Uttar Pradesh General Knowledge for the UP Police Constable Exam
History and the Freedom Struggle
The Buddha's life is mapped on the state: the first sermon at Sarnath (Varanasi), the parinirvana at Kushinagar, and long rainy-season stays at the Jetavana monastery in Shravasti. Enlightenment was at Bodh Gaya (Bihar) and birth at Lumbini (Nepal). Mathura was a great sculpture centre (the Mathura school), Kannauj was the capital of Harsha (606 to 647 CE), and Jaunpur under the Sharqi rulers has the Atala Masjid (completed 1408). The Awadh nawabs ruled from Lucknow until Awadh was annexed in February 1856.
| Centre in 1857 | Leader | Key fact |
|---|---|---|
| Meerut | Sepoys | Revolt began 10 May 1857, march to Delhi |
| Kanpur | Nana Sahib | Siege from June 1857; retaken by the British in July |
| Lucknow | Begum Hazrat Mahal | Regent for her son Birjis Qadr; Residency siege; recaptured March 1858 |
| Jhansi | Rani Lakshmibai | Annexed under the doctrine of lapse after the death of Raja Gangadhar Rao (1853 to 1854); besieged spring 1858 |
| Faizabad and Awadh | Ahmadullah Shah | Maulvi of Faizabad; killed near Powayan, June 1858 |
After 1857 the Queen's Proclamation was read at Allahabad on 1 November 1858. Later landmarks are in the table.
| Event | Place and date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Chauri Chaura | Gorakhpur, 4 Feb 1922 | 22 policemen died; Gandhi ended Non-Cooperation on 12 Feb 1922 |
| Kakori train action | Near Lucknow, 9 Aug 1925 | Hindustan Republican Association; Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Lahiri hanged in Dec 1927 |
| Ballia in Quit India | 19 Aug 1942 | Chittu Pandey led a short-lived parallel administration |
| Congress sessions | Lucknow 1916; Kanpur 1925; Lucknow 1936 | Kanpur 1925 presided by Sarojini Naidu; Lucknow 1936 by Jawaharlal Nehru |
Cities and Monuments
Learn each monument with its builder and place. Agra has the Taj Mahal (built 1631 to 1653 by Shah Jahan for Mumtaz Mahal), Agra Fort (Akbar) and the tomb of Itimad-ud-Daulah (built by Nur Jahan for her father). Fatehpur Sikri was Akbar's capital from about 1571 to 1585. The Taj Mahal and Agra Fort were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1983 and Fatehpur Sikri in 1986.
| Monument or site | City | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Bara Imambara | Lucknow | Asaf-ud-Daula, begun in the 1780s (completion year varies by source); famine-relief work; Bhul Bhulaiya |
| Chhota Imambara | Lucknow | Muhammad Ali Shah, 1838 |
| Atala Masjid | Jaunpur | Sharqi; completed 1408 |
| Dhamek Stupa and Ashokan lion capital | Sarnath | Lion capital became India's national emblem; kept in the Sarnath Museum |
| Dashavatara temple | Deogarh, Lalitpur | Gupta temple on the Betwa, about early 6th century CE |
| Government Museum | Mathura | Founded 1874; Mathura school sculpture |
Rivers and Geography
Almost the whole state drains to the Ganga. Rivers of the northern plains and the Himalaya (Ramganga, Gomti, Ghaghara, Rapti) join it from the left; the Yamuna joins from the right at Prayagraj, and the Vindhyan rivers Betwa and Ken join the Yamuna from the right. The Sone drains Sonbhadra and joins the Ganga in Bihar.
| River | Some districts on its course | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Yamuna | Baghpat, Mathura, Agra, Etawah, Hamirpur, Prayagraj | Meets the Ganga at the Sangam |
| Gomti | Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur, Lucknow, Sultanpur, Jaunpur | Lucknow stands on it |
| Ghaghara (Sarayu at Ayodhya) | Bahraich, Ayodhya | Ayodhya is on its bank |
| Betwa | Lalitpur, Hamirpur | Right-bank tributary of the Yamuna |
| Ramganga | Bijnor, Moradabad, Bareilly | Left-bank tributary of the Ganga |
Seven districts touch the India-Nepal border: Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Siddharthnagar and Maharajganj; the Sashastra Seema Bal guards it. The Terai is the marshy strip along the border, Bundelkhand (Jhansi, Lalitpur, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Chitrakoot) is the dry rocky south, and the Vindhyan hills (Mirzapur, Sonbhadra) hold most minerals; Sonbhadra has the largest coal reserves. Census 2011: highest literacy, Gautam Buddh Nagar (80.12 per cent); lowest literacy, Shravasti; most populous district, Prayagraj; highest sex ratio, Jaunpur (1,024); state sex ratio 912; literacy 67.68 per cent.
