Documents for "Indian Political Geography":

• Agartala city (1991 pop. 157,358), capital of Tripura state, NE India, near the Bangladesh border. A market town for rice, tea, jute, and oilseed, it is the commercial center of the region. There is an...

• Agra former province, N central India. The presidency, or province, of Agra was created in 1833 when the British partitioned the Bengal presidency. In 1836, Agra was renamed the North West Province. In...

• Ahmadabad or Ahmedabad , city (1991 pop. 3,312,216), Gujarat state, NW India, on the Sabarmati River. India's largest inland industrial center, Ahmadabad is noted for its cotton mills. It is also a transportation hub and...

• Ahmadnagar or Ahmednagar , city (1991 pop. 222,088), Maharashtra state, W central India, on the Sina River. It is a district administrative center and has industries in cotton and cotton goods and copper and brass goods...

• Ahmedabad India: see Ahmadabad.

• Ahmednagar India: see Ahmadnagar.

• Aijal see Aizawl.

• Aizawl or Aijal , city (1991 pop. 155,240), capital of the state of Mizoram , NE India. Situated on a ridge in the Mizo Hills that is 3,500 ft (1,067 m) high, Aizawl is an important trade center for the surrounding area. Indigenous handicrafts are produced. In the 1970s,...

• Ajanta village, Maharashtra state, W central India, in the Ajanta Hills. The famous Ajanta caves, discovered in 1819, contain remarkable examples of Buddhist art. The caves, carved out of the side of a...

• Ajmer former state, NW India. Now part of Rajasthan state, it formerly consisted of two detached areas surrounded by Rajasthan and was identical with the former British province of Ajmer-Merwara. The...

• Ajodhya see Ayodhya , India.

• Akola city (1991 pop. 328,034), Maharashtra state, W central India, on the Morna River. It is a district administrative center, a market town, and an important road and rail junction. Cotton, oil, and...

• Alappuzha formerly Alleppey , city (1991 est. pop. 175,000), Kerala state, SW India. It is a district administrative center and port on the Arabian Sea. Coconuts are the mainstay of the economy; spices are also exported. A...

• Aligarh city (1991 pop. 480,520), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India. A district administrative headquarters and an important agricultural trade center, it also has a number of processing plants for...

• Allahabad city (1991 pop. 844,546), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India. On the site of Prayag, an ancient Indo-Aryan holy city, Allahabad is at the junction of two sacred rivers, the Yamuna and the...

• Alleppey India: see Alapphuzha.

• Alwar city (1991 pop. 210,146), Rajasthan state, N central India. On the Delhi-Jaipur Road, Alwar is a market for grain, oilseed, cotton, and marble. There are textile and oilseed mills, as well as...

• Ambala city (1991 pop. 139,889), Haryana state, NW India. It is a district administrative headquarters, a military station, and a transportation center, with an airport and road and rail connections to...

• Amravati city (1991 pop. 421,576), administrative headquarters of Amravati district, Maharashtra state, central India. The city is a growing industrial center, with major industries in cotton milling.

• Amritsar city (1991 pop. 709,456), Punjab state, NW India. It is a district administrative center, as well as a trade and industrial city where carpets, fabrics of goat hair, and handicrafts are made. The...

• Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory (2001 provisional pop. 356,265), India, in the Bay of Bengal. Port Blair (1991 pop. 74,955), in the Andamans, is the capital. Comprising the Andaman Islands, or Andaman Archipelago...

• Andhra Pradesh state (2001 provisional pop. 75,727,541), 106,052 sq mi (275,608 sq km), SE India, on the Bay of Bengal. The capital is Hyderabad. The state was created in 1956 from the Telugu-speaking portions of Madras (now Tamil Nadu) and Hyderabad states. Although the interior is mountainous, Andhra Pradesh is largely on a coastal plain...

• Ara or Arrah , city (1991 pop. 157,082), Bihar state, NE India, on the Son Canal. A major road and rail junction, it is the administrative center for a district that produces grain, sugarcane, and oilseed. There...

• Arcot town, Tamil Nadu state, SE India, on the Palar River. It is an agricultural market and has a weaving industry. It became the capital of the Muslim Nawab of Karnataka in 1712. Arcot was the first...

• Arrah see Ara , India.

• Arunachal Pradesh state (2001 provisional pop. 1,091,117), 31,438 sq mi (81,424 sq km), NE India, bordered on the north by the Tibet region of China and on the east by Myanmar. The capital is Itanagar. Formerly the...

