Pradesh Explained

"Pradesh" refers to a province or territory in various South Asian languages. It derives from the Sanskrit प्रदेश pradeśa, meaning "sub-region" or "sub-country". The word was borrowed into other languages to signify "nation" or "country":

• prathet,
• pathet
• prâtés

States of India

The official names of five Indian states bear the word pradesh:

• Andhra Pradesh, Land of the Andhras
• Arunachal Pradesh, Aruna/Arunachal = Land of the Rising Sun or Land of the dawn-lit mountains
• Himachal Pradesh, Hima/Himachal = Land of the Snow
• Madhya Pradesh, Central Province, replacing the former Central Provinces and Berar which was later renamed as Madhya Bharat
• Uttar Pradesh, Northern Province, although not the north-most province; it was formerly the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh which was later renamed as United Provinces

It is also found in the names of three proposed states:

• Harit Pradesh, Green Province, part of a proposed division of Uttar Pradesh
• Maru Pradesh, Desert Province, part of a proposed division of Rajasthan
• Vindhya Pradesh, Land of the Vindhya, former state merged into Madhya Pradesh in 1956

Provinces of Nepal

• Bagmati Pradesh, land of the Bagmati River
• Gandaki Pradesh, land of the Gandaki River
• Karnali Pradesh, land of the Karnali River
• Koshi Pradesh, land of the Koshi River
• Lumbini Pradesh, land of the Lumbini pilgrimage
• Madhesh Pradesh, land of the central region
• Sudurpashchim Pradesh, land of the far western region

See also

• Desh (disambiguation)
• Desi
  • -stan Parish
• Pradesh Congress Committee