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Uttar Pradesh can be divided into three distinct regions:

(1) northern mountains,

(2) southern hills and plateau and

(3) the Ganga plain.

The state has a tropical climate except for the Himalayan region which has a temperate climate.The main rivers of the state from west to east are the Yamuna, the Ganga, the Ramganga, the Gomati and the Ghaghara. All the rivers, except the Gomati, emerge from the Himalayas. The Yamuna and the Ganga flow from north-east to south-west in their upper mountainous courses, from north to the south in western parts of the state and thereafter from north-west to south-east, joining at Allahabad.

History:

Uttar Pradesh has a very ancient and colourful history. Although the state does not find mention in the Rig Veda, it is recognised in the later vedic age as Brahmarshi Desa or Madhya Desa. Many of the great sages of the Vedic times like Bharadwaja, Yajnavalkya, Vasishta, Viswamitra and Valmiki appear to have flourished in U.P. Many sacred books of the Aryans were also composed here. Varsha Purana, for example, is associated with Mathura.

The two great epics of India, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, have references to places in U.P. The Ramayana features the royal family of Kosala and the Mahabharata centres round the royal family at Hastinapura, both in Uttar Pradesh.In the 6th century B.C., U.P. was associated with two new religions, Jainism and Buddhism. Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, is said to have breathed his last at Doora in U.P. It was at Saranath, again in U.P., that the great Buddha preached his first sermon and laid the foundations of his order. In the post-Buddhist period several centres in U.P., like Ayodhya, Prayag, Varanasi and Mathura became reputed centres of learning. Sri Sankaracharya, the great Hindu reformer established one of his ashrams at Badrinath in U.P. In the ediaeval period U.P. passed under Muslim rule and led the way to a new synthesis of Hindu and Islamic cultures. Ramananda and his Muslim disciple Kabir, Tulasidas and Birbal and many other intellectuals contributed to the growth of Hindi and Urdu. Urdu remains the perfect synthesis of Hindu and Muslim cultures.Uttar Pradesh kept up its intellectual leadership under the British administration. The British combined Agra and Oudh into one province called the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. The name was shortened to United Provinces in 1935. After indepenence in January, 1950, the United Province was renamed Uttar Pradesh.

On Aug. 15, 1996, full statehood to Uttarakhand was promised. In June '98, the decision to create a new state Uttaranchal was announced. On Sept. 23, 1998, the U.P. Assembly passed the draft bill for the formation of the hill state with Udham Singh Nagar included and Hardwar excluded.

Administration:

The state has a bicameral legislature.

The state is divided into 14 divisions and 83 districts. For Uttarakhand, see 'The Three New States'.

1. Agra
2. Aligarh
3. Allahabad
4. Almora
5. Azamgarh
6. Bahraich
7. Ballia
8. Banda
9. Bara-Banki
10. Bareilly
11. Basti
12. Bijnor
13. Budaun
14. Bulandshahr
15. Chamoli
16. Dehra Dun
17. Deoria
18. Etah
19. Etawah
20. Faizabad
21. Farrukhabad
22. Fatehpur
23. Pauri Garhwal
24. Ghazipur
25. Ghaziabad
26. Gonda
27. Gorakhpur
28. Hamirpur
29. Hardoi
30. Jalaun
31. Jaunpur
32. Jhansi
33. Kanpur (Rural)
34. Kanpur (Urban)
35. Kheri
36. Lalitpur
37. Lucknow
38. Mainpuri
39. Mathura
40. Mau
41. Meerut
42. Mirzapur
43. Moradabad
44. Muzaffarnagar
45. Nainital
46. Pilibhit
47. Pithoragarh
48. Pratapgarh
49. Rae Bareilly
50. Rampur
51. Saharanpur
52. Shahjahanpur
53. Sitapur
54. Sultanpur
55. Tehri-Garhwal
56. Unnao
57. Uttarkashi
58. Varanasi
59. Sidharth Nagar
60. Haridwar
61. Firozabad
62. Sonebhadra
63. Maharajganj
64. Mahoba
65. Udham Singh Nagar
66. Ambedkarnagar
67. Akbarpur
68. Balrampur
69. Chandauli
70. Kaushambi
71. Gautam Budh Nagar
72. Jyotiba Phulenagar
73. Kaushinagar
74. Shravasti
75. Bageshar
76. Champavat
77. Rudraprayag
78. Pauri Garhwal
79. Sant Kabirnagar
80. Khalilabad
81. Santravidasnagar
82. Chitrakut
83. Oraiya
84. Kanauj
85. Hathras
86. Bagpet

Economy:

U.P. is the largest producer of foodgrains (19% of total production) and
oilseeds in the country. It leads all the states in India in the production of
wheat, maize, barley, gram, sugarcane and potatoes.Among food crops wheat, rice, gram, maize and barley are important.