• Asansol city (1991 pop. 262,000), West Bengal state, NE India. It is an industrial center in the Damodar valley coal-mining area, with rail and road connections to major cities. Manufactures include iron,...

• Assam state (2001 provisional pop. 26,638,407), c.30,000 sq mi (77,700 sq km), extreme NE India. Dispur is the capital. Almost completely separated from India by Bangladesh, Assam is bordered by Nagaland and Manipur on the east, Mizoram , Tripura , and Meghalaya on the south, Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan in the north and west and West Bengal in the west. The terrain consists largely of hill plains and some hilly ranges in the south. The river valleys, particularly those of the Brahmaputra and Surma, contain the richest soil and support...

• Aurangabad city (1991 pop. 572,709), Maharashtra state, W India. A district administrative center, it trades cotton, wool, and oil, and has an airport. The city has developed industrially since the 1970s and...

• Ayodhya or Ajodhya , former town, Uttar Pradesh state, N India, on the Ghaghara River. It is a joint municipality with Faizabad. Ayodhya was the capital of the kingdom of Kosala (7th cent. BC). Long associated with Hindu legend of Rama and his father Dasharatha (see Ramayana ), the town is a center of pilgrimage and is one of the seven sites sacred to Hindus. In the late 1980s it became the center of Muslim-Hindu tensions, and in 1992 fundamentalist Hindus pulled down...

• Baharampur Berhampur, or Berhampore , city (1991 pop. 126,400), West Bengal state, E central India. It is a road and rail hub; jute and rice are traded. Its industries include silk weaving, ivory carving, rice and oil-seed milling,...

• Bahraich city (1991 pop. 135,352), Uttar Pradesh state, NE India, on the Saryu River. A district administrative center, Bahraich also carries on a trade in rice, corn, sugar, jute, timber, and herbs. The...

• Balasore see Baleshwar , India.

• Baleshwar or Balasore , town (1991 pop. 101,829), Orissa state, E India, near the Bay of Bengal on the Burhabalang River. It was the first British settlement (1657) in what was then Bengal; French, Dutch, and Danish...

• Ballia town (1991 pop. 84,758), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India. Situated on a rich alluvial plain, Ballia is a district administrative center and an important market for rice, sugarcane, and...

• Bandar India: see Machilipatnam.

• Bangalore city (1991 pop. 2,651,000; metropolitan area 4,130,288), capital of Karnataka state, S central India, 3,000 ft (914 m) above sea level. A major industrial and transportation area of S India,...

• Bankura city (1991 pop. 114,876), West Bengal state, NE India, on the Dwarkeswar River. It is a district administrative center and an agricultural distribution center. Manufactures include cotton,...

• Barakpur city (1991 pop. 137,261), West Bengal state, NE India, on the Hugli River. The city is a military station. Fifteen miles (24 km) from Kolkata (Calcutta), it was formerly the suburban residence of...

• Baranagar city (1991 pop. 223,770), West Bengal state, NE India, on the Hugli River. A suburb of Kolkata (Calcutta), it is a major industrial center, with manufactures in agricultural and industrial...

• Barddhaman formerly Burdwan , city (1991 pop. 245,079), West Bengal state, E central India. It has industries in hosiery and tools, but is best known for its 108 linga (phallic) temples dedicated to Shiva. Barddhaman is a...

• Bareilly city (1991 pop. 617,350), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India, on the Ramganga River. It is a district administrative headquarters, a transportation, and a sugar-refining and cotton-trading...

• Baroda former native state, now incorporated in Gujarat state, W central India. It is a prosperous area on a fertile alluvial plain. Its chief city, Vadodara (1991 pop. 1,126,824), formerly Baroda, a district administrative center on the Vishvamitri River, has cotton-textile, chemical, machinery, furniture, and consumer-goods industries. The city is a...

• Behar India: see Bihar.

• Belgaum city (1991 pop. 402,412), Karnataka state, SE India. It is an educational and district administrative center that trades in food grains, sugarcane, cotton, tobacco, oilseed, and milk products...

• Bellary city (1991 pop. 245,391), Karnataka state, SE India. It is a district administrative center and a road and rail hub with a domestic airport. Iron and manganese deposits are nearby. Its...

• Benares India: see Varanasi.