Crops, Industries and GI/ODOP Products
Uttar Pradesh grows kharif crops (rice, maize, sugarcane, bajra), rabi crops (wheat, gram, mustard, potato) and zaid crops. It is the leading state for sugarcane, wheat, potato, mango and milk. For sugarcane the Centre announces the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) and the state fixes a higher State Advised Price (SAP) each season. The Malihabadi Dussehri mango of Lucknow district carries a GI tag.
| Place | Known for |
|---|---|
| Kanpur | Leather and textiles |
| Agra | Leather goods and the Taj tourism trade |
| Firozabad | Glassware and bangles |
| Aligarh | Locks and hardware |
| Moradabad | Brass and metal craft |
| Varanasi | Banarasi silk saris |
| Lucknow | Chikankari and zardozi |
| Kannauj | Perfume (attar) |
| Khurja | Glazed pottery (Bulandshahr district) |
| Renukoot | Aluminium plant (Sonbhadra) |
One District One Product (ODOP) is a state development scheme launched on 24 January 2018, which picks one product per district (for example Firozabad glassware, Aligarh locks, Kannauj perfume; the list has been revised since, so read the date of any list). A GI tag is different: it protects a product's name for a place. The Banarasi brocade and sari GI covers six districts: Varanasi, Mirzapur, Chandauli, Bhadohi, Jaunpur and Azamgarh. Other UP GI products are Chikan (Lucknow), Khurja pottery, Kalanamak rice (Siddharthnagar and neighbouring districts) and Allahabad Surkha guava.
Festivals, Fairs, Folk Arts and Languages
The Kumbh Mela at the Prayagraj Sangam was added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2017 and the Ramlila in 2008. Fairs follow the lunar calendar, so dates move each year.
| Fair or festival | Place | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Lathmar Holi | Barsana and Nandgaon, Mathura | Holi season; Radha-Krishna legend |
| Deva Mela | Deva Sharif, Barabanki | Autumn fair at the dargah of Haji Waris Ali Shah |
| Bateshwar fair | Agra, on the Yamuna | Kartik Purnima; cattle fair |
| Garhmukteshwar fair | Hapur, on the Ganga | Kartik Purnima; Ganga bathing fair |
| Nauchandi Mela | Meerut | Held after Holi |
Folk arts: Raslila (Mathura and Vrindavan) is the Krishna dance-drama; Charkula is a Braj dance in which a woman balances a lamp-lit wheel on her head; Nautanki is a folk theatre; Kajri is a monsoon song form. Of the Kathak gharanas, Lucknow stresses grace and expression and Banaras is another UP gharana. Dialects: Awadhi (Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas, Padmavat of Jayasi), Braj (Sur Sagar of Surdas), Bundeli, Kannauji, Khari Boli and Bhojpuri. Jnanpith winners from UP include Sumitranandan Pant, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Mahadevi Varma and Kedarnath Singh.
Welfare Schemes, Universities and Institutions
| Scheme | Year | Department or owner and feature |
|---|---|---|
| Mukhyamantri Samuhik Vivah Yojana | 2017 | Social Welfare; mass marriages with money to the bride's account |
| Mukhyamantri Kanya Sumangala Yojana | 2019 (April) | Women and Child Development; instalments for a girl from birth towards higher education |
| Mission Shakti | 2020 (October) | Multi-department campaign for women's safety and self-reliance |
| Mukhyamantri Abhyudaya Yojana | 2021 (February) | Social Welfare; free coaching for competitive exams |
| Mukhyamantri Bal Seva Yojana | 2021 (May) | Support for children who lost parents |
| PM-KISAN | 2019 (24 Feb, Gorakhpur) | Central scheme: Rs 6,000 a year to farmer families |
| PM Ujjwala Yojana | 2016 (1 May, Ballia) | Central scheme: LPG connections to poor women |
Institutions: Banaras Hindu University (Varanasi) was founded in 1916 by Madan Mohan Malaviya. Aligarh Muslim University grew from the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College (1875, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan) and became a university in 1920. The University of Allahabad dates from 1887; IIT Kanpur from 1959; the CSIR Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, was inaugurated in 1951. The UP Board was set up at Prayagraj in 1921.
