History of Uttar Pradesh

2022-08-13T12:58:25Z

110.21.81.151:

{{Short description|History of the state in Northern India}}
{{Use Indian English}}
{{Use dmy dates}}
{{HistoryOfSouthAsia}}
The '''history of [[Uttar Pradesh]]''' the [[Northern India]]n [[States and union territories of India|state]], stretches back technically to its formation on 1 April 1937 as the North-Western Provinces of Agra and Awadh, but the region itself shows the presence of human habitation dating back to between 85,000 and 73,000 years ago. The region seems to have been domesticated as early as 6,000 BC.

The early modern period in the region started in 1526 after [[Babur]] [[First Battle of Panipat|invaded]] the Delhi Sultanate, and established the Mughal Empire covering large parts of modern Uttar Pradesh. The remnants of the Mughal Empire include their monuments, most notably [[Fatehpur Sikri]], [[Allahabad Fort]], [[Agra Fort]], and the [[Taj Mahal]].

The region was the site of the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]], with revolts at Meerut, Kanpur, and Lucknow. The region was also a site for the [[Indian independence movement|Indian Independence movement]] with the Indian National Congress.

After independence in 1947, the United Provinces were renamed Uttar Pradesh in 1950.

In 2000, the state of [[Uttarakhand]] was carved out from Uttar pradesh.

==Prehistory==
Archeological finds have indicated the presence of [[Stone Age]] ''[[Homo sapiens]]'' hunter-gatherers in Uttar Pradesh<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gMoJj-0Z94UC&pg=PA69|page=69|title=Recent Advances in Indo-Pacific Prehistory: proceedings of the international symposium held at Poona |author=Virendra N. Misra, Peter Bellwood|isbn=90-04-07512-7|access-date=23 July 2012|year=1985}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r4s-YsP6vcIC&pg=PA58|page=58|title=The Rise of Civilization in India and Pakistan|author=Bridget Allchin, Frank Raymond Allchin|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-28550-X|access-date=23 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Hasmukhlal Dhirajlal Sankalia |author2=Shantaram Bhalchandra Deo |author3=Madhukar Keshav Dhavalikar |title=Studies in Indian Archaeology: Professor H.D. Sankalia Felicitation Volume |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=35DP1Z-2dnYC&pg=PA96 |publisher=Popular Prakashan |page=96 |isbn=0-86132-088-3 |access-date=23 July 2012}}</ref> between around<ref>Confidence limits for the age are 85 (±11) and 72 (±8) thousand years ago.</ref> 85 and 73 thousand years old. Other pre-historical finds have included Middle and Upper Paleolithic artifacts dated to 21–31 thousand years old<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gibling|first1=Sinha|last2=Sinha|first2=Roy|last3=Roy|first3=Tandon|last4=Tandon|first4=Jain|last5=Jain|first5=M|title=Quaternary fluvial and eolian deposits on the Belan river, India: paleoclimatic setting of Paleolithic to Neolithic archeological sites over the past 85,000 years|journal=Quaternary Science Reviews|volume=27|page=391|year=2008|doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2007.11.001|issue=3–4|bibcode=2008QSRv...27..391G}}</ref> and [[Mesolithic]]/[[Microlithic]] [[hunter-gatherer]]'s settlement, near [[Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh|Pratapgarh]], from around 10550–9550 BC. Villages with domesticated cattle, sheep, and goats and evidence of agriculture began as early as 6000 BC, and gradually developed between c. 4000 and 2000 BC  beginning with the [[Indus Valley civilization]] and [[Culture of Harappa|Harappa culture]] to the [[Vedic period]]; extending into the [[Iron Age]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W6zQHNavWlsC&pg=PA263|publisher=University of Michigan Press|year= 2000|isbn=0-472-11013-6|page=263|title=God-apes and Fossil Men|author=Kenneth A. R. Kennedy|access-date=23 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r4s-YsP6vcIC&pg=PA119|page=119|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-28550-X|year=1982|title=The Rise of Civilization in India and Pakistan|author=Bridget Allchin, Frank Raymond Allchin|access-date=23 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ias.ac.in/jbiosci/nov2001/491.pdf |title=Prehistoric human colonization of India |access-date=5 April 2012}}</ref>

