and sculptorscame over here to make the people’s life happyand prosperous. It was also the Karmsthali ofRamanand, Chetanya, Kabir, Tulsi and Sur. Thesesaints gave a new way to superstitious people andtaught them tolerance towards the other religions.It is due to the result of their movements that theirvaluable teachings of our religion, literature andculture were disseminated. This fertile plain lies inbetween the North-Western hilly tract and Bay ofBengal. It has been a settled place of invasion ofMughals, with whom the Sufi saint also came. Thearrival of these saints was the result of formationof rainbow organisation of caste, creed andthought which proved the valuable reserves of thenation. It was the time when the Urdu languagegot its existence and was developed alongwithHindi language, although the Hindi language wasdeep rooted earlier. Amir Khusro also got theprominence in this period, and the language whichKhusro used, was used by many Hindi and Urduwriters. Khusro also contributed towards themusic. ‘Sitar’ is his invention.

The integrated culture was first time deve-loped in Mughal period, it was highly developed

during the regime of Akbar. He gathered famousartists, intellectuals and sculptors without anydistinction of caste or creed. Literature, arts andculture were well developed during his reign.Jahangir, the successor of Akbar also encouragedHindu-Muslim artists without any distinction. Thewhite marble Taj Mahal made by Shahjahan is amemory of immortal love. The fall of Mughalempire started after the death of Aurangzeb in1707. Though the dark age of Delhi started, yetthe centre of politics and culture in the AvadhDarwar, for some time these assemblers of AvadhDarwar were the glory of Faizabad, thereafterLucknow was its theatre. The Arts, culture,music and poetry well developed the feeling ofcommunal brotherhood and new records wereestablished during this period. But greatest politi-cal instability was at that time when Britishersruled over Avadh.

It was the beginning of revolt in state and atfirst it was started at Meerut in 1857 and spreadout all over India. In many parts of the country,Hindus and Muslims jointly rose against theBritishers in this revolt, Uttar Pradesh was thecentre of this revolt, decided battles were foughtin this area, when Britishers ruled over India.

The political awareness which surfaced at thattime, still exists, this is the cause that Britishersgave utmost attention to this area. They tried todivide Indians and solidify their rule. In 1877 SirSyed Ahmed Khan laid the foundation stone ofM.A.O. college and later on Madan MohanMalviya founded the Banaras Hindu University in1916. In 1921 Mahatma Gandhi started educationin Kashi Vidhyapeeth, which has given manyfreedom fighters who worked in Non-CooperationMovement with Mahatma Gandhi. During thisyear a national Muslim University in the name ofJamiya Milia Islamiya was established at Aligarh,which was later on shifted to Delhi. The Britishersfounded this against M.A.O. college.

The state of Uttar Pradesh was foremost innon-cooperation movement and freedom move-ment. ‘Swaraj’ and ‘Anand Bhawan’ at Allahabadwhich belong to Nehru family have been the hubof the congress politics, in which many importantdecisions were taken against the British rule.Seven Prime Ministers, one President, and twoVice-Presidents are the products of Uttar Pradesh.

During British rule, there is no doubt thatUttar Pradesh has given an important historicalcontribution to the entire country.

3 History of Uttar Pradesh

The pre and post-historic period of the state isgloomy. The discovery of arms and implements ofancient and neo-palaeolithic age in excavation atMirzapur, Sonbhadra, Bundelkhand, Sarai-a-nahararea of Pratapgarh and of Harappan objects inAlamgirpur in Meerut take us back to ancienthistorical age. In ancient time the state was knownas ‘Madhya-Desh’. Being at en-route for invadersfrom North-West and forming part of the richfertile plain in between Delhi and Patna, itshistory is closely linked to the history of NorthIndia.

It is only from the Rigvedic age that somecoherent historical account is found. It is said thatwhen Aryan came to India, they colonized atSaptasindhu (Modern Punjab) in India. Moreimportant of them were Puru, Turvasu, Yadu, Anuand Druhm. These five classes were known asPanchjan. Besides this there was one prominentclass known as Bharat.

