| NORTH
INDIA >> UTTAR PRADESH |
Beyond 1000 AD, Uttar Pradesh became part of several Muslim
Sultanates who ruled from Delhi. In Mughal times, U.P.
became the heart land of what was called 'Hindustan' (a
name referring to India), even today UP-ites often refer
to themselves as 'Hindustani' rather than Uttar Pradeshi.
Agra and Fatehpur Sikri were important as the capital
city of Akbar, the great Mughal Emperor of India. After
the decline of the Moghuls, a number of kingdoms arose:
Oudh of the Nawabs, Rohilkhand by Afghans, Bundelkhand
by the Marathas and Benaras by its own king, while Nepal
controlled Kumaon-Garhwal. The city of Lucknow was established
by the Muslim nawabs of Oudh in the 17th century.
Starting from the latter half of the 18th century, a series
of battles finally gave British accession to the last
Mughal territory -- the Doab, as also Bundelkhand, Kumaon
and Banaras divisions. Delhi, Ajmer and Jaipur were also
included in this territory. They called it the North western
provinces (of Agra). Its capital shifted twice between
Agra and Allahabad. The area may seem big compared to
today's mini states the size of earlier divisions, but
at the time it was one of the smallest British province.
After the failed freedom war of 1857, when things settled,
the British made a major revamp and truncated the Delhi
region and gave it to Punjab, and the Ajmer-Merwar region
to Rajputana
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