|Area||2,40,928 sq km|
|Principal Languages||Hindi and Urdu|
History and Geography: The history of Uttar Pradesh is very ancient and interesting. It is recognised in the later Vedic Age as Brahmarshi Desha or Madhya Desha. Many great sages of the Vedic times like Bhardwaja, Gautam, yagyavalkaya, Vashishtha, Vishwamitra and Valmiki flourished in this state. Several sacred books of the Aryans were also composed here. Two great epics of India, Ramayana and Mahabharata, appear to have been inspired by Uttar Pradesh.
In the sixth century BC Uttar Pradesh was associated with two new religions-Jainism and Budhism. It was at Sarnath that Buddha preached his first sermon and Buddha breathed his last. Several centres in Uttar Pradesh like Ayodhya, Prayag, Varanasi and Mathura became reputed centres of learning. In the medieval period Uttar Pradesh passed under Muslim rule and led the way to new synthesis of Hindu and Islamin culture. Ramananda and his Muslim disciple Kabir, Tulsidas, Surdas and many other intellectuals contributed to the growth of Hindi and other languages.
Uttar Pradesh preserved its intellectual excellence even under the British administration. The British combined Agra and Oudh into one province and called it United Province of Agra and Oudh. The name was shortened to the United Provinces in 1935. In January 1950 the United Province was renamed as Uttar Pradesh.
The state is bound by Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh in the north, Haryana in the west, Madhya Pradesh in the South and Bihar in the east. Uttar Pradesh can be divided into two distinct religions :-
- Southern Hills and
- Gangetic Plains