Purvanchal

Purvanchal पूर्वांचल পূর্বানচাল
State of Vishwamitra
Flag
Nickname:  Land of the East
Anthem: "O! Hamare Mahan Shashak" (Royal anthem of Vishwamitra)
Country	Vishwamitra
Statehood	2 January 2017
Founded by	President Sarala Baishya Prime Minister Varuna Sriraya
Capital	Rajagriha
Government
• Maharaja	Varuna Sriraya
• Regent	Princess Sarala
• Governor	Reshmi Hazarika
• Chief Minister	W. Pranit Singh
• Rank	1st
Demonym	Purvanchali
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 code	VH-PR

Purvanchal (Hindi: पूर्वांचल, Bengali: পূর্বানচাল) is a state of Vishwamitra which is also the nation's most populated state. It was created after its bifurcation from Uttaranchal, formerly known as North Guwahati, on 2 January 2017. Purvanchal only shares its borders with one state - Uttaranchal, its parent state. There are four official languages in the state - English, Hindi, Bengali language, and Assamese language. Due to the presence of mainly Hindu population in Purvanchal, the Hindu festivals of Durga Puja, Diwali, Holi and the cultural festival of Bihu are the major festivals observed within the state.

Purvanchal has been the seat of the national government of Vishwamitra as the national capital region of Rajagriha is also the capital of the state.

Etymology and history

The name "Purvanchal" means a region in the east. It is a blend of two words - Purv (meaning east and Anchal (meaning region). The province was established on 1 January 2017 after the newly elected Parliament adopted the State Reorganisation Bill, 2017 on 31 December 2016. It was initially named as Greater Guwahati, but was renamed in May the same year as Brihattar Guwahati. From 2017 to 2020, it was known as Brihattar Guwahati, until in March 2020, that then President Varuna Sriraya named it as Purvanchal.

Governance

The province of Purvanchal is one of the six royal provinces of the State of Vishwamitra. Following the establishment of the monarchy on 8 June 2020, the administration of the province has been carried out by the absolute monarch who is titled as the Rajpramukh of Kamrupa. The Rajpramukh discharges the functions of both the head of state and government of the provincial administration. The main functions of the monarch includes appointing officials, maintaining law and order, representing the state and the interests of the people. The current and first monarch is Varuna Sriraya who ascended to the throne on 8 June 2020. As the constitution does not allow simultaneously reign as the federal monarch and a provincial monarch and due to the Rajpramukh of Purvanchal also being the Rashtradhyaksh, he appointed his first cousin Princess Sarala as the Princess Regent of Purvanchal on 6 February 2021.

History

Following the bifurcation of the province of Purvanchal from Uttaranchal, then known as North Guwahati, the administration of the province was entrusted on a Governor who served as the representative of the President and the union government to the province.

Heads of State of Purvanchal

Governors of Purvanchal

The head of state of Purvanchal was known of that of the "Governor of Purvanchal" between 2 January 2017 and 2 February 2020. The governor served as the representative of the President and was appointed by the President on the advice of the council of ministers headed by the Prime Minister, who served as the nation's de facto executive. The governor remained in office on the pleasure of the President without any fixed tenure in office. The governor functioned as both the head of state and government of the state, except for the time, the Chief Minister served as the head of government.

No.	Portrait		Name	Term of office			Ministry	Appointer (President)
1		File:Portrait of Arnab Sil.png	Arnab Sil	2 January 2017	12 April 2017	7002100000000000000♠100 days	Varuna IV	Sarala Baishya
2			Rajdeep Deka	12 April 2017	7 May 2017	7001250000000000000♠25 days	Baishya III	Varuna Sriraya
3		File:Portrait of Anoushkaa Patranabish in 2018.jpg	Anoushkaa Patranabish	7 May 2017	5 July 2017	7001590000000000000♠59 days		Varuna Sriraya
4		File:Arnab Deka in 2017.jpg	Arnab Deka	6 July 2017	4 February 2019	7002578000000000000♠1 year, 213 days	Tanishkaa II	Varuna Sriraya
							Varuna V – VI
							Tanishkaa III
							Varuna VII
							Tanishkaa IV
5		File:Reshmi Hazarika.jpg	Reshmi Hazarika	4 February 2019	20 July 2019	7002166000000000000♠166 days		Varuna Sriraya
							Tanishkaa V
6		File:Anirban Phatowali new photo.jpg	Anirban Phatowali	20 July 2019	1 September 2019	7001430000000000000♠43 days		Varuna Sriraya
(2)			Rajdeep Deka	1 September 2019	9 December 2019	7001990000000000000♠99 days		Varuna Sriraya
7			Asmi Patranabis	9 December 2019	2 February 2020	7001550000000000000♠55 days		Varuna Sriraya
Replaced by Governor-General of Purvanchal (2 February  – 13 May 2020)
8		File:Mridul AminP.jpg	Mohammad Mridul Amin	13 May 2020	8 June 2020	7001260000000000000♠26 days	Tanishkaa VII	Varuna Sriraya

Governor-General of Purvanchal

On 2 February 2020, the position of the governors of states was discontinued and replaced by that of a governor-general under the Commonweath. The Governor-General acted as the representative of the Head of the Commonwealth to the respective dominions. The position of the Governor-General was discontinued on 13 May 2020 and replaced back by the Governor.

No.	Portrait		Name	Term of office			Ministry	Appointer (President)
8			Bhargab Jyoti Medhi	2 February 2020	13 May 2020	7002101000000000000♠101 days		Varuna Sriraya

Attractions

Purvanchal is one of the largest provinces in terms of flora and fauna. It has huge hills surrounding the territories. Huge trees add to its beauty, in addition to small flowering plants and shrubs. The most common trees found in this province are of mango, guava, banana, banyan, coconut and much more. A wide variety of flowers are also found in the province, including Hibiscus, Garden roses, Dahlia, Shiuli, etc.

The state also houses the Rashtra Niwas which is the family residence of the Rashtradhyaksh and the Sriraya Family.