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Punjab (पंजाब) is a state in northwest India, part of a larger Punjab region. Neighbouring regions are Punjab, Pakistan to the west, Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest. Total area is 50,362 square kilometres (19,445 square miles). The population is 24,000,000 (2,000 CE). The word Punjab is a combination of the words 'Punj', meaning five & 'Aab', meaning water. Punjab is a region of five rivers, the Setluj, Bias, Ravi, Chenab & Jehlam. After partition, the western half of the region went to Pakistan and the eastern half to India. Punjab is an agricultural state, with land fertility unparalleled in the world. The largest crop is wheat. Other important crops are cotton, sugarcane, millet, barley and fruit. Textiles and flour milling are the major industries. Road, rail and river transportation links are extensive throughout the region.
Sikhism is the main religion of the Indian Punjab, with about 60% of the population. Amritsar is the site of the Golden Temple, the main place of worship. The Jains also consider Amritsar to be an important city.
The language of the people is Punjabi on both sides of the border, although the alphabet used is different - Gurmukhi on the Indian side and ShahmukhiShahmukhi is a script used to record the Punjabi language. It is based on the Persian/ Arabic script and has traditionally been used by the Punjabi Muslims of India and Pakistan. Other scripts used to write Punjabi are Gurumukhi and Devnagari. The text is on Pakistani side, a modified form of ArabicThe Arabic alphabet is the principal script used for writing the Arabic language. It is the alphabet of the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. The alphabet's influence spread with that of Islam and it has been, and still is, used to write othe. The state capital of Punjab is ChandigarhChandigarh is a city in India that serves as the capital of two states: Punjab and Haryana. However, the city does not belong to either state. Rather, the city is administered by the federal government and hence classified as a union territory. Chandigarh. Other major cities include LudhianaLudhiana in India is the largest city of Punjab. It is a major industrial center of north india. Famous for its hosiery and bicycle industry, Ludhiana is also sometimes called the "manchester of India". Hero cycles industry is the largest producer of bicy, JalandharJalandhar is a city in the state of Punjab, India. It has an urban population of almost a million, and another million live in the rural areas outside the city. The city is located almost 400 km from Delhi, and about 90 km from Amritsar. Jalandhar is name and PatialaPatiala district is one of the famous princely states of erstwhile Punjab. Forming the south-eastern part of the state, it lies between 29 49 and 30 47 north latitude, 75 58 and 76 54' east longitude. It is surrounded by Fatehgarh Sahib, Rupnagar District.
1 History since Partition
The Indian state of Punjab was created in 1947, when the Partition of India and Pakistan split the former Raj province of Punjab between the two new countries. The mostly Muslim western part of the province became Pakistan's Punjab state; the mostly Sikh and Hindu eastern part became India's Punjab state. Several small Punjabi princely states, including PatialaPatiala district is one of the famous princely states of erstwhile Punjab. Forming the south-eastern part of the state, it lies between 29 49 and 30 47 north latitude, 75 58 and 76 54' east longitude. It is surrounded by Fatehgarh Sahib, Rupnagar District, also became part of India. In 1950, two Punjab states were created; Punjab included all of the former Raj province of Punjab, while the princely states were combined into a new state, the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU). In 1956, PEPSU was merged into Punjab state, and several northern districts of Punjab in the Himalayas were added to Himachal Pradesh.
The capital of Punjab province, Lahore, ended up in Pakistan after partition, so a new capital for Indian Punjab state was built at Chandigarh. On November 1, 1966, the mostly Hindu southeastern half of Punjab became a separate state, Haryana. Chandigarh was on the border between the two states, and became a separate union territory which serves as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana.
Sikh nationalists have campaigned for an independent Sikh nation, called Khalistan.
