Punjab region
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- This article details the geographical region of greater Punjab. For other meanings see Punjab
Punjab [ˈpʌnʤɑb] (Persian: پنجاب, meaning "Land of the five Rivers") (c.f. ap-); also Panjab (Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ in Gurmukhi, پنجاب in Shahmukhi, Hindi: पंजाब, Urdu: پنجاب) is a region straddling the border between India and Pakistan. Punjab has a long history and rich cultural heritage. The people of the Punjab are called Punjabis and they speak a language called Punjabi. The main religions in Indian Punjab are Sikhism and Hinduism, while Islam is the majority in Pakistani Punjab.
Ancient Punjab (or the Greater Punjab) had comprised vast territories of Northern India, eastern Pakistan and parts of Afghanistan. It once extended as far as river Yamuna in the east. The Panjabis, i.e., the inhabitants of Panjab, in ancient times, were also known as Vahikas or Arattas. The name comprised such ethnic elements as the Gandharas, Prasthalas, Khasas, Vasatis, Trigartas, Pauravas, Malavas, Yaudheyas, Saindhavas, Sauviras; the Iranian and trans-frontier peoples such as the Kambojas, Pahlavas; and the Persianised Ionians (Yavanas) as well as the nomadic Scythians, also called Shakas.[1]
The region, populated by Indo-Aryans, has been ruled by many different empires and ethnic groups, including the ancient Greeks, Persians, Arabs, Turks, Mughals, Afghans, Sikhs and British. Subsequently, after 1947, it was partitioned between India and Pakistan
A historical region of the northwest Indian sub-continent bounded by the Indus and Yamuna rivers. It was a center of the prehistoric Indus Valley civilization and after c. 1500 B.C. the site of early Aryan settlements. The advent of Islam during the eighth century brought the region into prominence, and under the Mughals, Punjab came to light as the cultural heart of the sub-continent. The Sikh rebellion and capture of the region accelerated this development until the region was annexed by Britain. It was subsequently partitioned between India and Pakistan in 1947.
Once a single entity, it is now split between two nations: Pakistani Punjab, which comprises the majority of the region and Indian Punjab , which has been further sub-divided into north-western Indian Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. The Pakistani part of the region covers an area of 205,344 square kilometres, (79,284 square miles), whereas the Indian section is 50,362 square kilometres (19,445 square miles). The populations of the region are similarly divided as 86,084,000 (2005) in West Punjab (Pakistan) and 24,289,296 (2000) in East Punjab (India). Punjabi is spoken by (approx) 90% of population in Pakistani Punjab and 92.2% in Indian Punjab.[2] The capital city of undivided Punjab was Lahore, which now sits close to the partition line as the capital of West Punjab. Indian Punjab has as its capital, the city of Chandigarh. With partition, Indian Punjab now uses the Gurmukhi script, while West Punjab maintains the Shahmukhi script.
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[edit] Geography
Most of the Punjab is an alluvial plain, bounded by mountains to the North. Despite its dry conditions, it is a rich agricultural area due to the extensive irrigation made possible by the great river system traversing it. The Indian Punjab is the wealthiest state in the country per capita, with most of the revenue generated from agriculture. Punjab region Summer temperatures can reach 47° C (116.6° F). Punjab region temperature range: -10° to 50° C (MIN/MAX).
[edit] History
Many ethnic groups and religions made up the cultural heritage of the Punjab. Punjab is the land where spiritual aspirations arose. This land bore numerous invasions, and after all its suffering, did not entirely lose its glory and its strength. Here it was that the gentle Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, preached his marvellous love for the world. Here it was that his broad heart opened and his arms outstretched to embrace the whole world.
One of the earliest urban cultures of South Asia nourished in the Punjab. The Harappa civilization was located in the Punjab.
