Purvanchal

The name Purvanchal is derived from two Hindi words, Purv (east) and Anchal (region) which means 'the eastern part of a region more specifically historical region of Hindustan in northern Indian Subcontinent or alternatively 'Eastern zone' in contrast to the western zones like Punjab and Haryana or northern zone like Uttarakhand.

Purvanchal consists primarily of the western Bhojpuri region, and bordered by the Baghelkhand region in the south,the Nepal region in the north and the eastern Awadhi region in the west. There is also a demand by the people for creating a separate state of Purvanchal, with Gorakhpur or Varanasi as its capital.

• Varanasi
• Bhadohi
• Chandauli
• Mirzapur
• Basti
• Gorakhpur
• Azamgarh
• Sonbhadra
• Jaunpur
• Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Nagar
• Mau
• Ghazipur
• Deoria
• Padrauna
• Ballia
• Khalilabad

It lies on the Indo-Gangetic plain, and together with western Bihar is the most-densely-populated area in the world. The rich quality of its soil and the high earthworm density in the soil as opposed to adjoining districts of Uttar Pradesh makes the region favourable for agriculture. Most of the countryside is given to intensive agriculture. Bhojpuri is the predominant language in the rural and semi-urban areas, in addition to Bhojpuri influenced Hindi, in urban areas. Like Bihar state to the east, a large population, slow economic growth, agricultural mechanisation, and the closure of sugar mills have led to increased unemployment, social and political discontent, and some unrest in the region.

The ancient excavated Buddha image inside the Parinirvana Stupa, Kushinagar

Purvanchal is one of the most ancient regions of India and enjoys a rich heritage and culture, particularly because of its association with cities like Varanasi and Gorakhpur.

A major religious hub in India, it is one of the seven sacred cities (Sapta Puri) in Hinduism and Jainism, and played an important role in the development of Buddhism. Hindu population is 94.73% of total population.

• Gorakhpur population: 673,446(2011)
• Varanasi population: 1,445,656 (2011)
• Mau (Cum Kopaganj and Adri And Chiraiyakot ) population: 550,000 (2019)
• Deoria population: 130,000(2011)
• Gorakhpur municipal is the largest in terms of area with 141km2
• Varanasi municipal is the second largest having area of 112km2

Banaras Hindu University is a Central University in Purvanchal. It evolved out of the Central Hindu College of Varanasi, set up by Annie Besant — a colorful British woman of Irish descent — who joined hands with Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya in April 1911 for a common Hindu university at Varanasi.

Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi is an Institute of National Importance in Purvanchal. It is one of the 16 prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology. It was established in 1919 by the visionary Mahamana Pandit Mohan Malviya and has been constantly ranked among the top ten technical institutes of India. A state university named Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University was established in the Jaunpur district in the year of 1987 as Purvanchal University, most of the colleges of purvanchal region are affiliated by this university.

Gorakhpur have two universities named Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University and Madan Mohan Malaviya University of Technology.

Efforts are being made to open the Out Patient Department (OPD) section in AIIMS Gorakhpur in Gorakhpur. AIIMS Gorakhpur is likely to start its 1st batch of MBBS course from 2020.

Gorakhpur have also a medical college named Baba Raghav Das Medical College and Dental college named Purvanchal Dental college. A Government Degree College was set up by the Government of Uttar Pradesh, for providing higher education to scholars who are interested in course work and programs of higher studies. At present, 137 Government Degree Colleges have been established by the state government to fulfill above criteria. The UP government administers, manages and controls these colleges through Department of Higher Education, Uttar Pradesh and follows the norms and regulations of University Grants Commission, New Delhi.

• Bhopinder Singh, Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
• Bismillah Khan
• Birju Maharaj
• Amitabh Bachchan
• Harivansh Rai Bachchan
• Manoj Tiwari, actor and Politician.
• Amrapali Dubey, actress.
• Anurag Kashyap, film director
• Ravi Kishan, Bollywood actor and Politician.
• Mangal Pandey
• Chittu Pandey
• Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
• Jawaharlal Nehru, First Prime minister of India.
• Indira Gandhi, Former Prime minister of India.
• Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Former Vice President of India
• Rajendra Prasad, First President of India.
• Rajnath Singh Defense Minister of India and Ex-Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
• Lal Bahadur Shastri, Former Prime minister of India.
• Chandra Shekhar, Former Prime minister of India.
• Amar Singh
• Umesh Yadav
• Suresh Raina
• Piyush Chawala
• Vir Bahadur Singh, Former Chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.
• Dhyan Chand
• Premchand.
• Kedarnath Singh

People from the state have demanded separate statehood for Purvanchal, with Varanasi or Gorakhpur as its capital.[1]

• 1st June 2008: A separate state can ensure the security of borders as well as overall development in which the region is lagging far behind in comparison to western and central Uttar Pradesh, said Yogi Adityanath (then a BJP Member of Parliament from Gorakhpur; he became Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 2017).[2]
• 8th July 2017: Union Minister Ramdas Athawale states his support for the division of the state for development of the region of the Bhojpuri-speaking population.[3]
• 4th Aug 2018: Uttar Pradesh Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar demands separate statehood for Purvanchal, pushes for liquor ban.[4]
• 19th Sept 2018: the Purvanchal State Movement got national exposure when Vandana Raghuwanshi, an activist of "Purvanchal Rajya Janandolan", set a state-run Volvo bus on fire as it was about to depart for Lucknow from Roadways Bus Station of Varanasi (Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency), in response to the central government’s indifference to Anuj Rahi Hindustani’s hunger strike, which was on its 35th day.[5]

• Purvanchal Website