ਪੰਜਾਬ
Punjab: (Gurmukhi)) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the west, it is also bounded to the north by Jammu and Kashmir. The state capital isChandigarh. Major cities of Punjab includes Mohali, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Amritsar,Bathinda, Patiala and Jalandhar. After the partition of India in 1947, the Punjab province of British India was divided between India and Pakistan. The Indian Punjab was divided in 1966 with the formation of the new states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh as well as the current state of Punjab. Punjab is the only state in India with a majority Sikh population.
Agriculture is the largest industry in Punjab; it is the largest single provider of wheat to India. Other major industries include the manufacturing of scientific instruments, water meter, electrical goods, financial services, machine tools, textiles, sewing machines, sports goods,starch, tourism, fertilizers, bicycles, garments, and the processing of pine oil and sugar. Punjab also has the largest number of Steel Rolling Mill Plants in India which are located in Steel Town Mandi Gobindgarh, District Fatehgarh Sahib.
Etymology
The word Punjab is a combination of the Persian words پنج panj (five) and آب āb (water), and thus the (land of) five rivers. The five rivers are the Beas, Sutlej, Ravi River, Chenab Riverand Jhelum River. Traditionally, in English, there used to be a definite article before the name i.e. the Punjab.[5] The name is also sometimes spelled as Panjab or Punjaab.
Geography
Punjab is located in northwestern India, and has an area of 50,362 km2. It extends from the latitudes 29.30° North to 32.32° North and longitudes 73.55° East to 76.50° East. It is bounded on the west by Pakistan, on the north by Jammu and Kashmir, on the northeast by Himachal Pradesh and on the south by Haryana and Rajasthan.Most of the Punjab lies in a fertile plain, alluvial plain with many rivers and an extensive irrigation canal system. A belt of undulating hills extends along the northeastern part of the state at the foot of the Himalayas. Its average elevation is 300 meters above sea level, with a range from 180 meters in the southwest to more than 500 meters around the northeast border. The southwest of the state is semi-arid, eventually merging into the Thar Desert. The Siwalik Hills extends along the northeastern part of the state at the foot of theHimalayas.
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. 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 zones; and zone IV is considered a high damage risk zone.
Climate
Punjab's climate is characterized by extreme hot and extreme cold conditions. Annual temperatures in Punjab range from –2 to 40 °C (min/max), but can reach 47 °C (117 °F) in summer and –4 °C in winter. The northeast area lying near the foothills of the Himalayas receives heavy rainfall, whereas the area lying further south and west receives less rainfall and experiences higher temperatures. Average annual rainfall ranges between 960 mm in the sub-mountain region and 460 mm in the plains.
Punjab has three seasons:
- Summer (April to June), when temperature typically rise as high as 110°F.
- Monsoon season (July to September), when a majority of rainfall occurs.
- Winter (December to February), when temperatures typically fall as low as 40°F.
There is a transitional period between winter and summer in March and early April, as well as a transitional season between monsoon season and winter in October and November.
History
Main article: History of the Punjab
Ancient History
Punjab during Mahabharata times was known as Panchanada. Indus Valley Civilization spanned much of the Punjab region with cities such as Harrapa (modern-day Punjab, Pakistan). The arrival of the Indo-Aryans led to the flourishing of the Vedic Civilization along the length of the Indus River to cover most of Northern India. This civilization shaped subsequent cultures in the Indian Subcontinent and Afghanistan. Punjab was part of the great ancient empires including the Gandhara Mahajanapadas, Nandas, Mauryas, Sungas, Kushans, Guptas, Palas,Gurjara-Pratiharas and Hindu Shahis. Agriculture flourished and trading cities (such as Jalandhar and Ludhiana) grew in wealth.
Due to its location, the Punjab region came under constant attack and influence from the west. Punjab faced invasions by the Persians,Greeks, Scythians, Turks, and Afghans. This resulted in the Punjab witnessing centuries of bitter bloodshed. Its legacy is a unique culture that combines Zorastrian, Hindu, Buddhist, Persian, Central Asian, Islamic, Afghan, Sikh and British elements.
