LUCKNOW

city, capital of Uttar Pradesh state, northern India, 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 Babur, the first Mughal ruler of India. Under Akbar, his grandson, the city became part of Oudh province. Asaf-ud-Dawlah, who became nawab of Oudh in 1775, transferred his capital from Faizabad to Lucknow. When the Indian Mutiny broke out in 1857, Sir Henry Lawrence, 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 Imambara (1784) is a single-storied structure where Shi'ite Muslims assemble during the month of Muharram. The Rumi Darwaza, or Turkish Gate, was modeled (1784) after the Sublime Porte (Bab-iHmayun) in Istanbul. The best-preserved monument is the Residency (1800), the scene of the defense by British troops during the 1857 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. (1991 prelim.) city, 1,592,010; metropolitan area, 1,642,134.