Uttar Pradesh

            Uttar Pradesh  उत्तर प्रदेश,  U.P.[ UP is a short form of Utter Pradesh] is a state located in the northern part of India. With over 180 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous subnational entity.

Uttar Pradesh covers a large part of the highly fertile and densely populated upper Gangetic plain. It shares an international border with Nepal and is bounded by the Indian states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar. The administrative and legislative capital of Uttar Pradesh is Lucknow and the financial and industrial capital is Kanpur. The state's high court is based at Allahabad. It is home to many historical cities, including the tourism capital of India, Agra.

Uttar Pradesh has an important place in the history of ancient India; in those times it was sometimes divided between petty kingdoms or formed important part of larger empires that arose on its east or west, including the Mauryan, Gupta and Kushan empires.

The Indo-Gangetic plain, that spans most of the state, has been the ancient seat of Hindu religion, learning and culture, the birth place of the Indo-Islamic syncretic culture of medieval period, a center of nationalism during the colonial period and has continued to play a prominent role in Indian political and cultural movements. The state has a rich heritage of traditional crafts and cottage industries of various types that require highly skilled craftsmen and artisans.

Main Cities of Uttar Pradesh.

• Agra — the tourist Capital of India, home to three World Heritage Site, including the Taj Mahal
• Allahabad — holy place where the rivers Ganga, Yamuna & Saraswati meet
• Ayodhya — birth Place of Lord Shri Ram
• Bareilly — historical city of Rohilkhand
• Jhansi — historical city of Northern Bundelkhand
• Kanpur — once known as the "Manchester of India", now famous for its leather works and the IIT
• Lucknow — the capital of Uttar Pradesh, also home to one of the IIM
• Mathura — birth Place of Lord Krishna
• Sarnath — the site of the Buddha Sakyamuni's first teaching after gaining enlightenment
• Varanasi — considered the most sacred Hindu city, located on the banks of the Ganges, one of the oldest continually inhabited cities of the world.