Uttar Pradesh is the rainbow land where the multi-hued Indian Culture has blossomed from times immemorial. Blessed with a variety of geographical topographies and many cultural diversities, Uttar Pradesh, has been the hub of activity of historical and religious heroes like - Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Mahavira, Ashoka, Harsha, Akbar and Mahatma Gandhi. Rich and tranquil expanses of meadows, perennial rivers, dense forests and fertile soil of Uttar Pradesh have contributed numerous golden chapters to the annals of Indian History. Dotted with various holy shrines and pilgrimage places, full of joyous festivals, it plays an important role in the politics, education, culture, industry, agriculture and tourism of India.

Garlanded by the Ganga and Yamuna, the two pious rivers of Indian mythology, Uttar Pradesh is surrounded by Bihar in the East, Madhya Pradesh in the South, Rajasthan, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana in the west and Uttaranchal in the north and Nepal touch the northern borders of Uttar Pradesh, it assumes strategic importance for Indian defence.

The British East India Company came into contact with the Awadh rulers during the reign of the 3rd Nawab of Awadh. There is no doubt that the history of Uttar Pradesh has run concurrently with the history of the country during and after the British rule, but it is also well-known that the contribution of the people of the State in National Freedom Movement had been significant.

Area wise, it is the fourth largest State of India. In sheer magnitude it is half of the area of France, three times of Portugal, four times of Ireland, seven times of Switzerland, ten times of Belgium and a little bigger than England. The administrative and legislative capital is Lucknow and the judicial capital is Allahabad. Other notable cities include Agra, Aligarh, Ayodhya, Varanasi (Benares), Gorakhpur, Kanpur.

Places to Visit 

Shah Najaf Imambara - This white-domed structure derives its name from the town of Najaf, about 200 km south of Baghdad where the saint Hazrat Ali is buries. It is situated on the right bank of the Gomti, In this mausoleum are buried the remains of Ghazi-ud-din Haider and his wives, including Mubarak Mahal, his European wife. The entrance leads to a beautiful garden. The silver tomb of Ghazi-ud-din Haider lies in the centre of the building and is flanked by the more imposing silver and gold tomb of Mubarak Mahal on one side, and another tomb on the other.

Agra

Agra is famous as being home to one of the seven wonders of the world-the Taj Mahal. The architectural splendour of the mausoleums, the fort and the palaces is a vivid remainder of the capital in the 16th and early 17th centuries.  

While its significance as a political centre ended with the transfer of the capital to Delhi in 1634 by Shah Jahan, its architectural wealth has secured its place on the international map.

A pleasant town with comparatively slow pace, Agra is known for its superb inlay work on marble by craftsmen supposedly the descendants of those who worked under the Mughals on the Taj. The city is also famous for its carpets, gold thread embroidery and leather shoes. Agra was once the capital of the Mughal Empire and even today it seems to linger in the past. Not surprising, for the Mughal emperors with their passion for building, endowed the city with some of the finest structures in the world. It is very easy to slip away here through the centuries into the grandeur and intrigues of the Mughal court. Agra is an old city and it is said that its name was derived from Agrabana, a forest that finds mention in the epic Mahabharata. In more recent times Agra came into prominence when Sikandar Lodhi made it his capital city in 1501. The Lodi rule was to end very soon and Agra passed into the possession of the Mughals. It was during the time of the third emperor Akbar that Agra came into its own. He embarked on the construction of the massive Agra Fort in 1565. Though Akbar was diverted into building a new capital at Fatehpur Sikri not far away.

Agra continued to retain its importance and Shah Jehan, Akbar's grandson ornamented the city with that masterpiece of Mughal architecture - the Taj Mahal and built several other beautiful buildings within the Agra fort.

So overwhelming is the exquisite beauty and presence of this marble mausoleum that centuries later today, even the very land where it has been located - Agra - has been immortalised as the City of the Taj. Yet, it doesn't take much for the roving eye to discover that there's more to Agra than just the fabled Taj Mahal. The city is a virtual gateway to a world of discovery… a freeze-frame from a resplendent era that's long since gone by.

