The Punjab The Punjab The Punjab (pronounced or ; Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], [[Shahmukhi script|, ), also spelled Panjab ' onMouseout='HidePop("20979")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Jamshoro">Jamshoro
Jamshoro is a city in Jamshoro District, Sindh, Pakistan. It is located on the right bank of Indus River, approximately 18 kilometres north-west of the city of Hyderabad and 150 kilometres north-east from the provincial capital Karachi. It is virtually the gate-way to the Indus Valley, world...
, it ends in a large delta to the east of
ThattaThatta or Thatto is an historic town of 22,000 inhabitants in the Sindh province of Pakistan, near Lake Keenjhar, the largest freshwater lake in the country. Thatta's major monuments are listed among the World Heritage Sites...
.
The Indus is one of the few rivers in the world that exhibit a
tidal boreA tidal bore is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave of water that travel up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the current...
. The Indus system is largely fed by the snows and glaciers of the
HimalayasThe Himalaya Range or Himalayas for short , meaning "abode of snow", is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
,
KarakoramKarakoram is a large mountain range spanning the borders between Pakistan, India and China, located in the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan , Ladakh , and Xinjiang...
and the
Hindu KushThe Hindu Kush is a mountain range stretching between and north-western Pakistan and eastern and central Afghanistan. The highest point in the Hindu Kush is Tirich Mir in the Chitral region of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan.It is the westernmost extension of the Pamir Mountains, the...
ranges of
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
, the state of
Jammu and KashmirJammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the Pakistani...
and the
Northern AreasGilgit-Baltistan is an autonomous region in northern Pakistan. It was formerly known as the Northern Areas . It is the northernmost political entity within the Pakistani-controlled part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir...
of
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
respectively. The flow of the river is also determined by the seasons - it diminishes greatly in the winter, while flooding its banks in the
monsoonA pennis is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by seasonal changes in precipitation, but now is used to describe seasonal changes atmospheric circulation and precipitation The major monsoon systems of the world consist of the African and Asia-Australian monsoons...
months from July to September. There is also evidence of a steady shift in the course of the river since prehistoric times - it deviated westwards from flowing into the
Rann of KutchThe Rann of Kutch is a seasonally marshy saline clay desert located in the Thar Desert biogeographic province in the state of Gujarat situated 8km away from village Kharaghoda located in the Surendranagar District of northwestern India and the Sind province of Pakistan. The name "Rann" comes from...
.
The Effects of Climate Change on the River
The
Tibetan PlateauThe Tibetan Plateau , also known as the Tibel-Qingai Plateau or Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau in Central Asia covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province in China and Ladakh in Kashmir, India...
contains the world's third-largest store of ice. Qin Dahe, the former head of the China Meteorological Administration, said that the recent fast pace of melting and warmer temperatures will be good for agriculture and tourism in the short term; but issued a strong warning:
"Temperatures are rising four times faster than elsewhere in China, and the Tibetan glaciers are retreating at a higher speed than in any other part of the world.... In the short term, this will cause lakes to expand and bring floods and mudflows. . . . In the long run, the glaciers are vital lifelines for Asian rivers, including the Indus and the Ganges. Once they vanish, water supplies in those regions will be in peril."
History
PaleolithicThe Paleolithic or Palaeolithic Age, Era, or Period, or Old Stone Age, is a prehistoric era distinguished by the development of the first stone tools, and covers roughly 99% of human technological history...
sites have been discovered in Pothohar near Pakistan's capital
IslamabadIslām ābād is the capital of Pakistan, and is the tenth largest city in Pakistan with an estimated population of over 673,766 in 2009...
, with the stone tools of the Soan Culture. In ancient
GandharaSee also Gandhara Gandhāra is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River...
, near
IslamabadIslām ābād is the capital of Pakistan, and is the tenth largest city in Pakistan with an estimated population of over 673,766 in 2009...
, evidence of cave dwellers dated 15,000 years ago has been discovered at
MardanMardan is a city and headquarters of Mardan District in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, the second city of NWFP. It is located at 34°12'0N 72°1'60E with an altitude of 283 metres lying the south-west of the district.It was part of the ancient Gandhara Civilization. Most of its land...
.
The major cities of the
Indus Valley CivilizationThe Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization which centred mostly in the western part of the Indian Subcontinent and flourished around the Indus river basin....
, such as
HarappaHarappa is an archaeological site in Punjab, northeast Pakistan, about west of Sahiwal. The site takes its name from a modern village is located near the former course of the Ravi River, some southeast of the site....
and
Mohenjo-daroMoenjo-daro was one of the largest city-settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization of south Asia situated in the province of Sind, Pakistan. Built around 2600 BCE, the city was one of the early urban settlements in the world, existing at the same time as the civilizations of ancient Egypt,...
