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Punjab, India

Punjab (/pʌnˈɑːb/ (listen);[8] Punjabi: [pənˈdʒɑːb]) is a state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the north and northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, and Rajasthan to the southwest; by the Indian union territories of Chandigarh to the east and Jammu and Kashmir to the north. It shares an international border with Punjab, a province of Pakistan to the west.[9] The state covers an area of 50,362 square kilometres (19,445 square miles), which is 1.53% of India's total geographical area,[10] making it the 19th-largest Indian state by area out of 28 Indian states (20th largest, if Union Territories are considered). With over 27 million inhabitants, Punjab is the 16th-largest Indian state by population, comprising 23 districts.[2] Punjabi, written in the Gurmukhi script, is the most widely spoken and the official language of the state.[11] The main ethnic groups are the Punjabis, with Sikhs and Hindus as the dominant religious groups.[12] The state capital is Chandigarh, a union territory and also the capital of the neighbouring state of Haryana. Three tributaries of the Indus, viz., Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi, flow through Punjab.[13]

Punjab
Etymology: Land of five rivers
Motto
Satyameva Jayate (Truth alone triumphs)
Location of Punjab in India
Coordinates: 30°47′N 75°50′E / 30.79°N 75.84°E / 30.79; 75.84Coordinates: 30°47′N 75°50′E / 30.79°N 75.84°E / 30.79; 75.84
Country India
RegionNorth India
Before wasPatiala and East Punjab States Union
Formation1 November 1966
CapitalChandigarh
Largest CityLudhiana
Districts23
Government
 • BodyGovernment of Punjab
 • GovernorBanwarilal Purohit
 • Chief MinisterBhagwant Mann (AAP)
State LegislatureUnicameral
 • AssemblyPunjab Legislative Assembly (117 seats)
National ParliamentParliament of India
 • Rajya Sabha7 seats
 • Lok Sabha13 seats
High CourtPunjab and Haryana High Court
Area
 • Total50,362 km2 (19,445 sq mi)
 • Rank20th
Elevation300 m (1,000 ft)
Highest elevation
(Naina Devi Range)
1,000 m (3,000 ft)
Lowest elevation
(South Western side)
105 m (344 ft)
Population
 (2011)[2]
 • Total 27,743,338
 • Rank16th
 • Density550/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
 • Urban
37.48%
 • Rural
62.52%
DemonymPunjabis
Language
 • OfficialPunjabi[3]
 • Official ScriptGurmukhi script
GDP
 • Total (2020–21)5.29 trillion (US$66 billion)
 • Rank16th
 • Per capita151,367 (US$1,900) (17th)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 codeIN-PB
Vehicle registrationPB
HDI (2019) 0.724 High[5] (9th)
Literacy (2011) 75.84% (21st)
Sex ratio (2021)938/1000 [6] (25th)
Websitepunjab.gov.in
Symbols of Punjab
BirdNorthern goshawk[7]
FlowerGladiolus
MammalBlackbuck, Indus river dolphin
TreeSheesham
State Highway Mark
State Highway of Punjab
PB SH1 - PB SH41
List of Indian state symbols

The history of Punjab has witnessed the migration and settlement of different tribes of people with different cultures and ideas, forming a melting pot of Punjabi civilisation. The Indus Valley civilization flourished in antiquity before recorded history until their decline around 1900 BCE.[14] Punjab was enriched during the height of the Vedic period, but declined in predominance with the rise of the Mahajanapadas.[15] The region formed the frontier of initial empires during antiquity including the Alexander's and Maurya empires.[16][17] It was subsequently conquered by the Kushan Empire, Gupta Empire,[18] and then Harsha's Empire.[19] Punjab continued to be settled by nomadic people; including the Huna, Turkic and the Mongols. c. 1000 CE, the Punjab came under the rule of Muslims[20] and was part of the Delhi Sultanate, Mughal Empire, and Durrani Empire.[21] Sikhism was founded in the 15th to 17th centuries by the Sikh Gurus in the Punjab and resulted in the formation of the Sikh Confederacy after the fall of the Mughal Empire and ensuing conflict with the Durrani Empire.[22] This confederacy was united into the Sikh Empire in 1801 by Maharaja Ranjit Singh.[23]

The greater Punjab region was annexed by the British East India Company from the Sikh Empire in 1849.[24] Following widespread religious violence in 1947, the Punjab Province of British India was divided along religious lines into West Punjab and East Punjab.[25] West Punjab became part of a Muslim-majority Pakistan, while East Punjab became part of a Hindu-majority India. After the Punjabi Suba movement, Indian Punjab was reorganised on the basis of language on 1 November 1966.[26] Haryanvi and Hindi-speaking southern and eastern areas were carved out as Haryana, while Pahari-speaking northern hilly regions were attached to Himachal Pradesh. The remaining, mostly Punjabi-speaking areas became the current state of Punjab. A separatist insurgency occurred in Punjab during the 1980s.[27] At present, the economy of Punjab is the 15th-largest state economy in India with 5.29 trillion (US$66 billion) in gross domestic product and a per capita GDP of 151,367 (US$1,900), ranking 17th amongst Indian states.[4] Since independence, Punjab is predominantly an agrarian society. It is the ninth-highest ranking among Indian states in human development index.[5] Punjab has bustling tourism, music, culinary, and film industries.[28]

Etymology

History

Ancient period

The Punjab region is noted as the site of one of the earliest urban societies, the Indus Valley Civilization that flourished from about 3000 B.C. and declined rapidly 1,000 years later, following the Indo-Aryan migrations that overran the region in waves between 1500 and 500 B.C.[29] Frequent intertribal wars stimulated the growth of larger groupings ruled by chieftains and kings, who ruled local kingdoms known as Mahajanapadas.[29] The rise of kingdoms and dynasties in the Punjab is chronicled in the ancient Hindu epics, particularly the Mahabharata.[29] The epic battles described in the Mahabharata are chronicled as being fought in what is now the state of Haryana and historic Punjab. The Gandharas, Kambojas, Trigartas, Andhra, Pauravas, Bahlikas (Bactrian settlers of the Punjab), Yaudheyas, and others sided with the Kauravas in the great battle fought at Kurukshetra.[30] According to Dr Fauja Singh and Dr. L. M. Joshi: "There is no doubt that the Kambojas, Daradas, Kaikayas, Andhra, Pauravas, Yaudheyas, Malavas, Saindhavas, and Kurus had jointly contributed to the heroic tradition and composite culture of ancient Punjab."[31] The bulk of the Rigveda was composed in the Punjab region between circa 1500 and 1200 BC,[32] while later Vedic scriptures were composed more eastwards, between the Yamuna and Ganges rivers. The historical Vedic religion constituted the religious ideas and practices in the Punjab during the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE), centred primarily in the worship of Indra.[33][34][35][i]

 
Rig Veda is the oldest Hindu text that originated in the Punjab region.

The earliest known notable local king of this region was known as King Porus, who fought the famous Battle of the Hydaspes against Alexander the Great. His kingdom spanned between rivers Hydaspes (Jhelum) and Acesines (Chenab); Strabo had held the territory to contain almost 300 cities.[36] He (alongside Abisares) had a hostile relationship with the Kingdom of Taxila which was ruled by his extended family.[36] When the armies of Alexander crossed Indus in its eastward migration, probably in Udabhandapura, he was greeted by the-then ruler of Taxila, Omphis.[36] Omphis had hoped to force both Porus and Abisares into submission leveraging the might of Alexander's forces and diplomatic missions were mounted, but while Abisares accepted the submission, Porus refused.[36] This led Alexander to seek a face-off with Porus.[36] Thus began the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC; the exact site remains unknown.[36] The battle is thought to have resulted in a decisive Greek victory; however, A. B. Bosworth warns against an uncritical reading of Greek sources who were obviously exaggerative.[36]

Alexander later founded two cities—Nicaea at the site of victory and Bucephalous at the battle-ground, in memory of his horse, who died soon after the battle.[36][a] Later, tetradrachms would be minted depicting Alexander on horseback, armed with a sarissa and attacking a pair of Indians on an elephant.[36][37] Porus refused to surrender and wandered about atop an elephant, until he was wounded and his force routed.[36] When asked by Alexander how he wished to be treated, Porus replied "Treat me as a king would treat another king".[38] Despite the apparently one-sided results, Alexander was impressed by Porus and chose to not depose him.[39][40][41] Not only was his territory reinstated but also expanded with Alexander's forces annexing the territories of Glausaes, who ruled the area northeast of Porus' kingdom.[39]

After Alexander's death in 323 BCE, Perdiccas became the regent of his empire, and after Perdiccas's murder in 321 BCE, Antipater became the new regent.[42] According to Diodorus, Antipater recognized Porus's authority over the territories along the Indus River. However, Eudemus, who had served as Alexander's satrap in the Punjab region, treacherously killed Porus.[43] The battle is historically significant because it resulted in the syncretism of ancient Greek political and cultural influences to the Indian subcontinent, yielding works such as Greco-Buddhist art, which continued to have an impact for the ensuing centuries. The region was then divided between the Maurya Empire and the Greco-Bactrian kingdom in 302 B.C.E. Menander I Soter conquered Punjab and made Sagala (present-day Sialkot) the capital of the Indo-Greek Kingdom.[44][45] Menander is noted for having become a patron and convert to Greco-Buddhism and he is widely regarded as the greatest of the Indo-Greek kings.[46] Greek influence in the region ended around 12 B.C.E. when the Punjab fell under the Sassanids.

Medieval period

Following the muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent at the beginning of the 8th century, Arab armies of the Umayyad Caliphate penetrated into South Asia introducing Islam into Punjab.[47][48] In mid of the 8th century Shankarvarman a Chamar[49] king of the Utpala dynasty, which ruled over the Pakistan, Afghanistan and other territories of India invaded in punjab and rule over it.[50]In the ninth century, the Hindu Shahi dynasty emerged in the Punjab, ruling much of Punjab and eastern Afghanistan.[29]The Turkic Ghaznavids in the tenth century overthrew the Hindu Shahis and consequently ruled for 157 years, gradually declining as a power until the Ghurid conquest of Lahore by Muhammad of Ghor in 1186, deposing the last Ghaznavid ruler Khusrau Malik.[51] Following the death of Muhammad of Ghor in 1206, the Ghurid state fragmented and was replaced in northern India by the Delhi Sultanate. The Delhi Sultanate ruled the Punjab for the next three hundred years, led by five unrelated dynasties, the Mamluks, Khalajis, Tughlaqs, Sayyids and Lodis. A significant event in the late 15th century Punjab was the formation of Sikhism by Guru Nanak.[ii][52][53] The history of the Sikh faith is closely associated with the history of Punjab and the socio-political situation in the north-west of the Indian subcontinent in the 17th century.[54][55][56][57]

 
Maharaja Ranjit Singh listening to Guru Granth Sahib being recited near the Akal Takht and Golden Temple, Amritsar. Painting by August Schoefft (1850)

The hymns composed by Guru Nanak were later collected in the Guru Granth Sahib, the central religious scripture of the Sikhs.[58] The religion developed and evolved in times of religious persecution, gaining converts from both Hinduism and Islam.[59] Mughal rulers of India tortured and executed two of the Sikh gurus—Guru Arjan (1563–1605) and Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621–1675)—after they refused to convert to Islam.[60][61][62][63][64] The persecution of Sikhs triggered the founding of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 as an order to protect the freedom of conscience and religion,[60][65] with members expressing the qualities of a Sant-Sipāhī ('saint-soldier').[66][67] The lifetime of Guru Nanak coincided with the conquest of northern India by Babur and establishment of the Mughal Empire. Jahangir ordered the execution of Guru Arjun Dev, whilst in Mughal custody, for supporting his son Khusrau Mirza's rival claim to the throne.[68] Guru Arjan Dev's death led to the sixth Guru Guru Hargobind to declare sovereignty in the creation of the Akal Takht and the establishment of a fort to defend Amritsar. Jahangir then jailed Guru Hargobind at Gwalior, but released him after a number of years when he no longer felt threatened. The succeeding son of Jahangir, Shah Jahan, took offence at Guru Hargobind's declaration and after a series of assaults on Amritsar, forced the Sikhs to retreat to the Sivalik Hills.[69] The ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, moved the Sikh community to Anandpur and travelled extensively to visit and preach in defiance of Aurangzeb, who attempted to install Ram Rai as new guru.

Modern period

The Mughals came to power in the early sixteenth century and gradually expanded to control all of the Punjab from their capital at Lahore. As Mughal power weakened, Afghan rulers took control of the region.[29] Contested by Marathas and Afghans, the region was the center of the growing influence of the Sikhs, who expanded and established the Sikh empire in 1799 as the Mughals and Afghans weakened.[70] The Cis-Sutlej states were a group of states in modern Punjab and Haryana states lying between the Sutlej River on the north, the Himalayas on the east, the Yamuna River and Delhi District on the south, and Sirsa District on the west. These states were ruled by the Sikh Misls.[71] The empire existed from 1799, when Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered in the Second Anglo-Sikh War. It was forged on the foundations of the Khalsa from a collection of autonomous Sikh misls.[72][73] At its peak in the 19th century, the Empire extended from the Khyber Pass in the west to western Tibet in the east, and from Mithankot in the south to Kashmir in the north. It was divided into four provinces: Lahore, in Punjab, which became the Sikh capital; Multan, also in Punjab; Peshawar; and Kashmir from 1799 to 1849. Religiously diverse, with an estimated population of 3.5 million in 1831 (making it the 19th most populous country at the time),[74] it was the last major region of the Indian subcontinent to be annexed by the British Empire. The Sikh Empire spanned a total of over 200,000 sq mi (520,000 km2) at its zenith.[75][76][77]

After Ranjit Singh's death in 1839, the empire was severely weakened by internal divisions and political mismanagement. This opportunity was used by the East India Company to launch the First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars. The country was finally annexed and dissolved at the end of the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849 into separate princely states and the province of Punjab. Eventually, a Lieutenant Governorship was established in Lahore as a direct representative of the Crown.[78]: 221 

Colonial era

 

The Punjab was annexed by the East India Company in 1849. Although nominally part of the Bengal Presidency it was administratively independent. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, apart from Revolt led by Ahmed Khan Kharal and Murree rebellion of 1857, the Punjab remained relatively peaceful.[79] In 1858, under the terms of the Queen's Proclamation issued by Queen Victoria, the Punjab came under the direct rule of Britain. Colonial rule had a profound impact on all areas of Punjabi life. Economically it transformed the Punjab into the richest farming area of India, socially it sustained the power of large landowners and politically it encouraged cross-communal co-operation amongst land owning groups.[80] The Punjab also became the major centre of recruitment into the Indian Army. By patronising influential local allies and focusing administrative, economic and constitutional policies on the rural population, the British ensured the loyalty of its large rural population.[80] Administratively, colonial rule instated a system of bureaucracy and measure of the law. The 'paternal' system of the ruling elite was replaced by 'machine rule' with a system of laws, codes, and procedures. For purposes of control, the British established new forms of communication and transportation, including post systems, railways, roads, and telegraphs. The creation of Canal Colonies in western Punjab between 1860 and 1947 brought 14 million acres of land under cultivation, and revolutionised agricultural practices in the region.[80] To the agrarian and commercial class was added a professional middle class that had risen the social ladder through the use of the English education, which opened up new professions in law, government, and medicine.[81] Despite these developments, colonial rule was marked by exploitation of resources. For the purpose of exports, the majority of external trade was controlled by British export banks. The Imperial government exercised control over the finances of Punjab and took the majority of the income for itself.[82]