The Vedic and Epic period of the Punjab was socially and culturally very prolific as during this period, the people excelled in the fields of philosophy and culture. Here the people composed the Rig Veda and the Upanishads. The tradition maintains that sage Valmiki had composed the Ramayana near the present Amritsar city princess Kaikyee also belonged to this region. Lord Krishna gave the divine message of the Gita at Kurukshetra which also formed a part of ancient Punjab. It was here in Punjab that people wrote eighteen principal Puranas. The authors of Vishnu Purana and the Shiva Purana belonged to Central Punjab.
Dr Buddha Parkash maintains that the gospel of Bhagavad Gita had played a crucial role in galvanizing the people of ancient Punjab into a heroic frame of mind. The Punjabis exhibited great heroism and gallantry in the memorable scenes of Mahabharata war enshrined in the glowing description of the great epic. As is well known, the peoples of greater Panjab--- the Gandharas, Kambojas, Trigartas, Madras, Pauravas, Bahlikas (Bactrians settlers of Panjab), Yaudheyas etc had sided with the Kauravas in the great battle fought at Kurukshetra.[3]
According to Dr Fauja Singh and Dr L. M. Joshi, it is indisputable that the Kambojas, Daradas, Kaikayas, Madras, Pauravas, Malavas, Saindhavas (Sindhus) and Kurus had jointly contributed to the evolution of heroic tradition of ancient Punjab.[4]
Right from the attempted invasion by Alexander in 326 B.C., the people of greater Punjab bore the brunt of incursions and the aggressive assaults of invaders from the north. However, due to the unconquerable spirit of the Punjabi people they fought and won epic battles and victories throughtout history.
At times during the Mughal rule, there was much conflict, chaos, and political upheavals in the Punjab. However, with the Mughals prosperity, growth and relative peace was brought to the Punjab, particularly under the reign of Jahangir in with the Punjab enjoyed its longest era of peace and calm for some time. Appearance of Guru Nanak (1469-1538) was an event significant for the region. He was the founder of a powerful popular movement which has left a lasting impression on the history and culture of Punjab. Born in the district of Sheikhupura, he rejected the division of mankind into rigid compartments of orthodox religions and castes and preached the oneness of humanity, and oneness of God, thus aiming at creating a new order which embraced the all pervasive spirit in man. This new philosophy would serve as the foundation for the Sikh faith.
In 1713, Banda Bahadur wanted to establish a Sikh State in the Punjab. For this he fought relentlessly with the Mughals. His state lasted just under a year before its collapse. However, after a number of years he was caught in a seize and executed.
In 1756, the Marathas under Raghunath Rao defeated the Afghan Ahmed Shah Abdali on his first attempt at conquering India. The Marathas chased the retreating Afghans right upto Attock leading to a victory, the first in centuries. The Sikhs and Khatris (the dominant groups of Punjab) were co-operative to the Marathas for having successfully removed the Muslims from their land and signed formal treaties of friendship. At the formation of the Dal Khalsa in 1748 at Amritsar, Punjab was divided into 36 areas and 12 separate Sikh Principalities misls of the Dal Khalsa army at Amritsar. From this point onwards the beginnings of a Punjabi Sikh Empire emerged leading to a powerful country (Punjab) and Empire.
Out of the 36 areas, 22 were united by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The other 14 accepted British sovereignty. After Maharaja Ranjit Singh`s death, within 10 years, the empire broke up and the British seized Punjab.
British intrusion had political, cultural, philosophical and literary consequences in the Punjab. The opening of a new system of education introduced a new spirit in the life of the Punjabis. More people realized the greatness of Punjabi culture. During the independence movement, Punjab played a significant role. Many leaders emerged from the Punjab such as Lajpat Rai, Sardar Ajit Singh, Bhagat Singh, Udham Singh, Bhai Parmanand, Allama Dr Sir Muhammad Iqbal, Chaudhary Rehmat Ali, and Ghazi Ilam Din Shaheed.
At the time of patition in 1947, due to various reasons, the province was split in to East and West Punjab. Splitting the province caused widespread blood-letting in which many people lost their lives.