The city of Taxila, founded by son of Taksh the son Bharat who was the brother of Ram. It was reputed to house the oldest university in the world, Takshashila University, one of the teachers was the great Vedic thinker and politician Chanakya. Taxila was a great centre of learning and intellectual discussion during the Maurya Empire. It is a UN World Heritage site.
those of Alexander the Great, Chengiz Khan and Tamerlane. Of particular importance were the periods of contact between Punjab and various Persian Empires when the parts of it either became integrated with the empire itself, or was an autonomous region which paid taxes to the Persian King. In later centuries, when Persian was the language of the Mughal government, Persian architecture, poetry, art and music was an integral part of the region's culture. The official language of Punjab remained Persian until the arrival of the British in the mid 19th century, where it was finally abolished and the administrative language was changed over to Urdu.
Muslim Rule of Punjab
Arrival of Islam in 712
The Punjabis followed a diverse plethora of faiths, mainly comprising Hindus but with large minorities ofBuddhists and Zoroastrians when the Umayyad Muslim Arab army led by Muhammad bin Qasim conquered the Punjab and Sindh in 712. During the reign of Mahmud of Ghazni, the province became an important centre and Lahore was made into a second capital of the Ghaznavid Empire based out of Afghanistan. Then in 1192 and 1193 Muhammad of Ghor invaded two times and established his empire which was succeeded by his general Qutb-ud-din Aybak. After this Punjab saw several Muslim rulers such as Khalji dynasty (1290–1320),Tughlaq dynasty (1320–1413), Sayyid dynasty (1414–51), and Lodi dynasty (1451–1526).
The Mughal empire
In 1526 Babur, the ruler in central Asia and Afghanistan invaded Hindustan and passed through Punjab. He defeated Ibrahim lodhi of Lodhi dynasty at first battle of panipat and established new dynasty which become famous as Mughal dynasty. The Mughals controlled the region from 1526 until 1739 and would also lavish the province with building projects such as the Shalimar Gardens and the Badshahi Mosque, both situated in Lahore. Muslim soldiers, traders, architects, theologians and Muslim Sufis flocked from the rest of the Muslim world to the Islamic Sultanate in South Asia and some may have settled in the Punjab.
Afghans/Pashtuns/Pathans
Following the decline of the Mughals, the Shah of Iran and founder of the Afsharid dynasty in Persia, Nader Shah crossed the Indus and sacked the province in 1739. Later, the Afghan conqueror Ahmad Shah Durrani, born in Punjab, in the city of Multan made the Punjab a part of his Durrani Empire lasting until 1773.
[edit]Sikhs in Punjab
The roots of Sikhism began at the time of the Conquest of Northern India by Babur. His grandson, Akbar supported religious freedom and after visiting the langar of Guru Amar Das had a favorable impression of Sikhism. As a result of his visit he donated land to the langar and had a positive relationship with the Sikh Gurus until his death in 1605. His successor, Jahangir, saw the Sikhs as a political threat. He arrested Guru Arjun Dev because of Sikh support for Khusrau Mirza and ordered him to be put to death by torture. Guru Arjan Dev'sMartyrdom led to the sixth Guru, Guru Har Gobind, declaring Sikh sovereignty in the creation of the Akal Takht and the establishment of a fort to defend Amritsar. Jahangir attempted to assert authority over the Sikhs by jailing Guru Har Gobind at Gwalior and released him after a number of years when he no longer felt threatened. Sikhism did not have any further issues with the Mughal Empire until the death of Jahangir in 1627. His successor, Shah Jahan "took offense" at Guru Har Gobind's sovereignty and after a series of assaults on Amritsar forced theSikhs to retreat to the Sivalik Hills. Guru Har Gobind's successor, Guru Har Rai maintained the guruship in the Sivalik Hills by defeating local attempts to seize Sikh land and taking a neutral role in the power struggle between Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh for control of theTimurid dynasty. The ninth Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, moved the Sikh community to Anandpur and traveled extensively to visit and preach in Sikh communities in defiance Aurangzeb, who attempted to install Ram Rai to the guruship. He aided Kashmiri Brahmins in avoiding conversion to Islam and was arrested and confronted by Aurangzeb. When offered a choice between conversion or death, he chose to die rather than compromise his principles and was executed. Guru