, date back to around 3300 BC, and represent some of the largest human habitations of the ancient world. The Indus Valley Civilization extended from
BalochistanBalochistan or Baluchistan is an arid region located in the Iranian Plateau in Southwest Asia and South Asia, between Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. The area is named after the numerous Baloch tribes, an Iranian people, who moved into the area from the west around A.D. 1000...
to
GujaratGujarat is the westernmost state in India. It is home to the Gujarati speaking people of India. The state encompasses major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Lothal and Dholavira. Gujarat played an important role in the economic history of India throughout the history of India...
, with an upward reach from east of
Jhelum RiverJehlum River or Jhelum River is a river that flows in India and Pakistan. It is the largest and most western of the five rivers of Punjab, and passes through Jhelum District...
to Ropar on the upper
SutlejThe Sutlej River is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroad region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan...
. The coastal settlements extended from
Sutkagan DorSutkagan Dor is the westernmost known archaeological site of Indus Valley Civilization. It is located about 480 km west of Karachi on Makran coast near the Iran border in Baluchistan in Pakistan...
at the
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
ian border to
LothalLothal is one of the most prominent cities of the ancient Indus valley civilization. Located in the modern state of Gujarāt and dating from 2400 BCE, it is one of India's most important archaeological site that dates from that era...
in
GujaratGujarat is the westernmost state in India. It is home to the Gujarati speaking people of India. The state encompasses major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Lothal and Dholavira. Gujarat played an important role in the economic history of India throughout the history of India...
. There is an Indus site on the Oxus river at Shortughai in northern
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
, and the Indus site Alamgirpur at the Hindon River is located only 28 km from
DelhiDelhi, known locally as Dilli , and also by the official name National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest metropolis by population in India...
. To date, over 1,052 cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the general region of the
Ghaggar-Hakra RiverThe Ghaggar-Hakra River is an intermittent river in India and Pakistan that flows only during the monsoon season.It is often identified with the Vedic Sarasvati River, but it is disputed whether all Rigvedic references to the Sarasvati should be taken to refer to this river...
and its tributaries. Among the settlements were the major urban centers of
HarappaHarappa is an archaeological site in Punjab, northeast Pakistan, about west of Sahiwal. The site takes its name from a modern village is located near the former course of the Ravi River, some southeast of the site....
and
Mohenjo-daroMoenjo-daro was one of the largest city-settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization of south Asia situated in the province of Sind, Pakistan. Built around 2600 BCE, the city was one of the early urban settlements in the world, existing at the same time as the civilizations of ancient Egypt,...
, as well as
LothalLothal is one of the most prominent cities of the ancient Indus valley civilization. Located in the modern state of Gujarāt and dating from 2400 BCE, it is one of India's most important archaeological site that dates from that era...
,
DholaviraDholavira, an ancient metropolitan city, and locally known as Kotada Timba Prachin Mahanagar Dholavira, is one of the largest and most prominent archaeological sites in India, belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization. It is located on the Khadir island in the Kachchh district of Gujarat, India...
,
GaneriwalaGaneriwala is an Indus Valley civilization site of an urban center in the Punjab, Pakistan. It is located near the border to India and was discovered by Pakistani archaeologist M.R. Mughal in 1975...
, and
RakhigarhiRakhigarhi, or Rakhi Garhi, is a village in Hisar District in the northwest Indian state of Haryana, around 150 kilometers from Delhi. It lies on the Chautang River. In 1963 archeologists discovered the village was the site of an extensive city, part of the Indus Valley Civilization...
. Only 90-96 of the over-800 known Indus Valley sites have been discovered on the Indus and its tributaries. The
SutlejThe Sutlej River is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroad region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan...
, now a tributary of the Indus, in Harappan times flowed into the
Ghaggar-Hakra RiverThe Ghaggar-Hakra River is an intermittent river in India and Pakistan that flows only during the monsoon season.It is often identified with the Vedic Sarasvati River, but it is disputed whether all Rigvedic references to the Sarasvati should be taken to refer to this river...
, in the watershed of which were more Harappan sites than along the Indus.
