Harit Pradesh is a proposed new state of India comprising the western parts of Uttar Pradesh state.[1] The etymology derives from Harit, meaning Green (which signifies the agricultural prosperity of the region), and Pradesh, meaning state.
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Harit Pradesh | |
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Proposed state | |
![]() Location of Harit Pradesh in India | |
Country | ![]() |
Region | Northern India |
Proposed capital | Agra, Meerut |
Proposed Divisions | List
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Language | Khariboli, Haryanvi, Hindi, Braj Bhasha, Kannauji, Punjabi |
The region has some demographic, economic and cultural patterns that are distinct from other parts of Uttar Pradesh, and more closely resemble those of Haryana, Punjab and North Rajasthan areas.
In his 1955 critique of the proposed States Reorganisation Act, Thoughts on Linguistic States, B. R. Ambedkar had advocated the division of Uttar Pradesh into three states – Western, Central and Eastern, with capitals at Meerut, Kanpur and Allahabad respectively – in order to prevent excessively large states from dominating politics at the national level.[2] The act was passed in 1956, however, keeping Uttar Pradesh intact as a single state.
Later, socialists like Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, Jayaprakash Narayan, Acharya Kripalani and others favoured re-drawing of the administrative map of India. But, Jawaharlal Nehru, the then prime minister, supported the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) recommendation of re-forming states on linguistic basis. Dr K.M. Panikkar, in his dissenting note to the SRC report, however, opposed linguistic states and favoured formation of a state of west Uttar Pradesh.[3]
Later, in 1972, fourteen MLAs in the Uttar Pradesh state assembly moved an unsuccessful resolution to divide the state into three units (Braj Pradesh, Awadh Pradesh and Purvi Pradesh).[4]
Western Uttar Pradesh's soil and relief has marked differences from that of the eastern part of the state.[6] The soil tends to be lighter-textured loam, with some occurrences of sandy soil.[7] Some loess soil is continuously deposited by winds blowing eastwards from Rajasthan's Thar Desert.[8]
Harit Pradesh receives rain through the Indian Monsoon and the Western Disturbances. The Monsoon carries moisture northwards from the Indian Ocean, occurs in late summer and is important to the Kharif or autumn harvest.[9][10] Western Disturbances, on the other hand, are an extratropical weather phenomenon that carry moisture eastwards from the Mediterranean Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.[11][12][13][14] They primarily occur during the winter season and are critically important for the main staple of the region, wheat, which is part of the Rabi or spring harvest.[12]
The proposed state contains Upper Ganga and Yamuna Doab region which is considered one of the most fertile lands in the country. River Yamuna forms a natural border between Harit Pradesh and Haryana.
Western Uttar Pradesh includes 22 districts in six divisions:
The proposed Harit Pradesh has a long tradition of education, although historically it was primarily confined to the elite class and religious schools. Sanskrit-based learning formed the major part of education from the Vedic to the Gupta periods. As cultures traveled through the region they brought their bodies of knowledge with them, adding Pali, Persian, and Arabic scholarship to the community. These formed the core of Hindu-Buddhist-Muslim education until the rise of British colonialism. The present schools-to-university system of education owes its inception and development in the state (as in the rest of the country) to foreign Christian missionaries and the British colonial administration. Schools in the state are either managed by the government or by private trusts. Hindi is used as a medium of instruction in most of the schools except those affiliated to the CBSE or the Council for ICSE boards. Under the 10+2+3 plan, after completing secondary school, students typically enroll for 2 years in a junior college, also known as pre-university, or in schools with a higher secondary facility affiliated with the Uttar Pradesh Board of High School and Intermediate Education or a central board. Students choose from one of three streams, namely liberal arts, commerce, or science. Upon completing the required coursework, students may enroll in general or professional degree programs.