[[File:Rama in forest.jpg|thumb|upright|left|alt=Painting of goddess Rama alongside Sita and Laxman|Rama portrayed as exile in the forest, accompanied by his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana]]
[[File:Deogarh01.jpg|alt=Ravana|left|thumb|[[Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh|Dashavatara Temple]] at [[Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh|Deogarh]] was built by the [[Gupta Empire]].]]
The kingdom of [[Kosala]], in the [[Mahajanapada]] era, was located within the regional boundaries of modern-day Uttar Pradesh.<ref name="Sen1999">{{cite book|author=Sailendra Nath Sen|title=Ancient Indian History And Civilization|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&pg=PA105|access-date=1 October 2012|publisher=New Age International|isbn=978-81-224-1198-0|pages=105–106}}</ref> According to Hindu legend, the divine king [[Rama]] of the [[Ramayana]] epic reigned in [[Ayodhya]], the capital of Kosala.<ref name="Buck2000">{{cite book|author=William Buck|title=Ramayana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vvuIp2kqIkMC|access-date=1 October 2012|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-1720-3}}</ref> [[Krishna]], another divine king of Hindu legend, who plays a key role in the [[Mahabharata]] epic and is revered as the eighth reincarnation ([[Avatar]]) of the Hindu god [[Vishnu]], is said to have been born in the city of [[Mathura]], in Uttar Pradesh.<ref name="Sen1999"/> The aftermath of the [[Mahabharata yuddh]] is believed to have taken place in the area between the Upper [[Doab]] and [[Delhi]], (in what was [[Kuru Kingdom|Kuru]] Mahajanapada), during the reign of the [[Pandava]] king [[Yudhishthira]]. The kingdom of the [[Kuru (India)|Kurus]] corresponds to the [[Black and Red Ware]] and [[Painted Gray Ware]] culture and the beginning of the Iron Age in North-west India, around 1000 BC.<ref name="Sen1999"/>

== Middle Kingdoms (c. 200 BCE – 1206 CE) ==
Most of the invaders of south India passed through the Gangetic plains of what is today Uttar Pradesh. Control over this region was of vital importance to the power and stability of all of India's major empires, including the [[Maurya Empire|Maurya]] (320–200 BC), [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]] (100–250 CE), [[Gupta Empire|Gupta]] (350–600 CE), and [[Gurjara-Pratihara]] (650–1036 CE) empires.<ref name="White2010">{{cite book|author=Richard White|title=The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650-1815|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fHLfiOZVzmMC|access-date=1 October 2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-00562-4}}</ref> Following the [[Huns]] invasions that broke the Gupta empire, the Ganges-Yamuna Doab saw the rise of [[Kannauj]].<ref name="Corporation2007">{{cite book|author=Marshall Cavendish Corporation|title=World and Its Peoples: Eastern and Southern Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V1pQkwIXTG0C&pg=PA331|access-date=1 October 2012|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-0-7614-7631-3|pages=331–335}}</ref>

The [[Maukhari dynasty]] came to power with the decline of the Gupta Empire. During the reign of [[Harshavardhana]] (590–647), the Kannauj empire reached its zenith.<ref name="Corporation2007" /> It spanned from [[Punjab region|Punjab]] in the north and [[Gujarat]] in the west to [[Bengal]] in the east and [[Odisha]] in the south.<ref name="Sen1999" /> It included parts of central India, north of the [[Narmada River]] and it encompassed the entire [[Indo-Gangetic plain]].<ref name="Chopra2003" /> The [[Pushyabhuti dynasty]] were followed by the [[Varman dynasty of Kannauj|Varman dynasty]] which achieved hegemony over North India under [[Yashovarman]]. The [[Ayudha dynasty]] succeeded them in Kannauj.

Many communities in various parts of India claim descent from the migrants of Kannauj.<ref name="Bowman2000" /> Soon after Harshavardhana's death, his empire disintegrated into many kingdoms, which were invaded and ruled by the Gurjara-Pratihara empire, which challenged Bengal's [[Pala Empire]] for control of the region.<ref name="Chopra2003">{{cite book|author=Pran Nath Chopra|title=A Comprehensive History of Ancient India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gE7udqBkACwC&pg=PA196|access-date=1 October 2012|publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd|isbn=978-81-207-2503-4|page=196}}</ref> [[Kannauj]] was several times invaded by the south Indian [[Rashtrakuta Dynasty]] from the 8th century to the 10th century.<ref>The History of India by Kenneth Pletcher p.102</ref><ref>The City in South Asia by James Heitzman p.37</ref>

The decline of the Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty saw the rise of independent Rajput dynasties such as the [[Gahadvala]] Rajputs who ruled over present-day Uttar Pradesh. The long-term social order of the area was established under the Rajput dynasties. Besides Rajput kingdoms, there existed a number of localised dynasties belonging to [[Bhumihar]] Brahmin, [[Rajbhar]] and [[Pasi (caste)|Pasi]] castes, whose identities remain influential today.

