ENVIS Centre: Uttar Pradesh
Status of Environment and Related Issues

The history of Uttar Pradesh is very much associated with the broad history of India. It dates back to 4000 years. Formerly the area of Uttar Pradesh was occupied by Aryans or the Dasas and their main occupation was agriculture. The Aryans through conquests occupied the adjoining areas. They laid the foundations of its civilisation in the region. During the Aryan inhabitation in the region that epics of Mahabharata, Ramayana, Brahmanas and Puranas were written. The state was the heart of Mahabharata war. The Kosala Kingdom of Ayodhya is said to have been incarnated in the city of Mathura. 

It was sometime around the middle of the 1st millennium BC that Uttar Pradesh saw the advent of Lord Buddha and the spread of Buddhism. Around the time Lord Buddha delivered his first sermon at Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh was under the Magadh rule. The Chaukhandi Stupa here marks the spot where Lord Buddha met his disciples. Besides Kuru, Panchalas, Vatsas, and Videhas etc. formed the early region of the state. These regions were known as Madhyadesa. During Ashoka`s role, several public welfare works was taken up. During the rule of Magadha Empire, Buddhism and Jainism developed into this region. It was a period of administrative and economic advancement. 

The power was subsequently shifted to the Nanda dynasty and then to the Mauryas. However the city reached its pinnacle of glory during the reign of Harshavardhana. The historical background of Uttar Pradesh has a lot to do with the advent of the Muslim rule. The period witnessed the subjugation of the Rajputs whose power was confined to the a few pockets of Rajasthan. Uttar Pradesh reached the peak of prosperity during the Mughal rule, and particularly during the rule of Emperor Akbar. 
In due course of time, Uttar Pradesh witnessed the decadence of Mughal rule and the advent of the British. The Mughal influence was restricted to the Doab region. 

The British East India Company came into contact with the Awadh rulers during the reign of third 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 the national freedom movement had been significant. Uttar Pradesh also played a key role in the 1857.
From the rule of Rama to the rule of British, Uttar Pradesh has seen it all.

Uttar Pradesh, a land of cultural and geographical diversity is blessed by innumerable tranquil expanses of meadows, perennial rivers, dense forests and fertile soil plays a very important role in the politics, education, culture, industry, agriculture and Tourism of India. Viewed as the largest tourist destination in India. It is situated in the northern part of India and its neighboring states are  Uttaranchal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Himanchal Pradesh and whereas Nepal is the neighbouring  country. Himalayas in the north and is garlanded by Ganga and Yamuna. Throughout the lengths of the Ganga and the Yamuna right from their sources down to their majestic deltas, the land abounds with beautiful spots and pilgrim centers. 
Uttar Pradesh has a glorious history, the land of Rama, Krishna, Buddha and Mahavir. The epics Ramayana and the  Mahabharata, were written in Uttar Pradesh, a land replete with tales of ages gone by, of tales about Lord Rama and his kingdom of Ayodhya, of the Buddha and his teachings, of the Mughals and their art, culture and exquisite architecture, and of the British and the First War of Indian Independence in 1857. It is also home of India's most visited site, the Taj Mahal, The oldest living and holiest city Varanasi, countless shrines and pilgrimages which hold a special significance in the lives of the Indian people. Uttar Pradesh also possesses several most respected pilgrimages of Muslims such as Dargahs, Mosque and Tombs while it is the heart of Buddhism and origin of Jainism. There are other cities of Uttar Pradesh such as Mathura- Vrindavan will pacify and mollify your inner self and make your pilgrimage tour completely soothing and ethereal.
Kathak, one of the eight forms of Indian classical dances, originated from Uttar Pradesh. Cuisine of Uttar Pradesh like Awadhi cuisine, Mughlai cuisine, are very famous not only in India but also many places abroad.
Uttar Pradesh is known to be shoppers delight. No where in India you get a range of products on offering as in Uttar Pradesh. Moradabad is famous throughout the world for its brassware and bronzes Nearby is Aligarh, a town famous for its locks, Firozabad is famous for Bangles and Awadh region, Lucknow world famous for Chikankari works on the clothes, In the eastern Uttar Pradesh region, Varanasi is famous for its Zardozi works. These are done on various items such as clothes, mirrors and woods. The city is also famous for its saris. The Banarsi Saris are a must buy in Indian weddings. Almost each and every town of Uttar Pradesh has something or other for you to offer because the state has a rich art, culture and tradition, which make the popular items for shopping in Uttar Pradesh. 
Best time to visit: 
October to March 
Major railway stations: Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Agra, Mathura, Jhansi, Ghaziabad Airports: Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Kanpur and Allahabad 

Uttar Pradesh is a land of unending histories and charms. This state is a land gifted with rich natural wealth. Both international and national tourists get attracted to this place as there are several aspects worth exploring. The beauty of Uttar Pradesh is a myth that is never ending. 