In 1919 a British officer ordered his troops to fire on a crowd of demonstrators, mostly Sikhs in Amritsar. The Jallianwala massacre fueled the indian independence movement.[29] Nationalists declared the independence of India from Lahore in 1930 but were quickly suppressed.[29] The struggle for Indian independence witnessed competing and conflicting interests in the Punjab. When the Second World War broke out, nationalism in British India had already divided into religious movements.[29] The landed elites of the Muslim, Hindu and Sikh communities had loyally collaborated with the British since annexation, supported the Unionist Party and were hostile to the Congress party led independence movement.[83] Amongst the peasantry and urban middle classes, the Hindus were the most active National Congress supporters, the Sikhs flocked to the Akali movement whilst the Muslims eventually supported the Muslim League.[83] Many Sikhs and other minorities supported the Hindus, who promised a secular multicultural and multireligious society. In March 1940, the All-India Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution, demanding the creation of a separate state from Muslim majority areas in British India. This triggered bitter protests by the Hindus and Sikhs in Punjab, who could not accept living in a Muslim Islamic state.[84]

After the partition of the sub-continent had been decided, special meetings of the Western and Eastern Section of the Legislative Assembly were held on 23 June 1947 to decide whether or not the Province of the Punjab be partitioned. After voting on both sides, partition was decided and the existing Punjab Legislative Assembly was also divided into West Punjab Legislative Assembly and the East Punjab Legislative Assembly. This last Assembly before independence, held its last sitting on 4 July 1947.[85] During this period, the British granted separate independence to India and Pakistan, setting off massive communal violence as Punjabi Muslims fled to Pakistan and Hindu and Sikh Punjabis fled east to India.[29] The Sikhs later demanded a Punjabi-speaking Punjab state with an autonomous Sikh government.[29]

Post-colonial era

During the colonial era, the various districts and princely states that made up Punjab Province were religiously eclectic, each containing significant populations of Punjabi Muslims, Punjabi Hindus, Punjabi Sikhs, Punjabi Christians, along with other ethnic and religious minorities. However, a major consequence of independence and the partition of Punjab Province in 1947 was the sudden shift towards religious homogeneity occurred in all districts across province and region owing to the new international border that cut through the subdivision.

The demographic shift was captured when comparing decadal census data taken in 1941 and 1951 respectively, and was primarily due to wide scale migration but also caused by large-scale religious cleansing riots which were witnessed across the region at the time. According to historical demographer Tim Dyson, in the eastern regions of Punjab that ultimately became Indian Punjab following independence, districts that were 66% Hindu in 1941 became 80% Hindu in 1951; those that were 20% Sikh became 50% Sikh in 1951. Conversely, in the western regions of Punjab that ultimately became Pakistani Punjab, all districts became almost exclusively Muslim by 1951.[86]

 
Wagah Border is situated between Amritsar and Lahore, became the main border crossing after partition of Punjab and is known for its elaborate ceremony

Following independence, several small Punjabi princely states, including Patiala, acceded to the Union of India and were united into the PEPSU. In 1956 this was integrated with the state of East Punjab to create a new, enlarged Indian state called simply "Punjab". Punjab Day is celebrated across the state on 1 November every year marking the formation of a Punjabi language speaking state under the Punjab Reorganisation Act (1966).[87][88]

In 1966, following Hindu and Sikh Punjabi demands, the Indian government divided Punjab into the state of Punjab and the Hindi majority-speaking states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.[29]

From 1981 to 1995 the state suffered a 14-year-long insurgency. Problems began due to disputes between Punjabi Sikhs and the central government of the Republic of India. Tensions escalated throughout the early 1980s and eventually culminated with Operation Blue Star in 1984; an Indian Army operation aimed at the dissident Sikh community of Punjab. Shortly thereafter, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards. The decade that followed was noted for widespread inter-communal violence and accusations of genocide on the part of the Sikh community by the Indian government.[89]

Geography

Punjab is in northwestern India and has a total area of 50,362 square kilometres (19,445 sq mi). Punjab is bordered by Pakistan's Punjab province on the west, Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Himachal Pradesh on the northeast and Haryana and Rajasthan on the south.[9] Most of Punjab lies in a fertile, alluvial plain with perennial rivers and an extensive irrigation canal system.[90] A belt of undulating hills extends along the northeastern part of the state at the foot of the Himalayas. Its average elevation is 300 metres (980 ft) above sea level, with a range from 180 metres (590 ft) in the southwest to more than 500 metres (1,600 ft) around the northeast border. The southwest of the state is semi-arid, eventually merging into the Thar Desert. Of the five Punjab rivers, three—Sutlej, Beas and Ravi—flow through the Indian state. The Sutlej and Ravi define parts of the international border with Pakistan.

The soil characteristics are influenced to a limited extent by the topography, vegetation and parent rock. The variation in soil profile characteristics are much more pronounced because of the regional climatic differences.[91] Punjab is divided into three distinct regions on the basis of soil types: southwestern, central, and eastern. Punjab falls under seismic zones II, III, and IV. Zone II is considered a low-damage risk zone; zone III is considered a moderate-damage risk zone; and zone IV is considered a high-damage risk zone.[92]

Climate

 
Agricultural fields of Punjab during the monsoon

The geography and subtropical latitudinal location of Punjab lead to large variations in temperature from month to month. Even though only limited regions experience temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F), ground frost is commonly found in the majority of Punjab during the winter season. The temperature rises gradually with high humidity and overcast skies. However, the rise in temperature is steep when the sky is clear and humidity is low.[93]

The maximum temperatures usually occur in mid-May and June. The temperature remains above 40 °C (104 °F) in the entire region during this period. Ludhiana recorded the highest maximum temperature at 46.1 °C (115.0 °F) with Patiala and Amritsar recording 45.5 °C (113.9 °F). The maximum temperature during the summer in Ludhiana remains above 41 °C (106 °F) for a duration of one and a half months. These areas experience the lowest temperatures in January. The sun rays are oblique during these months and the cold winds control the temperature at daytime.[93]

Punjab experiences its minimum temperature from December to February. The lowest temperature was recorded at Amritsar (0.2 °C (32.4 °F)) and Ludhiana stood second with 0.5 °C (32.9 °F). The minimum temperature of the region remains below 5 °C (41 °F) for almost two months during the winter season. The highest minimum temperature of these regions in June is more than the daytime maximum temperatures experienced in January and February. Ludhiana experiences minimum temperatures above 27 °C (81 °F) for more than two months. The annual average temperature in the entire state is approximately 21 °C (70 °F). Further, the mean monthly temperature range varies between 9 °C (48 °F) in July to approximately 18 °C (64 °F) in November.[93]

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 26.8
(80.2)
32.2
(90.0)
36.2
(97.2)
44.1
(111.4)
48.0
(118.4)
47.8
(118.0)
45.6
(114.1)
40.7
(105.3)
40.6
(105.1)
38.3
(100.9)
34.2
(93.6)
28.5
(83.3)
48.0
(118.4)
Mean maximum °C (°F) 22.7
(72.9)
26.1
(79.0)
32.4
(90.3)
40.6
(105.1)
44.5
(112.1)
44.6
(112.3)
39.8
(103.6)
37.0
(98.6)
36.4
(97.5)
35.3
(95.5)
30.4
(86.7)
25.2
(77.4)
45.6
(114.1)
Average high °C (°F) 17.7
(63.9)
21.7
(71.1)
27.0
(80.6)
34.4
(93.9)
39.4
(102.9)
38.9
(102.0)
35.0
(95.0)
34.1
(93.4)
33.9
(93.0)
32.0
(89.6)
27.0
(80.6)
20.9
(69.6)
30.1
(86.2)
Daily mean °C (°F) 11.0
(51.8)
14.4
(57.9)
19.0
(66.2)
25.4
(77.7)
30.7
(87.3)
31.8
(89.2)
30.3
(86.5)
29.7
(85.5)
28.2
(82.8)
24.1
(75.4)
18.1
(64.6)
12.6
(54.7)
22.9
(73.2)
Average low °C (°F) 3.8
(38.8)
6.7
(44.1)
11.2
(52.2)
16.6
(61.9)
21.9
(71.4)
24.7
(76.5)
25.7
(78.3)
25.3
(77.5)
22.7
(72.9)
16.4
(61.5)
9.4
(48.9)
4.6
(40.3)
15.7
(60.3)
Mean minimum °C (°F) −0.3
(31.5)
2.2
(36.0)
6.1
(43.0)
10.9
(51.6)
16.6
(61.9)
19.7
(67.5)
21.8
(71.2)
21.7
(71.1)
18.5
(65.3)
11.8
(53.2)
5.2
(41.4)
0.5
(32.9)
−0.7
(30.7)
Record low °C (°F) −2.9
(26.8)
−2.6
(27.3)
2.0
(35.6)
6.4
(43.5)
9.6
(49.3)
15.6
(60.1)
18.2
(64.8)
18.8
(65.8)
13.0
(55.4)
7.3
(45.1)
−0.6
(30.9)
−3.6
(25.5)
−3.6
(25.5)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 27.1
(1.07)
39.8
(1.57)
32.6
(1.28)
21.9
(0.86)
20.8
(0.82)
80.9
(3.19)
181.6
(7.15)
168.9
(6.65)
90.7
(3.57)
12.3
(0.48)
5.8
(0.23)
6.8
(0.27)
689.2
(27.13)
Average rainy days 2.1 3.1 2.4 1.9 2.0 4.8 8.1 7.0 3.7 1.0 0.6 0.8 37.4
Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST) 68 58 50 32 26 40 65 70 64 52 53 63 53
Average dew point °C (°F) 7.0
(44.6)
10.0
(50.0)
13.3
(55.9)
14.0
(57.2)
15.0
(59.0)
19.5
(67.1)
25.0
(77.0)
25.6
(78.1)
23.5
(74.3)
18.3
(64.9)
12.0
(53.6)
8.0
(46.4)
15.9
(60.7)
Mean monthly sunshine hours 181.7 192.7 219.4 265.0 294.7 269.0 215.5 227.7 240.8 253.2 220.1 182.2 2,762
Average ultraviolet index 2 4 6 7 8 9 7 6 5 5 4 2 5
Source 1: India Meteorological Department[94][95][96]Time and Date (dewpoints, 2005-2015)[97]
Source 2: NOAA (sun 1971–1990)[98] Tokyo Climate Center (mean temperatures 1991–2020);[99] Weather Atlas[100]
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 29.0
(84.2)
30.4
(86.7)
41.1
(106.0)
46.1
(115.0)
48.3
(118.9)
47.9
(118.2)
47.8
(118.0)
44.4
(111.9)
41.7
(107.1)
40.0
(104.0)
35.8
(96.4)
29.4
(84.9)
48.3
(118.9)
Mean maximum °C (°F) 23.8
(74.8)
26.9
(80.4)
32.6
(90.7)
40.7
(105.3)
43.8
(110.8)
43.5
(110.3)
37.9
(100.2)
35.8
(96.4)
35.6
(96.1)
34.7
(94.5)
30.7
(87.3)
25.1
(77.2)
44.8
(112.6)
Average high °C (°F) 18.6
(65.5)
22.2
(72.0)
27.3
(81.1)
35.0
(95.0)
38.9
(102.0)
37.9
(100.2)
34.0
(93.2)
33.1
(91.6)
33.0
(91.4)
31.9
(89.4)
27.3
(81.1)
21.6
(70.9)
30.1
(86.2)
Average low °C (°F) 5.6
(42.1)
8.2
(46.8)
12.3
(54.1)
17.7
(63.9)
22.9
(73.2)
25.3
(77.5)
25.8
(78.4)
25.1
(77.2)
22.8
(73.0)
16.5
(61.7)
10.7
(51.3)
6.5
(43.7)
16.6
(61.9)
Mean minimum °C (°F) 1.2
(34.2)
3.4
(38.1)
7.3
(45.1)
12.0
(53.6)
17.6
(63.7)
20.5
(68.9)
22.0
(71.6)
21.7
(71.1)
18.8
(65.8)
12.6
(54.7)
6.0
(42.8)
2.5
(36.5)
0.8
(33.4)
Record low °C (°F) −2.2
(28.0)
−1.1
(30.0)
1.4
(34.5)
7.1
(44.8)
11.7
(53.1)
18.0
(64.4)
17.4
(63.3)
18.0
(64.4)
15.2
(59.4)
9.4
(48.9)
0.3
(32.5)
−1.1
(30.0)
−2.2
(28.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 28.3
(1.11)
37.0
(1.46)
29.9
(1.18)
17.3
(0.68)
22.3
(0.88)
69.2
(2.72)
215.0
(8.46)
205.2
(8.08)
146.0
(5.75)
19.8
(0.78)
4.3
(0.17)
15.1
(0.59)
809.3
(31.86)
Average rainy days 2.2 2.7 2.4 1.7 2.0 4.3 8.4 8.6 5.0 1.0 0.6 1.0 39.9
Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST) 63 54 46 25 23 41 67 73 65 49 49 63 51
Average dew point °C (°F) 8
(46)
12
(54)
15
(59)
16
(61)
19
(66)
23
(73)
26
(79)
26
(79)
24
(75)
19
(66)
13
(55)
10
(50)
18
(64)
Average ultraviolet index 4 5 7 8 9 9 8 7 7 6 5 4 7
Source 1: India Meteorological Department[101][102]Time and Date (dewpoints, 2005-2015)[103]
Source 2: Weather Atlas[104]


Seasons

Punjab experiences three main seasons. They are:

  • Summer (mid-April to the end of June)
  • Monsoon (early July to the end of September)
  • Winter (early December to the end of February).[93]

Apart from these three, the state experiences transitional seasons like:

  • Pre-summer season (March to mid-April): This is the period of transition between winter and summer.
  • Post-monsoon season (September to end of November): This is the period of transition between monsoon and winter seasons.[93]
Summer

Punjab starts experiencing mildly hot temperatures in February. The actual summer season commences in mid-April and the heat continues till the end of August. High temperatures between May and August hover between 40 and 47 °C. The area experiences atmospheric pressure variations during the summer months. The atmospheric pressure of the region remains around 987 millibar during February and it reaches 970 millibar in June.[93]

Monsoon

Punjab's rainy season begins in the first week of July as monsoon currents generated in the Bay of Bengal bring rain to the region. The monsoon lasts up to mid-September.[93]

Winter

Temperature variation is minimal in January. The mean night and day temperatures fall to 5 °C (41 °F) and 12 °C (54 °F), respectively.[93]

Post-Monsoon transitional season

The monsoon begins to reduce by the second week of September. This brings a gradual change in climate and temperature. The time between October and November is the transitional period between monsoon and winter seasons. Weather during this period is generally temperate and dry.[93]