J. Dhesi and S. Singh were born here in the early 1990s.
[edit] Demographics
Ethnic ancestries of modern Punjabis include Indo-Aryan, and some Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthian settlers of the region, including Indo-Greek peoples since ancient times; along with native Dravidian. With the advent of Islam, settlers from Persia, Afghanistan and Central Asia have also integrated into Punjabi society. Sikhism is the main religion of the Indian Punjab - it arose in the Punjab itself. About 62% of the population is Sikh, 36% is Hindu, and the rest is Christian and Muslim. Indian Punjab contains the holy Sikh city of Amritsar. The states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, formerly constituents of the British province of Punjab, are mostly Hindu-majority. Most Pakistani & Indian Punjabis largely have Jat ancestry, which is comprised mainly of Sikhs and a number of Hindus. Indian Punjabis speak Punjabi language written in Gurmukhi script. Islam is the religion of more than 98% of the population of the Punjab in Pakistan. There are small Hindu and Sikh minorities among others. Pakistan uses the Shahmukhi script, that is closer to Persian script. In total Pakistan has 70 million Punjabis, and India has 39 million Punjabis.
[edit] Economy
The historical region of Punjab is considered to be one of the most fertile regions on Earth. Both east and west Punjab produce a relatively high proportion of India and Pakistan's food output, respectively. The agricultural output of the Punjab region in Pakistan contributes significantly to Pakistan's GDP. The region is important for wheat growing. In addition, rice, cotton, sugar cane, fruit and vegetables are also major crops. Both Indian and Pakistani Punjab are considered to have the best infrastructure of their respective countries. In addition, the Punjabi people, in both of their respective countries are, statistically, on average the wealthiest.
Called "The Granary of India" or "The Bread Basket of India", Indian Punjab produces 1% of the world's rice, 2% of its wheat, and 2% of its cotton. Punjab's agriculture is the only source of income of farmers, who constitute sixty percent of Punjab's population.
[edit] Timeline
- 3300 - 1500 BCE: Harappan civilization
- 1500 - 1000 BCE: Early (Rigvedic) Vedic civilization
- 1000 - 500 BCE: Middle and late Vedic Period
- 599 BCE: Birth of Mahavira
- 567 - 487 BCE: Time of Gautama Buddha
- 550 BCE - 600 CE: Buddhism remained prevalent
- 550 - 515 BCE: Achaemenid Invasion to west of Indus River
- 326 BCE: Alexander's Invasion
- 322 - 298 BCE: Chandragupta I, Maurya period
- 273 - 232 BCE: Reign of Ashoka
- 125 - 160 BCE: Rise of the Sakas
- 2 BCE: Beginning of Rule of the Sakas.
- 45 - 180 : Rule of the Kushanas
- 320 - 550 : Gupta Empire
- 500 : Hunnic Invasion
- 510 - 650 : Vardhana's Era
- 647 - 1192 : Rajput period
- 713 - 1300 : Muslim invaders (Turks and Arabs) famous invaders like Mohammed of Ghor and Mahmud of Ghazni
- 8th Century : Arabs capture Sind and Multan
- 1450 - 1700 : Mughal rule
- 1469 - 1539 : Guru Nanak Dev Ji (1st Sikh Guru)
- 1539 - 1675 : Period of 8 Sikh Gurus from Guru Angad Dev Ji to Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji
- 1675 - 1708 : Guru Gobind Singh Ji (10th Sikh Guru)
- 1699 : Birth of the Khalsa
- 1708 - 1713 : Conquests of Banda Bahadur
- 1714 - 1759 : Sikh warriors (Sardars) struggle and perform warfare against Afghans & Mughal Governors
- 1739 : Invasion of Nadir Shah and warfare with Sikh Armies
- 1756 - 1759 : Sikh and Maratha cooperation in the Punjab
- 1761 : Defeat of Maratha army at Panipat
- 1762 : 2nd Holocaust (Ghalughara) from Ahmed Shah's 2nd invasion
- 1761 - 1849 : Punjabi Sikh Empire
- 1761 - 1801 : Rule of the Sikh Misls (Principalities)
- 1801 - 1839 : Rule by Maharaja Ranjit Singh
- 1849 : Annexation of Punjab
- 1849 - 1947: British rule
- 1947 : Partition of India thus Punjab into 2 parts the Eastern part became the Indian Punjab and the Western part the Pakistan Punjab
- 1966 : Punjab in India divided into 3 parts on linguistic basis (Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the present Punjab)
- 1984 : Operation Blue Star and its aftermath
[edit] Etymology
The name Punjab means "land of five rivers", and literally translates from Persian into the words Panj (پنج), cognate with Sanskrit Pañca, meaning "five", and Āb (آب), cognate with Sanskrit Āp, meaning "water" respectively. The rivers, tributaries of the Indus River, are the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej and Beas. The five rivers, now divided between India and Pakistan, merge to form the Panjnad, which joins the Indus.
