Punjab (India) in the context of "Punjab Plain"

⭐ In the context of the Punjab Plain, the name 'Punjab' itself is most directly reflective of what geographical characteristic?

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⭐ Core Definition: Punjab (India)

Punjab (/pʌnˈɑːb/ pun-JAHB; Punjabi: pañjāba, pronounced [pəɲˈd͡ʒaːb] ) is a state in northwestern 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 Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir to the north and Chandigarh to the east. To the west, it shares an international border with the identically named Pakistani province of Punjab, and as such is sometimes referred to as East Punjab or Indian Punjab for disambiguation purposes. The state covers an area of 50,362 square kilometres (19,445 square miles), which is 1.53% of India's total geographical area, 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. Punjabi, written in the Gurmukhi script, is the most widely spoken and the official language of the state. The main ethnic group are the Punjabis, with Sikhs (57.7%) and Hindus (38.5%) forming the dominant religious groups. The state capital, Chandigarh, is a union territory and also the capital of the neighboring state of Haryana. Three of the five traditional Punjab rivers — the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi — flow through the state.

The history of Punjab has witnessed the migration and settlement of different tribes of people with different cultures and ideas, forming a civilisational melting pot. The ancient Indus Valley Civilisation flourished in the region until its decline around 1900 BCE. Punjab was enriched during the height of the Vedic period, but declined in predominance with the rise of the Mahajanapadas. The region formed the frontier of initial empires during antiquity including Alexander's and the Maurya empires. It was subsequently conquered by the Kushan Empire, Gupta Empire, and then Harsha's Empire. Punjab continued to be settled by nomadic people; including the Huna, Turkic and the Mongols. Punjab came under Muslim rule c. 1000 CE, and was part of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire. Sikhism, based on the teachings of Sikh Gurus, emerged between the 15th and 17th centuries. Conflicts between the Mughals and the later Sikh Gurus precipitated a militarisation of the Sikhs, resulting in the formation of a confederacy after the weakening of the Mughal Empire, which competed for control with the larger Durrani Empire. This confederacy was united in 1801 by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, forming the Sikh Empire.

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👉 Punjab (India) in the context of Punjab Plain

The Punjab Plain is a large alluvial plain in northwestern India and eastern Pakistan. The plain includes the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana and the union territory of Delhi, excluding the Shahdara district, and the eastern part of Pakistani Punjab. This plain is around 200–300 meters above mean sea level. The plain is the western part of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, and is bounded by the Sivalik Hills in the north, the Yamuna River in the east, the Thar Desert of Rajasthan to the south, the Ravi River to the northwest and Sutlej River to the southwest. The plain is extensively farmed for cereals and cotton.

The land formed of alluvium in between two rivers known as Doab is found here. 'Doab' is made up of two words — 'do' meaning two and 'ab' meaning water. Similarly 'Punjab', is also made up of two words — 'Punj' meaning five and 'ab' meaning water.

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Punjab (India) in the context of Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh (Hindi: Himācal Pradeś, pronounced [ɦɪˈmäːtʃəl pɾəˈd̪eːʃ]; Sanskrit: himācāl prādes; lit. "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the 13 mountain states and is characterised by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks and extensive river systems. Himachal Pradesh is the northernmost state of India and shares borders with the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to the north, and the states of Punjab to the west, Haryana to the southwest, Uttarakhand to the southeast and a very narrow border with Uttar Pradesh to the south. The state also shares an international border to the east with the Tibet Autonomous Region in China. Himachal Pradesh is also known as Dev Bhoomi, meaning 'Land of Gods' and Veer Bhoomi which means 'Land of the Brave'.

The predominantly mountainous region comprising the present-day Himachal Pradesh has been inhabited since pre-historic times, having witnessed multiple waves of human migrations from other areas. Through its history, the region was mostly ruled by local kingdoms, some of which accepted the suzerainty of larger empires. Prior to India's independence from the British, Himachal comprised the hilly regions of the Punjab Province of British India. After independence, many of the hilly territories were organised as the Chief Commissioner's province of Himachal Pradesh, which later became a Union Territory. In 1966, hilly areas of the neighbouring Punjab state were merged into Himachal and it was ultimately granted full statehood in 1971.

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Punjab (India) in the context of Harike Wetland

Harike Wetland, with the Harike Lake in the deeper part of it, east of the Harike village also known as "Hari-ke-Pattan" (Port of Harike), is a Ramsar site and the largest wetland in northern India on the border of Tarn Taran Sahib district and Ferozepur district of the Punjab state in India created by the manmade Harike Barrage headworks immediate downstream of the confluence of Beas and Sutlej rivers. Harike village is accessible by the NH-54 (Taran Taran 35 km north), NH-703A (Firozepur 45 km southwest and Kapurthala 60 km northeast), and NH-703B (Bhikhiwind 30 km northwest and Moga 50 km southeast).