== Delhi Sultanate Era (1206 – 1526)==
{{Main|Delhi Sultanate}}
Parts or all of Uttar Pradesh were ruled by the [[Delhi Sultanate]] for 320 years (1206–1526). Five dynasties ruled over the Sultanate sequentially: the [[Mamluk dynasty (Delhi)|Mamluk dynasty]] (1206–90), the [[Khalji]] dynasty (1290–1320), the [[Tughlaq]] dynasty (1320–1414), the [[Sayyid dynasty]] (1414–51), and the [[Lodi dynasty]] (1451–1526).<ref>* {{cite book|last=Srivastava|first=Ashirvadi Lal|author-link=Ashirbadi Lal Srivastava|title=The Sultanate of Delhi 711-1526 A D|url=https://archive.org/stream/sultanateofdelhi001929mbp#page/n5/mode/2up|year=1929|publisher=Shiva Lal Agarwala & Company|access-date=29 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408110410/https://archive.org/stream/sultanateofdelhi001929mbp#page/n5/mode/2up|archive-date=8 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Unesco1998">{{cite book|last1=Islam|last2=Bosworth|title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18eABeokpjEC&pg=PA269|year=1998|publisher=UNESCO|isbn=978-9231034671|pages=269–291}}</ref>

[[File:Fatehpur_Sikri_near_Agra_2016-03_img05.jpg|thumb|Rear of the [[Buland Darwaza]] at [[Fatehpur Sikri]], built to commemorate [[Akbar]]'s victorious [[Akbar's conquest of Gujarat|conquest of Gujarat]].]]
[[File:Taj_Mahal_in_March_2004.jpg|thumb|[[Taj Mahal]] in [[Agra]], built by Mughal Emperor [[Shah Jahan]] in the 17th century.]]

==Mughal Era (1526 – c. 1737) ==
{{Main|Mughal Empire}}
In the 16th century, [[Babur]], a [[Timurid dynasty|Timurid]] descendant of [[Timur]] and [[Descent from Genghis Khan|Genghis Khan]] from [[Fergana Valley]] (modern-day [[Uzbekistan]]), swept across the [[Khyber Pass]] and founded the [[Mughal Empire]], covering [[India]], along with modern-day [[Afghanistan]], Pakistan and [[Bangladesh]]<ref>[https://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/empires/mughals/ The Islamic World to 1600: Rise of the Great Islamic Empires (The Mughal Empire)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927121217/http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/empires/mughals/ }}</ref> The Mughals were descended from Persianised Central Asian [[Turkic people|Turks]] (with significant [[Mongol]] admixture). In the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] era, Uttar Pradesh became the heartland of the empire.<ref name="Bowman2000">{{cite book|author=John Stewart Bowman|title=Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture|url=https://archive.org/details/columbiachronolo00john|url-access=registration|access-date=2 August 2012|year=2000|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-11004-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/columbiachronolo00john/page/273 273]}}</ref> Mughal emperors Babur and Humayun ruled from Agra.<ref name="Schimmel2004">{{cite book|author=Annemarie Schimmel|title=The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture|url=https://archive.org/details/empireofgreatmug00anne|url-access=registration|access-date=1 October 2012|publisher=Reaktion Books|isbn=978-1-86189-185-3}}</ref><ref name="Hindustan)Hiro2006">{{cite book|author1=Babur (Emperor of Hindustan)|author2=Dilip Hiro|title=Babur Nama: Journal of Emperor Babur|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VW2HJL689wgC|access-date=1 October 2012|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-400149-1}}</ref>