Most scholars believe that settlements of
Gandhara grave cultureThe Gandhara grave culture emerged ca. 1600 BC, and flourished in Gandhara, Pakistan ca. 1500 BC to 500 BC ....
of the early
Indo-AryansIndo-Aryan is an ethno-linguistic term referring to the wide collection of peoples united as native speakers of the Indo-Aryan branch of the family of Indo-European languages. Today, there are over one billion native speakers of Indo-Aryan languages, most of them native to South Asia, where they...
flourished in
GandharaSee also Gandhara Gandhāra is the name of an ancient kingdom , located in northern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. Gandhara was located mainly in the vale of Peshawar, the Potohar plateau and on the Kabul River...
from 1700 BC to 600 BC, when
Mohenjo-daroMoenjo-daro was one of the largest city-settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization of south Asia situated in the province of Sind, Pakistan. Built around 2600 BCE, the city was one of the early urban settlements in the world, existing at the same time as the civilizations of ancient Egypt,...
and
HarappaHarappa is an archaeological site in Punjab, northeast Pakistan, about west of Sahiwal. The site takes its name from a modern village is located near the former course of the Ravi River, some southeast of the site....
had already been abandoned.
The name
Indus is a Latinization of
Hindu, in turn the
IranianThe Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family and its subfamily, Indo-Iranian. They are spoken by the Iranian peoples. Avestan is the oldest recorded Iranian language....
variant of
Sindhu, the name of the Indus in the
RigvedaThe Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns. It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas...
. The
SanskritSanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
Sindhu generically means
river,
stream,
ocean, probably from a root
sidh meaning
to keep off;
Sindhu is attested 176 times in the
RigvedaThe Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns. It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas...
, 95 times in the plural, more often used in the generic meaning. Already in the
RigvedaThe Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns. It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas...
, notably in the later hymns, the meaning of the word is narrowed to refer to the Indus river in particular, for example in the list of rivers of the
Nadistuti suktaThe Nadistuti sukta ,"hymn of praise of rivers", is hymn 10.75 of the Rigveda.It is important for the reconstruction of the geography of the Vedic civilization...
. This resulted in the anomaly of a river with masculine gender: all other
Rigvedic riversRivers play a prominent part in the hymns of the Rigveda, and consequently in early Vedic religion.-Mythology:The central history of the Rigveda is that of Indra slaying Vritra , liberating the rivers; in a variant of the myth, Indra smashes the stone Vala, liberating the cows that were imprisoned...
are female, not just grammatically, being imagined as goddesses and compared to cows and mares yielding milk and butter.
The Indus has formed a natural boundary between the
Indian SubcontinentThe Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent and other terms, is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate south of the Himalayas, forming a peninsula which extends southward into the Indian Ocean...
hinterland and its frontier with the
Iranian PlateauThe Iranian plateau, also known as the Persian plateau is a geological formation in Southwest Asia and Southern Asia. It is the part of the Eurasian Plate wedged between the Arabian and Indian plates, situated between the Zagros mountains to the west, the Caspian Sea and the Kopet Dag to the north,...
, a region which includes Pakistan's
BalochistanBalochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by geographical area, constituting approximately 48% of the total area of Pakistan. At the 1998 census, Balochistan had a population of roughly 6.5 million. Its neighbouring regions are Iran to the west, Afghanistan and the North West Frontier...
, North West Frontier Province as well as
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
,
TajikistanTajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and People's Republic of China to the east...
and
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
. It has been crossed by the armies of
Alexander the GreatAlexander III of Macedon, popularly known as Alexander the Great , was an Ancient Greek king of Macedon who created one of the largest empires in ancient history...
- His
MacedonMacedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paionia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south...
ian forces retreated along the southern course of the river at the end of the Asian campaign after conquering what is now
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
and joining it to the
HellenicHellenic is a synonym for Greek.It may refer to:* Greek * Hellenism -See also:* Hellene* Hellenic College, a liberal arts college in Brookline, Massachusetts* Hellenic College of London...
Empire. The Indus plains have also been under the domination of the Persian empire and the
Kushan empireThe Kushan Empire of Ancient India originally formed in the territories of ancient Bactria on either side of the middle course of the Oxus River or Amu Darya in what is now northern Afghanistan, and southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan...
. The
Muslim:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits ". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah...
armies of
Muhammad bin QasimMuhammad bin Qasim Al-Thaqafi was an Umayyad general who conquered the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus river at the age of seventeen. He was born in the city of Taif...
,
Mahmud of GhazniMahmud of Ghazni , also known as ' was the most prominent ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty and ruled from 997 until his death in 1030...