Gradually Aryans extended their territorytowards the East. The Shatpath Brahman gives aninteresting account of the victory of Kaushal(Avadh) and Videh (Bihar) by the Brahmans andKshatriyas. Expansion of territory led to thecreation of new states (Janpads), emergence ofnew people and new centres. The Saptasindhugradually lost importance and the Aryans wereattracted to the fertile plains in between Saraswati(the lost river at Rajasthan) and Ganga. This wasthe centre of their culture, literature, spiritualismand politics, over here there ruled the Kuru,Panchal, Kashi and Kaushal Kingdoms.

In the vedic period, the state was known as‘Brahmarshi Desh’. Bharadwaj, Yaznavalkaya,Vashishtha, Vishwamitra and Valmiki sages madeUttar Pradesh as their ‘Karmsthali’ in the vedicperiod.

It was known as Madhya Desh, extended uptoPrayag in the East, which was the boundary ofUttar Pradesh. All great persons and gods whose

description is found in Hindu Katha and Literaturelived over here. Ramayan and Mahabharat epicsare related with the people of this state. It is due tothat the Aryans were known as well cultured, wellbehaved with great ideals.

In 6th century B.C. 16 Mahajanpadas engagedin a state of serious competition for supremacy.These states (Janapads) and their capitals were asfollows :

S.N. Mahajanpad Capital

1. Kuru (Meerut, Delhi andThaneshwar)

Indraprastha (nearDelhi)

2. Panchal (Bareilly, Badaunand Farrukhabad)

Ahichchhatra (nearBareilly)

3. Shursen (around Mathura) Mathura

4. Vats (around Allahabad) Kaushambi

5. Kaushal (Avadh) Saket (Ayodhya) andShravasti (SahetMahet in Gondadistrict)

6. Malla (near Deoria) Kushinagar (Kasia)and Pawa (Padrauna)

7. Kashi (Varanasi) Varanasi

8. Ang (Bhagalpur) Champa

9. Magadh (South Bihar) Giribraj (Rajgrara,Rajgiri, near BiharShariff)

10. Vrajji (District Darbhangaand Muzaffarnagar)

Mithila (Nepalborder) and Vaishali(Muzaffarpur)

11. Chedi (Bundelkhand) Shuktimati (probablynear Banda)

12. Matsya (Jaipur) Virat (near Jaipur)

13. Asmak (Godavari valley) Pandanaya

14. Avanti (Malwa) Ujjaini (Ujjain)

15. Gandhar (North-Westregion in Pakistan)

Taxila (nearRawalpindi)

16. Kamboj Rajapur (place notknown)

U.G.K. | 11

Out of the above 16 states, eight (1 to 7 andserial number 11) were in present Uttar Pradeshand are still in the state. More known among themwere Kaushal, Kashi and Vats. Beside thesecertain republican states were also with in theboundary of Uttar Pradesh e.g., Shakya state ofKapilvastu, Bhagga state of Samsumergiri, theMalla state of Pawapuri and Kushinagar.

All the states were perpetually at war witheach other. Kaushal annexed Kashi and Avantigrabbed Vats. Later on Kaushal and Avanti, inturn were subjugated one by one by Magadh,which became most powerful in the entire region.Magadh was ruled in succession by Haryank,Shishunag and Nand dynasty. The Nandas ruledfrom 343 B.C. to 321 B.C. The Nand empireextended through whole of India except Punjaband Bengal. It was during their regime thatAlexander invaded India in 326 B.C. Severalhistorians are of the view that due to the powerfulMagadh state, Alexander's force could notadvance beyond Beas river.