Post-Winter transitional season

The effects of winter diminish by the first week of March. The hot summer season commences in mid-April. This period is marked by occasional showers with hail storms and squalls that cause extensive damage to crops. The winds remain dry and warm during the last week of March, commencing the harvest period.[93]

Rainfall

  • Monsoon Rainfall

Monsoon season provides most of the rainfall for the region. Punjab receives rainfall from the monsoon current of the Bay of Bengal. This monsoon current enters the state from the southeast in the first week of July.[93]

  • Winter Rainfall

The winter season remains very cool with temperatures falling below freezing at some places. Winter also brings in some western disturbances.[93] Rainfall in the winter provides relief to the farmers as some of the winter crops in the region of Shivalik Hills are entirely dependent on this rainfall. As per meteorological statistics, the sub-Shivalik area receives more than 100 millimetres (3.9 in) of rainfall in the winter months.[93]

Flora and fauna

 
Agriculture in Punjab

The fauna of the area is rich, with 396 types of birds, 214 kinds of Lepidoptera, 55 varieties of fish, 20 types of reptiles, and 19 kinds of mammals. The state of Punjab has large wetland areas, bird sanctuaries that house numerous species of birds, and many zoological parks. Wetlands include the national wetland Hari-Ke-Pattan, the wetland of Kanjli, and the wetlands of Kapurthala Sutlej. Wildlife sanctuaries include the Harike in the district of Tarn Taran Sahib, the Zoological Park in Rupnagar, Chhatbir Bansar Garden in Sangrur, Aam Khas Bagh in Sirhind, Amritsar's famous Ram Bagh Palace, Shalimar Garden in Kapurthala, and the famous Baradari Garden in the city of Patiala.[105]

Animals

A few of the rivers in Punjab have crocodiles. The extraction of silk from silkworms is another industry that flourishes in the state. Production of bee honey is done in some parts of Punjab. The southern plains are desert land; hence, camels can be seen. Buffaloes graze around the banks of rivers. The northeastern part is home to animals like horses. Wildlife sanctuaries have many more species of wild animals like the otter, wild boar, wildcat, fruit bat, hog deer, flying fox, squirrel, and mongoose. Naturally formed forests can be seen in the Shivalik ranges in the districts of Ropar, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur. Patiala is home to the Bir forest while the wetlands area in Punjab is home to the Mand forest.[106] The local subspecies of blackbuck, A. c. rajputanae, is facing the risk of extirpation from the state.[107][108][109]

Botanical gardens exist throughout Punjab. There is a zoological park and a tiger safari park, as well as three parks dedicated to deer.[106]

The state bird is the northern goshawk (baz) (Accipiter gentilis),[110] the state animal is the blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), the state aquatic animal is Indus river dolphin (Platanista minor), and the state tree is the shisham (Dalbergia sissoo).[90]

Government and politics

Punjab is governed through a parliamentary system of representative democracy. Each of the states of India possesses a parliamentary system of government, with a ceremonial state Governor, appointed by the President of India on the advice of the central government. The head of government is an indirectly elected Chief Minister who is vested with most of the executive powers. The term length of the government is five years. The state legislature, the Vidhan Sabha, is the unicameral Punjab Legislative Assembly, with 117 members elected from single-seat constituencies.[111] The current government was elected in the 2022 Assembly elections as Aam Aadmi Party won 92 out of 117 Assembly seats and Bhagwant Mann is the current Chief Minister. The state of Punjab is divided into five administrative divisions and twenty-three districts.

The capital of Punjab is Chandigarh, which also serves as the capital of Haryana and is thus administered separately as a Union Territory of India. The judicial branch of the state government is provided by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh.[112]

The three major political parties in the state are the Aam Aadmi Party, a centrist to left wing party, the Shiromani Akali Dal, a Sikh right-wing Punjabiyat party and the Indian National Congress, a centrist catch all party.[113] President's rule has been imposed in Punjab eight times so far, since 1950, for different reasons. In terms of the absolute number of days, Punjab was under the President's rule for 3,510 days, which is approximately 10 years. Much of this was in the 80s during the height of militancy in Punjab. Punjab was under the President's rule for five continuous years from 1987 to 1992.

Punjab state law and order is maintained by Punjab Police. Punjab police is headed by its DGP, Dinkar Gupta,[114] and has 70,000 employees. It manages state affairs through 22 district heads known as SSP.

Administrative set-up

 
Districts of Punjab along with their headquarters
 
Administrative divisions of Punjab

Punjab has 23 districts, which are geographically classified into Majha, Malwa, Doaba and Puadh regions, as under: –

These districts are officially divided among 5 administrative divisions: Faridkot, Ferozepur, Jalandhar, Patiala and Ropar(created on 31 December 2010, which was a part of Patiala Division earlier).[115]

Administrative Divisions and Corresponding Districts of Punjab
S. No. Name of the Division No. of districts Name of the Districts
1 Faridkot 3 Bathinda, Faridkot, Mansa
2 Ferozepur 4 Fazilka, Ferozepur, Moga, Sri Muktsar Sahib
3 Jalandhar 7 Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Pathankot, Tarn Taran
4 Patiala 6 Barnala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana, Malerkotla, Patiala, Sangrur
5 Ropar 3 Rupnagar, SAS Nagar, SBS Nagar

Each district is under the administrative control of a District Collector. The districts are subdivided into 93 tehsils, which have fiscal and administrative powers over settlements within their borders, including maintenance of local land records comes under the administrative control of a Tehsildar. Each Tehsil consists of blocks which are total 150 in number. These blocks consist of revenue villages. There are total number of revenue villages in the state is 12,278. There are 23 Zila Parishads, 136 Municipal Committees and 22 Improvement Trusts looking after 143 towns and 14 cities of Punjab.

The capital city of the state is Chandigarh and largest city of the state is Ludhiana. Out of total population of Punjab, 37.48% people live in urban regions. The absolute urban population living in urban areas is 10,399,146 of which 5,545,989 are males and while remaining 4,853,157 are females. The urban population in the last 10 years has increased by 37.48%. The major cities are Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Mohali, Patiala and Bathinda.

Economy

 
Hall Gate of Amritsar

Punjab's GDP is 5.42 trillion (US$68 billion).[4] Punjab is one of the most fertile regions in India. The region is ideal for wheat-growing. Rice, sugar cane, fruits and vegetables are also grown. Indian Punjab is called the "Granary of India" or "India's bread-basket".[116] It produces 10.26% of India's cotton, 19.5% of India's wheat, and 11% of India's rice. The Firozpur and Fazilka Districts are the largest producers of wheat and rice in the state. In worldwide terms, Indian Punjab produces 2% of the world's cotton, 2% of its wheat and 1% of its rice.[116]

Punjab ranked first in GDP per capita amongst Indian states in 1981 and fourth in 2001, but has experienced slower growth than the rest of India, having the second-slowest GDP per capita growth rate of all Indian states and UTs between 2000 and 2010, behind only Manipur.[117][118][119][120][121][122][123]

Agriculture

Punjab's economy has been primarily agriculture-based since the Green Revolution due to the presence of abundant water sources and fertile soils;[124] most of the state lies in a fertile alluvial plain with many rivers and an extensive irrigation canal system.[90] The largest cultivated crop is wheat. Other important crops are rice, cotton, sugarcane, pearl millet, maize, barley and fruit. Rice and wheat are doublecropped in Punjab with rice stalks being burned off over millions of acres prior to the planting of wheat. This widespread practice is polluting and wasteful.[125] Despite covering only 1.53%[10] of its geographical area, Punjab makes up for about 15–20%[126][127][128][129] of India's wheat production, around 12%[130][131][132][133] of its rice production, and around 5%[126][134][135][136] of its milk production, being known as India's breadbasket.[137][138] About 80%[139]-95%[140] of Punjab's agricultural land is owned by its Jat Sikh community despite it only forming 21%[141] of the state's population. About 10% of Punjab's population is made up of migrants from poorer states to the southeast such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who work as farm labourers.[142]

Other major industries include financial services, the manufacturing of scientific instruments, agricultural goods, electrical goods, machine tools, textiles, sewing machines, sports goods, starch, fertilisers, bicycles, garments, and the processing of pine oil and sugar.[138] Minerals and energy resources also contribute to Punjab's economy to a much lesser extent. Punjab has the largest number of steel rolling mill plants in India, which are in "Steel Town"—Mandi Gobindgarh in the Fatehgarh Sahib district. Punjab also has a large diaspora that is mostly settled in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, numbers about 3 million, and sends back billions of USD in remittances to the state, playing a major role in its economy.[143]

In Punjab the consumption of fertiliser per hectare is 223.46 kg as compared to 90 kg nationally. The state has been awarded the National Productivity Award for agriculture extension services for ten years, from 1991 to 1992 to 1998–99 and from 2001 to 2003–04. In recent years a drop in productivity has been observed, mainly due to falling fertility of the soil. This is believed to be due to excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides over the years. Another worry is the rapidly falling water table on which almost 90% of the agriculture depends; alarming drops have been witnessed in recent years. By some estimates, groundwater is falling by a meter or more per year.[144][145]

According to the India State Hunger Index, Punjab has the lowest level of hunger in India.[146]

Transport

Air

Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar, is the Primary Hub Airport and Gateway to Punjab, as the airport serves direct connectivity to key cities around the world, including London, Singapore, Moscow, Dubai, Birmingham among others.

Punjab has six civil airports including two international airports: Amritsar International Airport and Chandigarh International Airport at Mohali; and four domestic airports: Bathinda Airport, Pathankot Airport, Adampur Airport (Jalandhar) and Sahnewal Airport (Ludhiana). Apart from these 6 airports, there are 2 airfields at Beas (Amritsar) and Patiala which do not serve any commercial flight operations, as of now.

Railways

 
View of Ludhiana Railway Station

The Indian Railways' Northern Railway line runs through the state connecting most of the major towns and cities. The Shatabdi Express, India's fastest series of train connects Amritsar to New Delhi covering total distance of 449 km. Amritsar Junction Railway Station is the busiest junction of the state. Bathinda Junction holds the record of maximum railway lines from a railway junction in Asia. Punjab's major railway stations are Amritsar Junction (ASR), Ludhiana Junction (LDH), Jalandhar Cantonment (JRC), Firozpur Cantonment (FZR), Jalandhar City Junction (JUC), Pathankot Junction (PTK) and Patiala railway station (PTA). The railway stations of Amritsar is included in the Indian Railways list of 50 world-class railway stations.[147]

Hyperloop

Punjab Government have signed a MoU ( Memorendum of Understanding) with Virgin Hyperloop One to explore the feasibility of running a Hyperloop between Amritsar and Chandigarh which could decrease the travel time between 2 cities from five hours by road to less than 30 minutes. It will have stops in Ludhiana and Jalandhar.[148]

Roads

 
Amritsar Inter State Bus Stand

All the cities and towns of Punjab are connected by four-lane national highways. The Grand Trunk Road, also known as "NH1", connects Kolkata to Peshawar, passing through Amritsar and Jalandhar. National highways passing through the state are ranked the best in the country[by whom?] with widespread road networks that serve isolated towns as well as the border region. Amritsar and Ludhiana are among several Indian cities that have the highest accident rates in India.[149]

The following expressways will pass through Punjab:

The following national highways connect major towns, cities and villages:

Urban Rapid Transit System

There are also a bus rapid transit system Amritsar BRTS in the holy city of Amritsar, popularly known as 'Amritsar MetroBus'[150]

Demographics

Population Growth
YearPop.±%
19017,544,790—    
19116,731,510−10.8%
19217,152,811+6.3%
19318,012,325+12.0%
19419,600,236+19.8%
19519,160,500−4.6%
196111,135,069+21.6%
197113,551,060+21.7%
198116,788,915+23.9%
199120,281,969+20.8%
200124,358,999+20.1%
201127,743,338+13.9%
source:Census of India[151]

Punjab is home to 2.3% of India's population; with a density of 551 persons per km2. According to the provisional results of the 2011 national census, Punjab has a population of 27,743,338, making it the 16th most populated state in India. Of which male and female are 14,639,465 and 13,103,873 respectively.[152] 32% of Punjab's population consists of Dalits.[153] In the state, the rate of population growth is 13.9% (2011), lower than national average. Out of total population, 37.5% people live in urban regions. The total figure of population living in urban areas is 10,399,146 of which 5,545,989 are males and while remaining 4,853,157 are females. The urban population in the last 10 years has increased by 37.5%.

Languages of Punjab, India
(First Language) (2011)[154]

  Punjabi (89.8%)
  Hindi (7.9%)
  Others (2.3%)

Punjabi is the sole official language of Punjab[3] and as of the 2011 census, is spoken as a first language by 24.9 million people, or roughly 90% of the state's population. Hindi is natively spoken by 2.18 million, or 7.9% of the population, Bagri has 234,000 speakers (or 0.8%), while the remaining 413,000 (or 1.5%) spoke other languages.[155]

The 2011 Census of India found Scheduled Castes to account for 31.9% of the state's population.[156] The Other Backward Classes have 31.3% population in Punjab.[157] The exact population of Forward castes is not known as their data from Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 is not made public as of 2019.[158]

There has been a constant decline in the sex ratio of the state. The sex ratio in Punjab was 895 females per 1000 males, which was below the national average of 940. The literacy rate rose to 75.8% as per 2011 population census. Of that, male literacy stands at 80.4% while female literacy is at 70.7%. In actual numbers, total literates in Punjab stands at 18,707,137 of which males were 10,436,056 and females were 8,271,081.

Religion

Religion in Punjab, India (2011)[12]

  Sikhism (57.7%)
  Hinduism (38.5%)
  Islam (1.9%)
  Christianity (1.3%)
  Others (0.6%)

Punjab has the largest population of Sikhs in India and is the only state where Sikhs form a majority, numbering around 16 million forming 57.7% of the state population.[12] Hinduism is the second largest religion in the Indian state of Punjab numbering around 10.68 million and forming 38.5% of the state's population and a majority in Doaba region. Islam is followed by 535,489 accounting 1.9% of the population and are mainly concentrated in Malerkotla and Qadian. Other smaller segments of religions existing in Punjab are Christianity practised by 1.3%, Jainism practised by 0.2%, Buddhism practised by 0.1% and others 0.3%. Sikhs form a majority in 17 districts out of the total 23 districts while Hindus form the majority in 5 districts namely, Pathankot, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Fazilka and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar districts.[159]

The Sikh shrine, Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib), is in the city of Amritsar, which houses the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the topmost Sikh religious body. The Sri Akal Takht Sahib, which is within the Golden Temple complex, is the highest temporal seat of Sikhs. Of the five Takhts (Temporal Seats of religious authority) of Sikhism, three are in Punjab. These are Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Damdama Sahib and Anandpur Sahib. At least one Sikh Gurdwara can be found in almost every village in the state, as well as in the towns and cities (in various architectural styles and sizes).