In 1540 an Afghan, [[Sher Shah Suri]], took over the reins of Uttar Pradesh after defeating the Mughal king Humanyun.<ref name="Ramirez-Faria2007">{{cite book|author=Carlos Ramirez-Faria|title=Concise Encyclopeida Of World History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gGKsS-9h4BYC&pg=PA171|access-date=2 August 2012|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist|isbn=978-81-269-0775-5|page=171}}</ref> Sher Shah and his son Islam Shah ruled Uttar Pradesh from their capital at [[Gwalior]].<ref name="hindustan">{{cite book|last=Stronge|first=Susan|title=Mughal Hindustan is renowned for its opulence|publisher=The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms (V&A 1999)|location=London|page=255|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PVrSYgEACAAJ&q=hindustan+by+mughal|access-date=23 July 2012|isbn=9788174366962}}</ref> After the death of [[Islam Shah Suri]], his prime minister [[Hemu]] became the ''de facto'' ruler of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and the western parts of Bengal. He was bestowed the title of ''[[Vikramaditya]]'' at his coronation in [[Purana Quila]] in Delhi. Hemu died in the [[Second Battle of Panipat]], and Uttar Pradesh came under Emperor [[Akbar]]'s rule.<ref name="Agrawal1983">{{cite book|author=Ashvini Agrawal|title=Studies In Mughal History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZdCrUxFAHEC&pg=PA30|access-date=27 July 2012|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|isbn=978-81-208-2326-6|pages=30–46}}</ref> Akbar ruled from [[Agra]] and his newly established city, [[Fatehpur Sikri]].<ref>Fergus Nicoll, ''Shah Jahan: The Rise and Fall of the Mughal Emperor'' (2009)</ref> He was succeeded by his son [[Jahangir]].

Jahangir was succeeded by his son [[Shah Jahan]]. Shah Jahan is famous for building the [[Taj Mahal]], a mausoleum for his queen [[Mumtaz Mahal]]. The Taj Mahal is considered one of the most significant examples of [[Indo-Islamic architecture]]. Shah Jahan was succeeded by his son [[Aurangzeb]], who did not share the religious tolerance of his ancestors, and was infamous for the destruction of temples.

==Maratha Era (c. 1737 – 1803)==
In the 18th century, after the fall of Mughal authority, the power vacuum was filled by the [[Maratha Empire]], in the mid 18th century, the Maratha army invaded the Uttar Pradesh region, which resulted in Rohillas losing control of Rohillkhand to the Maratha rulers [[Raghunathrao|Raghunath Rao]] and [[Malharao Holkar]]. The conflict between Rohillas and Marathas came to an end on 18{{nbsp}}December 1788 with the arrest of [[Ghulam Kadir|Ghulam Qadir]], the grandson of Najeeb-ud-Daula, who was defeated by the Maratha general [[Mahadji Scindia|Mahadaji Scindia]]. In 1803, following the [[Second Anglo-Maratha War]], when the [[British East India Company]] defeated the Maratha Empire, much of the region came under British suzerainty.<ref>{{cite book
|last = Mayaram
|first = Shail
|title = Against history, against state: counterperspectives from the margins Cultures of history
|year = 2003
|publisher = Columbia University Press, 2003
|isbn = 978-0-231-12731-8}}</ref>

== British Era (1803 – 1947) ==

=== Company Rule and Indian Rebellion of 1857 ===
{{Further|Company rule in India|Indian Rebellion of 1857}}{{See also|Oudh State|||page4=}}{{Infobox
| above = Timeline of reorganization & name changes of UP<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/lucknow/uttar-pradesh-day-how-the-state-was-born-67-years-back/story-Y2JhCTBIo2UuQYvQSTBNgN.html |title=Uttar Pradesh Day: How the state was born 67 years back |date=3 May 2017 |access-date=2017-05-03 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170503114407/http://www.hindustantimes.com/lucknow/uttar-pradesh-day-how-the-state-was-born-67-years-back/story-Y2JhCTBIo2UuQYvQSTBNgN.html |archive-date=3 May 2017 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
| label2 = 1807 | data2 = [[Ceded and Conquered Provinces]]
| label3 = 14 November 1834 | data3 = [[Presidency of Agra]]
| label4 = 1 January 1836 | data4 = [[North-Western Provinces]]
| label5 = 3 April 1858 | data5 = [[Oudh]] taken under British control, [[Delhi Territory]] taken away from [[North-Western Provinces|NWP]] and merged into [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]]
| label6 = 1 April 1871 | data6 = [[Ajmer]], [[Mewar|Merwara]] & [[Kekri, Rajasthan|Kekri]] made separate commissioner-ship
| label7 = 15 February 1877 | data7 = Oudh added to [[North-Western Provinces]]
| label8 = 22 March 1902 | data8 = Renamed [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh]]
| label9 = 3 January 1921 | data9 = Renamed [[United Provinces of British India]]
| label10 = 1 April 1937 | data10 = Renamed [[United Provinces (1937-1950)|United Provinces]]
| label11 = 1 April 1946 | data11 = Self rule granted
| label12 = 15 August 1947 | data12 = Part of independent India
| label13 = 24 January 1950 | data13 = Renamed Uttar Pradesh
| label14 = 9 November 2000 | data14 = Uttaranchal state, now known as [[Uttarakhand]], created from part of Uttar Pradesh
}}