Gobind Singh, assumed the guruship in 1675 and to avoid battles with Sivalik Hill Rajas moved the guruship to Paunta. He built a large fort to protect the city and garrisoned an army to protect it. The growing power of the Sikh community alarmed Sivalik Hill Rajas who attempted to attack the city but the Guru's forces routed them at the Battle of Bhangani. He moved on to Anandpur and established the Khalsa, a collective army of baptized Sikhs, on March 30, 1699. The establishment of the Khalsa united the Sikh community against various Mughal-backed claimants to the guruship. In 1701, a combined army composed of the Sivalik Hill Rajas and the Mughal army under Wazir Khan attacked Anandpur and, following a retreat by the Khalsa, were defeated by the Khalsa at the Battle of Mukstar. In 1707, Guru Gobind Singh accepted an invitation by Bahadur Shah I, Aurangzeb's successor to meet insouthern India. When he arrived in Nanded in 1708, Agents of Wazir Khan, the governor of Sirhind attempted to assassinate him but both were killed by Guru Gobind Singh, however they managed to stab Guru's Rib area, Later Bahadur Shah I hired a European surgeon to stitch the Guru's wound, but later his wound got open due to shooting an arrow from a very hard bow. On anticipating his death he passed the Guruship to Sikh's Holy Scripture Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji and made the scripture the eternal Guru of Sikhs, no body knows exactly Guru Gobind Singh died or not because he ran into a huge fire with his horse and falcon and disappeared on thing left in the Ashes was his sword which is still present in Gurudwara Hazoor Sahib Nanded, Maharashtra.
Banda Singh Bahadur
Banda Singh Bahadur was an ascetic who converted to Sikhism after meeting Guru Gobind Singh at Nanded. A short time before his death,Guru Gobind Singh ordered him to reconquer Punjab and gave him a letter that commanded all Sikhs to join him. After two years of gaining supporters, Banda Singh Bahadur initiated an agrarian uprising by breaking up the large estates of Zamindar families and distributing the land to the poor Sikh, Hindu,and Muslim peasants who farmed the land. Banda Singh Bahadur started his rebellion with the defeat of Mughalarmies at Samana and Sadhaura and the rebellion culminated in the defeat of Sirhind. During the rebellion, Banda Singh Bahadur made a point of destroying the cities in which Mughals had been cruel to Sikhs, including executing Wazir Khan in revenge for the deaths of Guru Gobind Singh's sons, Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh after the Sikh victory at Sirhind. He ruled the territory between the Sutlejriver and the Yamuna river established a capital in the Himalayas at Lohgarh and struck coinage in the names of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh. In 1716, his army was defeated by the Mughals after they surrounded his fort at Gurdas Nangal and cut off the food supplies of Sikhs for 7 months . He was captured along with 700 of his men and sent to Delhi.Zakarya Khan, the son of the Lahore Governor, then ordered his men to lop off more Sikh heads on the way because he was feeling ashamed because only 700 Sikhs kept his 100,000 Mughal army to struggle hard for 7 months. The prisoners were first taken to Lahore, and then to Delhi. Thus Muslims made a spectacle of killing sikhs and displaying their heads in most humiliating manner.In Delhi Banda Singh Bahadur was tortured and executed after refusing to convert to Islam.
Sikh Misls
Main article: Sikh Confederacy
The period from 1716 to 1799 was a highly turbulent time politically and militarily in the Punjab. This was caused by the overall decline of the Mughal Empire. This left a power vacuum that was eventually filled by the Sikhs in the late 18th century, after fighting off local Mughal remnants and allied Rajput leaders, Afghans, and occasionally hostile Punjabi Muslims who sided with other Muslim forces. Sikh warlords eventually formed their own independent Sikh administrative regions (misls), which were united in large part by Ranjit Singh.
The Sikh Empire
Main article: Sikh Empire
At the beginning of the fifteenth century, the religion of Sikhism was born, and during the Mughal period gradually emerged as a formidable military force until subjugated and assimilated by the later rising and expanding Sikh Empire. After Ahmad Shah Durrani rule, the Sikhs wrested control of the Punjab from his descendants and ruled in a confederacy, which later became the Sikh Empire of the Punjab under maharaja ranjit singh. A denizen of the city of Gujranwala, the capital of Ranjit Singh's empire was Lahore.