[edit] References
- ^ See: Evolution of Heroic Tradition in Ancient Panjab, 1971, p 53, Dr Buddha Parkash.
- ^ [1]
- ^ See: Evolution of Heroic Tradition in Ancient Panjab, p 36, Dr Buddha Parkash.
- ^ See: History of Panjab, Vol I, p 4, Dr L. M. Joshi, Dr Fauja Singh.
[edit] See also
- Punjab, Pakistan
- Punjab, India
- Punjabi Culture
- History of the Punjab
- Punjabi language
- Punjabi cuisine
- Music of Punjab
- Punjabi people
- Sikhism
- Hinduism in Punjab
- Muslim League Attack on Sikhs and Hindus in the Punjab 1947
[edit] Further reading
- Amritsar Portal Website http://www.amritsar.com/
- One Stop Punjabi Website http://www.ihues.com/
- Jhelum a Historical Place in Punjab http://www.apnajhelum.com
- PunjabNewsline.com - Punjab's first e-newspaper bringing you live news http://www.PunjabNewsline.com/
- [Quraishee 73] Punjabi Adab De Kahani, Abdul Hafeez Quaraihee, Azeez Book Depot, Lahore, 1973.
- Young Sikhs Network - One Stop Punjabi Sikh Website http://www.YoungSikhs.net/
- [Chopra 77] The Punjab as a sovereign state, Gulshan Lal Chopra, Al-Biruni , Lahore, 1977.
- Patwant Singh. 1999. The Sikhs. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-50206-0.
- The evolution of Heroic Tradition in Ancient Panjab, 1971, Dr Buddha Parkash.
- Social and Political Movements in ancient Panjab, Delhi, 1962, Dr Buddha Parkash.
- History of Porus, Patiala, Dr Buddha Parkash.
- History of the Panjab, Patiala, 1976, Dr Fauja Singh, Dr L. M. Joshi (Ed).
- The Great Epic, Mahabharata.
- Indian Punjab Government Website: http://punjabgovt.nic.in
- Pakistani Punjab Government Website: http://www.punjab.gov.pk
- Sikh Archive Website: http://www.sikhs.org
- Sikh History Website: http://www.allaboutsikhs.com
- Punjab Online - http://www.punjabonline.com
- Punjabilok - http://www.punjabilok.com/
- Government of East Punjab - http://www.punjabgov.net/
- Punjab, Punjabis, Punjabiyat http://www.mahapunjab.org/
- Culture Of Punjab http://www.sadapunjab.com/
- The Latest News on the Heritage of Punjab http://www.punjabheritage.org
- 100 years of Punjabis in the Press http://www.punjabarchive.org
- More about Punjab http://www.aboutpunjab.com
- A Portal on Punjab and its culture http://www.lokesewa.com
- The Genetic Heritage of the Earliest Settlers Persists Both in Indian Tribal and Caste Populations http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/AJHG/journal/issues/v72n2/024476/024476.web.pdf
- Talib, Gurbachan (1950). Muslim League Attack on Sikhs and Hindus in the Punjab 1947. India: Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee. Online 1 Online 2 Online 3 (A free copy of this book can be read from any 3 of the included "Online Sources" of this free “Online Book”)