Starting from [[Bengal]] in the second half of the 18th century, a series of battles for north Indian lands finally gave the [[British East India Company]] accession over the state's territories.<ref name="Kudaisya2006">{{cite book |author=Gyanesh Kudaisya |title=Region, nation, "heartland": Uttar Pradesh in India's body-politic |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |pages=126–376 |isbn=978-3-8258-2097-8}}</ref> [[Ajmer]] and [[Jaipur]] kingdoms were also included in this northern territory, which was named the "[[North-Western Provinces]]" (of Agra). Although UP later became the fifth largest state of India, NWPA was one of the smallest states of the British Indian empire.<ref name="Sivaramakrishnan1999">{{cite book|author=K. Sivaramakrishnan|title=Modern Forests: Statemaking and Environmental Change in Colonial Eastern India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TM7oYBG4M04C&pg=PA240|access-date=26 July 2012|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=978-0-8047-4556-7|pages=240–276}}</ref> Its capital shifted twice between Agra and Allahabad.{{citation needed}}[[File:United Provinces 1909.jpg|thumb|250px|United Provinces in 1909|alt=|left]]Due to dissatisfaction with British rule, a serious rebellion erupted in various parts of North India; [[Bengal]] [[regiment]]'s sepoy stationed at [[Meerut]] [[cantonment]], [[Mangal Pandey]], is widely credited as its starting point.<ref name="Mukherjee2005">{{cite book|author=Rudrangshu Mukherjee|title=Mangal Pandey: brave martyr or accidental hero?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-SluAAAAMAAJ|access-date=1 October 2012|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-303256-4}}</ref> It came to be known as the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]].

=== Direct British rule (1858 – 1947) ===
{{See also|United Provinces of Agra and Oudh}}
After the revolt failed, the British attempted to divide the most rebellious regions by reorganizing the administrative boundaries of the region, splitting the Delhi region from 'NWFP of Agra' and merging it with [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]], while the [[Ajmer]]- [[Marwar]] region was merged with [[Rajputana]] and Oudh was incorporated into the state. The new state was called the 'North Western Provinces of Agra and Oudh', which in 1902 was renamed as the [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh]].<ref name="(India)Drake-Brockman1934">{{cite book|author1=United Provinces of Agra and Oudh (India)|author2=D.L. Drake-Brockman|title=District Gazetteers of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh: supp.D.Pilibhit District|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VUNuAAAAMAAJ|access-date=1 October 2012|year=1934|publisher=Supdt., Government Press, United Provinces}}</ref> It was commonly referred to as the United Provinces or its acronym UP.<ref name="Chakrabarti1997">{{cite book|author=Dilip K. Chakrabarti|title=Colonial Indology: sociopolitics of the ancient Indian past|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ADZuAAAAMAAJ|access-date=26 July 2012|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd.|location=Michigan|isbn=978-81-215-0750-9|page=257}}</ref><ref name="Cohn1996">{{cite book|author=Bernard S. Cohn|title=Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge: The British in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uIalYaenrTkC|access-date=26 July 2012|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-00043-5|page=189}}</ref>

In 1920, the capital of the province was shifted from Allahabad to [[Lucknow]]. The high court continued to be at Allahabad, but a bench was established at Lucknow. Allahabad continues to be an important administrative base of today's Uttar Pradesh and has several administrative headquarters.<ref name="Nair2004">{{cite book|author=K. Balasankaran Nair|title=Law Of Contempt Of Court In India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gujNYPcNETMC|access-date=26 July 2012|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist|isbn=978-81-269-0359-7|page=320}}</ref> Uttar Pradesh continued to be central to Indian politics and was especially important in modern Indian history as a hotbed of the [[Indian independence movement]]. Uttar Pradesh hosted modern educational institutions such as the [[Benaras Hindu University]], [[Aligarh Muslim University]] and the [[Darul Uloom Deoband]]. Nationally known figures such as [[Chandra Shekhar Azad]] were among the leaders of the movement in Uttar Pradesh, and [[Motilal Nehru]], [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], [[Madan Mohan Malaviya]] and [[Gobind Ballabh Pant]] were important national leaders of the [[Indian National Congress]]. The [[All India Kisan Sabha]] (AIKS) was formed at the Lucknow session of the Congress on 11 April 1936, with the famous nationalist [[Swami Sahajanand Saraswati]] elected as its first President,<ref>{{cite book
| first = Bandyopādhyāya
| last = Śekhara
| title = From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India
| publisher = [[Orient Longman]]
| year = 2004
| isbn = 978-81-250-2596-2
| page = 407
}}</ref> in order to address the longstanding grievances of the peasantry and mobilise them against the [[zamindari]] landlords attacks on their occupancy rights, thus sparking the Farmers movements in India.<ref>{{cite book
| first = Śekhara
| last = Bandyopādhyāya
| title = From Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India
| publisher = [[Orient Longman]]
| year = 2004
| isbn = 978-81-250-2596-2
| page = 406
}}</ref> During the [[Quit India Movement]] of 1942, [[Ballia]] district overthrew the colonial authority and installed an independent administration under [[Chittu Pandey]]. Ballia became known as "Baghi Ballia" (Rebel Ballia) for this significant role in India's independence movement.<ref name="Chatterji2006">{{cite book|author=Bankim Chandra Chatterji|title=Anandamath|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Gmjn63ogDUC|access-date=26 July 2012|publisher=Orient Paperbacks|isbn=978-81-222-0130-7|page=168}}</ref>