• Bengal region, 77,442 sq mi (200,575 sq km), E India and Bangladesh, on the Bay of Bengal. The inland section is mountainous, with peaks up to 12,000 ft (3,660 m) high in the northwest, but most of...

• Berar India: see Madhya Pradesh.

• Bezwada India: see Vijayawada.

• Bhadravati city (1991 pop. 149,217), Karnataka state, S India, on the Bhadra River. The city is an industrial center, with iron and steel plants, paper mills, and manufacturers of tar products, coal, cement,...

• Bhagalpur city (1991 pop. 260,119), Bihar state, NE India, on the Ganges River. It is a district administrative center and an agricultural market, with road and rail connections. The city is noted for its...

• Bharat a name for the Republic of India. It is derived from Bharata, a tribe famous in Vedic tradition. Some Indians, particularly Hindu nationalists, prefer this name to that of India, a name they believe...

• Bharatpur city (1991 pop. 156,880), Rajasthan state, N central India. It is a district administrative center and agricultural market. The city is noted for products fashioned from ivory and sandalwood...

• Bharuch city (1991 pop. 139,029), Gujarat state, W India, on the Gulf of Khambat. A port at the mouth of the Narmada River, Bharuch ships cotton, wheat, and timber and manufactures textiles, ink, and...

• Bhatpara city (1991 pop. 315,314), West Bengal state, NE India, on the Hugli River. Once a center of Sanskrit learning, it is now part of the Hugliside industrial complex. Jute products, paper, and cotton...

• Bhavnagar city (1991 pop. 405,225), Gujarat state, W India, on the Gulf of Khambat; the chief port on the Kathiawar peninsula. Its manufactures include chemicals, textiles, wood products, bricks, and tiles;...

• Bhilainagar or Bhilai , city (1991 pop. 398,799), Chhattisgarh state, central India. It is the site of a large state-owned steel industry, built with Soviet assistance in the 1950s. Other manufactures include cement,...

• Bhilwara city (1991 pop. 183,965), Rajasthan state, NW India. The city is a district administrative center and a market for mica, grains, cotton, and wool. Its manufactures include textiles and metalware...

• Bhopal former principality, Madhya Pradesh state, central India. A region of rolling downs and thickly forested hills, it is predominantly agricultural. Its Buddhist monuments include the famous stupa...

• Bhubaneswar city (1991 pop. 411,542), capital of Orissa state, E central India, on a distributary of the Mahanadi River. A small town before it became the capital in 1948, it is a modern administrative center...

• Bhusawal city (1991 pop. 159,709), Maharashtra state, W central India. The city is on the Mumbai-Delhi railroad. It has railroad workshops, cotton factories, and an oil-processing industry.

• Bihar or Behar , state (2001 provisional pop. 82,878,796), 36,420 sq mi (94,328 sq km), E central India. Patna is the capital. Bihar is bounded by Nepal (N) and by Indian states—West Bengal (E), Jharkhand (S), and Uttar Pradesh (W). Bihar is a rich agricultural area, crossed by the Ganges River. Rainfall,...

• Bijapur city (1991 pop. 193,131), Karnataka state, SE India. It is a trade and district administrative center. Cotton ginning is an important activity; manufactures include soap, dyes, and chemicals...

• Bikaner former native state, NW India. The state is now part of Rajasthan state. The region, almost entirely in the Thar desert, raises sheep and camels, spins and weaves wool, and mines coal. The city of Bikaner (1991 pop. 416,289), the capital of the former state, was founded in 1488. Manufactures include glass, pottery, shoes, chemicals, and electrical products. There are several beautiful 16th-century...

• Bilaspur . 1 Former principality, Himachal Pradesh state, NW India, in the W Himalayas. It is the site of the Bhakra dam, a massive project on the Sutlej River. The town of Bilaspur (1991 pop. 10,609), formerly...

• Bodh Gaya or Buddh Gaya , village (1991 pop. 21,692), Bihar state, E central India. According to tradition, Buddha received enlightenment in Bodh Gaya. The city has extensive relics of Buddhist sculpture...

• Bodinayakkanur town (1991 pop. 66,028), Tamil Nadu state, at the foot of the Eastern Ghats, SE India. A Bodinayakkanur state is said to have been established in 1336. The area was seized by Hyder Ali in 1776 and...

