Oudh

Oudh, or AWADH, a province of British India, separated on the north from Nepal by the lower ranges of the Himalaya, whence it gradually slopes, a great plain watered by the Guntti, Gogra, and Rapti rivers, to the Ganges. Area, 24,246 sq. m. Formerly an independent chief-commissionership, it is now administered by the lieutenant-governor of the North-west Provinces (q.v.). Pop. (1869) 11,220,232; (1881) 11,387,741; (1891) 12,652,730. The bulk of the inhabitants are Hindus, though the dominant native race for centuries has been Mohammedan. The Brahmans are the most numerous class, about one-eighth of the whole population. The principal towns are Lucknow (the capital), Faizabad, Bahraich, Shahabad, Rai Bareli, Ajodhya. Oudh is believed to have been one of the oldest seats of Aryan civilisation in India. After being the centre of a long native Hindu dynasty it was subjugated by the ruler of Kanaauj, and in 1194 was made subject to the Mussulman empire of Delhi. In 1732-43 it became virtually an independent state, and the dynasty of the Nawabs lasted until the annexation of the province by the British in 1856. During the mutiny of 1857 Oudh was one of the centres of rebellion and the scene of highly dramatic events.—The city of Oudh or AJODHYA has been treated of under the second title.