School | Location | Established | Comment | Ref. |
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Aligarh Muslim University | Aligarh | 1920 | Aligarh Muslim University is a public university funded by the Government of India. It was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College in 1877. | [15] |
Chaudhary Charan Singh University | Meerut | 1965 | The university is named after Chaudhary Charan Singh, the fifth Prime Minister of India. | [16] |
Dr B. R. Ambedkar University | Agra | 1927 | This university was formed as Agra University and renamed in 1996. | [17] |
Gautam Buddha University | Greater Noida | 2002 | [18] | |
M. J. P. Rohilkhand University | Bareilly | 1975 | M.J.P. Rohilkhand University was established in 1975 as an affiliating University. The senior faculty members of different disciplines in Humanities, Science and Technology are running research projects funded by various agencies and so far 49 projects funded by UGC, AICTE, DST, CST, ICAR, ICHR, MIF have been completed. | [19] |
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology | Meerut | 2004 | [20] | |
Glocal University | Saharanpur | 2012 | Glocal University is a private and coeducational institution located in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is situated in the foothills of Shivalik mountains. | [21] |
Shobhit University | Meerut, Gangoh | 2006, 2012 | Shobhit Institute of Engineering & Technology, Meerut (Shobhit University, Meerut), Shobhit University, Gangoh, Saharanpur. | [22] |
Invertis University | Bareilly | 2010 | [23] |
The region is a hub of excellent highways, freeways, expressways and touristways. There are further developments going on in these fields. Major State and National highways passing through the proposed Harit Pradesh are:
The major highways running through intrastate region include
The Upper Ganga Canal Expressway is an eight-lane controlled-access expressway proposed for the right bank of upper Ganga canal from Sanauta bridge (Bulandshahr district) to near Purkazi (Muzaffarnagar district) near the Uttar Pradesh–Uttarakhand border.
The Delhi–Meerut Expressway is a 96-kilometre-long (60 mi) controlled-access expressway, India's widest at 14 lanes, that connects Delhi to Meerut, via Dasna in Ghaziabad district. An old, 8-lane stretch of NH 24, up to UP Gate, was widened to 14 lanes; the road between UP Gate and Dasana will be also 14 lanes. This the smartest expressway in India.
This was built for fast track movement of the vehicles between Lucknow,Nainital and Delhi.
The major languages spoken are Standard Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, and English. However major dialects of Hindi are spoken in different parts of the state with few sub-dialects also being spoken here. It can be classified according to their divisions -
Religions in Harit Pradesh | ||||
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Religion | Percent | |||
Hindus | 71.41% | |||
Muslims | 24.21% | |||
Sikhs | 3.41% | |||
Christians | 1.71% | |||
Others† | 1.38% | |||
Distribution of religions †Includes Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains.[24] |
As per the Census 2011 data, total population of the proposed state is 71,740,055.
The population of Western Uttar Pradesh is composed of a varied set of communities and tribes, including Brahmins - 12%, Jats – 7%, Rajputs – 8%, Yadav/Ahir – 6%, Gujjars – 9%, Lodhi – 5%, Saini – 5%, Dalits – 17%, Kayastha – 1.2%, Kurmis – 2%, Kashyap/ Baghel – 4%, Baniya – 2%, Rohilla Pashtuns – 6%, Muslim Rajput - 6%, Ranghar/Jojha – 5%, Rayeen – 4%, Muley Jats/Muslim Jats – 3%, Gaur Muslims/Muslim Tyagis – 1%, Jat Sikh - 0.4%.[25]
Most populous cities in Harit Pradesh | ||||||||||
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City | District | Population | City | District | Population | |||||
1 | Ghaziabad | Ghaziabad | 2,381,452 | 7 | Saharanpur | Saharanpur | 705,478 | |||
2 | Agra | Agra | 1,585,704 | 8 | Noida | Gautam Budh Nagar | 637,272 | |||
3 | Meerut | Meerut | 1,309,023 | 9 | Muzaffarnagar | Muzaffarnagar | 495,543 | |||
4 | Bareilly | Bareilly | 898,167 | 10 | Mathura | Mathura | 601,894 | |||
5 | Moradabad | Moradabad | 889,810 | 11 | Budaun | Budaun | 369,221 | |||
6 | Aligarh | Aligarh | 874,408 | 12 | Rampur | Rampur | 325,248 | |||
Source: Census of India 2011[26] |
The region's Rohillas are descended from immigrant groups from centuries ago, and a large subregion of Western Uttar Pradesh, Rohilkhand, takes its name from that Pashtun tribe.[27]
Sikhs from West Punjab, who migrated from Pakistan after partition, also settled in this area in large numbers.[28]
In recent decades, which has a large population and spread in Uttar Pradesh.[29] Jats, who are a dominant agricultural community spread across Pakistan, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, have found themselves in a "politically disadvantageous position" in Western Uttar Pradesh.[29] A separate Harit Pradesh would likely become a prosperous smaller state similar to Haryana and Punjab.
