Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (UP) is the largest state in India. The capital city is Lucknow; other notable cities include Agra, Aligarh, Allahabad, Ayodhya, Benares, Etawah, Kanpur,Mirzapur and Deoband. Neighbouring states are Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar. Uttar Pradesh shares a border with Nepal.
In 2000, the Parliament of India carved out the northern part of Uttar Pradesh to form the state of Uttaranchal. Uttar Pradesh covers a large part of the densely populated plains around the Ganges and Yamuna. With 166 million inhabitants, it is not only the most populous state in India but also the most populous subnational entity in the world. Only 5 countries of the world (the People's Republic of China, India itself, the United States, Indonesia and Brazil) have a higher population than Uttar Pradesh (see List of countries by population). It is also one of the most economically backward states of India and the literacy rate, as is the case with the rest of India, is higher for males than females.
It covers the area of the old princely state of Oudh and the British Province of Agra. They were merged in 1858 to form the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, later known as United Provinces. Though the state is in the centre of India, it was renamed Uttar Pradesh to retain the short form UP, by which it is best known in India. The state comprises the regions of Rohilkhand in the northwest, Brij (Braj) in the southwest, Awadh (Oudh) in the centre, Bundelkhand in the south and Purvachal in the east.
The languages and customs of the different regions are distinct, and the dialect of the western regions (Khadiboli) is the basis for the official Hindi language.
The former Prime Minister of India, Atal Behari Vajpayee, represents the constituency of Lucknow.