Two most venerated rivers of India – Ganga and Yamuna – flow through Uttar Pradesh.

Cultural heritage 

Languages spoken: Hindi, Urdu, Awadhi, Braj, Bhojpuri and English
Uttar Pradesh is a microcosm of the entire Indian nation in its diversity. Multi ethnic, multi religious and multi cultural, Uttar Pradesh has absorbed many an immigrant culture and race within its borders and created a unique cultural heritage found nowhere else in the country. Its people belong to many religions and come from distant parts of the country but have had the latitude to recreate their own native cultures. Afghans, Kashmiris, Bengalis, Parsis and Punjabi immigrants settled here. Christians, Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists all found the freedom to practise their religions and pass it on to successive generations.
One of the least developed states in the country; it has some highly industrialised pockets. While it is secular, liberal and progressive, at the same time it is deeply rooted in social and religious traditions and taboos. While its diversity is its strength, it is often equally divisive although rarely parochial. Inherently secular in character, it is also the place where religious buildings are torn down by rampaging fundamentalists.

Religion
The majority of the people are Hindus while a large percentage of the minority practice Islam. There are also a fair number of Christians in Uttar Pradesh.

Food
The cuisine of Uttar Pradesh is just as diverse as its geography. Ranging from simple every day fare to rich, elaborate banquets, the cuisine of Uttar Pradesh has absorbed and adapted a variety of cuisines to create an entire feast of wonderful dishes. Many of the Hindu communities are staunch vegetarians and they have created a vast variety of vegetarian dishes ranging from the all time favourite ‘puri-aloo’ or potatoes and fried wheat bread to savouries and divine desserts and sweetmeats. The Muslims, Kashmiris, Kayasthas and Christian communities cook up a storm of non-vegetarian dishes including a delectable selection of breads, kababs, curries and biryanis. The Muslim cuisine, of northern Uttar Pradesh is very different from the Mughlai food of Delhi. The Nawabs of Oudh were great gourmets and encouraged their master chefs to create new styles of cooking like the famous ‘Dum Pukht’ of Lucknow where the food is sealed in large pots called ‘Handis’, placed over a slow fire and left to cook in its own juices. When opened, these dishes release the most fragrant and delicious aromas. Lucknow and its neighbouring towns were put on the culinary map of India thanks to these rich curries, melt in the mouth kababs, fragrant rice biryanis and pulaos and an eclectic variety of leavened and unleavened breads.

Culture
Uttar Pradesh has been the cultural seat of the country for a very long time. The history of Uttar Pradesh is fascinating, and it has shaped a rich cultural heritage of the state that has emerged as the focal point of the Indian culture. The Mauryans, the Mughals, the British, etc. all brought with them their own cultural traits.
A cultured, genteel lifestyle was the essence of the rule of the Muslim Nawabs of Awadh. Music, dance, literature, poetry, arts and crafts flourished under royal patronage. Women were encouraged to learn the fine arts and to read and write, albeit within the ‘purdah’. Litterateurs, painters, dancers and musicians created masterpieces in their respective genres.
Writers like Munshi Premchand, Mahadevi Verma, Srikant Verma, poets like Suryakant Tripathi ‘Nirala’, Harivanshrai Bacchan, Sumitra Nandan Pant, Mahavir Prasad Dwiwedi, and Upendranath ‘Ashk’; artistes of the stature of the shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan, Kathak wizard Birju Maharaj, tabla maestro Kishan Maharaj, the legendary Baba Allaudin Khan and his disciples Pt. Ravi Shankar and Ustad Vilayat Khan; ghazal singers Begum Akhtar, Rasoolan Bai, Girija Devi and many more have lived and practised their art and craft here.
Uttar Pradesh is the place where one of the six foremost classical dances of India, the Kathak, flourished. The word Katha, from which the name is derived, means story. It originated in northern India, during the 7th century A.D. Kathak has very intricate and complex movements of hands and feet along with facial expressions. The footwork is accompanied by the music of various percussion instruments such as tabla and pakhwaj, which are native to north India.