Hindu Mandirs can be found all over Punjab with the Shri Durgiana Mandir in Amritsar, and the Shri Devi Talab Mandir in Jalandhar visited by many pilgrims every year. Due to the open nature of their religion, a segment of Punjabis who are Punjabi Hindus continue heterogeneous religious practices in spiritual kinship with Sikhism. This not only includes veneration of the Sikh Gurus in private practice but also visit to Sikh Gurdwaras in addition to Hindu Mandirs.[160]

Education

Primary and Secondary education is mainly affiliated to Punjab School Education Board. Punjab is served by several institutions of higher education, including 23 universities that provide undergraduate and postgraduate courses in all the major arts, humanities, science, engineering, law, medicine, veterinary science, and business. Reading and writing Punjabi language is compulsory till matriculation for every student[161] failing which the schools attract fine or cancellation of licence.[162]

Punjab Agricultural University is a leading institution globally for the study of agriculture and played a significant role in Punjab's Green Revolution in the 1960s–70s. Alumni of the Panjab University, Chandigarh include Manmohan Singh, the former Prime Minister of India, and Dr. Har Gobind Khorana, a biochemistry nobel laureate. One of the oldest institutions of medical education is the Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, which has existed since 1894.[163] There is an existing gap in education between men and women, particularly in rural areas of Punjab. Of a total of 1 million 300 thousand students enrolled in grades five to eight, only 44% are women.[164]

Punjab has 23 universities, of which ten are private, 9 are state, one is central and three are deemed universities. Punjab has 104,000 (104,000) engineering seats.[165]

Punjab is also increasingly becoming known for education of yoga and naturopathy, with its student slowly adopting these as their career. The Board of Naturopathy and Yoga Science (BNYS) is located in the state.[166] Regional College Dinanagar is the first college to be opened in Dinanagar Town.[167]

Media

Daily Ajit, Jagbani and Punjabi Tribune are the largest-selling Punjabi newspapers while The Tribune is most selling English newspaper. A vast number of weekly, biweekly and monthly magazines are under publication in Punjabi. Other main newspapers are Daily Punjab Times, Rozana Spokesman, Nawan Zamana, etc.

Doordarshan is the broadcaster of the Government of India and its channel DD Punjabi is dedicated to Punjabi. Prominent private Punjabi channels include news channels like BBC Punjabi,[168] ABP Sanjha,[169] Global Punjab TV,[170] News18 Punjab-Haryana-Himachal,[171] Zee Punjab Haryana Himachal, PTC News and entertainment channels like Zee Punjabi, GET Punjabi, ETC Punjabi, Chardikla Time TV, PTC Punjabi, Colours Punjabi, JUS Punjabi, MH1 and 9x Tashan.[172]

Punjab has witnessed a growth in FM radio channels, mainly in the cities of Jalandhar, Patiala and Amritsar, which has become hugely popular. There are government radio channels like All India Radio, Jalandhar, All India Radio, Bathinda and FM Gold Ludhiana.[173] Private radio channels include Radio Mirchi, BIG FM 92.7, 94.3 My FM, Radio Mantra and many more.

Culture

 
Punjabi jutti

The culture of Punjab has many elements including music such as bhangra, an extensive religious and non-religious dance tradition, a long history of poetry in the Punjabi language, a significant Punjabi film industry that dates back to before Partition, a vast range of cuisine, which has become widely popular abroad, and a number of seasonal and harvest festivals such as Lohri,[174] Basant, Vaisakhi and Teeyan,[175][176][177] all of which are celebrated in addition to the religious festivals of India.

A kissa is a Punjabi language oral story-telling tradition that has a mixture of origins ranging from the Arabian peninsula to Iran and Afghanistan.[178]

Punjabi wedding traditions and ceremonies are a strong reflection of Punjabi culture. Marriage ceremonies are known for their rich rituals, songs, dances, food and dresses, which have evolved over many centuries.[179][180]

Bhangra

 
Bhangra

Bhangra (Punjabi: ਭੰਗੜਾ (Gurmukhi); pronounced [pɑ̀ŋɡɾɑ̀ː]) and Giddha are forms of dance and music that originated in the Punjab region.[181]

Bhangra dance began as a folk dance conducted by Punjabi farmers to celebrate the coming of the harvest season. The specific moves of Bhangra reflect the manner in which villagers farmed their land. This hybrid dance became Bhangra. The folk dance has been popularised in the western world by Punjabis in England, Canada and the USA where competitions are held.[182] It is seen in the West as an expression of South Asian culture as a whole.[183] Today, Bhangra dance survives in different forms and styles all over the globe – including pop music, film soundtracks, collegiate competitions and cultural shows.

Punjabi folklore

The folk heritage of the Punjab reflects its thousands of years of history. While Majhi is considered to be the standard dialect of Punjabi language, there are a number of Punjabi dialects through which the people communicate. These include Malwai, Doabi and Puadhi. The songs, ballads, epics and romances are generally written and sung in these dialects.

There are a number of folk tales that are popular in Punjab. These are the folk tales of Mirza Sahiban, Heer Ranjha, Sohni Mahiwal, Sassi Punnun, Jagga Jatt, Dulla Bhatti, Puran Bhagat, Jeona Maud etc. The mystic folk songs and religious songs include the Shalooks of Sikh gurus, Baba Farid and others.[184]

The most famous of the romantic love songs are Mayhiah, Dhola and Boliyan.[185] Punjabi romantic dances include Dhamaal, Bhangra, Giddha, Dhola, and Sammi and some other local folk dances.[186]

Literature

Most early Punjabi literary works are in verse form, with prose not becoming more common until later periods. Throughout its history, Punjabi literature has sought to inform and inspire, educate and entertain. The Punjabi language is written in several different scripts, of which the Shahmukhi, the Gurmukhī scripts are the most commonly used.[187]

Music

Punjabi Folk Music is the traditional music on the traditional musical instruments of Punjab region.[188][189][190]

Bhangra music of Punjab is famous throughout the world.[28]

Punjabi music has a diverse style of music, ranging from folk and Sufi to classical, notably the Punjab gharana and Patiala gharana.[191][192]

Film industry

Punjab is home to the Punjabi film industry, often colloquially referred to as 'Pollywood'.[193] It is known for being the fastest growing film industry in India. It is based mainly around Mohali city. According to MP Manish Tewari, the government is planning to build a film city in Mohali.[194]

The first Punjabi film was made in 1936. Since the 2000s Punjabi cinema has seen a revival with more releases every year with bigger budgets, homegrown stars, and Bollywood actors of Punjabi descent taking part.[citation needed]

 
Punjabi women using a traditional method of spinning

Crafts

The city of Amritsar is home to the craft of brass and copper metalwork done by the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru, which is enlisted on the UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.[195] Years of neglect had caused this craft to die out, and the listing prompted the Government of Punjab to undertake a craft revival effort under Project Virasat.[196][197]

 
Vegetarian Punjabi Thaali

Cuisine

One of the main features of Punjabi cuisine is its diverse range of dishes.[198][199] Home cooked and restaurant cuisine sometimes vary in taste. Restaurant style uses large amounts of ghee. Some food items are eaten on a daily basis while some delicacies are cooked only on special occasions.[200]

There are many regional dishes that are famous in some regions only. Many dishes are exclusive to Punjab, including Sarson Da Saag, Tandoori chicken, Shami kebab, makki di roti, etc.[201]

Festivals and traditions

Punjabis celebrate a number of festivals, which have taken a semi-secular meaning and are regarded as cultural festivals by people of all religions. Some of the festivals are Bandi Chhor Divas (Diwali),[202][203] Mela Maghi,[204] Hola Mohalla,[205][206] Rakhri, Vaisakhi, Lohri, Gurpurb, Guru Ravidass Jayanti, Teeyan and Basant Kite Festival.

Sports

 
PCA Stadium under lights at Mohali

Kabbadi (Circle Style), a team contact sport originated in rural Punjab is recognised as the state game.[207][208] Field hockey is also a popular sport in the state.[209] Kila Raipur Sports Festival, popularly known as the Rural Olympics, is held annually in Kila Raipur (near Ludhiana). Competition is held for major Punjabi rural sports, include cart-race, rope pulling. Punjab government organises World Kabaddi League,[210][211]

Punjab Games and annual Kabaddi World Cup for Circle Style Kabbadi in which teams from countries like Argentina, Canada, Denmark, England, India, Iran, Kenya, Pakistan, Scotland, Sierra Leone, Spain and United States participated. A major C.B.S.E event C.B.S.E Cluster Athlectics also held in Punjab at Sant Baba Bhag Singh University.[212]

The Punjab state basketball team won the National Basketball Championship on many occasions, most recently in 2019 and 2020.[213][214]

Tourism

 
Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar is a major pilgrimage site in Punjab and is also widely visited for its unique architecture

Tourism in Indian Punjab centres around the historic palaces, battle sites, and the great Sikh architecture of the state and the surrounding region.[215] Examples include various sites of the Indus Valley civilization, the ancient fort of Bathinda, the architectural monuments of Kapurthala, Patiala, and Chandigarh, the modern capital designed by Le Corbusier.[216]

The Golden Temple in Amritsar is one of the major tourist destinations of Punjab and indeed India, attracting more visitors than the Taj Mahal. Lonely Planet Bluelist 2008 has voted the Harmandir Sahib as one of the world's best spiritual sites.[217] Moreover, there is a rapidly expanding array of international hotels in the holy city at Heritage Walk Amritsar that can be booked for overnight stays. Devi Talab Mandir is a Hindu temple located in Jalandhar. This temple is devoted to Goddess Durga[218] and is believed to be at least 200 years old. Another main tourist destination is religious and historic city of Sri Anandpur Sahib where large number of tourists come to see the Virasat-e-Khalsa (Khalsa Heritage Memorial Complex) and also take part in Hola Mohalla festival. Kila Raipur Sports Festival is also popular tourist attraction in Kila Raipur near Ludhiana.[219][220][221] Shahpur kandi fort, Ranjit Sagar lake and Sikh Temple in Sri Muktsar Sahib are also popular attractions in Punjab. Punjab also has the world's first museum based on the Indian Partition of 1947, in Amritsar, called the Partition Museum.[222]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Michaels (2004, p. 38): "The legacy of the Vedic religion in Hinduism is generally overestimated. The influence of the mythology is indeed great, but the religious terminology changed considerably: all the key terms of Hinduism either do not exist in Vedic or have a completely different meaning. The religion of the Veda does not know the ethicised migration of the soul with retribution for acts (karma), the cyclical destruction of the world, or the idea of salvation during one's lifetime (jivanmukti; moksa; nirvana); the idea of the world as illusion (maya) must have gone against the grain of ancient India, and an omnipotent creator god emerges only in the late hymns of the Rigveda. Nor did the Vedic religion know a caste system, the burning of widows, the ban on remarriage, images of gods and temples, Puja worship, Yoga, pilgrimages, vegetarianism, the holiness of cows, the doctrine of stages of life (asrama), or knew them only at their inception. Thus, it is justified to see a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions."
    Jamison, Stephanie; Witzel, Michael (1992). "Vedic Hinduism" (PDF). Harvard University. p. 3.: "... to call this period Vedic Hinduism is a contradictio in terminis since Vedic religion is very different from what we generally call Hindu religion – at least as much as Old Hebrew religion is from medieval and modern Christian religion. However, Vedic religion is treatable as a predecessor of Hinduism."
    See also Halbfass 1991, pp. 1–2
  2. ^ "Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikh originated in India."Moreno, Luis; Colino, César (2010). Diversity and Unity in Federal Countries. McGill Queen University Press. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-7735-9087-8.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Craterus supervised the construction. These cities are yet to be identified.

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Bibliography

  • Radhika Chopra. Militant and Migrant: The Politics and Social History of Punjab (2011)
  • Harnik Deol. Religion and Nationalism in India: The Case of the Punjab (Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia) (2000)
  • Harjinder Singh Dilgeer, Encyclopedia of Jalandhar, Sikh University Press, Brussels, Belgium (2005)
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  • J. S. Grewal. The Sikhs of the Punjab (The New Cambridge History of India) (1998)
  • J. S. Grewal. Social and Cultural History of the Punjab: Prehistoric, Ancient and Early Medieval (2004)
  • Nazer Singh. Delhi and Punjab: Essays in history and historiography (1995)
  • Tai Yong Tan. The Garrison State: Military, Government and Society in Colonial Punjab, 1849–1947 (Sage Series in Modern Indian History) (2005)
  • J. C. Aggarwal and S. P. Agrawal, eds. Modern History of Punjab: Relevant Select Documents (1992)
  • R. M. Chopra, The Legacy of The Punjab, 1997, Punjabee Bradree, Calcutta.
  • Zuhair Kashmeri; Brian McAndrew (6 September 2005), Soft Target: The Real Story Behind the Air India Disaster – Second Edition, James Lorimer & Company, ISBN 978-1-55-028904-6

External links

Government
  • Official website
  • Official Tourism Site of Punjab, India
General information