, Mohammed Ghori, Tamerlane and
BaburZahir ud-din Muhammad Jalal ud-din Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of India. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his...
also crossed the river to strike into the inner regions of
PunjabThe Punjab The Punjab The Punjab (pronounced or ; Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], [[Shahmukhi script|, ), also spelled Panjab ' onMouseout='HidePop("52398")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Rajasthan">Rajasthan
Rājasthān is the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with Pakistan...
and
GujaratGujarat is the westernmost state in India. It is home to the Gujarati speaking people of India. The state encompasses major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Lothal and Dholavira. Gujarat played an important role in the economic history of India throughout the history of India...
.
The word
"India"The name India may refer to either the region of Greater India , or to the contemporary Republic of India contained therein. The term is derived from the name of the Sindhu and has been in use in Greek since Herodotus...
is derived from the Indus River. In ancient times,
"India"The name India may refer to either the region of Greater India , or to the contemporary Republic of India contained therein. The term is derived from the name of the Sindhu and has been in use in Greek since Herodotus...
initially referred to the region of modern-day
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
along the Indus river, but by 300 BC, Greek writers like Megasthenes applied the term to the entire subcontinent.
Tributaries
- Astor River
- Balram River
- Gar River
- Ghizar River
- Gilgit River
Gilgit River is a tributary of the Indus River, and flows past the town of Gilgit. It is located in the Northern Areas of Kashmir, Pakistan. The Gilgit starts from Shandur lake....
- Gumal River
- Kabul River
Kabul River , classically called the Cophes , is a river that rises in the Sanglakh Range in Afghanistan, separated from the watershed of the Helmand by the Unai Pass. It is the main river in the eastern part of Afghanistan. It flows 700 km before joining the Indus River near Attock...
- Panjnad
Panjnad is located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is an agriculture area and it is the place where all of the water from five rivers of Punjab join each other....
- Shigar River
Shigar River is located in Baltistan, Northern Areas, Pakistan. The Shigar River is formed from the melt water of the Baltoro Glacier and Biafo Glacier. It flows through the Shigar Valley. The river is tributary to Indus River and meets the Indus in Skardu Valley.-See also:*Shigar...
- Shyok River
The Shyok River flows through the disputed Ladakh of India and the disputed Northern Areas of Pakistan , spanning some ....
- Suru River
- Swaan River
- Tanubal River
- Zanskar River
Geology
The Indus River feeds the Indus submarine fan located in the
Indian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by South Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean...
, which is the second largest sediment body on the Earth at around 5 million cubic kilometres of material eroded from the mountains. Studies of the sediment in the modern river indicate that the
Karakoram MountainsKarakoram is a large mountain range spanning the borders between Pakistan, India and China, located in the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan , Ladakh , and Xinjiang...
in northern Pakistan are the single most important source of material, with the Himalayas providing the next largest contribution, mostly via the large rivers of the Punjab (i.e., the
JhelumJehlum River or Jhelum River is a river that flows in India and Pakistan. It is the largest and most western of the five rivers of Punjab, and passes through Jhelum District...
,
RaviRavi is a common Hindi male given name. It means sun. Ravi may refer to:* Ravi , a Hindu solar deity* Ravi River , a Himalayan river flowing through India and Pakistan-People:...
, Chenab,
BeasBeas may refer to:* Beas, Punjab, a town in Punjab, India.* Beas River, a river in the northwestern region of India....
and the
SutlejThe Sutlej River is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroad region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan...
). Analysis of sediments from the Arabian Sea has demonstrated that prior to five million years ago the Indus was not connected to these
PunjabThe Punjab The Punjab The Punjab (pronounced or ; Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], [[Shahmukhi script|, ), also spelled Panjab ' onMouseout='HidePop("39651")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Saraswati_River">Saraswati River
Saraswati River can refer to#the historical Sarasvati River#the Sarsuti River#the Oxus River Greek form of ancient Vaksu which is a synonym for Saraswati river...
, which the
RigvedaThe Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns. It is counted among the four canonical sacred texts of Hinduism known as the Vedas...
suggests flowed from the
HimalayasThe Himalaya Range or Himalayas for short , meaning "abode of snow", is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
between the
SutlejThe Sutlej River is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroad region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan...
and the
YamunaThe Yamuna is the largest tributary river of the Ganges in northern India...
Rivers, close to modern day
ChandigarhChandigarh , is a union territory of India, that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name translates to English as "The Fort of Chandi". The name was coined from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu Goddess Chandi, present in the city's vicinity....
.
In the
Nanga ParbatNanga Parbat is the ninth highest mountain on Earth. Nanga Parbat means "Naked Mountain" in English, parbat deriving from the Sanskrit word parvata meaning "mountain, rock", and nanga from the Sanskrit word nagna meaning "naked, bare"...
region, the massive amounts of erosion due to the Indus river following the capture and rerouting through that area is thought to bring middle and lower crustal rocks to the surface.
