On the foundation day, know the story of how UP became the centre of power in Delhi, it was under Bengal, Agra was also the capital

Today, Uttar Pradesh, which is the largest in terms of population and organises the world’s largest religious fair like Maha Kumbh, is celebrating its foundation day. While Uttar Pradesh has been deciding the direction of the country’s politics, it is also culturally and historically very rich. In this state, which is the land of Ram and Krishna, Lord Kashi Vishwanath resides in the world’s oldest city. At the same time, the Triveni Sangam of Prayagraj also makes this state special. Every corner of this place is rich in historical heritage, and memories of the struggle with the British are also present in many parts of the state. Uttar Pradesh has changed itself with the passage of time. This state is moving ahead step by step with modernity while preserving its traditions and due to this it has achieved a lot. UP was not UP from the beginning. It was born with some other name. What is even more special is that UP may be old in terms of its foundation day. But in reality, it has been celebrating its foundation day only since 2018. Before this, foundation day was not organised in UP. It was definitely started in Maharashtra. On January 24, 1950, the Governor General of India passed the United Provinces Order, 1950 (name change). According to which the name of United Province was changed to Uttar Pradesh. In January 1858, Lord Canning settled in Allahabad (presently Prayagraj) and formed the North Western Province. Thus, the power of governance shifted from Agra to Allahabad. In the same sequence, the High Court also shifted from Agra to Allahabad in the year 1868. Later, the districts started being merged in the North Western Province and it came to be known as ‘North Western Province and Awadh’ in 1877. The entire province was named ‘United Province of Agra and Awadh’ in 1902. After the first election of the Legislative Council in the year 1920, the council was formed in Lucknow in 1921. Since the Governor, Ministers and the Governor’s Secretaries had to stay in Lucknow, the then Governor, Sir Harcourt Butler shifted his headquarters from Allahabad to Lucknow. By 1935, the entire office had shifted to Lucknow. Now Lucknow had become the capital of the province, which was named ‘United Province’ in April 1937 and on 24 January 1950, it was renamed ‘Uttar Pradesh’ under the Constitution of India.