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UTTAR PRADESH |
Uttar Pradesh is the microcosm of India,
multicultural, multiracial, conglomeration
of fabulous wealth of nature-hills, valleys,
rivers, forests, and vast plains. Viewed as
the largest tourist destination in India,
Uttar Pradesh boasts of 35 million domestic
tourists. More than half of the foreign tourists,
who visit India every year, make it a point
to visit this state of Taj Mahal and Ganga.
Agra itself receives around one million foreign
tourists a year coupled with around twenty
million domestic tourists. Its tourism promotion
budget is bigger than that of government of
India and half of the states of Indian union
combined. Uttar Pradesh is studded with places
of tourist attractions across a wide spectrum
of interest to people of diverse interests.
The seventh most populated state of the world,
Uttar Pradesh can lay claim to be the oldest
seat of India's culture and civilization.
It has been characterized as the cradle of
Indian civilization and culture because it
is around the Ganga that the ancient cities
and towns sprang up.
Uttar Pradesh played the most important part
in India's freedom struggle and after independence
it remained the strongest state politically.
Most of the Prime Ministers in India represented
Uttar Pradesh in the parliament of India.
All these make the state a place that should
not be left if anybody wants to understand
India, as it is. |
Geographical
Information |
Uttar Pradesh
has an enormous historical legacy. The renowned
epics of Hinduism-the Ramayana and the Mahabharata-were
written in Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh also
had the glory of being home to Lord Buddha.
It has now been established that Gautama Buddha
spent most of his life in eastern Uttar Pradesh,
wandering from place to place preaching his
sermons.
The empire of Chandra Gupta Maurya extended
nearly over the whole of Uttar Pradesh. Edicts
of this period have been found at Allahabad
& Varanasi . After the fall of the Mauryas,
the present state of Uttar Pradesh was divided
into four parts: Surseva, North Panchal, Kosal,
and Kaushambi. The western part of Uttar Pradesh
saw the advent of the Shaks in the second
century BC. Not much is known of the history
of the state during the times of Kanishka
and his successors.
The Gupta Empire ruled over nearly the whole
of Uttar Pradesh, and it was during this time
that culture and architecture reached its
peak. The decline of the Guptas coincided
with the attacks of Huns from Central Asia
who succeeded establishing their influence
right up to Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. The
seventh century witnessed the taking over
of Kannauj by Harshavardhana.
In 1526, Babur laid the foundation of the
Mughal dynasty. He defeated Ibrahim Lodi in
the battle of Panipat. Babar carried out extensive
campaign in various parts of Uttar Pradesh.
He defeated the Rajputs near Fatehpur Sikri
while his son Humayun conquered Jaunpur and
Ghazipur, after having brought the whole of
Awadh under his control. After Babur's death
(1530), his son Humayun forfeited the empire
after being defeated at the hands of Sher
Shah Suri at Kannauj. After the death of Sher
Shah Suri in 1545, Humayun once again regained
his empire but died soon after.
His son Akbar proved to be the greatest of
Mughals. His established a unified empire
over nearly the whole of the India. During
his period, Agra became the capital of India
and became heartland of culture and arts.
Akbar laid the foundation of modern Indian
administration in many respects. His reign
saw peace, tranquility, and progress. He constructed
huge forts in Agra and Allahabad. He shifted
his capital to a city called Fatehpur Sikri
close to Agra that for some years became the
hub of administration.
In 1605, Akbar died and was succeeded by his
son Jahangir. The period of Jahangir saw arts
and culture reach a new high. However, politically
and administratively, the real power during
this time rested with the queen Noorjehan.
In 1627, after the death of Jahangir, his
son Shahjahan ascended the throne. The period
of Shahjahan is known as the golden period
of India in art, culture, and architecture.
It was during his reign that the classical
wonder Taj Mahal was built in memory of his
wife Mumtaz Mahal. He also constructed the
famous Red Fort in Delhi as well as the Jama
Masjid and Moti Mahal.
During his later life, Shahjahan was deposed
by his son Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb shifted his
capital to Delhi, where he kept his father
Shahjahan imprisoned until his death. The
régime of Aurangzeb saw innumerable
revolts and riots; the whole of Rajputana
and the Deccan became restive. However, it
was during his reign that the Mughal Empire
reached its peak in terms of geographic expansion.
But with the death of Aurangzeb in 1707, the
Mughal Empire declined at an amazing pace.
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