Wildlife
Accounts of the Indus valley from the times of Alexander's campaign indicate a healthy forest cover in the region, which has now considerably receded. The Mughal Emperor
BaburZahir ud-din Muhammad Jalal ud-din Babur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of India. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his...
writes of encountering rhinoceroses along its bank in his memoirs (the
BaburnamaBāburnāma is the name given to the memoirs of Zāhir ud-Dīn Mohammad Bābur , founder of the Mughal Empire and a great-great-great-grandson of Timur...
). Extensive
deforestationDeforestation is the clearance of naturally occurring forests by the processes of logging and/or burning of trees in a forested area. There are several reasons deforestation occurs: trees or derived charcoal can be sold as a commodity and used by humans, while cleared land is used as pasture,...
and human interference in the ecology of the Shivalik Hills has led to a marked deterioration in vegetation and growing conditions. The Indus valley regions are arid with poor vegetation. Agriculture is sustained largely due to irrigation works.
The
BlindBlindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
Indus River Dolphin (
Platanista gangetica minor) is a sub-species of Dolphins found only in the Indus River. It formerly also occurred in the tributaries of the Indus river. Palla fish (
HilsaHilsa is the national fish of Bangladesh, also popular in India's Assamese-, Bengali- Oriya-speaking regions and in Telugu-speaking regions and in Pakistan Sindh . In Gujarat it is known as either Modenn or Palva. It is an economically important tropical fish...
) of the river is a delicacy for people living along the river. The population of fishes in the river is moderately high, with
SukkurSukkur , or Sakhar , formerly Aror , is the third largest city of Sindh province, situated on the west bank of Indus River in Pakistan in Sukkur District. When Arabs invaded Sukkur in the 8th century, they found an extreme climate , and called it Saqar, which means intense...
,
ThattaThatta or Thatto is an historic town of 22,000 inhabitants in the Sindh province of Pakistan, near Lake Keenjhar, the largest freshwater lake in the country. Thatta's major monuments are listed among the World Heritage Sites...
and
KotriKotri , a large town, is the headquarters station of the Kotri Taluka, or administrative district...
being the major fishing centres - all in the lower
SindhSindh , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhis. Different cultural and ethnic groups also reside in Sindh including Urdu-speaking Muslim refugees who migrated to Pakistan from India upon independence as well as the people migrated from other provinces after...
course. But damming and irrigation has made fish farming an important economic activity. Located southeast of
Karachiis the largest city, main seaport and the financial capital of Pakistan, and the capital of the province of Sindh. It is the 3rd largest city in the world by population and 20th largest city of the world, in terms of metropolitan population. It is Pakistan's premier centre of banking, industry, and...
, the large delta has been recognised by conservationists as one of the world's most important ecological regions. Here the river turns into many marshes, streams and creeks and meets the sea at shallow levels. Here marine fishes are found in abundance, including
PomfretPomfret are perciform fishes belonging to the family Bramidae.They are found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, and the largest species, the Atlantic pomfret, Brama brama, grows up to one metre long....
and Prawns
Economy
The Indus is the most important supplier of water resources to the
PunjabThe Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the country's most populous region with about 45% of Pakistan's total population. The Punjab is home to the Punjabis and various other groups...
and
SindhSindh , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhis. Different cultural and ethnic groups also reside in Sindh including Urdu-speaking Muslim refugees who migrated to Pakistan from India upon independence as well as the people migrated from other provinces after...
plains - it forms the backbone of agriculture and food production in Pakistan. The river is especially critical as rainfall is meagre in the lower Indus valley. Irrigation canals were first built by the people of the Indus valley civilization, and later by the engineers of the
Kushan EmpireThe Kushan Empire of Ancient India originally formed in the territories of ancient Bactria on either side of the middle course of the Oxus River or Amu Darya in what is now northern Afghanistan, and southern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan...
and the
Mughal EmpireThe Mughal Empire was an Islamic and Persianate imperial power of the Indian subcontinent which began in 1526, invaded and ruled most of Hindustan by the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and ended in the mid-19th century...