• Bombay former state, W central India, on the Arabian Sea. The state contained within its borders the former Portuguese colonies of Goa and Daman and Diu. Historical remains exist from the period (320-184 BC) when much of Bombay belonged to the Buddhist Maurya empire. Buddhism was supplanted (c.5th cent. AD) by Hinduism, and the Maurya by independent dynasties until the early Chalukyas established themselves in the region in the 7th cent. By the 14th cent. Muslim powers had attained control, with sultanates at Ahmadnagar and Bijapur. By 1600 the northern part of the region was...

• Brindaban India: see Vrindaban.

• British Indian Ocean Territory archipelago, c.1,180 mi (1,900 km), NE of Mauritius, in the central Indian Ocean. The islands, which form the Chagos Archipelago and are located on the southern end of a chain of sea mounts that...

• Budaun city (1991 pop. 116,695), Uttar Pradesh state, N India, on the Sot River. An administrative center, it trades in grain, cotton, sugarcane, and oilseed. It was an important military outpost under...

• Buddh Gaya India: see Bodh Gaya.

• Burdwan see Barddhaman , India.

• Burhanpur city (1991 pop. 172,710), Madhya Pradesh state, W central India, on the Tapi River. The city is a rail junction with trade in textiles and oilseed. The manufacture of gold and silver embroideries,...

• Buxar or Baksr , town (1991 pop. 55,660), Bihar state, E central India. A British victory at Buxar in 1764 assured British control of the Bengal area. In Hindu mythology, it is connected to the god Rama....

• Calcutta India: see Kolkata.

• Calicut India: see Kozhikode.

• Cambay see Khambat , India.

• Cannanore see Kannur , India.

• Carnatic India: see Karnataka.

• Cawnpore India: see Kanpur.

• Central Provinces and Berar see Madhya Pradesh.

• Chagos Archipelago see British Indian Ocean Territory.

• Chanda India: see Chandrapur.

• Chandannagar or Chandernagore , city (1991 pop. 122,351), West Bengal state, E India, on the Hugli River, a suburb of Kolkata (Calcutta). Founded by the French in 1686, it was of great commercial importance until the 19th cent...

• Chandigarh union territory (2001 provisional pop. 900,914), 44 sq mi (114 sq km) and city, NW India. The city is the capital of both Haryana and Punjab states. It was designed by Le Corbusier and built largely in the 1950s, on a site chosen for its climate and water supply, to replace Lahore , which was given to Pakistan when India was partitioned in 1947. Punjab Univ. is in Chandigarh. The territory is administered by the central government of India. When the Punjab was divided into the states of Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh was retained as the capital of both states. It was to be transferred to Punjab in 1986, but violence due to Sikh separatism forced a...

• Chandrapur formerly Chanda , city (1991 pop. 226,105), Maharashtra state, central India, on the Irar River. It is a district administrative center. Chandrapur is near the Wardha valley coal fields. Its chief industry is rice...

• Chapra city (1991 pop. 136,877), Bihar state, NE India, on the Ghaghara River near its junction with the Ganges. It is a rail and road junction and an agricultural trade center. In the 18th cent. the...

• Chennai formerly Madras , city (1991 pop. 5,421,985), capital of Tamil Nadu state, SE India, on the Bay of Bengal. A commercial, railway, and manufacturing center, Chennai has large textile mills, chemical and automobile plants, and tanneries. Providing offshore and...

• Chhattisgarh state (2001 provisional pop. 20,795,956), 52,200 sq mi (135,194 sq km), central India; created from SE Madhya Pradesh in 2000. Most of Chhattisgarh lies in the valley of the Mahanadi and Sheonath rivers; its eastern section occupies the Deccan plateau, with hills in the west and the Maikal Mts. in the north. The...

• Chidambaram town (1991 pop. 67,949), Tamil Nadu state, SE India. It markets rice and produces textiles and processed food. Its temples are among the oldest examples of Dravidian art. Annamalai Univ., a...

• Chittoor city (1991 pop. 133,462), Andhra Pradesh state, SE India, in the Poini River valley. Chittoor is on the Bangalore-Chennai highway. It is a market for grain, sugarcane, and peanuts; its industries...

• Cochin former princely state, 1,493 sq mi (3,867 sq km), SW India, on the Arabian Sea. Now part of Kerala state, the region of Cochin has one of the highest population densities in India. Agriculture is...