The Sikh Empire (1801–1849) was formed on the foundations of the Punjabi Army byMaharaja Ranjit Singh. The empire extended from the Khyber Pass in the west, to Kashmir in the north, to Sindh in the south, and Tibet in the east. The main geographical footprint of the empire was the Punjab region. The religious demography of the Sikh Empire was Muslim(70%), Sikh (15%), Hindu (15%).
The foundations of the Sikh Empire could be defined as early as 1707, starting from the death of Aurangzeb and the downfall of the Mughal Empire. The fall of the Mughal Empire provided opportunities for the army, known as the Dal Khalsa, to lead expeditions against the Mughalsand Afghans. This led to a growth of the army, which was split into different Punjabi armies and then semi-independent "misls". Each of these component armies were known as a misl, each controlling different areas and cities. However, in the period from 1762–1799, Sikh rulers of their misls appeared to be coming into their own. The formal start of the Sikh Empire began with the disbandment of the Punjab Army by the time of coronation of Ranjit Singh in 1801, creating a unified political state. All the misl leaders who were affiliated with the Army were nobility with usually long and prestigious family histories in Punjab's history.
After Maharaja Ranjit Singh's death in 1839, the empire was severely weakened by internal divisions and political mismanagement. This opportunity was used by the British Empire to launch the Anglo-Sikh Wars. A series of events of the Sikhs being betrayed by some prominent leaders in the army led to its downfall. Maharaja Gulab Singh and Raja Dhian Singh the top Generals of the army.
The Sikh Empire was finally dissolved after a series of wars with the British at the end of the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849 into separate princely states and the British province of Punjab, which were granted statehood. Eventually, a Lieutenant Governorship was formed in Lahore as a direct representative of the British Crown.
The British in Punjab
By 1845 the British had moved 32,000 troops to the Sutlej frontier, to secure their northernmost possessions against the succession struggles in the Punjab . In late 1845, British and Sikh troops engaged near Ferozepur, beginning the First Anglo-Sikh War. The war ended the following year, and the territory between the Sutlej and the Beas was ceded to Great Britain , along with Kashmir, which was sold to Gulab Singh of Jammu , who ruled Kashmir as a British vassal.
The Maharaja's death in the summer of 1839 brought political chaos and the subsequent battles of succession and the bloody infighting between the factions at court weakened the state. Relationships with neighbouring British territories then broke down, starting the First Anglo-Sikh War; this led to a British official being resident in Lahore and the annexation of territory south of the Satluj to British India . Sikhs were the first people of the Punjab to rule their own land since Prithviraj Chauhan's defeat.
As a condition of the peace treaty, some British troops, along with a resident political agent and other officials, were left in the Punjab to oversee the regency of Maharaja Dhalip Singh, a minor. The Sikh army was reduced greatly in size. In 1848, out-of-work Sikh troops in Multan Punjab , and British troops once again invaded. The British prevailed in the Second Anglo-Sikh War, and under the Treaty of Lahore in 1849, the Punjab was annexed by theBritish East India Company, and Dhalip Singh was pensioned off. The Punjab became a province of British India , although a number of small states, most notably Patiala
In every way, the Punjab was one of Great Britain 's most important assets in colonial India Britain a base from which to project its power over more than 500 princely states that made up India Lahore was a center of learning and culture under British rule, and Rawalpindi
The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of 1919 occurred in Amritsar Lahore Pakistan , made Punjab the centerstage of a different, bloodier and dirtier struggle.
In 1946, massive communal tensions and violence erupted between the majority Muslims of Punjab, and the Hindu and Sikh minorities. The Muslim League attacked the government of Unionist Punjabi Muslims, Sikh Akalis and the Congress, and led to its downfall. Unwilling to be cowed down, Sikhs and Hindus counter-attacked and the resulting bloodshed left the province in great disorder. Both Congress and League leaders agreed to partition Punjab upon religious lines, a precursor to the wider partition of the country.