. Modern irrigation was introduced by the
British East India CompanyThe East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
in 1850 - the construction of modern canals accompanied with the restoration of old canals. The British supervised the construction of one of the most complex irrigation networks in the world. The
Guddu BarrageGuddu Barrage is a barrage across river Indus, near Sukkur in Pakistan. President [iskander mirza laid foundation-stone of the Guddu Barrage on February 2, 1957. The barrage was completed in 1962.Inaugurated by Field Marshal AYUB KHAN....
is 1,350 metres (4,450 ft) long - irrigating
SukkurSukkur , or Sakhar , formerly Aror , is the third largest city of Sindh province, situated on the west bank of Indus River in Pakistan in Sukkur District. When Arabs invaded Sukkur in the 8th century, they found an extreme climate , and called it Saqar, which means intense...
,
JacobabadJacobabad is the capital city of Jacobabad District, Sindh, Pakistan. The city is also the administrative centre of Jacobabad Taluka, an administrative subdivision of the district, the city is subdivided into 8 Union Councils. Jacobabad is located at . The city is crossed by the Pakistan Railways...
,
LarkanaLarkana or Larkano is the fourth largest city located in the Northwest of Sindh Province, Pakistan, located in Larkana District. In August 2000 Larkana celebrated its hundred years of existence...
and
KalatKalat or Qalat is a district in Balochistan, Pakistan. It is one of 26 in that province, and encompasses an area of 6,621 km². The population of the district is estimated to be over 400,000 in 2005. The district is governed from the city of Kalat....
. The
Sukkur BarrageThe Sukkur barrage is a barrage across the Indus river near the city of Sukkur, Pakistan. It was built during the British Raj from 1923 to 1932 as the Lloyd Barrage to help alleviate famines caused by lack of rain...
serves over 20,000 square kilometres (5,000,000 acres).
After the independence of
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
, a water control treaty signed between
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
and
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
in 1960 guaranteed that Pakistan would receive water from the Indus River and its two western tributaries, the
JhelumJhelum or Jehlum may refer to:* Jhelum, a city in Pakistan on the banks of the Jhelum River* Jhelum District, an administrative division in Punjab, Pakistan surrounding the city of Jhelum...
River & the Chenab River independent of upstream control by
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
. The project,
Indus Basin ProjectThe Indus Basin Project is a water control project that resulted from a treaty, Indus Waters Treaty, signed between India and Pakistan in 1960 that guaranteed that Pakistan would receive water from the Indus River independent from upstream control by India....
, consisted primarily of the construction of two main dams, the
Mangla DamThe Mangla Dam located in Mirpur District, is the twelfth largest dam in the world. It was built from 1961 to 1967 with funding from the World Bank. The project was designed and supervised by Binnie & Partners of London, and it was built by Mangla Dam Contractors, a consortium of 8 U.S....
built on the
Jhelum RiverJehlum River or Jhelum River is a river that flows in India and Pakistan. It is the largest and most western of the five rivers of Punjab, and passes through Jhelum District...
and the
Tarbela Dam Tarbela Dam is a large dam on the Indus River in Pakistan. It is located in Haripur district of Hazara Division of North-West Frontier Province about northwest of Islamabad,at height of above the river bed. Reservoir size of some makes it the largest earth filled dam in the world...
constructed on the Indus River, together with their subsidiary dams. The Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority undertook the construction of the Chashma-Jhelum link canal - linking the waters of the Indus and Jhelum rivers - extending water supplies to the regions of
BahawalpurBahawalpur , located in the province of Punjab, is the twelfth largest city in Pakistan. The city was once the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur. The city was home to various Nawabs and counted as part of the the Rajputana states...
and
Multanis a city in the Punjab Province of Pakistan and capital of Multan District. It is located in the southern part of the province. Multan District has a population of over 3.8 million—according to 1998 census—and the city itself is the sixth largest within the boundaries of Pakistan...
. Pakistan constructed the
Tarbela Dam Tarbela Dam is a large dam on the Indus River in Pakistan. It is located in Haripur district of Hazara Division of North-West Frontier Province about northwest of Islamabad,at height of above the river bed. Reservoir size of some makes it the largest earth filled dam in the world...
near
Rawalpindi' Rāwalpindī) is a city in the Potwar Plateau near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad. Locally known as Pindi, the area was home to the pre-historic Soanian culture indigenous to...
- standing 2743 metres (9,000 ft) long and 143 metres (470 ft) high, with an 80 kilometre (50 mile) long reservoir. The
KotriKotri , a large town, is the headquarters station of the Kotri Taluka, or administrative district...
Barrage near
Hyderabadis the second largest city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the sixth largest city in the country. The city was founded in 1768 by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro upon the ruins of a Mauryan fishing village along the bank of the Indus known as Neroon Kot . Formerly the capital of Sindh, it serves...
is 915 metres (3,000 ft) long and provides additional supplies for
Karachiis the largest city, main seaport and the financial capital of Pakistan, and the capital of the province of Sindh. It is the 3rd largest city in the world by population and 20th largest city of the world, in terms of metropolitan population. It is Pakistan's premier centre of banking, industry, and...