punjab, india, this, article, about, state, india, geographical, region, punjab, other, uses, name, punjab, disambiguation, punjab, ɑː, listen, punjabi, pənˈdʒɑːb, state, northern, india, forming, part, larger, punjab, region, indian, subcontinent, state, bord. This article is about a state of India For the geographical region see Punjab For other uses of the name see Punjab disambiguation Punjab p ʌ n ˈ dʒ ɑː b listen 8 Punjabi penˈdʒɑːb is a state in northern India Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent the state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the north and northeast Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest by the Indian union territories of Chandigarh to the east and Jammu and Kashmir to the north It shares an international border with Punjab a province of Pakistan to the west 9 The state covers an area of 50 362 square kilometres 19 445 square miles which is 1 53 of India s total geographical area 10 making it the 19th largest Indian state by area out of 28 Indian states 20th largest if Union Territories are considered With over 27 million inhabitants Punjab is the 16th largest Indian state by population comprising 23 districts 2 Punjabi written in the Gurmukhi script is the most widely spoken and the official language of the state 11 The main ethnic groups are the Punjabis with Sikhs and Hindus as the dominant religious groups 12 The state capital is Chandigarh a union territory and also the capital of the neighbouring state of Haryana Three tributaries of the Indus viz Sutlej Beas and Ravi flow through Punjab 13 PunjabStateClockwise from top Golden Temple Fateh Burj Gobindgarh Fort Qila Mubarak Patiala Serai Nurmahal Bhangra folk dance Jallianwala Bagh memorial Virasat e KhalsaEmblem of PunjabEtymology Land of five riversMotto Satyameva Jayate Truth alone triumphs Location of Punjab in IndiaCoordinates 30 47 N 75 50 E 30 79 N 75 84 E 30 79 75 84 Coordinates 30 47 N 75 50 E 30 79 N 75 84 E 30 79 75 84Country IndiaRegionNorth IndiaBefore wasPatiala and East Punjab States UnionFormation1 November 1966CapitalChandigarhLargest CityLudhianaDistricts23Government BodyGovernment of Punjab GovernorBanwarilal Purohit Chief MinisterBhagwant Mann AAP State LegislatureUnicameral AssemblyPunjab Legislative Assembly 117 seats National ParliamentParliament of India Rajya Sabha7 seats Lok Sabha13 seatsHigh CourtPunjab and Haryana High CourtArea Total50 362 km2 19 445 sq mi Rank20thElevation 1 300 m 1 000 ft Highest elevation Naina Devi Range 1 000 m 3 000 ft Lowest elevation South Western side 105 m 344 ft Population 2011 2 Total27 743 338 Rank16th Density550 km2 1 400 sq mi Urban37 48 Rural62 52 DemonymPunjabisLanguage OfficialPunjabi 3 Official ScriptGurmukhi scriptGDP 4 Total 2020 21 5 29 trillion US 66 billion Rank16th Per capita 151 367 US 1 900 17th Time zoneUTC 05 30 IST ISO 3166 codeIN PBVehicle registrationPBHDI 2019 0 724 High 5 9th Literacy 2011 75 84 21st Sex ratio 2021 938 1000 6 25th Websitepunjab wbr gov wbr inSymbols of PunjabEmblem of PunjabBirdNorthern goshawk 7 FlowerGladiolusMammalBlackbuck Indus river dolphinTreeSheeshamState Highway MarkState Highway of Punjab PB SH1 PB SH41List of Indian state symbolsThe history of Punjab has witnessed the migration and settlement of different tribes of people with different cultures and ideas forming a melting pot of Punjabi civilisation The Indus Valley civilization flourished in antiquity before recorded history until their decline around 1900 BCE 14 Punjab was enriched during the height of the Vedic period but declined in predominance with the rise of the Mahajanapadas 15 The region formed the frontier of initial empires during antiquity including the Alexander s and Maurya empires 16 17 It was subsequently conquered by the Kushan Empire Gupta Empire 18 and then Harsha s Empire 19 Punjab continued to be settled by nomadic people including the Huna Turkic and the Mongols c 1000 CE the Punjab came under the rule of Muslims 20 and was part of the Delhi Sultanate Mughal Empire and Durrani Empire 21 Sikhism was founded in the 15th to 17th centuries by the Sikh Gurus in the Punjab and resulted in the formation of the Sikh Confederacy after the fall of the Mughal Empire and ensuing conflict with the Durrani Empire 22 This confederacy was united into the Sikh Empire in 1801 by Maharaja Ranjit Singh 23 The greater Punjab region was annexed by the British East India Company from the Sikh Empire in 1849 24 Following widespread religious violence in 1947 the Punjab Province of British India was divided along religious lines into West Punjab and East Punjab 25 West Punjab became part of a Muslim majority Pakistan while East Punjab became part of a Hindu majority India After the Punjabi Suba movement Indian Punjab was reorganised on the basis of language on 1 November 1966 26 Haryanvi and Hindi speaking southern and eastern areas were carved out as Haryana while Pahari speaking northern hilly regions were attached to Himachal Pradesh The remaining mostly Punjabi speaking areas became the current state of Punjab A separatist insurgency occurred in Punjab during the 1980s 27 At present the economy of Punjab is the 15th largest state economy in India with 5 29 trillion US 66 billion in gross domestic product and a per capita GDP of 151 367 US 1 900 ranking 17th amongst Indian states 4 Since independence Punjab is predominantly an agrarian society It is the ninth highest ranking among Indian states in human development index 5 Punjab has bustling tourism music culinary and film industries 28 Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 2 1 Ancient period 2 2 Medieval period 2 3 Modern period 2 3 1 Colonial era 2 3 2 Post colonial era 3 Geography 3 1 Climate 3 1 1 Seasons 3 1 1 1 Summer 3 1 1 2 Monsoon 3 1 1 3 Winter 3 1 1 4 Post Monsoon transitional season 3 1 1 5 Post Winter transitional season 3 1 2 Rainfall 3 2 Flora and fauna 3 2 1 Animals 4 Government and politics 5 Administrative set up 6 Economy 6 1 Agriculture 7 Transport 7 1 Air 7 2 Railways 7 2 1 Hyperloop 7 3 Roads 7 4 Urban Rapid Transit System 8 Demographics 8 1 Religion 9 Education 10 Media 11 Culture 11 1 Bhangra 11 2 Punjabi folklore 11 3 Literature 11 4 Music 11 5 Film industry 11 6 Crafts 11 7 Cuisine 11 8 Festivals and traditions 12 Sports 13 Tourism 14 See also 15 Notes 16 Footnotes 17 References 18 Bibliography 19 External linksEtymology EditFurther information Punjab EtymologyHistory EditMain article History of Punjab See also Punjab region Ancient period Edit The Punjab region is noted as the site of one of the earliest urban societies the Indus Valley Civilization that flourished from about 3000 B C and declined rapidly 1 000 years later following the Indo Aryan migrations that overran the region in waves between 1500 and 500 B C 29 Frequent intertribal wars stimulated the growth of larger groupings ruled by chieftains and kings who ruled local kingdoms known as Mahajanapadas 29 The rise of kingdoms and dynasties in the Punjab is chronicled in the ancient Hindu epics particularly the Mahabharata 29 The epic battles described in the Mahabharata are chronicled as being fought in what is now the state of Haryana and historic Punjab The Gandharas Kambojas Trigartas Andhra Pauravas Bahlikas Bactrian settlers of the Punjab Yaudheyas and others sided with the Kauravas in the great battle fought at Kurukshetra 30 According to Dr Fauja Singh and Dr L M Joshi There is no doubt that the Kambojas Daradas Kaikayas Andhra Pauravas Yaudheyas Malavas Saindhavas and Kurus had jointly contributed to the heroic tradition and composite culture of ancient Punjab 31 The bulk of the Rigveda was composed in the Punjab region between circa 1500 and 1200 BC 32 while later Vedic scriptures were composed more eastwards between the Yamuna and Ganges rivers The historical Vedic religion constituted the religious ideas and practices in the Punjab during the Vedic period 1500 500 BCE centred primarily in the worship of Indra 33 34 35 i Rig Veda is the oldest Hindu text that originated in the Punjab region The earliest known notable local king of this region was known as King Porus who fought the famous Battle of the Hydaspes against Alexander the Great His kingdom spanned between rivers Hydaspes Jhelum and Acesines Chenab Strabo had held the territory to contain almost 300 cities 36 He alongside Abisares had a hostile relationship with the Kingdom of Taxila which was ruled by his extended family 36 When the armies of Alexander crossed Indus in its eastward migration probably in Udabhandapura he was greeted by the then ruler of Taxila Omphis 36 Omphis had hoped to force both Porus and Abisares into submission leveraging the might of Alexander s forces and diplomatic missions were mounted but while Abisares accepted the submission Porus refused 36 This led Alexander to seek a face off with Porus 36 Thus began the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC the exact site remains unknown 36 The battle is thought to have resulted in a decisive Greek victory however A B Bosworth warns against an uncritical reading of Greek sources who were obviously exaggerative 36 Alexander later founded two cities Nicaea at the site of victory and Bucephalous at the battle ground in memory of his horse who died soon after the battle 36 a Later tetradrachms would be minted depicting Alexander on horseback armed with a sarissa and attacking a pair of Indians on an elephant 36 37 Porus refused to surrender and wandered about atop an elephant until he was wounded and his force routed 36 When asked by Alexander how he wished to be treated Porus replied Treat me as a king would treat another king 38 Despite the apparently one sided results Alexander was impressed by Porus and chose to not depose him 39 40 41 Not only was his territory reinstated but also expanded with Alexander s forces annexing the territories of Glausaes who ruled the area northeast of Porus kingdom 39 After Alexander s death in 323 BCE Perdiccas became the regent of his empire and after Perdiccas s murder in 321 BCE Antipater became the new regent 42 According to Diodorus Antipater recognized Porus s authority over the territories along the Indus River However Eudemus who had served as Alexander s satrap in the Punjab region treacherously killed Porus 43 The battle is historically significant because it resulted in the syncretism of ancient Greek political and cultural influences to the Indian subcontinent yielding works such as Greco Buddhist art which continued to have an impact for the ensuing centuries The region was then divided between the Maurya Empire and the Greco Bactrian kingdom in 302 B C E Menander I Soter conquered Punjab and made Sagala present day Sialkot the capital of the Indo Greek Kingdom 44 45 Menander is noted for having become a patron and convert to Greco Buddhism and he is widely regarded as the greatest of the Indo Greek kings 46 Greek influence in the region ended around 12 B C E when the Punjab fell under the Sassanids Medieval period Edit Following the muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent at the beginning of the 8th century Arab armies of the Umayyad Caliphate penetrated into South Asia introducing Islam into Punjab 47 48 In mid of the 8th century Shankarvarman a Chamar 49 king of the Utpala dynasty which ruled over the Pakistan Afghanistan and other territories of India invaded in punjab and rule over it 50 In the ninth century the Hindu Shahi dynasty emerged in the Punjab ruling much of Punjab and eastern Afghanistan 29 The Turkic Ghaznavids in the tenth century overthrew the Hindu Shahis and consequently ruled for 157 years gradually declining as a power until the Ghurid conquest of Lahore by Muhammad of Ghor in 1186 deposing the last Ghaznavid ruler Khusrau Malik 51 Following the death of Muhammad of Ghor in 1206 the Ghurid state fragmented and was replaced in northern India by the Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate ruled the Punjab for the next three hundred years led by five unrelated dynasties the Mamluks Khalajis Tughlaqs Sayyids and Lodis A significant event in the late 15th century Punjab was the formation of Sikhism by Guru Nanak ii 52 53 The history of the Sikh faith is closely associated with the history of Punjab and the socio political situation in the north west of the Indian subcontinent in the 17th century 54 55 56 57 Maharaja Ranjit Singh listening to Guru Granth Sahib being recited near the Akal Takht and Golden Temple Amritsar Painting by August Schoefft 1850 The hymns composed by Guru Nanak were later collected in the Guru Granth Sahib the central religious scripture of the Sikhs 58 The religion developed and evolved in times of religious persecution gaining converts from both Hinduism and Islam 59 Mughal rulers of India tortured and executed two of the Sikh gurus Guru Arjan 1563 1605 and Guru Tegh Bahadur 1621 1675 after they refused to convert to Islam 60 61 62 63 64 The persecution of Sikhs triggered the founding of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699 as an order to protect the freedom of conscience and religion 60 65 with members expressing the qualities of a Sant Sipahi saint soldier 66 67 The lifetime of Guru Nanak coincided with the conquest of northern India by Babur and establishment of the Mughal Empire Jahangir ordered the execution of Guru Arjun Dev whilst in Mughal custody for supporting his son Khusrau Mirza s rival claim to the throne 68 Guru Arjan Dev s death led to the sixth Guru Guru Hargobind to declare sovereignty in the creation of the Akal Takht and the establishment of a fort to defend Amritsar Jahangir then jailed Guru Hargobind at Gwalior but released him after a number of years when he no longer felt threatened The succeeding son of Jahangir Shah Jahan took offence at Guru Hargobind s declaration and after a series of assaults on Amritsar forced the Sikhs to retreat to the Sivalik Hills 69 The ninth Guru Guru Tegh Bahadur moved the Sikh community to Anandpur and travelled extensively to visit and preach in defiance of Aurangzeb who attempted to install Ram Rai as new guru Modern period Edit The Mughals came to power in the early sixteenth century and gradually expanded to control all of the Punjab from their capital at Lahore As Mughal power weakened Afghan rulers took control of the region 29 Contested by Marathas and Afghans the region was the center of the growing influence of the Sikhs who expanded and established the Sikh empire in 1799 as the Mughals and Afghans weakened 70 The Cis Sutlej states were a group of states in modern Punjab and Haryana states lying between the Sutlej River on the north the Himalayas on the east the Yamuna River and Delhi District on the south and Sirsa District on the west These states were ruled by the Sikh Misls 71 The empire existed from 1799 when Ranjit Singh captured Lahore to 1849 when it was defeated and conquered in the Second Anglo Sikh War It was forged on the foundations of the Khalsa from a collection of autonomous Sikh misls 72 73 At its peak in the 19th century the Empire extended from the Khyber Pass in the west to western Tibet in the east and from Mithankot in the south to Kashmir in the north It was divided into four provinces Lahore in Punjab which became the Sikh capital Multan also in Punjab Peshawar and Kashmir from 1799 to 1849 Religiously diverse with an estimated population of 3 5 million in 1831 making it the 19th most populous country at the time 74 it was the last major region of the Indian subcontinent to be annexed by the British Empire The Sikh Empire spanned a total of over 200 000 sq mi 520 000 km2 at its zenith 75 76 77 Sikh Empire After Ranjit Singh s death in 1839 the empire was severely weakened by internal divisions and political mismanagement This opportunity was used by the East India Company to launch the First and Second Anglo Sikh Wars The country was finally annexed and dissolved at the end of the Second Anglo Sikh War in 1849 into separate princely states and the province of Punjab Eventually a Lieutenant Governorship was established in Lahore as a direct representative of the Crown 78 221 Colonial era Edit British Punjab Province before 1947 The Punjab was annexed by the East India Company in 1849 Although nominally part of the Bengal Presidency it was administratively independent During the Indian Rebellion of 1857 apart from Revolt led by Ahmed Khan Kharal and Murree rebellion of 1857 the Punjab remained relatively peaceful 79 In 1858 under the terms of the Queen s Proclamation issued by Queen Victoria the Punjab came under the direct rule of Britain Colonial rule had a profound impact on all areas of Punjabi life Economically it transformed the Punjab into the richest farming area of India socially it sustained the power of large landowners and politically it encouraged cross communal co operation amongst land owning groups 80 The Punjab also became the major centre of recruitment into the Indian Army By patronising influential local allies and focusing administrative economic and constitutional policies on the rural population the British ensured the loyalty of its large rural population 80 Administratively colonial rule instated a system of bureaucracy and measure of the law The paternal