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AsiaIS >India > Punjab > Introduction
P U N J A B |
| With
a history dating back to over 5000 years and a geography that placed it on the borders of
the Indian subcontinent, Punjab as the gateway to India has perforce had to be the first
barrier for any marauding army to surmount. The plains of this state are dotted with sites
of battles that were to shape India’s future. Little wonder that its people are
valued for their valour and martial prowess. The trials and tribulations of life on the
edge have given them a zest for life that transcends tough times - the Punjabi certainly
knows how to live on a grand scale and for him, every event becomes a celebration of life
itself. |
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| 'Punjab' literally means
the land of five rivers. A network of five rivers – the Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Chenab
and Jhelum, irrigates this flat tract of land extending down from the Himalayas in the
north to the deserts in the west. Agriculture is the 'culture' of this state, the fertile
food bowl of India that feeds its masses. The erstwhile boundaries of Punjab extended
right up to the borders with Afghanistan in the northwest, but when India won her
independence from British rule in 1947, the state was split between Pakistan and India.
Punjab got further divided with the separation of the hill state of Himachal Pradesh and
the Hindu majority state, Haryana (1966). Chandigarh is the
common capital city for both the states of Punjab and Haryana today. |
F A C
T B O X |
| Area |
50,362
sq km |
| Population |
24,289,296
(2001) |
| Language |
Punjabi,
Hindi, English |
Religion |
Sikh,
Hindu, Muslim |
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