. The
Taunsa BarrageThe Taunsa Barrage is located on the Indus river in the Punjab province of Pakistan.The Taunsa Barrage was completed in 1958, and it has been identified as the barrage with the highest priority for rehabilitation...
near
Dera Ghazi KhanDera Ghazi Khan is located in Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab, Pakistan. Dera Ghazi Khan is one of the most populous cities in Southern Punjab and it is the largest district in Punjab in terms of area, being approximately in extent....
produces 100,000 kilowatts of electricity. The extensive linking of tributaries with the Indus has helped spread water resources to the valley of
Peshawar' onMouseout='HidePop("22955")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/North-West_Frontier_Province">North-West Frontier Province
The North-West Frontier Province is the smallest of the four provinces of Pakistan...
. The extensive irrigation and dam projects provide the basis for Pakistan's large production of crops such as
cottonCotton is a soft, staple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa. The fiber most often is spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft,...
,
sugarcaneSugarcane, or sugar cane, is any of six to thirty-seven species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to warm temperate to tropical regions of Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six meters tall...
and
wheatWheat is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Fertile Crescent region of the Near East. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
. The dams also generate electricity for heavy industries and urban centres.
People
The inhabitants of the regions through whom the Indus river passes and forms a major natural feature and resource are diverse in ethnicity, religion, national and linguistic backgrounds. On the northern course of the river in the state of
Jammu and KashmirJammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the Pakistani...
live the Buddhist people of
LadakhLadakh is a region situated in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south...
, of
TibetanThe Tibetan people are indigenous to Tibet and surrounding areas stretching from Central Asia in the North and West to Myanmar and China Proper in the East and India, Nepal and Bhutan to the south.-Demographics:...
stock, and the Dards of
Indo-AryanIndo-Aryan refers to:* Indo-Aryan languages* Indo-Aryan migration, a supposition that holds that the Indo-Aryans migrated to India.* Indigenous Aryans, a theory that holds that the Indo-Aryans are native to India....
or
Dardic stock and practising
BuddhismBuddhism, as traditionally conceived, is a path of salvation attained through insight into the ultimate nature of reality. It encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha...
and
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
. Then it descends into
BaltistanBaltistan , also known as بلتیول in the Balti language, is a region in northern Pakistan , bordering Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China. It is situated in the Karakoram mountains just to the south of K2, the world's second highest mountain. It is an extremely mountainous region, with an average...
, northern
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
passing the main Balti city of
SkarduSkardu , is the principal town of the region Baltistan and the capital of Skardu District, one of the districts making up Pakistan's Northern Areas....
. As it continues through
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
, the Indus river forms a distinctive boundary of ethnicity and cultures - upon the western banks the population is largely Pashtun, Baloch, and of other Iranian stock, with close cultural, economic and ethnic ties to
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
and
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
. The eastern banks are largely populated by peoples of Indo-Aryan stock, such as the Punjabis, the Sindhis and the Seraikis. In northern
PunjabThe Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the country's most populous region with about 45% of Pakistan's total population. The Punjab is home to the Punjabis and various other groups...
and the
North-West Frontier ProvinceThe North-West Frontier Province is the smallest of the four provinces of Pakistan...
, ethnic Pashtun tribes live alongside
Dardic people in the hills (Khowar,
KalashKalash or Kalasha may refer to:*A people of northern Pakistan, the Kalash**their language, Kalasha-mun*A people of Nuristan in Afghanistan, the Kalasha of Nuristan**their language, Kalasha-ala...
,
ShinaShina can refer to:* Shina , a Japanese term for mainland China* Shina , Shina Gado, a character from the Bloody Roar video game series* Shina people, Dardic people of Pakistani Kashmir...
, etc.), Burushos (in
HunzaHunza may refer to*Hunza Valley*Former State of Hunza*Hunza River*Hunza Peak*Hunza people*Hunza is the Muisca name of the city of Tunja, Colombia...
), and
Punjabi peopleThe Punjabi people are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group from South Asia. They originate from the Punjab region, which has been host to some of the oldest civilizations in the world including one of the world's first and oldest civilizations, the Indus Valley Civilization...