system of the ruling elite was replaced by machine rule with a system of laws codes and procedures For purposes of control the British established new forms of communication and transportation including post systems railways roads and telegraphs The creation of Canal Colonies in western Punjab between 1860 and 1947 brought 14 million acres of land under cultivation and revolutionised agricultural practices in the region 80 To the agrarian and commercial class was added a professional middle class that had risen the social ladder through the use of the English education which opened up new professions in law government and medicine 81 Despite these developments colonial rule was marked by exploitation of resources For the purpose of exports the majority of external trade was controlled by British export banks The Imperial government exercised control over the finances of Punjab and took the majority of the income for itself 82 In 1919 a British officer ordered his troops to fire on a crowd of demonstrators mostly Sikhs in Amritsar The Jallianwala massacre fueled the indian independence movement 29 Nationalists declared the independence of India from Lahore in 1930 but were quickly suppressed 29 The struggle for Indian independence witnessed competing and conflicting interests in the Punjab When the Second World War broke out nationalism in British India had already divided into religious movements 29 The landed elites of the Muslim Hindu and Sikh communities had loyally collaborated with the British since annexation supported the Unionist Party and were hostile to the Congress party led independence movement 83 Amongst the peasantry and urban middle classes the Hindus were the most active National Congress supporters the Sikhs flocked to the Akali movement whilst the Muslims eventually supported the Muslim League 83 Many Sikhs and other minorities supported the Hindus who promised a secular multicultural and multireligious society In March 1940 the All India Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution demanding the creation of a separate state from Muslim majority areas in British India This triggered bitter protests by the Hindus and Sikhs in Punjab who could not accept living in a Muslim Islamic state 84 After the partition of the sub continent had been decided special meetings of the Western and Eastern Section of the Legislative Assembly were held on 23 June 1947 to decide whether or not the Province of the Punjab be partitioned After voting on both sides partition was decided and the existing Punjab Legislative Assembly was also divided into West Punjab Legislative Assembly and the East Punjab Legislative Assembly This last Assembly before independence held its last sitting on 4 July 1947 85 During this period the British granted separate independence to India and Pakistan setting off massive communal violence as Punjabi Muslims fled to Pakistan and Hindu and Sikh Punjabis fled east to India 29 The Sikhs later demanded a Punjabi speaking Punjab state with an autonomous Sikh government 29 Post colonial era Edit During the colonial era the various districts and princely states that made up Punjab Province were religiously eclectic each containing significant populations of Punjabi Muslims Punjabi Hindus Punjabi Sikhs Punjabi Christians along with other ethnic and religious minorities However a major consequence of independence and the partition of Punjab Province in 1947 was the sudden shift towards religious homogeneity occurred in all districts across province and region owing to the new international border that cut through the subdivision The demographic shift was captured when comparing decadal census data taken in 1941 and 1951 respectively and was primarily due to wide scale migration but also caused by large scale religious cleansing riots which were witnessed across the region at the time According to historical demographer Tim Dyson in the eastern regions of Punjab that ultimately became Indian Punjab following independence districts that were 66 Hindu in 1941 became 80 Hindu in 1951 those that were 20 Sikh became 50 Sikh in 1951 Conversely in the western regions of Punjab that ultimately became Pakistani Punjab all districts became almost exclusively Muslim by 1951 86 Wagah Border is situated between Amritsar and Lahore became the main border crossing after partition of Punjab and is known for its elaborate ceremony Following independence several small Punjabi princely states including Patiala acceded to the Union of India and were united into the PEPSU In 1956 this was integrated with the state of East Punjab to create a new enlarged Indian state called simply Punjab Punjab Day is celebrated across the state on 1 November every year marking the formation of a Punjabi language speaking state under the Punjab Reorganisation Act 1966 87 88 In 1966 following Hindu and Sikh Punjabi demands the Indian government divided Punjab into the state of Punjab and the Hindi majority speaking states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh 29 From 1981 to 1995 the state suffered a 14 year long insurgency Problems began due to disputes between Punjabi Sikhs and the central government of the Republic of India Tensions escalated throughout the early 1980s and eventually culminated with Operation Blue Star in 1984 an Indian Army operation aimed at the dissident Sikh community of Punjab Shortly thereafter Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards The decade that followed was noted for widespread inter communal violence and accusations of genocide on the part of the Sikh community by the Indian government 89 Geography EditPunjab is in northwestern India and has a total area of 50 362 square kilometres 19 445 sq mi Punjab is bordered by Pakistan s Punjab province on the west Jammu and Kashmir on the north Himachal Pradesh on the northeast and Haryana and Rajasthan on the south 9 Most of Punjab lies in a fertile alluvial plain with perennial rivers and an extensive irrigation canal system 90 A belt of undulating hills extends along the northeastern part of the state at the foot of the Himalayas Its average elevation is 300 metres 980 ft above sea level with a range from 180 metres 590 ft in the southwest to more than 500 metres 1 600 ft around the northeast border The southwest of the state is semi arid eventually merging into the Thar Desert Of the five Punjab rivers three Sutlej Beas and Ravi flow through the Indian state The Sutlej and Ravi define parts of the international border with Pakistan The soil characteristics are influenced to a limited extent by the topography vegetation and parent rock The variation in soil profile characteristics are much more pronounced because of the regional climatic differences 91 Punjab is divided into three distinct regions on the basis of soil types southwestern central and eastern Punjab falls under seismic zones II III and IV Zone II is considered a low damage risk zone zone III is considered a moderate damage risk zone and zone IV is considered a high damage risk zone 92 Climate Edit Agricultural fields of Punjab during the monsoon The geography and subtropical latitudinal location of Punjab lead to large variations in temperature from month to month Even though only limited regions experience temperatures below 0 C 32 F ground frost is commonly found in the majority of Punjab during the winter season The temperature rises gradually with high humidity and overcast skies However the rise in temperature is steep when the sky is clear and humidity is low 93 The maximum temperatures usually occur in mid May and June The temperature remains above 40 C 104 F in the entire region during this period Ludhiana recorded the highest maximum temperature at 46 1 C 115 0 F with Patiala and Amritsar recording 45 5 C 113 9 F The maximum temperature during the summer in Ludhiana remains above 41 C 106 F for a duration of one and a half months These areas experience the lowest temperatures in January The sun rays are oblique during these months and the cold winds control the temperature at daytime 93 Punjab experiences its minimum temperature from December to February The lowest temperature was recorded at Amritsar 0 2 C 32 4 F and Ludhiana stood second with 0 5 C 32 9 F The minimum temperature of the region remains below 5 C 41 F for almost two months during the winter season The highest minimum temperature of these regions in June is more than the daytime maximum temperatures experienced in January and February Ludhiana experiences minimum temperatures above 27 C 81 F for more than two months The annual average temperature in the entire state is approximately 21 C 70 F Further the mean monthly temperature range varies between 9 C 48 F in July to approximately 18 C 64 F in November 93 vteClimate data for Amritsar Airport 1991 2020 normals extremes 1947 present Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YearRecord high C F 26 8 80 2 32 2 90 0 36 2 97 2 44 1 111 4 48 0 118 4 47 8 118 0 45 6 114 1 40 7 105 3 40 6 105 1 38 3 100 9 34 2 93 6 28 5 83 3 48 0 118 4 Mean maximum C F 22 7 72 9 26 1 79 0 32 4 90 3 40 6 105 1 44 5 112 1 44 6 112 3 39 8 103 6 37 0 98 6 36 4 97 5 35 3 95 5 30 4 86 7 25 2 77 4 45 6 114 1 Average high C F 17 7 63 9 21 7 71 1 27 0 80 6 34 4 93 9 39 4 102 9 38 9 102 0 35 0 95 0 34 1 93 4 33 9 93 0 32 0 89 6 27 0 80 6 20 9 69 6 30 1 86 2 Daily mean C F 11 0 51 8 14 4 57 9 19 0 66 2 25 4 77 7 30 7 87 3 31 8 89 2 30 3 86 5 29 7 85 5 28 2 82 8 24 1 75 4 18 1 64 6 12 6 54 7 22 9 73 2 Average low C F 3 8 38 8 6 7 44 1 11 2 52 2 16 6 61 9 21 9 71 4 24 7 76 5 25 7 78 3 25 3 77 5 22 7 72 9 16 4 61 5 9 4 48 9 4 6 40 3 15 7 60 3 Mean minimum C F 0 3 31 5 2 2 36 0 6 1 43 0 10 9 51 6 16 6 61 9 19 7 67 5 21 8 71 2 21 7 71 1 18 5 65 3 11 8 53 2 5 2 41 4 0 5 32 9 0 7 30 7 Record low C F 2 9 26 8 2 6 27 3 2 0 35 6 6 4 43 5 9 6 49 3 15 6 60 1 18 2 64 8 18 8 65 8 13 0 55 4 7 3 45 1 0 6 30 9 3 6 25 5 3 6 25 5 Average rainfall mm inches 27 1 1 07 39 8 1 57 32 6 1 28 21 9 0 86 20 8 0 82 80 9 3 19 181 6 7 15 168 9 6 65 90 7 3 57 12 3 0 48 5 8 0 23 6 8 0 27 689 2 27 13 Average rainy days 2 1 3 1 2 4 1 9 2 0 4 8 8 1 7 0 3 7 1 0 0 6 0 8 37 4Average relative humidity at 17 30 IST 68 58 50 32 26 40 65 70 64 52 53 63 53Average dew point C F 7 0 44 6 10 0 50 0 13 3 55 9 14 0 57 2 15 0 59 0 19 5 67 1 25 0 77 0 25 6 78 1 23 5 74 3 18 3 64 9 12 0 53 6 8 0 46 4 15 9 60 7 Mean monthly sunshine hours 181 7 192 7 219 4 265 0 294 7 269 0 215 5 227 7 240 8 253 2 220 1 182 2 2 762Average ultraviolet index 2 4 6 7 8 9 7 6 5 5 4 2 5Source 1 India Meteorological Department 94 95 96 Time and Date dewpoints 2005 2015 97 Source 2 NOAA sun 1971 1990 98 Tokyo Climate Center mean temperatures 1991 2020 99 Weather Atlas 100 vteClimate data for Ludhiana Airport 1981 2010 normals extremes 1868 present Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YearRecord high C F 29 0 84 2 30 4 86 7 41 1 106 0 46 1 115 0 48 3 118 9 47 9 118 2 47 8 118 0 44 4 111 9 41 7 107 1 40 0 104 0 35 8 96 4 29 4 84 9 48 3 118 9 Mean maximum C F 23 8 74 8 26 9 80 4 32 6 90 7 40 7 105 3 43 8 110 8 43 5 110 3 37 9 100 2 35 8 96 4 35 6 96 1 34 7 94 5 30 7 87 3 25 1 77 2 44 8 112 6 Average high C F 18 6 65 5 22 2 72 0 27 3 81 1 35 0 95 0 38 9 102 0 37 9 100 2 34 0 93 2 33 1 91 6 33 0 91 4 31 9 89 4 27 3 81 1 21 6 70 9 30 1 86 2 Average low C F 5 6 42 1 8 2 46 8 12 3 54 1 17 7 63 9 22 9 73 2 25 3 77 5 25 8 78 4 25 1 77 2 22 8 73 0 16 5 61 7 10 7 51 3 6 5 43 7 16 6 61 9 Mean minimum C F 1 2 34 2 3 4 38 1 7 3 45 1 12 0 53 6 17 6 63 7 20 5 68 9 22 0 71 6 21 7 71 1 18 8 65 8 12 6 54 7 6 0 42 8 2 5 36 5 0 8 33 4 Record low C F 2 2 28 0 1 1 30 0 1 4 34 5 7 1 44 8 11 7 53 1 18 0 64 4 17 4 63 3 18 0 64 4 15 2 59 4 9 4 48 9 0 3 32 5 1 1 30 0 2 2 28 0 Average rainfall mm inches 28 3 1 11 37 0 1 46 29 9 1 18 17 3 0 68 22 3 0 88 69 2 2 72 215 0 8 46 205 2 8 08 146 0 5 75 19 8 0 78 4 3 0 17 15 1 0 59 809 3 31 86 Average rainy days 2 2 2 7 2 4 1 7 2 0 4 3 8 4 8 6 5 0 1 0 0 6 1 0 39 9Average relative humidity at 17 30 IST 63 54 46 25 23 41 67 73 65 49 49 63 51Average dew point C F 8 46 12 54 15 59 16 61 19 66 23 73 26 79 26 79 24 75 19 66 13 55 10 50 18 64 Average ultraviolet index 4 5 7 8 9 9 8 7 7 6 5 4 7Source 1 India Meteorological Department 101 102 Time and Date dewpoints 2005 2015 103 Source 2 Weather Atlas 104 Seasons Edit Punjab experiences three main seasons They are Summer mid April to the end of June Monsoon early July to the end of September Winter early December to the end of February 93 Apart from these three the state experiences transitional seasons like Pre summer season March to mid April This is the period of transition between winter and summer Post monsoon season September to end of November This is the period of transition between monsoon and winter seasons 93 Summer Edit Punjab starts experiencing mildly hot temperatures in February The actual summer season commences in mid April and the heat continues till the end of August High temperatures between May and August hover between 40 and 47 C The area experiences atmospheric pressure variations during the summer months The atmospheric pressure of the region remains around 987 millibar during February and it reaches 970 millibar in June 93 Monsoon Edit Punjab s rainy season begins in the first week of July as monsoon currents generated in the Bay of Bengal bring rain to the region The monsoon lasts up to mid September 93 Winter Edit Temperature variation is minimal in January The mean night and day temperatures fall to 5 C 41 F and 12 C 54 F respectively 93 Post Monsoon transitional season Edit The monsoon begins to reduce by the second week of September This brings a gradual change in climate and temperature The time between October and November is the transitional period between monsoon and winter seasons Weather during this period is generally temperate and dry 93 Post Winter transitional season Edit The effects of winter diminish by the first week of March The hot summer season commences in mid April This period is marked by occasional showers with hail storms and squalls that cause extensive damage to crops The winds remain dry and warm during the last week of March commencing the harvest period 93 Rainfall Edit Monsoon RainfallMonsoon season provides most of the rainfall for the region Punjab receives rainfall from the monsoon current of the Bay of Bengal This monsoon current enters the state from the southeast in the first week of July 93 Winter RainfallThe winter season remains very cool with temperatures falling below freezing at some places Winter also brings in some western disturbances 93 Rainfall in the winter provides relief to the farmers as some of the winter crops in the region of Shivalik Hills are entirely dependent on this rainfall As per meteorological statistics the sub Shivalik area receives more than 100 millimetres 3 9 in of rainfall in the winter months 93 Flora and fauna Edit Agriculture in Punjab The fauna of the area is rich with 396 types of birds 214 kinds of Lepidoptera 55 varieties of fish 20 types of reptiles and 19 kinds of mammals The state of Punjab has large wetland areas bird sanctuaries that house numerous species of birds and many zoological parks Wetlands include the national wetland Hari Ke Pattan the wetland of Kanjli and the wetlands of Kapurthala Sutlej Wildlife sanctuaries include the Harike in the district of Tarn Taran Sahib the Zoological Park in Rupnagar Chhatbir Bansar Garden in Sangrur Aam Khas Bagh in Sirhind Amritsar s famous Ram Bagh Palace Shalimar Garden in Kapurthala and the famous Baradari Garden in the city of Patiala 105 Animals Edit A few of the rivers in Punjab have crocodiles The extraction of silk from silkworms is another industry that flourishes in the state Production of bee honey is done in some parts of Punjab The southern plains are desert land hence camels can be seen Buffaloes graze around the banks of rivers The northeastern part is home to animals like horses Wildlife sanctuaries have many more species of wild animals like the otter wild boar wildcat fruit bat hog deer flying fox squirrel and mongoose Naturally formed forests can be seen in the Shivalik ranges in the districts of Ropar Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur Patiala is home to the Bir forest while the wetlands area in Punjab is home to the Mand forest 106 The local subspecies of blackbuck A c rajputanae is facing the risk of extirpation from the state 107 108 109 Botanical gardens exist throughout Punjab There is a zoological park and a tiger safari park as well as three parks dedicated to deer 106 The state bird is the northern goshawk baz Accipiter gentilis 110 the state animal is the blackbuck Antilope cervicapra the state aquatic animal is Indus river dolphin Platanista minor and the state tree is the shisham Dalbergia sissoo 90 Government and politics EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed February 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Punjab Legislative Assembly building Main articles Politics of Punjab India Government of Punjab India Punjab Legislative Assembly and List of districts of Punjab India Punjab is governed through a parliamentary system of representative democracy Each of the states of India possesses a parliamentary