With Alexanders retreat, ChandraguptaMaurya defeated Nand and became the emperor.During the Magadhan empire the state was underthe rule of Chandragupta Maurya and his grandson Ashok. The whole of the Uttar Pradeshenjoyed peace and prosperity during the regime ofChandragupta, his son Bindusar and grandsonAshok. Ashok pillars and engravings on rockshave been found at Sarnath, Meerut, Kaushambi,Allahabad, Kalpi, Sankisa, Basti and Mirzapurwhich are in Uttar Pradesh. The lion capitalinscribed in the Ashoka's pillar at Sarnath hasbeen adopted by the government of India as thestate Emblem.

Ashoka's empire extended from Hindukush inthe North-West to Bengal in the East and fromHimalayan in the North to Pennar river in theSouth. The downfall of the Magadh empire beganwith the death of Ashok in 232 B.C. His wholeempire was divided among his five sons. TheMauryan dynasty ruled over 137 years. Accordingto the ‘Vayu Purana’ the Mauryan dynasty ruledfor 134 years. The last ruler of this dynastywas Vrihdrath, who was assassinated by hiscommander-in-chief Pushyamitra Shung in 185B.C. Pushyamitra kept Magadhan empire intact.Thus a new dynasty came in power at MadhyaDesh. It is known from the rock documents foundat Ayodhya that Shung dynasty was a Brahman

caste. Pushyamitra made ‘Ashvamedh Yagya’ atJagatgram, near today's Dehradun (Uttarakhand).

At the end of the 3rd century B.C. the Greekinvaders were more active; it is proved in theliterature written by Kalidas and Patanjali. It issaid that Greek rounded off Madyamika inbetween Saket (Avadh) and Chittor. The capital ofPatliputra was also afraid of their attack.Meanander and his brother mounted a heavyattack in about 182 B.C. These invaders occupiedextreme South-West Sagal Kathiawad (Sialkot)and Mathura.

During this period the Shung dynasty wasreplaced by the Kanva dynasty in Magadh. Thisdynasty continued to rule for 45 years and it wasbrought to an end in 28 B.C. by Simuk, thefounder of the Satvahan or the Andhra dynasty.

It was that time that the attention of centralAsian rulers was drawn towards India for the firsttime. Saka had set up their Kshatraps in Mathura.The first Saka King was Mayus who died around58 B.C. After the Saka the Parthians attackednorth India and were defeated by them. Rajubaland Saudas also ruled over this area. The Kushanaalso mounted an attack around 40 A.D. and ruledupto entire central Asia, including north India.

The Kushan dynasty was established byKadphises Ist. His grandson Kanishka wasdoubtlessly the greatest among all Kushan rulers.Some scholars are of the view that he started ‘SakSambat’ 78 years A.D. Kanishka fought with theking of Saket. Several inscriptions and coinsfound in excavations in extensive parts of UttarPradesh indicate that this territory was at that timepart of the Kushan empire. Mathura was at thattime a well known centre of Art. Yhvan-Chwang,the Chinese traveller is of the view that Kanishkamade Purushpur or Peshawar his capital and hiskingdom was from Gandhar to Avadh andBanaras. Kanishka fought with China andconquered the East Turkistan. It is said thatMathura was his second capital.

The regime period of Kanishka and genealogyof Kushan rulers are uncertain. After Kanishka hisson Huvishka succeeded to the throne and wasfollowed by his son Vasudev. With the approachof third century A.D., the Kushan sovereignty inMadhya Desh had collapsed and a number ofsmall states once again sprang up. During theKushan reign Mathura was the centre of trade andculture. The art of sculpture and architecture was

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developed during the regime. After the Kushan,the Naga kings rose to power in Western UttarPradesh.

From the middle of the second century uptothe 4th century the rise of the Gupta ruler is verymeteoric.

The Panchalas of Ahichchhatra had a powerfulkingdom which probably extended upto Mathura.The entire area comprising Kumaon, Garhwal,Kullu, and Simla hills formed the kingdom ofKunindas (Uttarakhand). Kaushambi (Kosam nearAllahabad) probably was the independent state.Guptas emerged from Magadh.

