|
|
Uttar
Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (UP) is the most populous state
in India, with an estimated population of about 170 million as
of March 2000 and a land area of 294,411 kmē. One-sixth of the
world's population lives in India and one-sixth of India's population
lives in UP. Only three other countries of the world, China, the
United States, and Indonesia have populations larger than that
of UP.
The past boundaries of the state came into existence
with the reorganisation of the states on a linguistic basis in
1956. For administrative purposes, the state was divided into
83 districts, 294 tehsils, and 907 community blocks. There were
112,803 inhabited villages, 710 statutory towns, and 43 census
towns. Nearly 19 percent of inhabited villages in India are in
UP. As per the 1991 census, about 40 percent of the villages in
UP had a population of less than 500 and another 26 percent of
the villages had population in the range of 500-999. While the
average population per village in UP was only 989. Having a large
number of small villages scattered all over the state is a major
obstacle to the development of infrastructure facilities and delivery
of all types of services related to development sectors. Uttar
Pradesh state consists of seventy districts, which are grouped
into seventeen divisions: Agra, Azamgarh, Allahabad, Bijnor, Kanpur,
Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Chitrakoot, Jhansi,
Devipatan, Faizabad, Bahraich,
Bareilly,
Basti,
Mirzapur,
Moradabad,Mathura,
Meerut,
Lucknow,
Varanasi,
Sultanpur,
Farrukhabad,
Vrindavan, and
Saharanpur. It has 403 constituencies. The state has
a large number of village councils known as Panchayats just like
the other states of India. One of the most developed Panchayats
is Shahabad in Maharajganj District of Uttar Pradesh. The largest
district in terms of area is
Lakhimpur Kheri. The largest district in terms of population
is Allahabad followed by Kanpur Nagar (Census 2001).
The state languages of Uttar Pradesh are standard
Hindi and Urdu. Uttar
Pradesh is famous for its arts and crafts. Specific
regions such as Varanasi for its
saris and
silk,
Mirzapur and
Bhadohi for its carpets,
Agra and
Kanpur for their leather craft,
Moradabad for its metal ware,
Lucknow for its cloth work and embroidery 'chicken
work on
silk, and the entire state for its pottery are not
only famous in
India but around the world.
The State of U.P. has made investments over the
years in all sectors of education and has achieved some success.
The female literacy situation in Uttar Pradesh
is dismal. Only one out of four in the 7+ age group was able to
read and write in 1991. This figure goes down to 19% for rural
areas, 11% for the scheduled castes, 8% for scheduled castes in
rural areas, and 8% for the entire rural population in the most
educationally backward districts. In terms of more demanding educational
attainment (the completion of primary or secondary education),
in 1992-1993 only 50% of literate males and 40% of literate females
could complete the cycle of eight years of schooling involved
in the primary and middle stages. One other notable feature of
the Uttar Pradesh education system is the persistence of high
levels of illiteracy in the younger age group.
The problems of education system are exacting.
Due to public apathy the schools are in disarray. While privately
run schools (including those run by Christian missionaries) are
functional, they are beyond the reach of ordinary people. The
State government has taken steps to make the population totally
literate. Steps are being taken with the help of NGOs and other
organizations to raise participation.
As a result, some progress in adult education
has been made and the census of 2001 indicates a male literacy
rate of 70.23% and a female literacy rate of 42.98%.
Uttar
Pradesh is a very fertile region and a major contributor to the
national food grain stock. The major economic activity in the state
is agriculture, and in 1991, 73 percent of the population in the
state was engaged in agriculture and 46 percent of the state income
was accounted for by agriculture. UP has retained its pre-eminent
position in the country as a food-surplus state. Yet nearly 40 percent
of the total population lives below the poverty line. Uttar Pradesh's
gross state domestic product for 2004 is $339.5 billion by PPP and
$80.9 billion by Nominal. Uttar Pradesh is the second largest economy
in India after Maharashtra. |
|
