Uttar Pradesh: History and Culture · UPPCS (Uttar Pradesh)

What the official syllabus says

UPPCS Preliminary Examination, Paper I: General Studies-I:

History of India and Indian National Movement.
History of India & Indian National Movement: In History emphasis should be on broad understanding social, economic and political aspects of Indian History. In the Indian National Movement, the candidates are expected to have synoptic view of nature and character of the freedom movement, growth of nationalism and attainment of Independence.
Indian Polity and Governance - Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.: In Indian Polity, Economic and Culture, questions will test knowledge of country's political system including Panchayati Raj and Community Development, broad features of Economic policy in India and Indian Culture.
Note: Candidates are expected to have general awareness about the above subjects with special reference to Uttar Pradesh.

The note to the syllabus asks for general awareness of every subject with special reference to Uttar Pradesh. This page gathers the history and culture of the state.

Topics in detail

Prehistory and the ancient period

Stone Age and Neolithic sites: the Belan valley, Koldihwa, Mahagara, Chopani Mando; Mesolithic Sarai Nahar Rai, Mahadaha and Damdama (Pratapgarh)
Harappan and late Harappan sites: Alamgirpur (Meerut), Sinauli (Baghpat), Hulas (Saharanpur)
Vedic and epic traditions: the Ganga-Yamuna doab, Panchala and Kuru lands; Ayodhya and the Ramayana, Mathura and the Krishna tradition, Hastinapur (Meerut)
Mahajanapadas in the region: Kashi, Kosala, Vatsa, Malla, Panchala, Surasena
Buddhist places: Sarnath, Kushinagar, Shravasti, Kaushambi, Sankisa, Kapilavastu (identified with Piprahwa, Siddharthnagar); Jain places: Hastinapur, Ayodhya, Shravasti, Deogarh
Mauryan, Kushana and Gupta remains: Sarnath Lion Capital, Allahabad pillar (Ashoka's edicts, Samudragupta's Prayag Prashasti), Mathura school of art, Bhitari pillar, Deogarh temple
Kannauj under the Maukharis and Harsha; the tripartite struggle for Kannauj; Gurjara-Pratiharas; Gahadavalas; Chandelas of Kalinjar and Mahoba

The medieval period

Turkish conquest; battle of Chandawar (1194)
The Sharqi kingdom of Jaunpur (from 1394) and its architecture
Agra under the Lodis and the Mughals; Fatehpur Sikri; Mughal subahs of Agra, Awadh and Allahabad
Bhakti saints of the region: Ramananda, Kabir, Ravidas, Tulsidas, Surdas; Sufi centres (Fatehpur Sikri, Dewa Sharif in Barabanki)
The Nawabs of Awadh: Saadat Khan Burhan-ul-Mulk, Safdar Jang, Shuja-ud-Daula (Buxar, 1764), Asaf-ud-Daula (capital moved from Faizabad to Lucknow, 1775; Bara Imambara), Wajid Ali Shah; annexation in 1856
Rohilkhand and the Rohillas; Bundelkhand and the Bundelas (Orchha, Chhatrasal)

Colonial rule and the freedom struggle

Formation of the province: Ceded and Conquered Provinces, North-Western Provinces (1836), merger with Oudh (1877), United Provinces of Agra and Oudh (1902), United Provinces (1937), renamed Uttar Pradesh (24 January 1950)
1857: Meerut, Kanpur, Lucknow, Jhansi, Bareilly, Faizabad; leaders including Begum Hazrat Mahal, Nana Saheb, Rani Lakshmibai, Jhalkari Bai, Uda Devi, Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah, Khan Bahadur Khan; Mangal Pandey of Ballia
Reform and education: Aligarh movement, Deoband, Arya Samaj in the province, Radha Soami Satsang (Agra); Muir Central College and Allahabad University (1887), Banaras Hindu University (1916), Aligarh Muslim University (1920)
Congress sessions at Allahabad and Lucknow; the Lucknow Pact (1916); Home Rule in the province
Peasant movements: UP Kisan Sabha, Awadh Kisan Sabha, Eka movement
Chauri Chaura (1922), Kakori (1925), Simon Commission protests, Civil Disobedience, Quit India (Ballia, 1942)
Personalities: Madan Mohan Malaviya, Motilal Nehru, Jawaharlal Nehru, Purushottam Das Tandon, Govind Ballabh Pant, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Acharya Narendra Dev, Ram Manohar Lohia, Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan, Chandrashekhar Azad, Sucheta Kripalani, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
After Independence: first Governor Sarojini Naidu; first Chief Minister Govind Ballabh Pant; Sucheta Kripalani as India's first woman Chief Minister (1963); formation of Uttarakhand from the state (9 November 2000)

Architecture, museums and heritage

World Heritage Sites: Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri
Other monuments: Sarnath, Kushinagar, Deogarh, Kalinjar Fort, Jhansi Fort, Atala Masjid (Jaunpur), Itmad-ud-Daulah and Sikandra (Agra), Bara and Chhota Imambara, Rumi Darwaza and the Residency (Lucknow), Chunar Fort
Museums: State Museum Lucknow, Government Museum Mathura, Sarnath Museum, Allahabad Museum

Society and culture

Languages and dialects: Hindi (official) and Urdu (second official language); Khari Boli, Braj Bhasha, Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Bundeli, Kannauji, Bagheli
Literature: Kabir, Tulsidas (Ramcharitmanas, Awadhi), Surdas (Braj), Malik Muhammad Jayasi (Padmavat), Bharatendu Harishchandra, Premchand, Jaishankar Prasad, Suryakant Tripathi Nirala, Mahadevi Verma; Urdu poets of Lucknow
Music and dance: Kathak (Lucknow and Banaras gharanas), thumri, dadra, kajri, chaiti, birha, Alha (Bundelkhand ballad); folk dances and theatre such as Charkula and Raslila (Braj), Nautanki, Ramlila
Fairs and festivals: Kumbh and Magh Mela (Prayagraj), Dev Deepawali (Varanasi), Lathmar Holi (Barsana), Ram Navami (Ayodhya), Bateshwar fair (Agra), Dadri fair (Ballia), Chhath in eastern districts
Crafts and products: Chikankari (Lucknow), Banarasi silk, Bhadohi carpets, Moradabad brassware, Firozabad glassware, Agra marble inlay and leather, Kannauj perfume (attar), Khurja pottery, Saharanpur wood carving, Varanasi wooden toys
Tribes of the state: Tharu, Buksa, Gond, Kharwar, Saharya, Chero, Baiga and others; their areas

Overlaps

In the Main Examination this whole area is General Studies V (history, culture, ancient cities, architecture, freedom struggle, personalities, festivals, fairs, music, folk dances, literature and dialects of the state). The main dialects of the state are also a line of the General Hindi part of Prelims Paper II.