Folk arts of Uttar Pradesh include these theatrical forms Braj Raslila, which is associated with the life of the lover-God, Lord Krishna Ramlila is another such art form dealing with the life of Lord Rama
Charukala is another folk dance of the state. The dance of Charkula involves a female dancer balancing a column of lighted deepikas over her head while dancing. Rasiya describes the love of Radha and Shri Krishna. Charkula and Rasiya are native arts of the Braj region of the state.

Crafts
One of the important crafts of Uttar Pradesh is Chikankari, which entails delicate and traditional hand embroidery. This form of handicrafts is mainly practiced in Lucknow. It is done on fabrics like chiffon, doruya, muslin, organza, organdie and silk. Chikan saris and Kurtas make the perfect summer wear.

Zardoji embroidery is another unique art where the embroidery is done in three dimensions. Zari works of Benaras are famous the world over.
Pottery and exquisite metal ware products are also created on a large scale in Uttar Pradesh.
Carpet weaving is also an important cultural expression of Uttar Pradesh. The state caters to 90 percent of the country's carpets and the carpet weaving centers in the state are primarily located around Mirzapur, Khamaria and Bhadohi.
Metal Ware
Brassware Uttar Pradesh is the largest Brass and Copper producing state in India. In domestic-ware each of the 'lotas' (small water-pots) is known by the name of its origin, like Etawah, Banaras, Sitapur, etc. The ritual articles are largely in copper. Moradabad in U P is famous for art metalwork and known for it's coloured enamelling and intricate engravings.
Pottery
Glazed pottery with white background and blue and green patterns is developed in Khurja, Chunar and Rampur in Uttar Pradesh. UP produces some of the finest Chunar black clay pottery. This is inlaid with silver paint in intricate designs. The art that is perfected in Nizamabad, has high gloss and lustre derived from a powder called kabiz made from the mud of rice fields. Khurja is also well known for its cheap and tough tableware.
Terracotta
Gorakhpur has villages where clay figures of animals are done and is is famous for its ornately decorated terracotta horse. The potter creates the basic form by throwing separate pieces on the wheel and then joining them.
Jewellery
Lucknow is well known for its jewellery and enamelling work. Exquisite silverware's with patterns of hunting scenes, snakes and roses are very popular. The Bidri and Zarbuland silver works of Lucknow find expression on excellent pieces of huqqa farshi, jewel boxes, trays, bowls, cufflinks, cigarette holders, etc. Renowned ivory and bone carvings with motifs of flowers, leaves, creepers, trees, birds and animals are widely produced in Lucknow. The master craftsmen create intricate items like knives, lampshades, shirt pins and small toys.
Perfume
'Attars' or perfumes are also produced in Lucknow from the 19th century. The Lucknow perfumers experimented and succeeded in making attar with delicate and lasting fragrances those are made from various aromatic herbs, spices, sandal oil, musk, essence of flowers, and leaves. The famous Lucknow fragrances are khus, keora, chameli, zafran and agar.
Painting
The tradition of painting in Uttar Pradesh goes back to pre-historic times. The cave paintings of Sonbhadra and Chitrakoot depict scenes of hunting, war, festivals, dances, romantic life and animals. The golden period of Painting in UP was the Mughal Era. The art of painting attained its peak during the reign of Jahangir. The Mughal style of painting remains one of the greatest achievements of Asian culture and is unique in its concept, presentation and style.
The art of painting reached the epitome of perfection in the area of Bundelkhand when the King of Orchha reconstructed the temple of Keshav Dev in Mathura. The paintings of Mathura, Gokul, Vrindavan and Govardhan depict scenes from the life of Lord Krishna.
Another major pre-modern painting tradition of UP is known as the Garhwal School which was patronized by the Kings of Garhwal.

