Uttar Pradesh hotels

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Coordinates: 26°51′N 80°55′E / 26.85, 80.91 Uttar Pradesh (Hindi: उत्तर प्रदेश, Urdu: اتر پردیش, pronounced [ʊt̪ːər prəd̪eːʃ], translation: Northern Province), [often referred to as U.P.] is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 190 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity, and only 5 nations including India itself have more people than U.P.

With an area of 93,933 sq mi (243,286 km²), Uttar Pradesh covers a large part of the highly fertile and densely populated upper Gangetic plain. It shares an international border with Nepal and is bounded by the states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar. The administrative and legislative capital of Uttar Pradesh is Lucknow and the financial and industrial capital is Kanpur. The state's high court is based at Allahabad. It is home to many historical cities like Agra and Varanasi.

Throughout its history, it was sometimes divided between petty kingdoms and at other times formed an important part of larger empires that arose on its east or west, including the Mauryan, Gupta, Kushan and Mughal empires. Uttar Pradesh has an important place in the culture of India; as it is considered to be the birthplace of Hinduism and has many important sites of Hindu pilgrimage. It also holds much of the heritage of the Mughal Empire, including both the famous Taj Mahal and the tomb of the great Mughal Emperor Akbar in Agra and Akbar's capital-palace in Fatehpur Sikri.

The Indo-Gangetic plain, that spans most of the state, has been the ancient seat of Hindu religion, learning and culture, the birth place of the Indo-Islamic syncretic culture of the medieval period, a center of nationalism during the colonial period and has continued to play a prominent role in Indian political and cultural movements. The state has a rich heritage of traditional crafts and cottage industries of various types that employ highly skilled craftsmen and artisans.

Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in the Indian Union. Kanpur is the biggest city in the state. Other big cities are Lucknow, Agra and Varanasi. The Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, the three upper castes people of the state who have dominated the political and economic scene over the centuries are in a minority. A major group comprises of the backward classes, scheduled castes and tribes. The tribal population is largely concentrated in the hill, terai-bhabhar and Vindhya regions. The central government has recognised five of the tribal communities, viz. Tharus, Bhoksas, Bhotias, Jaunswaris and Rajis as scheduled tribes. Besides the upper class, there are also other Hindu and Muslim communities. The scheduled castes and scheduled tribes live in rural areas and are mostly dependent on agriculture, forming the landless labour class.

Source: CIA Factbook, Wikipedia

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