• Coimbatore city (1991 pop. 1,000,746), Tamil Nadu state, SE India. Commanding the eastern approach to the Palghat Gap, the major pass through the Western Ghats, it was important in the wars of Haidar Ali and Tippoo Sahib. The British obtained undisputed possession of Coimbatore in 1799. The city is a district administrative center and a junction of rail lines linking India's east and west coasts...

• Conjeeveram India: see Kanchipuram.

• Cooch Behar former princely state, now part of West Bengal state, E India. It lies in a low, poorly drained plain. Rice, tobacco, corn, oilseeds, and jute are grown. Big-game hunting is practiced. The chief...

• Coorg former state, 1,593 sq mi (4,126 sq km), Karnataka state, SW India. Mercara was the capital. Situated mainly in the hilly Western Ghats, the Coorg region produces coffee, tea, cardamom, pepper,...

• Coromandel Coast east coast of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh states, SE India, stretching more than 400 mi (644 km) from Point Calimere, opposite the northern tip of Sri Lanka to the delta of the Krishna River...

• Cossimbazar town, West Bengal state, E central India, part of the Kolkata (Calcutta) metropolitan area. Cossimbazar was a chief overseas port of Bengal (16th-18th cent.); afterward Kolkata surpassed it.

• Cuddalore or Kudalur , city (1991 pop. 144,561), Tamil Nadu state, SE India. It is a port on the Bay of Bengal and a district administrative center, with fishing and shipbuilding industries. Although one of the major...

• Cuddapah city (1991 pop. 121,422), Andhra Pradesh state, S central India. It is a district administrative center and a market for peanuts, cotton, and melons. Paint and varnish are manufactured, and barite...

• Cutch see Kachchh.

• Cuttack city (1991 pop. 440,295), Orissa state, E central India at the head of the Mahanadi delta at a main rail crossing. Founded in the 10th cent., it was famous for its filigree work. Cuttack is now an...

• Dadra and Nagar Haveli union territory (2001 provisional pop. 220,451), 188 sq mi (487 sq km), W central India, on the Arabian Sea. Portugal colonized these two inland enclaves in the mid-16th cent. India occupied them...

• Daman and Diu union territory (2001 provisional pop. 158,059), 50 sq mi (130 sq km), W India, on the Arabian Sea, composed of two former Portuguese colonies seized by India in 1961. Daman and Diu were...

• Damoh town (1991 pop. 105,043), Madhya Pradesh state, central India. It is a district administrative center and a market for metal products, handwoven cloth, soap, cattle, and oilseed.

• Darbhanga city (1991 pop. 218,391), Bihar state, NE India, E of the Baghmati River. It is a district administrative center and is located in a sugarcane- and tobaco-growing area on a fertile alluvial plain...

• Darjiling or Darjeeling , town (1991 pop. 73,062), West Bengal state, NE India, near the border of Sikkim state. Its most famous product is tea, a major cash crop in the region. The town is a district administrative center...

• Datia town (1991 pop. 64,477), Madhya Pradesh state, N central India. It is a district administrative center and a market for food grains and cotton products. Handloom weaving is an important industry...

• Daulatabad village, Maharashtra state, W central India. Its 13th-century fortress is built atop a conical rock c.500 ft (150 m) high. The Chand Minar (1294), a minaret of Turkish style, is an outstanding...

• Davangere city (1991 pop. 287,233), Karnataka state, SW India. It is on the Bangalore-Pune railroad. Davanagere is a market for grain and cotton and is home to a major textile industry. There is a...

• Dehradun city (1991 pop. 270,000), capital of Uttaranchal state, N central India. It is a rail terminus from the S for Mussoorie, a summer hill resort. Tea processing is the main industry. In Dehradun is...

• Delhi union territory and city, N central India. The union territory, officially the National Capital Territory of Delhi (2001 provisional pop. 13,782,976), 573 sq mi (1,484 sq km), is on the Delhi...

• Dhanbad city (1991 pop. 151,334), Jharkand state, E central India. On the Damodar River and adjacent to dammed lakes, Dhanbad is a new city that serves as a district administrative center. It is India's...

• Dhar town (1991 pop. 59,246), Madhya Pradesh state, central India. It is a district administrative center and a market for cotton, grains, and oilseed. Dhar was the capital of the kingdom of Malwa and...

• Dharamsala town (2001 est. pop. 19,200), Himachal Pradesh, N India. Located on the slopes of the Kangra valley at the edge of Dhauladhar range in the outer Himalayas. Dharamsala is noted as the residence of...

• Dharwar or Dharwar, India: see Hubli-Dharwad.