Much of the city's impressive past lives in evidence even today, in the haunting presence inside the monuments, the majesty of the buildings, the exquisite arts and crafts and not to forget, the lure of an exceptional cuisine… all, cherished as priceless legacies of a nostalgic past. The older city of Agra has impressively retained much of its resplendent history… captivating every visitor with fond memories to take back home. Today, luxury and modern convenience also exist adjacent to tradition - luxury hotels, shopping malls and plazas, wide avenues and a superb choice of venues for recreation, business, sports, pleasure, education and the arts.

Allahabad

Allahabad is among the largest cities in Uttar Pradesh. Hindu mythology has it that for the Prakrishta Yagna, Lord Brahma, the creator God of the Trinity, chose a land on earth, on which the three rivers would flow in to a quiet confluence. Brahma also referred to it as "Tirath Raj" or the "king of all pilgrimage centres". Recorded evidence also exists in the revered scriptures - the Vedas and the grand epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, as also in the Puranas - of this holy place formerly called Prayag. Allahabad stands at the confluence of two of India's holiest rivers, the Ganga and the Yamuna. Sangam, as the confluence is called, is the venue of many sacred fairs and rituals, and attracts thousands of pilgrims throughout the year. This number swells to millions during the world-famous Kumbh Mela. A third mythical Saraswati river, believed to flow underground towards the Sangam, gives the confluence its other name "Triveni".

Emperor Akbar founded this city in 1575 and called it by name of "Illahabas", which has now become modern Allahabad. The monarch realized its strategic importance as a waterway landmark in North India and also built a magnificent fort on the banks of the holy Sangam.

Over the centuries that followed, Allahabad remained on the forefront of national importance - more so, during the days of the Indian independence struggle. The city being an important cantonment during the British Raj has some beautiful remnants of colonial architecture. In the early 20th century, Allahabad University was the foremost center of learning in the country.

Allahabad, today is an important city where history, culture and religion create a confluence much like the sacred rivers that caress this God-graced land. Allahabad is also famous for the Kumbh and Ardh Kumbh Melas held every twelve and six years respectively.

 
These are attended by the largest congregation of saints, believers and followers of Hindu religion in India and from across the world. Allahabad is also known for its annual Magh Mela (mini Kumbh Mela) and colourful Dussehra festival. 'Prayag' or 'Allahabad' as it is known today is one of the most sacred pilgrimage centres of India.

Ayodhya

Ayodhya is situated on the right bank of the river Ghagra or Saryu, as it is called within sacred precincts, on latitude 26o 48' north and longitude 82o 13' east in north India. Just 6 km from Faizabad, Ayodhya is a popular pilgrim centre. This town is closely associated with Lord Rama, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The ancient city of Ayodhya, according to the Ramayana, was founded by Manu, the law-giver of the Hindu. For centuries, it was the capital of the descendants of the Surya dynasty of which Lord Rama was the most celebrated king. Ayodhya during ancient times was known as Kaushala Desa.

Skanda and some other Puranas rank Ayodhya as one of the seven most sacred cities of India. Today it is pre-eminently a temple town, Ayodhya is also famous for its close association with the epic Ramayana. It is a city of immense antiquity full of historical significance and sacred temples. The Atharva Veda described Ayodhya as "a city built by Gods and being prosperous as paradise itself". Ayodhya is pre-eminently a city of temples yet, all places of worship here, are not of the Hindu religion alone. At Ayodhya several religions have grown and prospered simultaneously and also at different periods of time in the past. Remnants of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Islam can still be found in here. According to the Jain tradition, five Tirthankaras were born at Ayodhya, including Adinath (Rishabhadeva) the 1st Tirthankar.

