UP@75: From early struggles to a key political force

Uttar Pradesh, a region called Brahmrishi Desh or Madhya Desh in the ancient period, has witnessed too many twists and turns over the ages and continues to assume greater political significance than any other state, as it completes its 75-year journey in independent India on Friday.

It got its present name Uttar Pradesh vide an order dated January 24, 1950, when the governor general of India passed United Provinces (Alteration of Name) Order 1950, renaming United Provinces as Uttar Pradesh. The governor general’s order was published in Uttar Pradesh Gazette (extraordinary) dated January 24, 1950, and the state government, in 2018, decided to celebrate the day as UP Foundation Day.

This is the state that sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, paving the political road to power in New Delhi. It has elected nine Prime Ministers including the present PM Narendra Modi, who is an MP from Varanasi, and has now set the objective of becoming a trillion-dollar economy leaving the BIMARU tag behind.

BIMARU is an acronym used to indicate poor economic conditions of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

In 2018, then governor Ram Naik urged chief minister Yogi Adityanath to celebrate U.P’s foundation day. Yogi agreed with Naik’s suggestions and took up the issue to the state cabinet for its approval.

Yogi decided to use the occasion to launch new schemes, and the One District One Product scheme was thus launched at the celebrations organised to mark the Uttar Pradesh Foundation Day for the first time in 2018.

The state, which has remained in focus of hectic political activity since its formation, has witnessed various changes over the years. It has retained its present form and size after the hill state of Uttarakhand was carved out of the undivided UP on November

9, 2000.

Earlier, the state was under the Bengal Presidency till 1834. It was at about this time that the need to form a fourth presidency was felt with the three being Bengal, Bombay and Madras. The fourth presidency was known as the Agra Presidency that was headed by a governor. In 1836, this presidency came under the lieutenant governor. Lord Canning proceeded to Allahabad and formed the North Western Province, excluding the Delhi division in January 1858. This led to shifting of the seat of power from Agra to Allahabad.

The transfer of the high court from Agra to Allahabad followed in 1868.

In 1856, Awadh was placed under the chief commissioner. The districts were later merged with North Western Province and began to be known as ‘North Western Provinces and Oudh’ in 1877. The entire province in 1902 came to be known as the ‘United Provinces of Agra and Oudh’.

The first election was held in 1920 for the legislative council which was constituted in Lucknow in 1921. Since the governor, ministers and the secretaries to governor had to be in Lucknow, the then governor Sir Harcourt Butler changed his headquarters from Allahabad to Lucknow. By 1935, the entire office was shifted to Lucknow which became the capital of the province which was subsequently named as United Province in April, 1937.