India: All about Uttar Pradesh Quiz

Answer: Allahabad

Officially referred to as "Prayagraj," Allahabad is home to the Allahabad High Court, the senior jurisdiction over the state of Uttar Pradesh. Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, and Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan are both from Allahabad.

Allahabad was named by Mughal Emperor, Akbar. It was the administrative, cultural and military capital of the Mughal Empire, which ruled over most areas of what is now India and Pakistan, between the 16th-17th centuries. Allahabad was called "Kosambi" in Ancient India during the late Vedic period.

Allahabad is home to the Triveni Sangam, that is in Hindu tradition the confluence of where the earthly Ganges and Yamuna rivers meet, along with the invisible, now a dry course, Sarasvati River.

Answer: Bihar

Uttar Pradesh borders several states, Bihar lies east, with Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh lying to the south-east, Madhya Pradesh lying south, Rajasthan lying west, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi lying north-west, and Uttarakhand and the country of Nepal lying to the north.

Answer: Allahabad Public Library

Standing since 1864, Allahabad Public Library consists of limestone and granite, and has a 19th century Scottish baronial Gothic revival style of architecture. There are around 125,000 books on the premises, as well as manuscripts and newspapers in various languages, such as Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, Bengali and English. The building was designed by English architect, Richard Roskell Bayne (1837-1901).

Uttar Pradesh is also home to Maulana Azad Library, which is biggest university library in all of Asia.

Answer: Train robbery

Kakori is a town close to Lucknow lying around 10 miles (16 km) north-west of the city, and the train robbery was orchestrated by the the Indian Independence Movement against the British Raj. Ramprasad Bismil and a group of his men stopped the train, overpowered the guard and made off with the money stored in the safe. The robbers were part of newly established militant group, the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) who held the aim of freeing India from British occupation. They needed the money stored on the train to finance their activities, which included armed rebellion.

By 1927, four men had been sentenced to death for this robbery; others involved typically got a prison sentence of around 15 years, with one receiving a life imprisonment. Only two were pardoned and two were acquitted. The harsh sentences caused outrage and disgust among the Indian population, with petitions to spare the lives of the four sentenced to death ignored. They were executed in 1927.

Answer: Mathura

Mathura is situated around 35 miles (57 km) north from the city of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, and around 100 miles (165 km) south-east from New Delhi. It is also said to be the birthplace of Neminath, Janism's twenty-second tirthankara (spiritual teacher or saviour).

The Krishna Janmasthan Temple Complex is centered where Lord Krishna's parents were imprisoned by his evil uncle, Kansa. The temple is said to have been constructed over 5,000 years ago by Vajranabha, Krishna's great-grandson. The complex has been demolished and rebuilt several times over the years, by kings who did not appreciate the temples, and Krishna devotees, respectively.

Answer: Rampur

Rampur is known to be the third largest school for poetry, third only after the cities of Delhi and Lucknow. Urud poets such as Shad Aarifi, Dagh, Ghalib and Ameer Minaee were active in the Rampur court. The city is also known for the Rampuri chaku knife, a singled-edged, sometimes switchblade knife, made famous by many Bollywood movies of the 1970s and 1980s.

However, when the knives were banned by the Indian government in 1995, this considerably effected business, meaning there are only one or two of these knife makers left in the city.

Answer: Ghaziabad

Close to India's capital city, New Delhi, Ghaziabad is the largest city in the west of Uttar Pradesh. It is referred to as the "Gateway of Uttar Pradesh" because of its proximity to New Delhi. The city was established by Ghazi-ud-Din, a political advisor of Muhammad Shah, a Mughal emperor. Ghazi-ud-Din named the city "Ghaziuddinnagar" after himself, and the city has since been shortened to "Ghaziabad."

Lara Dutta is an Indian actress who mainly works in Hindi films, and won the Miss Universe 2000 beauty pageant. She has been a strong supporter of the Me Too movement in India, and is known to be one of Bollywood's most socially conscious actresses. She played Indira Gandhi in Ranjit M Tewari's 2021 film, "Bell Bottom."