system of government with a ceremonial state Governor appointed by the President of India on the advice of the central government The head of government is an indirectly elected Chief Minister who is vested with most of the executive powers The term length of the government is five years The state legislature the Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral Punjab Legislative Assembly with 117 members elected from single seat constituencies 111 The current government was elected in the 2022 Assembly elections as Aam Aadmi Party won 92 out of 117 Assembly seats and Bhagwant Mann is the current Chief Minister The state of Punjab is divided into five administrative divisions and twenty three districts The capital of Punjab is Chandigarh which also serves as the capital of Haryana and is thus administered separately as a Union Territory of India The judicial branch of the state government is provided by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh 112 The three major political parties in the state are the Aam Aadmi Party a centrist to left wing party the Shiromani Akali Dal a Sikh right wing Punjabiyat party and the Indian National Congress a centrist catch all party 113 President s rule has been imposed in Punjab eight times so far since 1950 for different reasons In terms of the absolute number of days Punjab was under the President s rule for 3 510 days which is approximately 10 years Much of this was in the 80s during the height of militancy in Punjab Punjab was under the President s rule for five continuous years from 1987 to 1992 Punjab state law and order is maintained by Punjab Police Punjab police is headed by its DGP Dinkar Gupta 114 and has 70 000 employees It manages state affairs through 22 district heads known as SSP Administrative set up Edit Districts of Punjab along with their headquarters Administrative divisions of Punjab Punjab has 23 districts which are geographically classified into Majha Malwa Doaba and Puadh regions as under Majha 4 Amritsar Gurdaspur Pathankot Tarn Taran Doaba 4 Hoshiarpur Jalandhar Kapurthala Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar Malwa 12 Barnala Bathinda Ferozepur Fazilka Faridkot Ludhiana Moga Malerkotla Mansa Sri Muktsar Sahib Patiala Sangrur Puadh 3 SAS Nagar Mohali Rupnagar Fatehgarh SahibThese districts are officially divided among 5 administrative divisions Faridkot Ferozepur Jalandhar Patiala and Ropar created on 31 December 2010 which was a part of Patiala Division earlier 115 Administrative Divisions and Corresponding Districts of Punjab S No Name of the Division No of districts Name of the Districts1 Faridkot 3 Bathinda Faridkot Mansa2 Ferozepur 4 Fazilka Ferozepur Moga Sri Muktsar Sahib3 Jalandhar 7 Amritsar Gurdaspur Hoshiarpur Jalandhar Kapurthala Pathankot Tarn Taran4 Patiala 6 Barnala Fatehgarh Sahib Ludhiana Malerkotla Patiala Sangrur5 Ropar 3 Rupnagar SAS Nagar SBS NagarEach district is under the administrative control of a District Collector The districts are subdivided into 93 tehsils which have fiscal and administrative powers over settlements within their borders including maintenance of local land records comes under the administrative control of a Tehsildar Each Tehsil consists of blocks which are total 150 in number These blocks consist of revenue villages There are total number of revenue villages in the state is 12 278 There are 23 Zila Parishads 136 Municipal Committees and 22 Improvement Trusts looking after 143 towns and 14 cities of Punjab The capital city of the state is Chandigarh and largest city of the state is Ludhiana Out of total population of Punjab 37 48 people live in urban regions The absolute urban population living in urban areas is 10 399 146 of which 5 545 989 are males and while remaining 4 853 157 are females The urban population in the last 10 years has increased by 37 48 The major cities are Ludhiana Amritsar Jalandhar Mohali Patiala and Bathinda Economy EditMain articles Economy of Punjab India and E governance in Punjab See also Measurement of land in Punjab Hall Gate of Amritsar Punjab s GDP is 5 42 trillion US 68 billion 4 Punjab is one of the most fertile regions in India The region is ideal for wheat growing Rice sugar cane fruits and vegetables are also grown Indian Punjab is called the Granary of India or India s bread basket 116 It produces 10 26 of India s cotton 19 5 of India s wheat and 11 of India s rice The Firozpur and Fazilka Districts are the largest producers of wheat and rice in the state In worldwide terms Indian Punjab produces 2 of the world s cotton 2 of its wheat and 1 of its rice 116 Punjab ranked first in GDP per capita amongst Indian states in 1981 and fourth in 2001 but has experienced slower growth than the rest of India having the second slowest GDP per capita growth rate of all Indian states and UTs between 2000 and 2010 behind only Manipur 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 Agriculture Edit Punjab s economy has been primarily agriculture based since the Green Revolution due to the presence of abundant water sources and fertile soils 124 most of the state lies in a fertile alluvial plain with many rivers and an extensive irrigation canal system 90 The largest cultivated crop is wheat Other important crops are rice cotton sugarcane pearl millet maize barley and fruit Rice and wheat are doublecropped in Punjab with rice stalks being burned off over millions of acres prior to the planting of wheat This widespread practice is polluting and wasteful 125 Despite covering only 1 53 10 of its geographical area Punjab makes up for about 15 20 126 127 128 129 of India s wheat production around 12 130 131 132 133 of its rice production and around 5 126 134 135 136 of its milk production being known as India s breadbasket 137 138 About 80 139 95 140 of Punjab s agricultural land is owned by its Jat Sikh community despite it only forming 21 141 of the state s population About 10 of Punjab s population is made up of migrants from poorer states to the southeast such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who work as farm labourers 142 Other major industries include financial services the manufacturing of scientific instruments agricultural goods electrical goods machine tools textiles sewing machines sports goods starch fertilisers bicycles garments and the processing of pine oil and sugar 138 Minerals and energy resources also contribute to Punjab s economy to a much lesser extent Punjab has the largest number of steel rolling mill plants in India which are in Steel Town Mandi Gobindgarh in the Fatehgarh Sahib district Punjab also has a large diaspora that is mostly settled in the United Kingdom the United States and Canada numbers about 3 million and sends back billions of USD in remittances to the state playing a major role in its economy 143 In Punjab the consumption of fertiliser per hectare is 223 46 kg as compared to 90 kg nationally The state has been awarded the National Productivity Award for agriculture extension services for ten years from 1991 to 1992 to 1998 99 and from 2001 to 2003 04 In recent years a drop in productivity has been observed mainly due to falling fertility of the soil This is believed to be due to excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides over the years Another worry is the rapidly falling water table on which almost 90 of the agriculture depends alarming drops have been witnessed in recent years By some estimates groundwater is falling by a meter or more per year 144 145 According to the India State Hunger Index Punjab has the lowest level of hunger in India 146 Transport EditMain articles Punjab Roadways and PEPSU Road Transport Corporation Air Edit Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar is the Primary Hub Airport and Gateway to Punjab as the airport serves direct connectivity to key cities around the world including London Singapore Moscow Dubai Birmingham among others Punjab has six civil airports including two international airports Amritsar International Airport and Chandigarh International Airport at Mohali and four domestic airports Bathinda Airport Pathankot Airport Adampur Airport Jalandhar and Sahnewal Airport Ludhiana Apart from these 6 airports there are 2 airfields at Beas Amritsar and Patiala which do not serve any commercial flight operations as of now Railways Edit View of Ludhiana Railway Station The Indian Railways Northern Railway line runs through the state connecting most of the major towns and cities The Shatabdi Express India s fastest series of train connects Amritsar to New Delhi covering total distance of 449 km Amritsar Junction Railway Station is the busiest junction of the state Bathinda Junction holds the record of maximum railway lines from a railway junction in Asia Punjab s major railway stations are Amritsar Junction ASR Ludhiana Junction LDH Jalandhar Cantonment JRC Firozpur Cantonment FZR Jalandhar City Junction JUC Pathankot Junction PTK and Patiala railway station PTA The railway stations of Amritsar is included in the Indian Railways list of 50 world class railway stations 147 Hyperloop Edit Punjab Government have signed a MoU Memorendum of Understanding with Virgin Hyperloop One to explore the feasibility of running a Hyperloop between Amritsar and Chandigarh which could decrease the travel time between 2 cities from five hours by road to less than 30 minutes It will have stops in Ludhiana and Jalandhar 148 Roads Edit Amritsar Inter State Bus Stand All the cities and towns of Punjab are connected by four lane national highways The Grand Trunk Road also known as NH1 connects Kolkata to Peshawar passing through Amritsar and Jalandhar National highways passing through the state are ranked the best in the country by whom with widespread road networks that serve isolated towns as well as the border region Amritsar and Ludhiana are among several Indian cities that have the highest accident rates in India 149 The following expressways will pass through Punjab Delhi Amritsar Katra Expressway from Delhi to Katra National Expressway 5 Amritsar Jamnagar Expressway from Amritsar to Jamnagar Pathankot Ajmer Expressway from Pathankot to Ajmer The following national highways connect major towns cities and villages National Highway 1 National Highway 10 National Highway 15 National Highway 1A National Highway 54 National Highway 20 National Highway 21 National Highway 22 National Highway 64 National Highway 70 National Highway 71 National Highway 95 Urban Rapid Transit System Edit There are also a bus rapid transit system Amritsar BRTS in the holy city of Amritsar popularly known as Amritsar MetroBus 150 Demographics EditMain articles Demographics of Punjab India and List of cities in Punjab and Chandigarh by population Population GrowthYearPop 19017 544 790 19116 731 510 10 8 19217 152 811 6 3 19318 012 325 12 0 19419 600 236 19 8 19519 160 500 4 6 196111 135 069 21 6 197113 551 060 21 7 198116 788 915 23 9 199120 281 969 20 8 200124 358 999 20 1 201127 743 338 13 9 source Census of India 151 Punjab is home to 2 3 of India s population with a density of 551 persons per km2 According to the provisional results of the 2011 national census Punjab has a population of 27 743 338 making it the 16th most populated state in India Of which male and female are 14 639 465 and 13 103 873 respectively 152 32 of Punjab s population consists of Dalits 153 In the state the rate of population growth is 13 9 2011 lower than national average Out of total population 37 5 people live in urban regions The total figure of population living in urban areas is 10 399 146 of which 5 545 989 are males and while remaining 4 853 157 are females The urban population in the last 10 years has increased by 37 5 Languages of Punjab India First Language 2011 154 Punjabi 89 8 Hindi 7 9 Others 2 3 Punjabi is the sole official language of Punjab 3 and as of the 2011 census is spoken as a first language by 24 9 million people or roughly 90 of the state s population Hindi is natively spoken by 2 18 million or 7 9 of the population Bagri has 234 000 speakers or 0 8 while the remaining 413 000 or 1 5 spoke other languages 155 The 2011 Census of India found Scheduled Castes to account for 31 9 of the state s population 156 The Other Backward Classes have 31 3 population in Punjab 157 The exact population of Forward castes is not known as their data from Socio Economic and Caste Census 2011 is not made public as of 2019 158 There has been a constant decline in the sex ratio of the state The sex ratio in Punjab was 895 females per 1000 males which was below the national average of 940 The literacy rate rose to 75 8 as per 2011 population census Of that male literacy stands at 80 4 while female literacy is at 70 7 In actual numbers total literates in Punjab stands at 18 707 137 of which males were 10 436 056 and females were 8 271 081 Religion Edit Religion in Punjab India 2011 12 Sikhism 57 7 Hinduism 38 5 Islam 1 9 Christianity 1 3 Others 0 6 See also Religion in the Punjab and Demographics of Punjab India Punjab has the largest population of Sikhs in India and is the only state where Sikhs form a majority numbering around 16 million forming 57 7 of the state population 12 Hinduism is the second largest religion in the Indian state of Punjab numbering around 10 68 million and forming 38 5 of the state s population and a majority in Doaba region Islam is followed by 535 489 accounting 1 9 of the population and are mainly concentrated in Malerkotla and Qadian Other smaller segments of religions existing in Punjab are Christianity practised by 1 3 Jainism practised by 0 2 Buddhism practised by 0 1 and others 0 3 Sikhs form a majority in 17 districts out of the total 23 districts while Hindus form the majority in 5 districts namely Pathankot Jalandhar Hoshiarpur Fazilka and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar districts 159 Golden Temple Durgiana Temple The Sikh shrine Golden Temple Harmandir Sahib is in the city of Amritsar which houses the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee the topmost Sikh religious body The Sri Akal Takht Sahib which is within the Golden Temple complex is the highest temporal seat of Sikhs Of the five Takhts Temporal Seats of religious authority of Sikhism three are in Punjab These are Sri Akal Takht Sahib Damdama Sahib and Anandpur Sahib At least one Sikh Gurdwara can be found in almost every village in the state as well as in the towns and cities in various architectural styles and sizes Hindu Mandirs can be found all over Punjab with the Shri Durgiana Mandir in Amritsar and the Shri Devi Talab Mandir in Jalandhar visited by many pilgrims every year Due to the open nature of their religion a segment of Punjabis who are Punjabi Hindus continue heterogeneous religious practices in spiritual kinship with Sikhism This not only includes veneration of the Sikh Gurus in private practice but also visit to Sikh Gurdwaras in addition to Hindu Mandirs 160 Education EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed January 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Main article Education in Punjab India See also Punjab School Education Board Punjab State Board of Technical Education and Industrial Training and List of institutions of higher education in Punjab Primary and Secondary education is mainly affiliated to Punjab School Education Board Punjab is served by several institutions of higher education including 23 universities that provide undergraduate and postgraduate courses in all the major arts humanities science engineering law medicine veterinary science and business Reading and writing Punjabi language is compulsory till matriculation for every student 161 failing which the schools attract fine or cancellation of licence 162 Punjab Agricultural University is a leading institution globally for the study of agriculture and played a significant role in Punjab s Green Revolution in the 1960s 70s Alumni of the Panjab University Chandigarh include Manmohan Singh the former Prime Minister of India and Dr Har Gobind Khorana a biochemistry nobel laureate One of the oldest institutions of medical education is the Christian Medical College Ludhiana which has existed since 1894 163 There is an existing gap in education between men and women particularly in rural areas of Punjab Of a total of 1 million 300 thousand students enrolled in grades five to eight only 44 are women 164 Punjab has 23 universities of which ten are private 9 are state one is central and three are deemed universities Punjab has 104 000 104 000 engineering seats 165 Punjab is also increasingly becoming known for education of yoga and naturopathy with its student slowly adopting these as their career The Board of Naturopathy and Yoga Science BNYS is located in the state 166 Regional College Dinanagar is the first college to be opened in Dinanagar Town 167 Khalsa College Amritsar The Ranjit Singh Block at Guru Nanak Dev University Guru Gobind Singh Bhawan at Punjabi UniversityMedia EditMain articles List of Punjabi media List of Punjabi language newspapers and List of Punjabi language television channels Daily Ajit Jagbani and Punjabi Tribune are the largest selling Punjabi newspapers while The Tribune is most selling English newspaper A vast number