== Post-Independence (1947 – present) ==

=== 1950 – 2000 ===
After India's independence, the United Provinces were reorganized as Uttar Pradesh in 1950. The state has provided seven of India's prime ministers and is the source of the largest number of seats in the [[Lok Sabha]]. Despite its political influence, its poor economic development and administrative record, organised crime and corruption kept it amongst India's backward states. The state has been affected by repeated episodes of caste and communal violence.<ref>{{cite news|title=Communal violence|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/uttar-pradesh-tops-home-ministry-list-on-communal-violence-114080601639_1.html|access-date=25 August 2014|work=[[Business Standard]]|agency=[[Kotak Mahindra Bank]]|publisher=[[Ananda Publishers]]}}</ref>

There were incidents of communal violence in [[1980 Moradabad riots|1980]] and [[1987 Meerut communal riots|1987]]. 1992, a large group of Hindu activists [[Demolition of the Babri Masjid|demolished]] the 16th-century [[Babri Masjid|Babri Mosque]] in the city of [[Ayodhya]], which is claimed to be the site of [[Ram Janmabhoomi]]. The [[Ayodhya dispute]] triggered massive protests across the state as well as nationally and internationally.

=== 2000 – present ===
In 2000, northern districts of the state were separated to form the state of [[Uttarakhand]]. In February 2017, [[Yogi Adityanath]] became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. In 2019, [[Ayodhya Dispute]] was settled by The Supreme Court of India.<ref name="separation">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=alRh51xE_v0C&pg=PA391|title=Uttarakhand: Past, Present, and Future|author1=J. C. Aggarwal|author2=S. P. Agrawal|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7022-572-0|page=391}}</ref> The ground-breaking ceremony of the [[Rama Janmabhoomi]] temple took place on 5 August 2020.

Uttar Pradesh has improved its performance considerably in the recent times witnessing lowest crime rate in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/crime-rate-in-uttar-pradesh-lowest-since-2013-ncrb-data/articleshow/86249864.cms | title=Crime rate in Uttar Pradesh lowest since 2013: NCRB data | Lucknow News - Times of India | website=[[The Times of India]] }}</ref>

The state has also made strides on various economic parameters in the recent times, doubling its [[GSDP]] to Rs 21.73 lakh crore (2020–21) in four years from Rs 10.90 lakh crore in 2015-16.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/up-will-become-indias-largest-economy-after-bjp-comes-to-power-in-2022-polls-says-yogi/articleshow/81326628.cms?from=mdr | title=UP will become India's largest economy after BJP comes to power in 2022 polls, says Yogi | newspaper=The Economic Times | last1=Gaur | first1=Vatsala }}</ref> Under its Chief Minister [[Yogi Adityanath]], the state also became the second most favourable destination in the country for doing business.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.livemint.com/news/india/up-ranks-second-across-country-in-ease-of-doing-business-says-cm-adityanath-11630894639499.html | title=UP ranks second across country in ease of doing business, says CM Adityanath | date=6 September 2021 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Indus Valley Tradition]]
* [[Painted Grey Ware]]
* [[Vedanga|Vedic science]]

