House passes resolution to divide Uttar Pradesh

State assembly adjourned amid pandemonium

New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh state legislative assembly yesterday passed a resolution seeking division of the state into four smaller states amid pandemonium and slogan shouting.

The resolution for creation of new states, namely Purvanchal Pradesh, Pashchim Pradesh, Awadh Pradesh and Bundelkhand was passed by voice vote while the opposition was shouting slogans seeking discussion on their no- confidence motion in the Mayawati government.

The House was adjourned sine die with adoption of vote on account for the first three months of the new financial year starting April and what was supposed to be the two-day special session of the assembly ended within minutes, thwarting the opposition move to grill the Mayawati government on various issues. "The resolution to divide the state has been passed. This is not a political move by BSP [state's ruling Bahujan Samaj Party]. We took this step after the Central Government did not take any action on our proposal. The Uttar Pradesh assembly has fulfilled its duty with regards to splitting of Uttar Pradesh for the benefit of the state," Chief Minister Mayawati said while addressing a press conference in the state capital Lucknow.

According to indications, yesterday's could have been the last session of the current assembly since there are suggestions that Mayawati could recommend dissolution of the assembly so that fresh elections are held earlier than the scheduled polls in April-May next year.

Uttar Pradesh was earlier divided in 2000 when Uttaranchal, now called Uttarakhand, was carved out of it.

What next?

• Resolution seeking division of Uttar Pradesh does not lead to creation of four states. It is the prerogative of the federal government.
• The resolution will now go to the federal government to be placed before the federal cabinet. The cabinet has the right to either reject or approve it. Once approved, the resolution will be placed before Parliament.
• The resolution must be passed by both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha with two-thirds majority.
• Once adopted by Parliament, it goes for President's approval.
• The entire process may take many months and the new Uttar Pradesh assembly after elections has the right to recall the resolution.
• Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. (Hindi: उत्तर प्रदेश, Urdu: اتر پردیش, pronounced [ˈʊt̪t̪ər prəˈd̪eːʃ] ( listen), "Northern Province"), (formerly: United Provinces;Hindi: यूनाईटेड प्रोविन्सेस, Urdu: یونائیٹڈ پروونس) is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people,^[2] it is India'smost populous state,^{[citation needed]} as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity.^{[citation needed]} Were it a nation in its own right, Uttar Pradesh would be the world's fifth most populous country ahead of Brazil, a country thirty-five times larger in territorial area.^{[citation needed]} Uttar Pradesh is the second largest state-economy in India contributing 8.34% to India's total GDP in the financial year 2010.^{[citation needed]}
• With an area of 93,933 sq mi (243,290 km²), Uttar Pradesh covers a large part of the highly fertile and densely populated upper Gangetic plain. It shares an international border with Nepal to the north along with the Indian state of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh to the north-west, Haryana, Delhiand Rajasthan on the west, Madhya Pradesh on the south, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand on the south east and Bihar on the east. The administrative and legislative capital of Uttar Pradesh is Lucknow and the industrial capital is Kanpur. The state's high court is based at Allahabad with a bench in state capital Lucknow. It is home to many historical cities, including Allahabad, Varanasi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Agra and Meerut. Kanpur was its largest city but now in 2011 Lucknow has pipped Kanpur and become the largest city in Uttar Pradesh as well as second largest and most modern beautiful city after Delhi in North/Central part of India.; other important cities are Jhansi, Varanasi, Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Meerut, Agra, Aligarh, Bareilly,Ghaziabad, Muzaffarnagar, and Noida.
  Uttar Pradesh has a very vital place in the culture of India; it is the birthplace of Hinduism and admirer of its derived Vedic, Jainism, Buddhism andSikhism beliefs, UP has been the ancient seat of Hindu religion, learning and culture, and has many important sites of Hindu pilgrimage. The State also has several sites important to Buddhism: the Chaukhandi Stupa marks the spot where Buddha met his first disciples, while the Dhamek Stupa inSarnath commemorates Buddha's first sermon. Also the town of Kushinagar is where Gautama Buddha died.
  Throughout its history, the region of Uttar Pradesh was sometimes divided between smaller kingdoms and at other times formed an important part of larger empires that arose on its east or west, including the Magadha, Nanda, Mauryan, Sunga, Kushan, Gupta, Gurjara, Rashtrakuta, Pala and Mughalempires.
  The Indo-Gangetic plain, that spans most of the state, is also the birth place of the Indo-Islamic syncretic culture of the medieval period. It holds much of the heritage of the Mughal Empire, including the world famous mausoleum Taj Mahal built by Shah Jehan, the magnificent tomb of Mughal EmperorAkbar the Great in Agra and Akbar's capital-palace in Fatehpur Sikri. It was a centre of nationalism during the British colonial period and has continued to play a prominent role in Indian political and cultural movements. The state has a rich heritage of traditional crafts and cottage industries of various types that employ highly skilled craftsmen and artisans.
  Hindus constitute 80% and its derived Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists constitute 1.5% of the population in the state. Islam is practised by about 18% of the population while the remaining 2% is made up of Christians as well as tribal religious groups.