• Dhule city (1991 pop. 278,317), Maharashtra state, W central India, on the Panjhra River. Dhule is a district administrative center. Cotton and woolen goods are manufactured; cigarette factories and oil...

• Dibrugarh city (1991 pop. 125,667), Assam state, NE India, at the confluence of the Brahmaputra and Bibru rivers. The town is on a narrow plain adjacent to hills and is often threatened by monsoon floods...

• Diego Garcia coral island, 11 sq mi (28 sq km). Indian Ocean, largest island of the Chagos Archipelago, SW of Sri Lanka. Part of the British Indian Ocean Territory , the island was leased (1970) to the United States and later developed as a joint U.S.-British naval base to guard the Persian Gulf oil routes and to counter increased Soviet military activities in...

• Dindigul city (1991 pop. 182,477), Tamil Nadu state, S India. It is a railroad junction and a trade center for hides, food grains, coffee, and spices. Industries include cotton milling and handicrafts such...

• Diu India: see Daman and Diu.

• Dumdum four towns in Suburban Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal state, E central India. South Dumdum (1991 pop. 230,507) is a residential area of the northern edge of metropolitan Kolkata, while North Dumdum (1991 pop. 151,298) contains several large rural enclaves. The Dumdum Aerodrome Area (1991 pop. 5,012) is the site of Kolkata's international airport. The town of Dumdum (1991 pop. 40,961), founded in 1783, has iron- and steelworks, glass and soap factories, and engineering works. In the 19th cent. its arsenal was the first to manufacture lead-nosed bullets that...

• Durgapur city (1991 pop. 425,836), West Bengal state, E central India, on the Damodar River. One of India's most important steel-production centers, the city also manufactures coal-mining machinery, bricks...

• East Pakistan see Bangladesh ; Pakistan.

• Elephanta island, c.2 sq mi (5.2 sq km), in Mumbai harbor, Maharashtra state, W India. It is noted for six Brahmanic caves, carved (8th cent.) from solid rock some 250 ft (76 m) above sea level. The Great...

• Ellora village, E central Maharashtra state, India. Extending more than 1 mi (1.6 km) on a hill are 34 rock and cave temples (5th-13th cent.), most of them Hindu but some Buddhist and Jain. The most...

• Ellore India: see Eluru.

• Eluru or Ellore , city (1991 pop. 212,866), Andhra Pradesh state, E central India. It is a district administrative center, lying at the junction of the Krishna and Godavari canal systems. Carpet making, tanning,...

• English Bazar town (1991 pop. 177,164), West Bengal state, E central India, on the Mahananda River. The British East India Company established (1676) factories for the production of silk and cotton fabrics, for...

• Erode city (1991 urban agglomeration pop. 361,755), Tamil Nadu state, S India, on the Kaveri River. The city is located in a cotton-growing region, and its industries include cotton ginning and the...

• Etawah city (1991 pop. 124,072), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India, on the Yamuna River and the Delhi-Kanpur railroad. It is a district administrative center and a market for grain, oilseed, handloom...

• Faizabad or Fyzabad , town (1991 pop. 176,922), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India, on the Ghaghara River. It is a joint municipality with Ayodhya. A district administrative center and market town, Faizabad trades in local produce and has sugar refineries. A government college is in the city and a military cantonment on the outskirts...

• Farrukhabad joint municipality with Fategarh (total 1991 pop. 208,727), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India, on the Ganges River. It is a district administrative center and a market for tobacco, fruit, and...

• Fategarh India: see Farrukhabad.

• Fathpur Sikri see Fatehpur Sikri.

• Ferozepore see Firozpur , India.

• Firozabad town (1991 pop. 270,536), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India. It is India's chief producer of glass bangles. Electrical, leather, and cotton goods are also manufactured. Firozabad is the...

• Firozpur or Ferozepore , city (1991 pop. 78,738), Punjab state, NW India, on the Sutlej River. It is a transportation hub and district administrative center, lying near the Pakistani border. Cotton and grain are traded,...

• Ganganagar city (1991 pop. 161,482), Rajasthan state, NW India, on the Bikaner canal system, a major new irrigation project in the desert region bordering Pakistan. It is a district administrative center and...

• Gangtok see Sikkim.

• Garden Reach city, West Bengal state, NE India, on the Hugli River. It is a suburb of Kolkata (Calcutta).

• Gauhati see Guwahati , India.