With the advent of the Guptas in 4th centuryA.D. Political unity was again restored in Indiaand during two centuries of their rule MadhyaDesh (Uttar Pradesh) shared general peace andprosperity with other regions. Chandra Gupta Isolidified his state after he had married thedaughter of Lichchhiwi dynasty, because powerfulLichchhiwi had control over Bihar and Nepal.Chandra Gupta kingdom was extended uptoAllahabad, Avadh and South Bihar. The power ofNagas did not reduce the Ganga-Yamuna valley.During the regime of Chandra Gupta II Fahien,the Chinese traveller was impressed with the gloryof the Guptas, the way in which Gupta rule overthe Madhya Desh and Kindness of the people ofthe state. Mathura and Varanasi were at top ofglory in Gupta period. Fahien in his travelmemories India has described the rich life of thepeople of Uttar Pradesh. After the decline ofGuptas empire the power again decentralized inthe state.

But this prosperity could not remain long inUttar Pradesh. In 484 A.D. the White Huns ofNorth West China under the leadership of Tormanand Mihirkul destroyed the Iranian empire,attacked Mathura, Kannauj, and Kaushambi andburnt these cities and grandeur of these citiestotally vanished. Parwati Gupta, the king ofPatliputra could not save these areas. At this timeA Morwatti Inshan Burman emperor started battleagainst Huns, after defeating him, the Huns wereremoved from India. At this time Kannauj wasagain made the capital of Madhya Desh.

For some time the Mokherians of Kannaujruled over the major part of Madhya Desh, lateron Harshvardhan, the king of Thaneshwar ruledover here. Thus, the dynasty of Thaneshwar andKannauj joined hands and Kannauj became the

major city of north India. It was the desire ofevery state to rule Kannauj. The Chinese traveller,Yhan-chwang visited the country at the time ofHarsha and praised his reign.

During the 8th century (After the death ofHarsha) Yashovarman established sway overKannauj. In alliance with Lalitaditya Muktapith ofKashmir, he defended India from Arab's attack.During that time there was a fear among theneighbouring states due to Arabs strength, bywhich they ruled from China Turkistan to Carbodacity of Spain. But they could not stay in India dueto Kannauj. Later on Muktapith and Yashovarmancould not stay in alliance. The successor ofYashovarman could not face the joint attack of PalNaresh of Bengal and Rashtrakuts Samrat ofMaharashtra, which resulted in the fall of Kannauj.Due to the later Avadh rulers, Kannauj became abone of contention between Palas of Bengal,Rashtrakuts of South and Gurjar Pratihar ofWestern India but ultimately the Gurjars Pratiharwere successful they held sway over North Indiaduring the whole of the 9th and 10th centuries.They were vanquished by Mahmud of Ghazni in1018-19 A.D. The Chandel ruler of Jeijak Bhuktior the present Bundelkhand successfully met theonslaught of Mahmud of Ghazni thanks to theirfortress at Kalinger.

Gurjar Pratihar emperors were very brave.They were patrons and protectors of Art, Litera-ture and Culture. Mihir Bhoj, Mahipal andMahendrapal were famous kings, they ruled overMultan and Saurashtra in West, Bihar in the Eastand Vindhyachal mountain in the South.

After the decline of Pratihars, the anarchyonce again gripped Madhya Desh. Two newdynasties one in south and the other in EasternUttar Pradesh emerged. One of them wasChandelas of Mahoba, who ruled over 400 years.The famous temples of Khajurao were built duringthe regime of these Chandels. The other dynastywas Gaharwar. During their regime again peaceand order were established in this region.Govindchand (1104–1154) and Jaichand (1170–1193) were the two prominent Gaharwar rulers.Due to the short-sightedness of Jaichand, ChauhanKing Prithviraj had to face defeat at the hands ofMohammad Gori at the battle of Tarain in 1192A.D. and he himself was defeated and slain atChhandwar in Etawah next year. Slowly theMadhya Desh reached under the control of

Uttar Pradesh General Knowledge

Publisher : Upkar Prakashan ISBN : 9788174824080 Author : Dr C L Khanna

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