In 97-98, U.P. produced 230.37 lakh tonnes of wheat, 364.09 lakh tonnes of cereals and 418.29 lakh tonnes of foodgrains.The state ('India's sugar bowl') produces about one half of the total sugarcane output in the country.Until recently the organized industrial sector of U.P. was confined to agro-based industries such as sugar, cotton textiles, edible oils, miscellaneous food preparations, paper, etc. However, of late, electricity generation, railway equipment, electrical machinery, basic industrial chemicals, aluminium and cement factories have sprung up.Sugar, cotton textiles and miscellaneous food preparations (mainly comprising edible oils including hydrogenated oils) are the three important industries in the large scale sector.

Mineral production was of about Rs. 1050 cro. in 1995-96. Installed capacity of electricity (6916 MW) includes 4544 MW thermal, 1494 MW hydro and 10.40 MW micro hydel.For the co-ordinated and rapid economic development, emphasis is being laid on village oriented small industries like handlooms — silk and others. Handloom industry meets nearly one-third of the total requirement of cloth in the state.

Twenty four spinning mills are functioning in the state under public and private sectors. More than 44,000 persons are employed in these mills. There are 7.4 lakh artisans in U.P. In Mar. '98, medium and large industrial undertakings were 2281 with an investment of Rs.37,740.40 crore, and small scale industries units numbered over 3.42 lakh (investment Rs.32.31 crore). Now because of the availability of gas from Mumbai High, scope of industries in the state is very wide. Two fertilizer plants based on gas have already been set up.

Other big industries are goods carrier equipment, photostat machines, chemicals, polyester fibre, polyester chips, colour picture-tubes, watches, jelly-filled cables, sheet moulding, compounds and steel-tube galvanized sheets. Govt. has a target of constructing 1.5 lakh houses 80,000 by its agencies and 70,000 by private sector. UP claims that it is the first state which provided dwelling units to slum-dwellers at a payment of Rs. 5,10 and 15 per day.

An earthquake in Garhwal region in Mar. '99 killed over 100 people and injured
400.In 1991, only one woman out of four could read and write.U.P., with 73 cases a day, topped the list of human rights violations, according to NHRC.

Universities:

• Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Pin: 202 002
• University of Allahabad, Allahabad, Pin: 211 002
• Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, Pin: 226 025
• Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Pin: 221 005
• Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, Pin: 284 001
• Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur, Pin: 208 024
• Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Varanasi, Pin: 221 007
• Ch Charan Singh University, Meerut, Pin: 250 005
• Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture & Technology, Kanpur, Pin: 208 002
• Dayalbagh Educational Institute, Agra, Pin: 282 005
• Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, Pin: 273 009
• Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar University,
  Agra, Pin: 282 004; Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University, Faizabad, Pin: 224 001
• Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, Pin: 248 195
• Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, Pin: 263 145
• Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Hardwar, Pin: 249 404
• Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Srinagar, Pin: 246 174
• Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Pin: 208 016
• Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Pin: 243 122
• Kumaun University, Nainital, Pin: 263 001
• University of Lucknow, Lucknow, Pin: 226 007
• M.J.P. Rohilkhand University, Bareilly, Pin: 243 001
• Narendra Deva University of Agriculture & Technology, Faizabad, Pin: 224 229
• Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, Varanasi, Pin: 221 002
• V B S Purvanchal University, Jaunpur, Pin:222 002
• University of Roorkee, Roorkee, Pin: 247 667
• Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwa-vidyalaya, Varanasi, Pin: 221 002
• U P Rajarshi Tandon Open University, Allahabad Pin: 211 001
• Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Pin: 226 014.

Uttar Pradesh has a treasure of rare scenic beauty spots, rich fauna and flora, ideal health resorts, high mountain peaks, fascinating rivers and captivating valleys.

The world-renowned Valley of Flowers, Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Hemkund, Pindari Glacier and hill resorts of rare charm, like Naini Tal and Mussoorie, Rani-khet and Almora attract ever increasing number of tourists.
Places like Sravasti, Sarnath, Kushi-nagar, Sankisa and Kaushambi attract
pilgrims both from within and outside the country.

Besides, ancient places of pilgrimage like Varanasi, Naimisharanya, Prayag and Hardwar are also situated in the state. Allahabad holds Kumbh Mela (perhaps world's biggest congregation) every 12th year.

At Haridwar it is held every sixth year. Places like Agra (Taj Mahal, the white marble mausoleum built by Shah Jahan, being the chief attraction), Ayodhya, Sarnath, Varanasi, Lucknow, Mathura and Prayag have rich treasures of Hindu and Islamic architecture.