Introduction
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division.
Located in what was historically known as the Awadh(Oudh) region, Lucknow has always been a multicultural city, and flourished as a cultural and artistic capital of North India in the 18th & 19th centuries. Courtly manners, beautiful gardens, poetry, music, and fine cuisine patronized by the Persian-loving Shia Nawabs of the city are well known amongst Indians and students of South Asian culture and history. Lucknow is popularly known as The City of Nawabs. It is also known as the Golden City of the East, Shiraz-i-Hind and The Constantinople of India.
Lucknow is placed among the fastest growing cities of India and is rapidly emerging as a manufacturing, commercial and retailing hub.

The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) was formed at the Lucknow session of the Indian National Congress in 11 April 1936 with the legendary nationalist Swami Sahajanand Saraswati elected as its first President, in order to mobilise peasant grievances against the zamindari attacks on their occupancy rights, and thus sparking the Farmers' movement in India.

Lucknow has Asia's first human DNA bank. This is world's second bank having DNA identification system (DIS) and has been established in the Biotech park under the public private partnership with IQRA Biotech Services.
Ambedkar Park lko 15 jan

Straddling the river Gomti, modern Lucknow is a bustling metropolis. Historically, it was a centre of Urdu literature.

History
After 1350 AD the Lucknow and parts of Awadh region have been under the rule of the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughal Empire, the Nawabs of Awadh, the East India Company and the British Raj. Lucknow has been one of the major centers of First War of Independence, participated actively in India's Independence movement, and after Independence has emerged as an important city of North India.

Until 1719, subah of Awadh was a province of the Mughal Empire administered by a Governor appointed by the Emperor. Saadat Khan also called Burhan-ul-Mulk a Persian adventurer was appointed the Nazim of Awadh in 1722 and he established his court in Faizabad near Lucknow.

Awadh was known as the granary of India and was important strategically for the control of the Doab, the fertile plain between the Ganges and the Yamuna rivers. It was a wealthy kingdom, able to maintain its independence against threats from the Marathas, the British and the Afghans. The third Nawab, Shuja-ud-Daula fell out with the British after aiding Mir Qasim, the fugitive Nawab of Bengal. He was comprehensively defeated in the Battle of Buxar by the East India Company, after which he was forced to pay heavy penalties and cede parts of his territory. The British appointed a resident in 1773, and over time gained control of more territory and authority in the state. They were disinclined to capture Awadh outright, because that would bring them face to face with the Marathas and the remnants of the Mughal Empire.

Many independent kingdoms, such as Awadh, were established when the Mughal empire disintegrated. Awadh’s capital, Lucknow rose to prominence when Asaf-ud-Daula, the fourth nawab, shifted his court here from Faizabad in 1775. The city was also North India’s cultural capital, and its nawabs, best remembered for their refined and extravagnt lifestyles, were patrons of the arts. Under them music and dance flourished, and many monuments were erected. Of the monuments standing today, the Bara Imambara, the Chhota Imambara, and the Rumi Darwaza are notable examples. One of the more lasting contributions by the Nawabs is the syncretic composite culture that has come to be known as the Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb.
Gates of the Palace at Lucknow by W. Daniell, 1801
Nawab Saadat Khan II

In 1798, the fifth Nawab Wazir Ali Khan alienated both his people and the British, and was forced to abdicate. The British then helped Saadat Ali Khan to the throne. Saadat Ali Khan was a puppet king, who in the treaty of 1801 ceded half of Awadh to the British East India Company and also agreed to disband his troops in favor of a hugely expensive, British-run army. This treaty effectively made the state of Awadh a vassal to the British East India Company, though it notionally continued to be part of the Mughal Empire in name until 1819.

Geography
Situated in the heart of the great Gangetic plain, Lucknow city is surrounded by its rural towns and villages like the orchard town of Malihabad, historic Kakori, Mohanlal ganj, Gosainganj, Chinhat, Itaunja. On its eastern side lies Barabanki District, on the western side is Unnao District, on the southern side Raebareli District, and on the northern side the Sitapur and Hardoi districts. The Gomti River, the chief geographical feature, meanders through the city, dividing it into the Trans-Gomti and Cis-Gomti regions. Lucknow city is located in the seismic zone III.

Climate
Lucknow has a warm humid subtropical climate with cool, dry winters from December to February and dry, hot summers from April to June. The rainy season is from mid-June to mid-September, when Lucknow gets an average rainfall of 1010 mm (40 in) mostly from the south-west monsoon winds. In winter the maximum temperature is around 25 degrees Celsius and the minimum is in the 2 to 3 degrees Celsius range. Fog is quite common from late December to late January. Summers are very hot with temperatures rising to the 40 to 45 degree Celsius range, the average highs being in the high 30's.

Pollution
According to the World Bank's survey in 2004, Lucknow ranks 7th in the world regarding air pollution, three other Indian cities precede it, they are Delhi at second position, Kolkata at third position and Kanpur at sixth position.

Demographics
Currently the population of Lucknow is more than 5 million.The majority of Lucknow's population comprises people from Central and Eastern Uttar Pradesh. However, Bengalis, Punjabis and Anglo-Indians have also settled in large numbers. Hindus comprise about 71% and Muslims about 26%. There are also small groups of Sikhs, Jains, Christians and Buddhists. As per 2001 census literacy rate of Lucknow is 69.39% (61.22% for females and 76.63% for males)

Economy
Ranked 6th among all the cities in India (2nd among non metro) for fastest job-creation, Lucknow is not only a major market & trading city in Northern India, but is also an emerging hub for producers of goods and services. Being the capital of Uttar Pradesh state, the Government departments and the public sector undertakings are the principal employers of the salaried middle class. Liberalization has created many more opportunities in the business and service sector and self-employed professionals are burgeoning in the city.

Lucknow also provides a good catchment area for the recruitment of quality personnel by information technology companies for the BPO. The city is the headquarters of both the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and the Pradeshiya Industrial and Investment Corporation of Uttar Pradesh (PICUP). The Regional office of the Uttar Pradesh State Industries Development Corporation (UPSIDC) is also located here. The other business-promoting institutions that have a presence in Lucknow are the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India