UP Police: Stable Basics
The UP Police Recruitment and Promotion Board (UPPRPB) was set up by a state government order of 2008 and recruits and promotes for non-gazetted posts of UP Police; the board is based at Lucknow. The force is headed by the Director General of Police, districts by Superintendents of Police, and big cities by police commissionerates.
| Unit or service | Basis |
|---|---|
| Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) | Formed 1948 by merging the U.P. Military Police and the State Armed Constabulary |
| Special Task Force (STF) | Formed 1998; targets organised gangs |
| Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) | Set up 2007 against terrorism |
| Dial 112 | Single emergency number launched in Lucknow on 26 Oct 2019; replaced Dial 100 |
| Women Power Line 1090 | Launched November 2012 |
As of the sources consulted in October 2026, the state has seven commissionerates: Lucknow and Gautam Buddh Nagar (January 2020), Kanpur and Varanasi (March 2021), and Agra, Ghaziabad and Prayagraj (approved November 2022); check for later additions. The Moradabad academy is a major police training institution of the state.
Key takeaways
- Name: United Provinces became Uttar Pradesh on 24 January 1950; Uttarakhand was carved out on 9 November 2000.
- As of 2025 the state has 75 districts in 18 divisions (per published lists; check the current list); Kanpur, Lucknow and Meerut divisions have six districts each.
- Place the events: Chauri Chaura 1922, Kakori 1925, Lucknow Congress 1936, Ballia 1942; Kanpur was retaken in 1857, Lucknow in 1858.
- Northern rivers such as the Ramganga, Gomti and Ghaghara join the Ganga on the left; the Yamuna, and the Betwa and Ken into it, come from the right.
- ODOP is a one-product-per-district scheme from 24 January 2018; a GI tag protects a name and can span districts, as the Banarasi sari does across six.
- UPPRPB (2008 order, Lucknow) recruits for non-gazetted police posts; PAC 1948, STF 1998, ATS 2007; Dial 112 from 26 October 2019.
Practice questions (18)
Attempt each one before opening the answer. Every explanation names the tempting wrong option as well as the right one, because that is where marks are lost.
In which year was the United Provinces renamed Uttar Pradesh?
Show answer
Answer: B — 1950
It was renamed on 24 January 1950. The year 2000 is tempting because Uttarakhand was carved out of the state then, but that changed the territory, not the name.As per Census 2011 (district boundaries of that census), which district of Uttar Pradesh had the largest population?
Show answer
Answer: C — Prayagraj (then Allahabad)
Prayagraj (Allahabad in 2011) was the most populous district in Census 2011. Lucknow is the tempting answer because it is the capital and a big city, but it had fewer people than Prayagraj.Which of these states does NOT share a border with Uttar Pradesh?
Show answer
Answer: D — Punjab
Punjab lies north-west beyond Haryana and does not touch UP. Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are easy to forget, but both border the state's south, which is why they are the tempting wrong choices.Which of the following rivers is a right-bank tributary of the Yamuna flowing through Lalitpur and Hamirpur?
Show answer
Answer: B — Betwa
The Betwa rises in the Vindhyan upland and joins the Yamuna from the right near Hamirpur. Gomti, Ramganga and Ghaghara are northern rivers that join the Ganga from the left, and the Gomti is the tempting one because it is a UP-only river.Which district belongs to the Gorakhpur division in the published divisional lists of 2025?
Show answer
Answer: A — Kushinagar
Gorakhpur division has Deoria, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar and Maharajganj. Basti is a separate division with Sant Kabir Nagar and Siddharthnagar, Ballia is in Azamgarh division, and Gonda is in Devipatan division.Judge the statements about the Buddha's life and Uttar Pradesh. P: The first sermon was at Sarnath. Q: The parinirvana was at Kushinagar. R: The enlightenment was at Kushinagar. S: Jetavana monastery is at Shravasti. Which statements are correct?