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
{{Refbegin}}

==Bibliography==
'''For Paleolithic & Neolithic period:'''
*{{cite book |first=Kenneth Adrian Raine |last=Kennedy |author-link=Kenneth A. R. Kennedy |year=2000 |title=[[God-Apes and Fossil Men|God-Apes and Fossil Men: Palaeoanthropology of South Asia]] |location=Ann Arbor |publisher=University of Michigan Press}}
*{{cite journal |first=Hannah V. A. |last=James |author2=Petraglia, Michael D. |title=Modern Human Origins and the Evolution of Behavior in the Later Pleistocene Record of South Asia |journal=Current Anthropology |volume=46 |issue=Supplement |url=http://www.human-evol.cam.ac.uk/Members/Petraglia/pubs/JamesPetraglia(CA2005).pdf |doi=10.1086/444365 |pages=S3 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819143802/http://www.human-evol.cam.ac.uk/Members/Petraglia/pubs/JamesPetraglia(CA2005).pdf |archive-date=19 August 2006 |df=dmy-all |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-002B-0DBC-F |s2cid=12529822 |hdl-access=free }}
*{{cite journal |author-link=V. N. Misra |last=Misra |first=V. N. |title=Prehistoric human colonization of India |url=http://www.ias.ac.in/jbiosci/nov2001/491.pdf |journal=Journal of Biosciences |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=491–531 |doi=10.1007/BF02704749 |pmid=11779962|s2cid=26248907 }}

'''For Copper Hoard culture:'''
*Sharma, Deo Prakash, 2002. Newly Discovered Copper Hoard, Weapons of South Asia (C. 2800–1500 BC), Delhi, Bharatiya Kala Prakashan,182 p.
*Yule, P. 1985. Metalwork of the Bronze Age in India. C.H. Beck, Munich {{ISBN|3-406-30440-0}}
*Yule, P./Hauptmann, A./Hughes, M. 1989 [1992]. The Copper Hoards of the Indian Subcontinent: Preliminaries for an Interpretation, Jahrbuch des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz 36, 193–275, ISSN 0076-2741
*Gupta, S.P. (ed.). 1995. The lost Sarasvati and the Indus Civilization. Kusumanjali Prakashan, Jodhpur.

'''For Painted Grey Ware culture:'''
* {{cite book | first=Edwin | last=Bryant | author-link=Edwin Bryant (author) | title=[[The Quest for the Origins of Vedic culture]] | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2001 | isbn=0-19-513777-9}}
*Chakrabarti, D.K. 1968. The Aryan hypothesis in Indian archaeology. Indian Studies Past and Present 4, 333–358.
*[[Jim Shaffer]]. 1984. The Indo-Aryan Invasions: Cultural Myth and Archaeological Reality. In: J.R. Lukak. The People of South Asia. New York: Plenum. 1984.
* [[Kenneth A.R. Kennedy|Kennedy, Kenneth]] 1995. ''"Have Aryans been identified in the prehistoric skeletal record from South Asia?"'', in George Erdosy, ed.: The Indo-Aryans of Ancient South Asia, pp. 49–54.

'''For Cemetery H culture:'''
*{{cite book |last=Kenoyer |first=Jonathan Mark |author-link=Jonathan Mark Kenoyer |year=1991 |chapter=Urban Process in the Indus Tradition: A preliminary model from Harappa |editor=Meadow, R. H.|title=Harappa Excavations 1986–1990: A multidiscipinary approach to Third Millennium urbanism |location=Madison, WI |publisher=Prehistory Press |pages=29–60}}
* [http://www.harappa.com http://www.harappa.com]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060908052731/http://pubweb.cc.u-tokai.ac.jp/indus/english/3_1_01.html https://web.archive.org/web/20060908052731/http://pubweb.cc.u-tokai.ac.jp/indus/english/3_1_01.html]

'''For Vedic Period:'''
* {{Citation |last=Basham|first=A. L.|author-link=Arthur Llewellyn Basham|title=The Wonder That Was India: A survey of the history and culture of the Indian sub-continent before the coming of the Muslims|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6OF-PwAACAAJ|year=2008|publisher=Scholarly Publishing Office, University of Michigan|isbn=978-1-59740-599-7}}
* {{Citation |last1=Kulke|first1=Hermann|last2=Rothermund|first2=Dietmar|title=A History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V73N8js5ZgAC|year=1998|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-32920-0}}
* {{Citation |last=Singh|first=Upinder|author-link=Upinder Singh|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&pg=PA184|year=2008|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=978-81-317-1120-0}}
*{{Citation|last=Guruge|first=Ananda W. P.|title=The Society of Rāmāyaṇa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WWlsWQ8foNgC&pg=PA51|year=1991|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-265-9}}

