Introducation of Punjab

Punjab is a state in northwest India and forms apart of the larger Punjab region, which also includes the Punjab province of Pakistan and the Indian states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The Punjab state borders the Punjab province of Pakistan to the west, Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, the Union Territory of Chandigarh to the southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest.

The total area of the state is 50,362 square kilometres (19,445 square miles). The population is 24,289,296 (2000). Punjab’s capital is Chandigarh which is administered separately as a Union Territory since it is also the capital of neighbouring Haryana. Other major cities of Punjab include Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Patiala.

The word “Punjab” is a combination of the Persian words ‘Panj’ five, and ‘Aab’ water, giving the literal meaning of the Land of the Five Rivers. The five rivers which Punjab is named after are the Jhelum; the Chenab; the Ravi; the Beas and the Sutlej.

In 1947, the Punjab was partitioned between newly-independent India and Pakistan along religious lines, with the mostly Sikh and Hindu eastern portion to India and the Muslim western portion of the region going to Pakistan. Punjab is a predominantly agricultural state. The largest grown crop is wheat. Other important crops are rice, cotton, sugarcane, millet, maize, barley and fruit. Textiles and flour milling are the major industries. Road, rail and river transport links are extensive throughout the region.