Show answer
Answer: D — P, Q and S only
P, Q and S are correct. R is wrong because the enlightenment was at Bodh Gaya in Bihar. The option P and S only is tempting but omits the correct statement Q.Begum Hazrat Mahal led the 1857 revolt at which centre, ruling as regent for her son Birjis Qadr?
Show answer
Answer: D — Lucknow
She led Awadh's resistance from Lucknow. Kanpur was led by Nana Sahib and Jhansi by Rani Lakshmibai, so those two are the usual swaps; Meerut was where the revolt began on 10 May 1857.Arrange these UP events in chronological order, earliest first: 1. Kakori train action 2. Chauri Chaura 3. Ballia parallel administration 4. Lucknow Congress session presided by Nehru.
Show answer
Answer: A — 2, 1, 4, 3
Chauri Chaura was in 1922, Kakori in 1925, the Lucknow session of 1936 and Ballia in August 1942. The order 1, 2, 4, 3 swaps the first two, which is the commonest slip.Which of the following is NOT a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
Show answer
Answer: C — Bara Imambara, Lucknow
Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal were inscribed in 1983 and Fatehpur Sikri in 1986. The Bara Imambara (built by Asaf-ud-Daula in the 1780s and 1790s) is a famous Lucknow monument but is not on the list.In which dialect did Tulsidas compose the Ramcharitmanas?
Show answer
Answer: B — Awadhi
The Ramcharitmanas is in Awadhi. Braj is the tempting answer because Surdas's Sur Sagar, another devotional classic of UP, is in Braj.Uttar Pradesh sugar mills pay growers the State Advised Price (SAP) for cane. Who fixes the SAP?
Show answer
Answer: D — The state government, above the central FRP
The state fixes the SAP each season, normally above the FRP. The FRP is the Centre's price, which is the usual swap, and mills do not set the price individually.Judge the statements. P: Kalanamak rice has a GI tag. Q: Malihabadi Dussehri mango is linked to Lucknow district. R: Chikan embroidery is linked to Lucknow. S: Khurja pottery belongs to Aligarh district. Which are correct?
Show answer
Answer: A — P, Q and R only
P, Q and R are correct. S is wrong: Khurja is in Bulandshahr district. The choice with all four statements is tempting because Khurja is a well-known pottery town, but its district is not Aligarh.The Banarasi sari GI covers six districts. Which district below is NOT among them?
Show answer
Answer: C — Lucknow
The six are Varanasi, Mirzapur, Chandauli, Bhadohi, Jaunpur and Azamgarh. Lucknow is known for Chikan embroidery, which is why it is the tempting textile name but not in this GI.PM-KISAN was launched at Gorakhpur on 24 February 2019. Who funds the scheme?
Show answer
Answer: B — The Union government
It is a central scheme paying Rs 6,000 a year to farmer families. The launch at Gorakhpur makes the state option tempting, but the place of launch does not decide who pays.Mukhyamantri Kanya Sumangala Yojana, launched in 2019 to give instalments to a girl from birth, is run by which state department?
Show answer
Answer: D — Women and Child Development Department
The scheme is run by Women and Child Development, which handles girl-child welfare. Basic Education is the tempting wrong choice because the instalments are linked to schooling, but the department that runs the scheme is not the one that runs schools.Aligarh Muslim University grew out of the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College and became a university in which year?
Show answer
Answer: C — 1920
The college was founded in 1875 and became a university in 1920. 1916 is the year of Banaras Hindu University and is the tempting neighbour.Which body recruits and promotes for the non-gazetted posts of UP Police?
Show answer
Answer: B — The UP Police Recruitment and Promotion Board
The board, set up by a 2008 government order and based at Lucknow, handles these posts. The PAC and STF are police units, not recruiting bodies, though the PAC is tempting because it is the largest armed arm.The Provincial Armed Constabulary was formed in 1948 by merging which two bodies?
Show answer
Answer: A — The U.P. Military Police and the State Armed Constabulary
The official UP Police history says the military police and the state armed constabulary were amalgamated in 1948. The STF (1998) and ATS (2007) came much later, so they cannot be its parents.