Answer: Amsot Peak

Amsot Peak is part of the Shivalik Hills, and is around 3140 feet (960 m) high. It is situated on Uttar Pradesh's border with Uttarakhand on the Saharanpur-Chakrata road. There is also a small town between the states, Timli, which climbers travel to to access the peak.

Answer: Ayodhya

The Hanuman Garhi Temple is situated around 0.6 miles (1 km) from Ayodhya railway station. It is located near Ram Janmabhoomi, which is believed to be the birthplace of Rama, Lord Vishnu's seventh avatar. Also significant in the Jain faith, five tirthankaras (spiritual teachers and saviours) were born in Ayodhya: Rishabhanatha, Ajitanatha, Abhinandananatha, Sumatinatha and Anantanatha.

Ayodhya is located on the shores of the River Sarayu, and according to the ancient Indian epic, "Ramayana," Ayodhya is the birth place of Rama (the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu) and his brothers. The city features Ram ki Paidi, a series of ghats in the Saryu, where many Hindus come to bathe in the holy waters.

Answer: College

La Martinière has stood in Lucknow since 1845, accepting male pupils from this year, and including females since 1869. The college was founded by French army officer, Claude Martin. The La Martinière is one of the few colleges in the world depicted on a postage stamp.

Answer: Wheat

Uttar Pradesh contributes around a third of the total production of wheat in India, with 33 million metric tons of the crop being produced here in 2020. India is the second-largest producer of wheat in the world, second only to China. Bihar, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh also produce significant amounts of wheat for India.

Uttar Pradesh also produces the most sugar out of every state in India.

Answer: Bareilly

Ahmed Raza Khan (1856-1921) spearheaded the Barelvi movement of South Asia, that is, the Sunni Muslim revivalist movement heavily influenced by Sufi ideals, such as the veneration of Muslim saints. It also promotes veneration of the Prophet Muhammed, and the respect for Sharia law. Khan's beliefs were particularly opposed to Wahhabism (a Sunni reformist movement started by Arabian activist and philosopher, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab).

Bareilly is located around 160 miles (250 km) north-west of Lucknow, and around 155 miles (250 km) east of India's capital, New Dehli. Khan's shrine, the Bareilly Sharif Dargah, is visited by millions of people every year, with a three day annual event, Urs-e-Razavi, practiced here in honor of Khan's life and teachings.

Answer: Firozabad

Firozabad is also known as the "City of Bangles" due to the beautiful glass bangles produced in the city. It is situated around 30 miles (50 km) from the city of Agra, and around 125 miles (200 km) away from New Delhi. Because most of the glass businesses in the city are family run and fairly unregulated, child labour and exploitation of workers is a sad reality behind the beautiful glass products.

Firozabad is also the location of the Lord Bahubali Temple, an important Jain temple as Lord Bahubali was the son of the founder of Jainism: Lord Rishabh, the first tirthankar.

Answer: Jhansi

Jhalkaribai (supposedly 1830-1890) was a female Indian soldier, who disguised herself as the Queen during Battle of Jhansi. There are very few mentions of her in contemporary records, with the first thorough tale of this legend being published in 1951.

Jhansi was an independent princely state under jurisdiction of the British between 1804-1853. One of the most significant modern Hindi poets, Maithili Sharan Gupt, was born in the Jhansi district, around the town of Chirgaon. Jhansi is also the birthplace of acclaimed Indian author, Pankaj Mishra.

Beloved Indian actor and director, Joy Mukherjee (1939-2012) who was considered a TV heartthrob throughout the 1960s and 1970s was also born in Jhansi.

Answer: Pilibhit

Pilibhit is located around 30 miles (50 km) away from the city of Bareilly. Nepal is not far east, and sugar production is one of the city's largest industries, regularly exporting sugar around India and to nearby Nepal.

In 1991 it was calculated that Pilibhit produced 95% of the flutes used in India. Because of the instrument's association with Lord Krishna, it has proved popular in India. Only a select few master craftsman of the bamboo flutes of Pilibhit know the precise place the flutes must be pierced to gain the appropriate holes. Careful precision is required for this, as once the hole in the flute is made, it is impossible to make a correction.