Music
Uttar Pradesh was the land of the great sages and hermits and the singing of ancient hymns and mantras laid the basic tradition of music, which has blossomed into a musical tradition. The medieval age saw the emergence of two distinct strands of music. One was the court music that found patronage in the Courts like Agra, Fatehpur-Sikri, Lucknow, Jaunpur, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Banda and Datiya. The second was the religious tradition emerging from the Bhakti Cult rooted and flowered in centres like Mathura, Vrindavan and Ayodhya. Rulers and musicians from Uttar Pradesh contributed to the prosperity of Hindustani music.

Some scholars are of the view that the Rig Veda was composed in the Gangetic valley. But even if this be not true, it is generally accepted that a substantial portion of the Vedic literature had its origin here in its many hermitages, which were seats of learning. Some of the big names in Hindu sacred literature, such as Yajnavalkya, Vashishtha, Vishwamitra, Valmiki, Attriyea, Bharadwaja, Kapil and Vyas lived in these sylvan retreats of Uttar Pradesh and inspired millions through the ages. Uttar Pradesh's greatest gifts to humanity are the two epics, 'Ramayana' and 'Mahabharata'. From the epic age, the territory of Uttar Pradesh being watered by several fresh streams of culture, the two most significant being those generated by the teachings of the Buddha and Mahavira, the 24th Jain Tirthankar.
Brahmanical culture eclipsed by the more virile and vigorous Buddhism. Culture in all its manifestations served the ends of religion. The fountainheads of Brahmanical culture were centered at holy places as Kashi, Ayodhya, Prayag, Mathura and the Himalayan hermitages. Mathura has proved to be a veritable store-house of buried ancient art, both of the Brahmanical and Buddhist varieties and Kashi, which has withstood the ravages of times, of living Hindu art.

Festivals
The important Hindu festivals of Uttar Pradesh are Navaratri, Diwali, Shivaratri, Raksha Bandhan and Janmashtami
Karva Chauth: This festival of fasting and feasting falls on nine days after Dussehra, on the fourth day of the Karva Chauthdark fortnight of Kartika. Karva Chauth is held by married Hindu woman for the safety and prosperity of their husbands. 
Annakoot is celebrated which is devoted to feasting and Govardhan Puja in the evening and rounded up next day by Bhaiya Dooj when sisters apply vermilion tika (auspicious mark) on the forehead of their brothers who reward them with money.
Shitla Ashtami, which falls on eighth day after Holi, is devoted to the goddess of small-pox, followed by Ram Navami on Chaitra Sudi Navami, commemorating the birth of Lord Rama; Baisakhi Purnima, a big bathing day; Bargadee Amavasya in Jaistha Dussehra, another great bathing day; Guru Purnima in Asadh when Vyas Puja is held and Nag Panchami dedicated to the worship of the Snake God, Shesha.
Janmashtami is the most important Hindu festival celebrating the birthday of Lord Krishna. This festival is followed by Hartalika Teej, Ganesh Chaturthi, Anant Chaturdashi, and Pitra Visarjan Amavasya devoted to making of oblations to the Pitras (dead ancestors) and is called Pitra Paksha. Bharat Milap which is celebrated during the month of October or November is performed at Nati Imli on the day following Vijayadashmi (Dusshera). It pertains to the episode of the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile, and his reunion with his brother Bharat.
Muslim Festivals
The most solemn and colourful Muslim function held in the state is Muharram, commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Holi Prophet. In all cities and towns Muslims take out impressive processions of colourfully decorated tazias, replicas of the martyr's tomb at Karbala. The most solemn and impressive Muharram is observed in Lucknow, where gold and silver replicas of old Nawabi times are brought out and men beat their breasts in mourning constantly until blood oozes out. The two Imambaras and Shah Najaf are beautifully illuminated for two days. An impressive event is a fire-walking feat held in one of the Imambaras. After the burial of the tazias on the tenth day, a gathering of mourners in utter darkness is held, known as Majlis Sham-i-Ghariban, one of the most soul-stirring events among Muharram observances. The other occasions of religious importance for Muslims are Id-Ul-Fitr, Ramzan (a month devoted to fasting), Chehlum, Bara Wafat, Shah-i-Barat and Id-Uz-Zuha.

Source: Department of Tourism, U.P.  & http://www.up-tourism.com/