Lucknow

/luk"now/, n.

a city in and capital of Uttar Pradesh state, in N India: the British besieged it (1857) during Sepoy Rebellion. 826,246.

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City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 2,207,340), capital of Uttar Pradesh state, northern India, on the Gomati River southeast of Delhi.

It was captured by the Mughal ruler Bābur in 1528 and under his grandson Akbar became part of Oudh province. In 1775 it became the capital of Oudh. It is now an important rail centre with paper factories and other industrial development. Notable sites include the Great Imambara (tomb) of one of the nabobs of Oudh, the Residency where the British were besieged during the Indian Mutiny of 1857, and the University of Lucknow.

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▪ India

 city, capital of Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It is located on the Gomati River at the junction of numerous roads and rail lines. The city is a marketplace for agricultural products (mangoes, melons, and various grains are grown locally), and its industries include food processing, manufacturing, handicrafts, and railroad shops.

      Lucknow became important in 1528, when it was captured by Bābur, the first Mughal ruler of India. Under Akbar, his grandson, the city became part of Oudh province. Āṣaf al-Dawlah, who became nawab of Oudh (now Ayodhya) in 1775, transferred his capital from Faizabad to Lucknow. When the Indian Mutiny broke out in 1857, Sir Henry Lawrence (Lawrence, Sir Henry Montgomery), the British commissioner, and the European inhabitants of Lucknow were besieged for several months until rescued by British troops. The British then abandoned the city until the following year, when they regained control over India.

      Lucknow contains notable examples of architecture. The Great Imāmbāṛā (1784) is a single-storied structure where Shīʿite Muslims assemble during the month of Muḥarram. The Rumi Darwaza, or Turkish Gate, was modeled (1784) after the Sublime Porte (Bab-i Hümayun) in Istanbul. The best-preserved monument is the Residency (1800), the scene of the defense by British troops during the Indian Mutiny. A memorial commemorating the Indians who died during the uprising was erected in 1957.

      Among Lucknow's educational institutions are the University of Lucknow (1921), a music academy, an institute of Muslim theology, the Central Drug Research Institute (1951), an arts-and-crafts college, and a state museum. The city also has a botanical and a national zoological garden. Pop. (2001) 2,185,927.

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