of weekly biweekly and monthly magazines are under publication in Punjabi Other main newspapers are Daily Punjab Times Rozana Spokesman Nawan Zamana etc Doordarshan is the broadcaster of the Government of India and its channel DD Punjabi is dedicated to Punjabi Prominent private Punjabi channels include news channels like BBC Punjabi 168 ABP Sanjha 169 Global Punjab TV 170 News18 Punjab Haryana Himachal 171 Zee Punjab Haryana Himachal PTC News and entertainment channels like Zee Punjabi GET Punjabi ETC Punjabi Chardikla Time TV PTC Punjabi Colours Punjabi JUS Punjabi MH1 and 9x Tashan 172 Punjab has witnessed a growth in FM radio channels mainly in the cities of Jalandhar Patiala and Amritsar which has become hugely popular There are government radio channels like All India Radio Jalandhar All India Radio Bathinda and FM Gold Ludhiana 173 Private radio channels include Radio Mirchi BIG FM 92 7 94 3 My FM Radio Mantra and many more Culture Edit Punjabi jutti Main articles Punjabi culture Punjabi people Punjabi festivals Punjabi clothing and Punjabi Tamba and Kurta The culture of Punjab has many elements including music such as bhangra an extensive religious and non religious dance tradition a long history of poetry in the Punjabi language a significant Punjabi film industry that dates back to before Partition a vast range of cuisine which has become widely popular abroad and a number of seasonal and harvest festivals such as Lohri 174 Basant Vaisakhi and Teeyan 175 176 177 all of which are celebrated in addition to the religious festivals of India A kissa is a Punjabi language oral story telling tradition that has a mixture of origins ranging from the Arabian peninsula to Iran and Afghanistan 178 Punjabi wedding traditions and ceremonies are a strong reflection of Punjabi culture Marriage ceremonies are known for their rich rituals songs dances food and dresses which have evolved over many centuries 179 180 Bhangra Edit Main article Folk dances of Punjab Bhangra Bhangra Punjabi ਭ ਗੜ Gurmukhi pronounced pɑ ŋɡɾɑ ː and Giddha are forms of dance and music that originated in the Punjab region 181 Bhangra dance began as a folk dance conducted by Punjabi farmers to celebrate the coming of the harvest season The specific moves of Bhangra reflect the manner in which villagers farmed their land This hybrid dance became Bhangra The folk dance has been popularised in the western world by Punjabis in England Canada and the USA where competitions are held 182 It is seen in the West as an expression of South Asian culture as a whole 183 Today Bhangra dance survives in different forms and styles all over the globe including pop music film soundtracks collegiate competitions and cultural shows Punjabi folklore Edit Main articles Punjabi folklore and Folk instruments of Punjab The folk heritage of the Punjab reflects its thousands of years of history While Majhi is considered to be the standard dialect of Punjabi language there are a number of Punjabi dialects through which the people communicate These include Malwai Doabi and Puadhi The songs ballads epics and romances are generally written and sung in these dialects There are a number of folk tales that are popular in Punjab These are the folk tales of Mirza Sahiban Heer Ranjha Sohni Mahiwal Sassi Punnun Jagga Jatt Dulla Bhatti Puran Bhagat Jeona Maud etc The mystic folk songs and religious songs include the Shalooks of Sikh gurus Baba Farid and others 184 The most famous of the romantic love songs are Mayhiah Dhola and Boliyan 185 Punjabi romantic dances include Dhamaal Bhangra Giddha Dhola and Sammi and some other local folk dances 186 Literature Edit See also Punjabi literature Most early Punjabi literary works are in verse form with prose not becoming more common until later periods Throughout its history Punjabi literature has sought to inform and inspire educate and entertain The Punjabi language is written in several different scripts of which the Shahmukhi the Gurmukhi scripts are the most commonly used 187 Music Edit See also Music of Punjab Folk music of Punjab and Bhangra music Punjabi Folk Music is the traditional music on the traditional musical instruments of Punjab region 188 189 190 Bhangra music of Punjab is famous throughout the world 28 Punjabi music has a diverse style of music ranging from folk and Sufi to classical notably the Punjab gharana and Patiala gharana 191 192 Film industry Edit See also Cinema of Punjab Punjab is home to the Punjabi film industry often colloquially referred to as Pollywood 193 It is known for being the fastest growing film industry in India It is based mainly around Mohali city According to MP Manish Tewari the government is planning to build a film city in Mohali 194 The first Punjabi film was made in 1936 Since the 2000s Punjabi cinema has seen a revival with more releases every year with bigger budgets homegrown stars and Bollywood actors of Punjabi descent taking part citation needed Punjabi women using a traditional method of spinning Crafts Edit The city of Amritsar is home to the craft of brass and copper metalwork done by the Thatheras of Jandiala Guru which is enlisted on the UNESCO s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage 195 Years of neglect had caused this craft to die out and the listing prompted the Government of Punjab to undertake a craft revival effort under Project Virasat 196 197 Vegetarian Punjabi Thaali Cuisine Edit Main articles Punjabi cuisine and Punjabi dhabha One of the main features of Punjabi cuisine is its diverse range of dishes 198 199 Home cooked and restaurant cuisine sometimes vary in taste Restaurant style uses large amounts of ghee Some food items are eaten on a daily basis while some delicacies are cooked only on special occasions 200 There are many regional dishes that are famous in some regions only Many dishes are exclusive to Punjab including Sarson Da Saag Tandoori chicken Shami kebab makki di roti etc 201 Festivals and traditions Edit See also List of Sikh festivals Punjabi festivals and List of Hindu festivals in Punjab Punjabis celebrate a number of festivals which have taken a semi secular meaning and are regarded as cultural festivals by people of all religions Some of the festivals are Bandi Chhor Divas Diwali 202 203 Mela Maghi 204 Hola Mohalla 205 206 Rakhri Vaisakhi Lohri Gurpurb Guru Ravidass Jayanti Teeyan and Basant Kite Festival Sports EditMain article Sports in Punjab India Kabbadi Circle Style PCA Stadium under lights at Mohali Kabbadi Circle Style a team contact sport originated in rural Punjab is recognised as the state game 207 208 Field hockey is also a popular sport in the state 209 Kila Raipur Sports Festival popularly known as the Rural Olympics is held annually in Kila Raipur near Ludhiana Competition is held for major Punjabi rural sports include cart race rope pulling Punjab government organises World Kabaddi League 210 211 Punjab Games and annual Kabaddi World Cup for Circle Style Kabbadi in which teams from countries like Argentina Canada Denmark England India Iran Kenya Pakistan Scotland Sierra Leone Spain and United States participated A major C B S E event C B S E Cluster Athlectics also held in Punjab at Sant Baba Bhag Singh University 212 The Punjab state basketball team won the National Basketball Championship on many occasions most recently in 2019 and 2020 213 214 Tourism EditMain articles List of Monuments of National Importance in Punjab Tourism in Punjab India and Tourism in Amritsar Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar is a major pilgrimage site in Punjab and is also widely visited for its unique architecture Moti Bagh Palace in Patiala Tourism in Indian Punjab centres around the historic palaces battle sites and the great Sikh architecture of the state and the surrounding region 215 Examples include various sites of the Indus Valley civilization the ancient fort of Bathinda the architectural monuments of Kapurthala Patiala and Chandigarh the modern capital designed by Le Corbusier 216 The Golden Temple in Amritsar is one of the major tourist destinations of Punjab and indeed India attracting more visitors than the Taj Mahal Lonely Planet Bluelist 2008 has voted the Harmandir Sahib as one of the world s best spiritual sites 217 Moreover there is a rapidly expanding array of international hotels in the holy city at Heritage Walk Amritsar that can be booked for overnight stays Devi Talab Mandir is a Hindu temple located in Jalandhar This temple is devoted to Goddess Durga 218 and is believed to be at least 200 years old Another main tourist destination is religious and historic city of Sri Anandpur Sahib where large number of tourists come to see the Virasat e Khalsa Khalsa Heritage Memorial Complex and also take part in Hola Mohalla festival Kila Raipur Sports Festival is also popular tourist attraction in Kila Raipur near Ludhiana 219 220 221 Shahpur kandi fort Ranjit Sagar lake and Sikh Temple in Sri Muktsar Sahib are also popular attractions in Punjab Punjab also has the world s first museum based on the Indian Partition of 1947 in Amritsar called the Partition Museum 222 See also EditHistory of Punjab List of people from Punjab India Punjabi nationalism Sikh Light Infantry Punjab Regiment Sikh Regiment Punjabi culture Provinces of India British COVID 19 pandemic in Punjab India Panjab Digital LibraryNotes Edit Michaels 2004 p 38 harvtxt error no target CITEREFMichaels2004 help The legacy of the Vedic religion in Hinduism is generally overestimated The influence of the mythology is indeed great but the religious terminology changed considerably all the key terms of Hinduism either do not exist in Vedic or have a completely different meaning The religion of the Veda does not know the ethicised migration of the soul with retribution for acts karma the cyclical destruction of the world or the idea of salvation during one s lifetime jivanmukti moksa nirvana the idea of the world as illusion maya must have gone against the grain of ancient India and an omnipotent creator god emerges only in the late hymns of the Rigveda Nor did the Vedic religion know a caste system the burning of widows the ban on remarriage images of gods and temples Puja worship Yoga pilgrimages vegetarianism the holiness of cows the doctrine of stages of life asrama or knew them only at their inception Thus it is justified to see a turning point between the Vedic religion and Hindu religions Jamison Stephanie Witzel Michael 1992 Vedic Hinduism PDF Harvard University p 3 to call this period Vedic Hinduism is a contradictio in terminis since Vedic religion is very different from what we generally call Hindu religion at least as much as Old Hebrew religion is from medieval and modern Christian religion However Vedic religion is treatable as a predecessor of Hinduism See also Halbfass 1991 pp 1 2harvnb error no target CITEREFHalbfass1991 help Hinduism Buddhism Jainism and Sikh originated in India Moreno Luis Colino Cesar 2010 Diversity and Unity in Federal Countries McGill Queen University Press p 207 ISBN 978 0 7735 9087 8 Footnotes Edit Craterus supervised the construction These cities are yet to be 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himself the son of a king After conquering the Punjab where he made Sagala his capital he made an expedition across northern India and visited Patna the capital of the Mauraya empire though he did not succeed in conquering this land as he appears to have been overtaken by wars on the north west frontier with Eucratides Ahir D C 1971 Buddhism in the Punjab Haryana and Himachal Pradesh Maha Bodhi Society of India p 31 OCLC 1288206 Demetrius died in 166 B C and Apollodotus who was a near relation of the King died in 161 B C After his death Menander carved out a kingdom in Punjab Thus from 161 B C onward Menander was the ruler of Punjab till his death in 145 B C or 130 B C Menander Indo Greek king Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved 6 September 2021 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Rambo Lewis R Farhadian Charles E 6 March 2014 The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion Oxford University Press pp 489 491 ISBN 978 0 19 971354 7 First Islam was introduced into the southern Punjab in the opening decades of the eighth century By the sixteenth century Muslims were the majority in the region and an elaborate network of mosques and mausoleums marked the landscape Local converts constituted the majority of this Muslim community and as far for the mechanisms of conversion the sources of the period emphasize the recitation of the Islamic confession of faith shahada the performance of the circumsicion indri vaddani and the ingestion of cow meat bhas khana Chhabra G S 1968 Advanced History of the Punjab Guru and post Guru period upto Ranjit Singh New Academic Publishing Company p 37 The Ain i Akbari Vol II INDIAN CULTURE Retrieved 22 March 2023 Sen Sailendra Nath 1999 Ancient Indian History and Civilization New Age International ISBN 978 81 224 1198 0 Mehta Jaswant Lal 1979 Advanced Study in the History of Medieval India Sterling Publishers Pvt Ltd p 76 ISBN 978 81 207 0617 0 Singh 2006 pp 12 13 sfn error no target 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28 January 2016 In March 1930 the All India Muslim League passed its famous Lahore Resolution demanding the creation of a separate state from Muslim majority areas in India it sparked off an enormous furore amongst the Sikhs in the Punjab the professed intention of the Muslim League to impose a Muslim state on the Punjab a Muslim majority province was anathema to the Sikhs Sikhs launched a virulent campaign against the Lahore Resolution http www pap gov pk uploads previous members S 1946 1947 htm Provincial Assembly of the Punjab Dyson 2018 pp 188 189 sfn error no target CITEREFDyson2018 help The Tribune News 2 November 2018 Punjab Day celebrated The Tribune Retrieved 4 November 2019 Rao Madhu 1 November 2019 Formation day These Indian states were formed on November 1 India TV Retrieved 4 November 2019 Sikh separatism Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved 14 July 2020 a b c State Profile About Punjab Punjab Government Archived from the original on 6 November 2011 Retrieved 18 July 2010 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Matange Yash 21 December 2019 70th Senior National Basketball Championship Ludhiana Groups Fixtures and Schedule NBA com Retrieved 3 February 2021 Naik Shivani 9 January 2020 Hoop and the hype Meet the promising basketball talent knocking on Team India doors The Indian Express Retrieved 3 February 2021 World Heritage Day 8 places to visit in Punjab Archived from the original on 17 July 2015 Punjab Archived 8 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine Mapsofindia com retrieved 18 January 2012 Lonely Planet tips Mumbai as a must see destination in 2008 ptinews com 9 November 2007 स दर शन चक र न क ए थ द व सत क 51 ट कड यह भ कटकर ग र शर र क भ ग 12 October 2015 Archived from the original on 14 September 2016 Retrieved 3 August 2016 Pictures displayed at media centre attract visitors to Kila Raipur games Hindustan Times 2 February 2014 Retrieved 6 December 2019 Kila Raipur sports festival begins today Archived from the original on 20 October 2015 Kila Raipur sports festival concludes Archived from the original on 28 January 2016 Amritsar based Partition Museum to ink pact with Manchester Museum Hindustan Times 6 October 2019 Retrieved 7 October 2019 Bibliography EditRadhika Chopra Militant and Migrant The Politics and Social History of Punjab 2011 Harnik Deol Religion and Nationalism in India The Case of the Punjab Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia 2000 Harjinder Singh Dilgeer Encyclopedia of Jalandhar Sikh University Press Brussels Belgium 2005 Harjinder Singh Dilgeer SIKH HISTORY in 10 volumes Sikh University Press Brussels Belgium 2010 11 J S Grewal The Sikhs of the Punjab The New Cambridge History of India 1998 J S Grewal Social and Cultural History of the Punjab Prehistoric Ancient and Early Medieval 2004 Nazer Singh Delhi and Punjab Essays in history and historiography 1995 Tai Yong Tan The Garrison State Military Government and Society in Colonial Punjab 1849 1947 Sage Series in Modern Indian History 2005 J C Aggarwal and S P Agrawal eds Modern History of Punjab Relevant Select Documents 1992 R M Chopra The Legacy of The Punjab 1997 Punjabee Bradree Calcutta Zuhair Kashmeri Brian McAndrew 6 September 2005 Soft Target The Real Story Behind the Air India Disaster Second Edition James Lorimer amp Company ISBN 978 1 55 028904 6External links EditPunjab India at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Resources from Wikiversity Travel information from Wikivoyage GovernmentOfficial website Official Tourism Site of Punjab IndiaGeneral informationPunjab India web resources provided by GovPubs at the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries Punjab India at the Encyclopaedia Britannica Punjab India at Curlie Geographic data related to Punjab India at OpenStreetMap Portals Punjab India India Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Punjab India amp oldid 1152673047, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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