• Gaya city (1991 pop. 294,427), Bihar state, E central India. The region is sacred to Buddhist and Hindu pilgrims, who visit the temple of Vishnupad [Sanskrit,=Vishnu's footstep]. Bodh Gaya , the site of the Buddha's enlightenment, is 6 mi (10 km) to the south. The city, a district administrative center, has road, rail, and air transportation. There are processing industries for...

• Gharapuri India: see Elephanta.

• Ghaziabad city (1991 pop. 511,719), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India. Ghaziabad is an industrial city, with manufactures in railway coaches, diesel engines, electroplating, bicycles, tapestries,...

• Ghazipur town (1991 pop. 76,547), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India, on the Ganges River. A district administrative center, Ghazipur is the headquarters of the Indian government's opium monopoly. There...

• Goa state (2001 provisional pop. 1,343,998), c.1,430 sq mi (3,700 sq km), W India, on the Malabar coast. A former Portuguese colony and Indian union territory, Goa became a state in 1987. The capital...

• Gonda town (1991 pop. 106,078), Uttar Pradesh state, N India, on the Sarayu River and the Lucknow-Gorakhpur railroad. Gonda is a district administrative center and a market for corn, sugarcane, pulses,...

• Gorakhpur city (1991 pop. 505,566), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India, on the Rapti River. Founded c.1400, it is an agricultural market and industrial center, with textile factories, sugar mills, and...

• Gujarat state (2001 provisional pop. 50,596,992), c.75,686 sq mi (196,077 sq km), W India, on the Arabian Sea. It is comprised of almost all of the Kathiawar peninsula, the desolate Rann of Kachchh, and...

• Gulbarga city (1991 pop. 310,920), Karnataka state, S central India. It is along the route from Mumbai to Chennai. The city is a cotton-trading hub, with all facets of cotton-processing occurring there...

• Guntur city (1991 pop. 471,051), Andhra Pradesh state, SE India. Located in the Krishna River delta, the city is a railroad junction and agricultural market for jute, tobacco, and rice. Founded by the...

• Guwahati or Gauhati , city (1991 pop. 584,342), Assam state, NE India, on the Brahmaputra River. It is a railroad hub and a shipping point for tea, rice, jute, and cotton. The town has an oil refinery and is the site...

• Gwalior city and former princely state, central India. Part of Madhya Pradesh state since 1956, the territory of Gwalior formerly consisted of one large territory and several exclaves. The state was...

• Haldia city (1991 pop. 100,109), West Bengal, NE India. Haldia is being developed as a major trade port for Kolkata (Calcutta), intended mainly for bulk cargoes. The city has a fertilizer factory and a...

• Haora or Howrah , city (1991 pop. 947,000), West Bengal state, E central India, on the Hugli River opposite Kolkata (Calcutta). It is located at the region's main railway terminus. Second only to Kolkata in the...

• Hardwar see Haridwar , India.

• Haridwar or Hardwar , city (1991 pop. 187,392), Uttaranchal state, N India, on the Ganges River. The headworks of the Ganges Canal system are located in Haridwar. Annual and duodecennial pilgrimages are associated with...

• Haryana state (2001 provisional pop. 21,082,989), 17,120 sq mi (44,341 sq km), N central India. Chandigarh is the capital, and Ambala , Karnal , Panipat , Rohtak , and Bhiwani are other important cities. The terrain is mostly flat and dry but does support irrigated agriculture. Wheat, rice, and cotton are the major crops. Its proximity to Delhi state...

• Hazaribagh or Hazaribag , town (1991 pop. 97,824), Jharkhand state, E central India. Located on the Chota Nagpur plateau, 2,000 ft (610 m) above sea level, the town is a district administrative center and a market for...

• Himachal Pradesh state (2001 provisional pop. 6,077,248), 21,629 sq mi (56,019 sq km), NW India, in the W Himalayas, bordered by the Tibet region of China on the east. Shimla is the capital. The state is covered with forested mountains, and the valleys are extensively cultivated. The forests have supplied large quantities of timber and wood products, but severe...

• Hisar or Hissar , city (1991 pop. 181,225), Haryana state, NW India, on the West Yamuna Canal. It is a district administrative center in a well-irrigated area and is a market for cotton, grain, and oilseed. An...

• Hissar see Hisar , India.

• Holy City see Allahabad ; Varanasi ; Jerusalem ; Mecca ; Rome.

