Contents

United Provinces (1937–1950)

United Provinces
Provinceof British India (1937–1947) Dominion of India (1947–1950)
1937–1950
Flag
Map of the United Provinces
Capital	Lucknow
History
• Established	1937
• Disestablished	1950
Preceded by Succeeded by United Provinces of Agra and Oudh Rampur State Benares State Garhwal Kingdom Uttar Pradesh
Today part of	India

The United Provinces (UP) was a provinceofBritish India and, subsequently, independent India.

It came into existence on 1 April 1937 as a result of the shortening of the name of the "United Provinces of British India". It corresponded approximately to the combined regions of the present-day Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.^[1]

The Government of India Act 1935 enlarged the elected provincial legislature and expanded provincial autonomy vis-a-vis the central government.

In the elections held in 1937, the Indian National Congress won the majority seats, but declined to form a government. Therefore, on 1 April 1937, and the Nawab of Chhatari, the leader of the National Agriculturist Parties, was invited to form a minority provisional government.^[2]

The Congress reversed its decision and resolved to accept office in July 1937. Therefore, the Governor Sir Harry Graham Haig invited Govind Ballabh Pant to form the government.^[3][4]

In 1939, all of the Congress ministries in British Indian provinces resigned and the United Provinces were placed under the Governor's rule. In 1945, the British Labour government ordered new elections to the Provincial legislatures. The Congress won a majority in the 1946 elections in the United Provinces and Pant was again the Premier, continuing even after India's independence in 1947.

Following independence in 1947, the princely statesofRampur, Banares and Tehri-Garwal were merged into the United Provinces. On 25 January 1950, this unit was renamed as Uttar Pradesh. In 2000, the separate state of Uttaranchal, now known as Uttarakhand, was carved out of Uttar Pradesh.

• Presidencies and provinces of British India

• The interesting story on how United Province became Uttar PradeshatBusiness Standard

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "United Provinces of Agra and Oudh". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

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