Harike Barrage has created the manmade Harike Wetland. The Monsoon climate dominates the catchment draining into the wetland. The Harike headworks, which form the Harike lake and the enlarged wetland, was constructed for irrigation and drinking water supplies, through the Ferozepur, Indira Gandhi Canal and Makku feeder canals with total carrying capacity of 29,000 cubic feet per second (820 m/s), to supply to the command areas located in the states of Punjab and Rajasthan. The lake is triangular, with its apex in the west, bounded by a bund called the Dhussi Bund forming one side, a canal in the second and a major road on the third. The periphery of the lake is surrounded by agricultural land and the wetland is reported to be rich in ground water resources.

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Punjab (India) in the context of List of districts of Punjab, India

A district of the Punjab state of India is an administrative geographical unit, headed by a District Magistrate or Deputy Commissioner, an officer belonging to the Indian Administrative Service. The District Magistrate or the Deputy Commissioner is assisted by a number of officers belonging to Punjab Civil Service and other state services. There are 23 Districts in Punjab, after Malerkotla district bifurcated from Sangrur district as the 23rd district on 14 May 2021.

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Punjab (India) in the context of 1984 Indian general election

General elections were held in India on 24, 27 and 28 December 1984 soon after the assassination of previous prime minister, Indira Gandhi, though the vote in Assam and Punjab was delayed until 1985 due to ongoing insurgency.

The elections were a landslide victory for the Indian National Congress (Indira) of Rajiv Gandhi (son of Indira Gandhi), which won 404 of the 514 seats elected in 1984 and a further 10 in the delayed elections. The Telugu Desam Party of N. T. Rama Rao, a regional political party from the state of Andhra Pradesh, was the second largest party, winning 30 seats, thus achieving the distinction of becoming the first regional party to become a national opposition party. AIADMK of Tamil Nadu contested the election in alliance with the INC (I), and won 12 seats.

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Punjab (India) in the context of List of districts of Haryana

Haryana, with 22 districts, is a state in the northern region of India and is the nation's eighteenth most populous. The state borders with Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north and Rajasthan to the west and south. The river Yamuna defines its eastern border with Uttar Pradesh. Haryana also surrounds Delhi on three sides, forming the northern, western and southern borders of Delhi. Consequently, a large area of Haryana is included in the National Capital Region. Chandigarh is the capital of Punjab and Haryana jointly.

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Punjab (India) in the context of Bhikhiwind

Bhikhiwind is a town and a nagar panchayat, just about 33 km from Tarn Taran Sahib in Tarn Taran district in the Majha region of state of Punjab, India. The town is located along the India-Pakistan border in Tarn Taran district of Punjab, India, 280 km from Chandigarh.

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Punjab (India) in the context of Indira Gandhi Canal

The Indira Gandhi Canal (also still known by the revered sacred name Saraswati Rupa Rajasthan Canal, also formerly officially called Rajasthan Canal) with total length of 837 kilometres (520 mi), is the longest canal in India which begins in Punjab state at the Harike Barrage (confluence of the Satluj and Beas rivers), flows a short distance through northwest part of Haryana state, and ends in the Thar Desert near Gadra Road in western Rajasthan. The course of Indira Gandhi Canal is subdivided into 4 sections, Rajasthan Feeder Canal (RF Canal) N-SW flowing 204 kilometres (127 mi) long course from Harike Barrage in Ferozepur district to Masitawali village in Hanumangarh, Indira Gandhi Main Canal (IGM Canal) N-SW flowing 445 kilometres (277 mi) long course from Masitawali to Mohangarh northeast of Jaisalmer, Sagarmal Gopa Branch Canal (SGB Canal) E-W flowing 96 kilometres (60 mi) long course from Mohangarh to Gunjangarh-Ramgarh northwest of Jaisalmer, Baba Ramdev Sub-branch Canal (BRSB Canal) N-S flowing 92 kilometres (57 mi) long course from Gunjangarh-Ramgarh toward Gadra Road town in Barmer district.

Indira Gandhi Canal follows Ghaggar paleochannel of the now-lost sacred Sarasvati River with natural incline, thus requiring no pumping station along the way, hence also the name Saraswati Rupa Rajasthan Canal. Indira Gandhi Canal forms the Rajasthan section of the revived ancient Saraswati River with numerous Indus-Sarasvati Valley Civilisation sites along its course, rest being in upstream Haryana-Punjab and downstream Gujarat.

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Punjab (India) in the context of Government of Punjab, India

The Government of Punjab or locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Punjab, India and its 23 districts. It consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Punjab, a judiciary and a legislative branch Punjab State.

Like other states in India, the head of state of Punjab is the Punjab Governor, appointed by the President of India on the advice of the Central government. The post of governor is largely ceremonial. The Chief Minister of Punjab is the head of government and is vested with most of the executive powers. Chandigarh is the capital of Punjab, and houses the Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) and the secretariat. Chandigarh also serves as the capital of Haryana, and is a union territory of India. The Punjab & Haryana High Court, located in Chandigarh, has jurisdiction over the whole state.

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