'''For Indo-Schynthians'''
* [[János Harmatta|Harmatta, János]], ed., 1994. ''History of civilizations of Central Asia, Volume II. The development of sedentary and nomadic civilizations: 700 BC to AD 250''. Paris, UNESCO Publishing.
* Hill, John E. 2004. ''The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu.'' Draft annotated English translation. {{cite web|url=http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html |title=The Han Histories |publisher=Depts.washington.edu |access-date=2010-08-02}}
* Hill, John E. 2004. ''The Peoples of the West from the Weilue'' 魏略 ''by Yu Huan'' 魚豢'': A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 AD.'' Draft annotated English translation. {{cite web|url=http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html |title=Weilue: The Peoples of the West |publisher=Depts.washington.edu |access-date=2010-08-02}}
* Liu, Xinru 2001 "Migration and Settlement of the Yuezhi-Kushan: Interaction and Interdependence of Nomadic and Sedentary Societies." ''[[Journal of World History]]'', Volume 12, No. 2, Fall 2001. University of Hawaii Press, pp. 261–292. {{cite web|url=http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/jwh/ |title=Project MUSE – Journal of World History |publisher=Muse.jhu.edu |access-date=2010-08-02}}.
* Watson, Burton. Trans. 1961. ''Records of the Grand Historian of China:'' Translated from the ''[[Shiji|Shih chi]]'' of [[Sima Qian|Ssu-ma Ch'ien]]. Chapter 123: The Account of [[Ta-Yuan|Ta-yüan]], p. 265. Columbia University Press. {{ISBN|0-231-08167-7}}

'''For Kushans:'''
*{{cite book |last=Avari |first=Burjor |title=India: The Ancient Past|year=2007 |publisher=Routledge|location=London |isbn= 978-0-415-35616-9}}
*{{cite book
| last = Bopearachchi
| first = Osmund
| author-link = Bopearachchi
| title = De l'Indus à l'Oxus, Archéologie de l'Asie Centrale
| year = 2003
| publisher=Association imago-musée de Lattes
| location = Lattes
| language = fr
| isbn = 2-9516679-2-2
}}
*Faccenna, Domenico (1980). Butkara I (Swāt, Pakistan) 1956–1962, Volume III 1 (in English). Rome: IsMEO (Istituto Italiano Per Il Medio Ed Estremo Oriente).
*Falk, Harry. 1995–1996. ''Silk Road Art and Archaeology IV''.
* Falk, Harry. 2001. "The yuga of Sphujiddhvaja and the era of the {{IAST|Kuṣāṇas}}." ''Silk Road Art and Archaeology VII'', pp. 121–136.
*Falk, Harry. 2004. "The {{IAST|Kaniṣka}} era in Gupta records." Harry Falk. ''Silk Road Art and Archaeology X'', pp. 167–176.
*Goyal, S. R. "Ancient Indian Inscriptions" Kusumanjali Book World, Jodhpur (India), 2005.
* Hill, John E. 2004. ''The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu.'' Draft annotated English translation. {{cite web|url=http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html |title=The Han Histories |publisher=Depts.washington.edu |access-date=2010-08-02}}
* Hill, John E. 2004. ''The Peoples of the West from the Weilue'' 魏略 ''by Yu Huan'' 魚豢'': A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 AD.'' Draft annotated English translation. {{cite web|url=http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html |title=Weilue: The Peoples of the West |publisher=Depts.washington.edu |access-date=2010-08-02}}
*{{cite book |last=Keay |first=John|title=India: A History |year=2000 |publisher=Grove Press |location=New York |isbn=0-8021-3797-0 }}
*{{cite book |last=Lebedynsky |first=Iaroslav|title=Les Saces|year=2006 |publisher=Editions Errance |location=Paris |isbn=2-87772-337-2}}
*{{cite book |last=Rosenfield |first=John M.|title=The Dynastic Art of the Kushans |year=1993 |publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal |location=New Delhi |isbn=81-215-0579-8}}
*{{cite book |last=Sivaramamurti |first=C. |title=Śatarudrīya: Vibhūti of Śiva's Iconography |year=1976 |publisher=Abhinav Publications|location=Delhi}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
*[[R. C. Majumdar]] and A. D. Pusalker (editors): [[The History and Culture of the Indian People]]. Volume I, The Vedic age. Bombay : Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan 1951
* R.C. Majumdar et al. ''[[An Advanced History of India]]'', MacMillan, 1967.
*Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak "The Arctic Home in the Vedas", Messrs Tilak Bros., 1903

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