138 The region now called Uttar Pradesh played a pivotal role in the history of India. Ancient cities and archaeological sites abound as evidence that this area was central to the conquest and control of the entire subcontinent. Varanasi is one of the oldest inhabited cities of the world and lies at the very core of Hindu religious beliefs. Close to Varanasi is Sarnath, where the Buddha preached his first sermon to his very first disciples. Derogatorily called the ‘cow belt’ of India, philosophers, thinkers, jurists, writers, artistes and poets were nurtured on its soil. Successive rulers of the subcontinent realised early on that they could administer an entire country from this heartland. Over 2000 years ago, the state was part of Ashoka’s great Buddhist Empire. Following the Muslim invasions of India, this region became one of the most important and powerful provinces of the country. It became an integral part of the enormous Mughal Empire, even more so when Akbar the Great shifted his capital to Agra. The British East India Company, too, realised its importance and entered into strategic alliances with the different rulers of the region. The state came to be known as United Province when Agra was merged with Awadh after the British slowly but steadily made inroads into the existing status quo before wresting total control over it. The stranglehold of the British caused great offence to the local rajahs, the nawabs and their subjects sparking off the first war of Indian Independence. This first uprising against the British, the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 began with the revolt of soldiers in the barracks of Meerut and quickly spread to Kanpur, Lucknow, Jhansi and Allahabad. Uttar Pradesh continued to wield its influence in pre and post independence India. It was at the centre of the struggle for independence and many a momentous decision was taken here and many crucial battles fought here. In modern India, because of its vast population, the state sends the largest number of members to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament making it a critical player in the democracy’s game of numbers.
