|
|
| Home
» Uttar Pradesh |
|
About Uttar Pradesh |
|
| |
Uttar Pradesh is regarded as the cradle of the civilization that would later to dominate the entire nation. It is where the Aryans find the most conducive environment, geographically and economically, for the growth of their culture, religion and literature, later to be known as the Vedic civilization. It is the main action place of the events told by the great epics of the Vedic age, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Thus the ancient history of the present region of Uttar Pradesh originates at least four thousand years back. It is also the place where the Hindu culture first took sprout and flourished during subsequent periods and later spread to other parts of the country.
Control over the Gangetic plains, chiefly the Doab region, had been central to every dynasty that arose either to its east or the west, obviously because of its strategic and economic importance. Hence we saw it becoming the integral part of almost all the great empires that emerged during the ancient period, be it the Mauryan, the Kushan or the Guptas.
| |
After the fall of the Gupta dynasty in 600 AD, there emerged one of the great rulers of India, Harshavardhana who ruled from Kannauj over a region that stretched to Bengal in the far east, Afghanistan in the north and the Vindhyas in the south. Apart from Hinduism, the region of Uttar Pradesh provided a congenial atmosphere for the growth of Buddhism also, and places like Sarnath and Kushinagar have acquired significance among the followers of this religion since then.
After Harshavardhana, Uttar Pradesh was not ruled by any major power in its entirety until the advent of the Turko-Afghan rulers and later the Mughal rulers. During the entire period of the Sultanate and Mughal regimes, Uttar Pradesh remained intact, more or less, and provided a base for these rulers to erect the foundation of their empire. It became an experiment ground for the fusion of two utterly different civilizations, which over a period of time resulted in what was termed as 'Hindustani' by the Mughals. Agra, and also Fatehpur Sikri for some time, was made the capital of the Mughal empire during the time of its greatest ruler Akbar. Allahabad also emerged as the chief administrative center during his rule.
During the eighteenth century, the Mughal empire was breathing its last, and the region of Uttar Pradesh was found to be divided among local powers and the Marathas. The Nawabs were ruling over Oudh, the Afghans over Rohilkhand and the Marathas controlled Bundelkhand. Benaras remained under its own king popularly known as Kashi Naresh and the Kumaon-Garhwal region was controlled by Nepal rulers.
The British took advantage of the eighteenth century scenario of modern Uttar Pradesh and started defeating local powers one by one in a series of wars. By the end of the century, they were the unquestioned master of the region and to consolidate their hold further, they created North-Western Provinces of Agra. The opening scene of the 1857 war of independence was played in this province, with Mangal Pandey alighting the torch of the rebellion. After a volley of attacks and counter-attacks, when the fire of indignation that was burning inside the hearts of the common citizens against the colonial rule was put down forcefully and mercilessly, the British took drastic step that were to change the shape of Uttar Pradesh for ever.
After reorganization, the state was rechristened as North Western Provinces of Agra and Oudh, which was changed again in 1902 to United Provinces of Agra and Oudh or simply United Provinces or UP. Lucknow, the city developed by the Nawabs of Oudh, was made the new capital in 1920, yet Allahabad continued to be the judicial center of the state. After independence, the state was given the present name of Uttar Pradesh and was ruled by its first chief minister Govind Ballabh Pant. In the year 2000, a new state by the name of Uttarakhand was created after carving out the Himalayan portion of Uttar Pradesh.
|
|
|
