Harit Pradesh


Harit Pradesh is a proposed new state of India comprising the western parts of Uttar Pradesh state. Harit means Green which signifies the agricultural prosperity of the region and Pradesh means state.
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 Rajasthan states.

History

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. 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 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.
Later, in 1972, fourteen MLAs in the Uttar Pradesh state assembly moved an unsuccessful resolution to divide the state into three units.
Western Uttar Pradesh's soil and relief has marked differences from that of the eastern part of the state. The soil tends to be lighter-textured loam, with some occurrences of sandy soil. Some loess soil is continuously deposited by winds blowing eastwards from Rajasthan's Thar Desert.

Precipitation

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. 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. 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.
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.

Administrative divisions

Western Uttar Pradesh includes 23 districts in six divisions:
  1. Saharanpur division: Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli districts.
  2. Moradabad division: Moradabad, Bijnor, Rampur, Amroha, Sambhal districts.
  3. Bareilly division: Bareilly, Badaun, Pilibhit districts.
  4. Meerut division: Meerut, Bulandshahr, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Baghpat districts.
  5. Aligarh division: Aligarh, Etah, Hathras, Kasganj districts.
  6. Agra division: Agra, Mathura, Firozabad districts

    Education

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 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.
SchoolLocationEstablishedCommentRef.
Aligarh Muslim UniversityAligarh1920Aligarh 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.
Chaudhary Charan Singh UniversityMeerut1965The university is named after Chaudhary Charan Singh, the fifth Prime Minister of India.
Dr B. R. Ambedkar UniversityAgra1927This university was formed as Agra University and renamed in 1996.
Gautam Buddha UniversityGreater Noida2002
M. J. P. Rohilkhand UniversityBareilly1975M.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.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and TechnologyMeerut2004
Glocal UniversitySaharanpur2012Glocal University is a private and coeducational institution located in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is situated in the foothills of Shivalik mountains.
Shobhit UniversityMeerut, Gangoh2006, 2012Shobhit Institute of Engineering & Technology, Meerut, Shobhit University, Gangoh, Saharanpur.
Invertis UniversityBareilly2010

Research institutions

  1. Noida
  2. Greater Noida
  3. Saharanpur
  4. Moradabad
  5. Bulandshahr
  6. Bareilly
  7. Shahjahanpur

    Transport networks

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 to near Purkazi near the Uttar Pradesh–Uttarakhand border.

Delhi–Meerut Expressway

The Delhi–Meerut Expressway is a 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.

Demographics

The population of Western Uttar Pradesh is composed of a varied set of communities and tribes, including, Jats, Gujjars, Kamboj, Rayeen, Saini, Mali, Brahmins, Gaur Muslim, Tyagis, Dalits, Jatavs, Kurmis, Rajputs, Rohilla Pashtuns, Chamars and Balmikis.
As per the Census 2011 data, total population of the proposed state is 63 million.
Largest Cities by Population
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.
Sikhs from West Punjab, who migrated from Pakistan after partition, also settled in this area in large numbers.

Role of specific rural communities

In recent decades, which has a large population and spread in Uttar Pradesh. 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. 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. Since the Muslim population in Western Uttar Pradesh is higher than in Uttar Pradesh as a whole, the Harit Pradesh proposal has found support from Muslim-affiliated organizations. 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. 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". 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 gave new impetus to the demand for Harit Pradesh.
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. Finally on 15 November 2011, Mayawati's cabinet approved partitioning Uttar Pradesh into four different states for better administration and governance.

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