• Hooghly-Chinsura see Hugli-Chinsura , India.

• Howrah see Haora , India.

• Hubli-Dharwad or Hubli-Dharwar , city (1991 pop. 648,298), Karnataka (formerly Mysore) state, SW India. It is located on the main Mumbai-Bangalore railway and highway. The cities of Hubli and Dharwad, 13 mi (21 km) apart, were...

• Hugli-Chinsura or Hooghly-Chinsura , city (1991 pop. 142,388), West Bengal state, E India, on the Hugli River. A road and rail junction, the town has many large rice mills. Rubber goods are also manufactured.

• Hyderabad former princely state, S central India. The former princedom of Hyderabad is now divided among the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh. The Mughal empire conquered Hyderabad in the late 17th cent. In 1724 the viceroy Nizam-al-Mulk, founder of the last royal line, became its independent ruler. Later nizams (rulers) sought to maintain their...

• Imphal city (1991 pop. 202,839), capital of Manipur state, NE India, in the Manipur River valley, 2,500 ft (762 m) above sea level. Industries include weaving and the manufacture of metalware; the town...

• India officially Republic of India, republic (2005 est pop. 1,080,264,000), 1,261,810 sq mi (3,268,090 sq km), S Asia. The second most populous country in the world, it is also sometimes called Bharat,...

• Indore city and former native state, W central India. The state is now part of Madhya Pradesh state. The region contains extensive forests and much building stone. Indore was established c.1728 by Malhar...

• Jabalpur city (1991 pop. 888,916), Madhya Pradesh state, central India, on the Narmada River. It is a district administrative center and an important rail junction and military post. Manufactures include...

• Jagannath India: see Puri.

• Jaipur former native state, W India. It is now part of Rajasthan state. The region of Jaipur is semiarid and mostly level, with scattered rocky hills. Despite light rainfall, fair crops of corn, millet,...

• Jaisalmer former principality, Rajasthan state, NW India. Its terrain is largely a sandy or stony waste and constitutes a section of the Thar Desert. Jaisalmer was brought under the Mughal empire by Akbar in...

• Jalandhar or Jullundur , city (1991 pop. 509,510), Punjab state, NW India. Jalandhar is located on the intensively irrigated plain between the Beas and Sutlej rivers. The city, which has major road and rail connections,...

• Jalgaon city (1991 pop. 242,193), Maharashtra state, W central India. It is the center of a significant cotton-growing district.

• Jalpaiguri town (1991 pop. 68,732), West Bengal state, NE India, on the Tista River. It is the administrative center for a district that produces tea, rice, jute, tobacco, timber, and medicinal herbs; it is...

• Jammu city (1991 pop. 206,135), Jammu and Kashmir state, N India, on the Tawi River and in the Himalayan foothills. The winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir state, it is strategically important as the...

• Jammu and Kashmir see Kashmir.

• Jamnagar city (1991 pop. 381,646), Gujarat state, W central India. A port on the Gulf of Kachchh, which is an arm of the Arabian Sea, Jamnagar has naval and aeronautical schools. It is a transportation...

• Jamshedpur city (1991 pop. 461,212), Jharkand state, E central India, at the confluence of the Subarnarekha and Kharkai rivers. A great iron- and steel-producing center, it is sometimes called the "Pittsburgh of India." Other manufactures include automobiles, agricultural equipment, and locomotive parts. Built in the early 20th cent., it was named for Jamshedji Tata, founder of the Tata Iron and Steel Works...

• Jaunpur city (1991 pop. 136,062), Uttar Pradesh state, NE India, on the Gomati River. Now a district administrative center and market town where perfume is made, Jaunpur was in the 15th cent. a brilliant...

• Jhansi city (1991 pop. 368,564), Uttar Pradesh state, N central India. A road and rail junction, agricultural market, and small industrial center, it has iron and steel mills and railway workshops. The...

• Jharkhand state (2001 provisional pop. 26,909,428), 30,775 sq mi (79,714 sq km), E central India; created in 2000 from S Bihar , which now forms its northern border. Other bordering states are Chhattisgarh (W), West Bengal (E), and Orissa (S). The capital is Ranchi. Part of the Chotanagpur plateau and a generally hilly region, Jharkhand rises to its greatest height (4,480 ft/1,365 m) in the Parasnath Hills of the east and has two major rivers, the Damodar and...

• Jodhpur or Marwa