Independence and its aftermath
In 1947 the Punjab Province of British India was divided along religious lines into West Punjab andEast Punjab. The western part was assimilated into new country of Pakistan while the east stayed in India. This led to massive rioting as both sides committed atrocities against fleeing refugees. ThePartition of India in 1947 split the former Raj province of Punjab; the mostly Muslim western part became the Pakistani province of West Punjab and the mostly Sikh and Hindu eastern part became the Indian province of Punjab. Many Sikhs and Hindus lived in the west, and many Muslims lived in the east, and so partition saw many people displaced and much intercommunal violence. Several small Punjabi princely states, including Patiala, also became part of India. The undivided Punjab, of which Punjab (Pakistan) forms a major region today, was home to a large minority population ofPunjabi Sikhs and Hindus unto 1947 apart from the Muslim majority.
At the time of independence in 1947 and due to the ensuing horrendous exchange of populations, the Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus migrated to India India Punjab , while the princely states were combined into thePatiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU). Himachal Pradesh was created as a union territory from several princely states in hilly region.
Formation of current Punjab
The capital of the undivided Province of Punjab , Lahore , was allocated to Punjab during the partition of British India in 1947, so a new capital for Indian Punjab was built at Chandigarh
After years of protest by Akali Dal and other Sikh organizations finally punjab was divided along linguistic basis in 1966. On 1 November 1966, the Hindi-speaking southern half of Punjab became a separate state, Haryana and Pahari speaking hilly areas in north east was given to himachal . Chandigarh was on the border between the two states, and became a separate union territory but serves as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana. During the 1970s, the Green Revolution brought increased economic prosperity for the Punjab , mainly due to the late Pratap Singh Kairon. However, a growing polarization between the Indian National Congress led central government and the main Sikh political party, the Shiromani Akali Dal, began to widen during the 1970s. Hostility and bitterness arose from what was widely seen by the Akali Dal as increasing alienation, centralization and discriminatory attitudes towards Punjab by the Government of India. This prompted the Shiromani Akali Dal to pass the Anandpur Sahib Resolution which asked for granting maximum autonomy to the region of Punjab and other states and limited role and powers of the Central Government.
[Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Punjab (India
Population Growth |
According to the 2011 Indian Census, the population of Indian Punjab is 27,704,236 (Males 14,634,819 & Females 13,069,417) The Indian state of Punjab is 60% Sikh and 37% Hindu. There is a small Muslim population still living there, especially in Malerkotla. In recent times, there is growing concern in the state about the immigration of labourers from other Indian states such as Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar . Around 15-20% of Punjab 's population is now made up of migrants from other states. The literacy rate in Punjab is 75%, male literacy being 80.23% and female literacy is 68.36%. Being an agricultural state, a large part of the population lives in the rural area. Roughly 66% of people live in rural areas while the rest of the 34% are urban residents. The state has a skewed sex ratio, according to the 2001 census there are 876 females per 1000 males in Punjab .
Religion
Religions in | ||
Religion | No. of people[34] | % of total |
Sikhs | 14,656,345 | 60.00% |
Hindus | 8,997,942 | 37.00% |
Muslims | 382,045 | 1.57 % |
Christians | 292,800 | 1.20 % |
Buddhists | 41,487 | 0.17 % |
Jains | 39,276 | 0.16 % |
Others | 8,594 | 0.04 % |
Total population | 24,358,999 | 100% |
See also: Sikhism
Sikhism is the predominant faith in Punjab . About 60% of the people in the state are Sikhs. The holiest of Sikh shrines, the Sri Harmandir Sahib (or Golden Temple ), is in the city of Amritsar Punjab . These are Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Damdama Sahib and Anandpur Sahib. Anandpur Sahib is where Guru Gobind Singh created the Khalsa in 1699 on the day of Vaisakhi. During major holidays on the Sikh calendar (such as Vaisakhi, Hola Mohalla, Gurpurb and Diwali), many Sikhs gather and march in religious processions through virtually every city, town and village in Punjab . Sikhism is in fact so common that at least one Sikh Gurdwara can be found in almost every village in the state beside towns and cities (in various architectural styles and sizes). Hinduism is the second most practised faith in Punjab . A large segment of Punjabis who are categorized as Punjabi Hindus continue to live out heterogeneous religious practice that includes spiritual kinship with Sikhism. This not only includes veneration of the Sikh Gurus in private practice, but also visits to Sikh Gurdwaras along with Hindu temples. Other religions like Islam (1.5%) and Christianity(1.2%) are also followed by few people in the state, alongside Buddhism (0.2%) and Jainism (0.2%).