The most prominent current-day advocate for the creation of the new state is Ajit Singh, the leader of the Rashtriya Lok Dal party and a Jat besides many Gurjar leaders. Pushpendra Singh, former General Secretary of Youth wing of Rashtriya Lok Dal, has also recently launched a political party by the name Harit Pradesh Party for the agenda of creating a separate State of Western UP. Other Jat leaders, such as Om Prakash Chautala of neighboring Haryana state and the leader of the Indian National Lok Dal have also made efforts to involve themselves in the politics of creating a separate state.[30] Since the Muslim population in Western Uttar Pradesh (25%–34%, according to various sources) is higher than in Uttar Pradesh as a whole (17%), the Harit Pradesh proposal has found support from Muslim-affiliated organizations.[31][32][33][34] Of the other main political forces in Uttar Pradesh, the Bahujan Samaj Party has supported the demand in principle, the Samajwadi Party has opposed it, and the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have adopted a non-committal stance.[35] From the Bahujan Samaj Party, Mayawati have been vocal about their support.
Rashtriya Lok Dal alleges that "Western UP contributes to a large chunk – nearly 72% – of the state's total income. In turn, what western UP gets is not enough. Just 18% of the state's budget is spent on developing west UP. This anomaly, understandably, makes the people of this area dissatisfied".[36] There are allegations that in most years, funds allocated to west UP were never spent. According to Professor Jates only 20% of the total Government employees, less than 10% of employees in the secretariat, and less than 5% of department heads in the Uttar Pradesh government are from west UP.
The creation of three new states in 2000 (Jharkhand from the division of Bihar, Uttarakhand from the division of Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh from the division of Madhya Pradesh) gave new impetus to the demand for Harit Pradesh.[29]
After coming to power in 2007, in the Bahujan Samaj Party government, Chief Minister Mayawati wrote letters to the prime minister regarding the partitioning of Uttar Pradesh into four different states, in 2007, March 2008, and December 2009.[37][38] Finally on 15 November 2011, Mayawati's cabinet approved partitioning Uttar Pradesh into four different states (Harit Pradesh, Awadh Pradesh, Bundelkhand and Purvanchal) for better administration and governance.[39]
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... perhaps only to strengthen his own demand of a separate Harit Pradesh comprising 23 districts from western UP ...A consequent demand for the separation of the more prosperous western districts of UP which have been the bastion of the green revolution, and have variously been named as Pashchim Pradesh or more recently as Harit Pradesh by Ajit Singh ...
... The only remedy is to break up the Northern States of U.P., Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. How did this solution not strike the Congress Working Committee I am unable to understand ... My proposal with regard to the Uttar Pradesh is to divide it into three States. The three States of the Uttar Pradesh could have as their capitals (1) Meerut (2) Kanpur and (3) Allahabad ...
... For example, in May 1972 fourteen members of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly submitted a resolution for setting up three new States - Braj Pradesh, Awadh Pradesh and Purvi Pradesh. The resolution was defeated. Curiously enough, the arguments of those supporting division were essentially the same, although the representatives hailed from different regions of Uttar Pradesh ...
... These differences are caused by the depositional work of rivers, local climates, natural vegetation cover and the soil. Even the difference between the plains of western Uttar Pradesh and eastern Uttar Pradesh is quite well marked ...
... ...
... Loess is the finest particle of sand carried by winds from desert (Thar desert) to the neighbouring areas of Haryana, Punjab, Western Uttar Pradesh and western Madhya Pradesh. Here a thin layer of loess particles ...
... the Jats, Ahirs, Gurjars and Kurmis. These castes comprise nearly 40 per cent of the population in Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, and Bijnor districts. Rajputs and Tyagis, also cultivate their own land.
... confined primarily to the Rohilkhand and Meerut divisions of Uttar Pradesh. Pathans are generally considered to have come either from Afghanistan or from the Pashto-speaking tribes of the North-West ...
... Sikhs also settled down in the Terai region of Uttar Pradesh, transforming this once malaria-infested wetland into a granary of northern India ...
... It is spearheaded by the politicians, especially a section of Jats, belonging to western UP. Ajit Singh has been playing a pivotal role in it ...
... the move of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) supremo and Chief Minister of Haryana, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, to raise the demand of a separate ‘kisan pradesh’ out of western UP ... Since Mr Ajit Singh has also raised the demand of creating a ‘harit pradesh’ in the same region, the move by both Mr Chautala and Mr Ajit Singh is seen as only a political strategy to ‘outwit’ each other ...
... demand is neither feasible nor proper,"said Manzoor Ahmad, former vice-chancellor of Dr B R Ambedkar University, Agra ... Muslim population which is not more than 25% in Western UP. ...
... the Muslim presence in western U.P. is said to be about 34 per cent ...
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)... campaign for `Harit Pradesh' ... appears to be gathering momentum with the All-India Imam Association, an influential body of Muslim clerics, today pledging support ...
... She said the BSP stood for creation of Harit Pradesh ...
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)...In turn, what western UP gets is not enough ...