Kanpur

Nestled on the banks of the eternal Ganga, Kanpur stands as one of North India's major industrial centres with its own historical, religious and commercial importance. Believed to be founded by king Hindu Singh of the erstwhile state of Sachendi, Kanpur was originally known as `Kanhpur'.

Up to the 1st half of the 18th century Kanpur continued to survive as an insignificant village. Its fate, however, took a new turn soon after. In May 1765, the British defeated Shuja-ud-daula, the Nawab Wazir of Awadh near Jajmau. It was probably at this time that strategic importance of the town of Kanpur was realized by the British. European businessmen had by this time gradually started establishing themselves in Kanpur. In order to ensure protection to their lives and property the `Awadh local forces' were shifted here in 1778. Kanpur passed into British hands under the treaty of 1801 with Nawab Saadat Ali Khan of Awadh. This forms a turning point in the history of Kanpur. Soon Kanpur became one of the most important military station of British India. It was declared a district on 24th March 1803.

Kanpur was soon to become the epicenter of the outbreak of 1857, as some of the leading luminaries of the War of Independence hailed from her, namely - Nana Sahib, Tantiya Tope, Azimoolah Khan and Brigadier Jwala Prasad. The three strategic events of the 1857 war at Kanpur were the fight at `wheeler's entrenchment', the `massacre at Sati Chaura Ghat' and the `Bibighar massacre'. Nana Sahib had declared independence on the 7th of June 1857 at Kanpur. The British under Commander Hugh Wheeler retreated into a shallow earth entrenchment in the cantonment area, later known in history as `wheeler's entrenchment'. The English garrison surrendered in the last week of June 1857 on terms of safe passage to Allahabad. But when on the morning of 27th June, the soldiers along with the women and children were about to embark into the boats at Sati Chaura Ghat, fighting broke out and most of the men were killed. The survivors, women and children were rescued and were imprisoned into the Savada Kothi and later shifted to Bibighar in the `cantonment magistrates' compound. But when it became clear the relieving forces under General Havelock were nearing the city and defeat was inevitable, the captives-all women and children were massacred and their dismembered bodies buried in the well of the compound on 15th July 1857. The Bibighar was dismantled by the British and after the reoccupation of Kanpur a `memorial railing and a cross' raised at the site of the well. The well is now bricked over. Only remains of a circular ridge survive, which can be still seen at the Nana Rao Park. The Kanpur Memorial Church - `The all soul cathedral' was raised in honor of the fallen at the north-east corner of Wheeler's entrenchment in 1862 by the British. The marble gothic screen with famous `mournful seraph' was transferred to the churchyard of All Souls church after independence in 1947, and in its place a bust of Tantiya Tope installed as Nana Rao Park.

After 1857, the development of Kanpur was even more phenomenal. Government Harness and Saddler Factory was started for supplying leather material for army in 1860, followed by Cooper Allen & Co. in 1880. The first cotton textile mill, the Elgin Mills were started in 1862 and Moiré Mills in 1882.

Today besides being the most industrialized region of the state, Kanpur is also an important educational centre, with institutions like Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, Agricultural College, Indian Institute of Technology, G.S.V.M. Medical College, National Sugar Institute and Government Textile Institute being located here. Apart from playing a stellar role in the development of the country as a whole, Kanpur has also been instrumental in making an unforgettable contribution to the Indian freedom struggle. A favorite centre of activities of stalwarts like Nanarao Peshwa, Tantiya Tope, Sardar Bhagat Singh and Chandra Shekhar Azad among others, Kanpur is also the birth place of Shyamlal Gupta `Parshad', composer of the famous patriotic ditty `Vijayee Vishwa Tiranga Pyara'. The propagation and popularization of Hindi also owes much to this city, with great Hindi literary figures like Acharya Mahavir Parasad Dwivedi, Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, Pratap Narain Mishra, Acharya Gaya Prasad Shukla `Sanehi' and Balkrishna Sharma `Navin' having hailed from here.