. In the southern portion of the
PunjabThe Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the country's most populous region with about 45% of Pakistan's total population. The Punjab is home to the Punjabis and various other groups...
province, the Saraiki peoples speak a distinctive tongue and practise distinctive traditions. In the province of
SindhSindh , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhis. Different cultural and ethnic groups also reside in Sindh including Urdu-speaking Muslim refugees who migrated to Pakistan from India upon independence as well as the people migrated from other provinces after...
, peoples of
SindhiSindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan. It is spoken by 24,410,910 people in Pakistan, and is also spoken in India by 2,535,485 speakers. It is the third most spoken language of Pakistan, and the official language of Sindh in Pakistan. It is also an official language of India...
backgrounds form the local populations. Upon the western banks of the river live the Baloch and Pashtun peoples of
BalochistanBalochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by geographical area, constituting approximately 48% of the total area of Pakistan. At the 1998 census, Balochistan had a population of roughly 6.5 million. Its neighbouring regions are Iran to the west, Afghanistan and the North West Frontier...
.
Modern issues
The Indus is a strategically vital resource for Pakistan's economy and society. After the independence of
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
in 1947, the use of the waters of the Indus and its five eastern tributaries became a major dispute between
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
and
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
. The irrigation canals of the
SutlejThe Sutlej River is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroad region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan...
valley and the Bari Doab were split - with the canals lying primarily in
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
and the headwork dams in
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
disrupting supply in some parts of
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
. The concern over India building large dams over various
PunjabThe Punjab The Punjab The Punjab (pronounced or ; Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], [[Shahmukhi script|, ), also spelled Panjab ' onMouseout='HidePop("98718")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/India">India
India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
could divert rivers in the time of war, caused political consternation in
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
. Holding diplomatic talks brokered by the
World BankThe World Bank is an international financial institution that provides leveraged loans to poorer countries for capital programs, tied to neoliberal market restructurings...
,
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
and
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
signed the
Indus Waters TreatyThe Indus Waters Treaty is a water-sharing treaty between the Republic of India and Islamic Republic Of Pakistan. The treaty was signed in Karachi on September 19, 1960 by the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the then President of Pakistan Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan...
in 1960. The treaty gave
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
control of the three easternmost rivers of the Punjab, the
SutlejThe Sutlej River is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroad region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan...
, the
BeasThe Beas River is the second easternmost of the rivers of the Punjab, a tributary of Indus River. The river rises in the Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh, India, and flows for some 470 km to the Sutlej River in western Punjab state.-Etymology:The river was also known as Arjikuja of...
and the
RaviThe Ravi is a river flowing through India and Pakistan. It is one of the five rivers which gives the Punjab region its name. The Ravi was known as Paruṣṇī or Irāvatī to Indians in Vedic period and as to the Ancient Greeks.-Course:...
, while
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
gained control of the three western rivers, the
JhelumJehlum River or Jhelum River is a river that flows in India and Pakistan. It is the largest and most western of the five rivers of Punjab, and passes through Jhelum District...
, the Chenab and the Indus.
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
retained the right to use of the western rivers for non irrigation projects. (See discussion regarding a recent dispute about a hydroelectric project on the Chenab (not Indus) known as the Baglihar Project).
HinduA Hindu is an adherent of Hinduism, a set of religious, philosophical and cultural systems that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The vast body of Hindu scriptures, divided into Śruti and Smriti , lay the foundation of Hindu beliefs which primarily include dhárma, kárma, ahimsa and saṃsāra...
pilgrimage to holy sites alongside the river has been a source of conflict between the two nations.
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
and
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
do not generally allow each others' citizens to cross borders for religious pilgrimages, other than
SikhSikh is the title and name given to an adherent of Sikhism. The term has its origin in the Sanskrit term , meaning "disciple, learner" or , meaning "instruction"....
s who travel to
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
for their annual pilgrimage.
There are concerns that extensive deforestation, industrial pollution and
global warmingGlobal warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C during the last century...
are affecting the vegetation and wildlife of the Indus delta, while affecting agricultural production as well. There are also concerns that the Indus river may be shifting its course westwards - although the progression spans centuries. On numerous occasions, sediment clogging owing to poor maintenance of canals has affected agricultural production and vegetation. In addition, extreme heat has caused water to evaporate, leaving salt deposits that render lands useless for cultivation.
More recently and within Pakistan, the province of Punjab is seeking to cut off the flow of the river downstream to Sindh by building dams within it's provincial limits in the face of opposition from the people of Sindh, storage reservoirs used to produce the bulk of food consumed by millions of Pakistanis nationwide as well as providing cheap hydel power to the country's national electric grid system.
See also
- 1974 Hunza earthquake
The 1974 Hunza Earthquake was a magnitude 6.2 earthquake in the rugged and isolated Hunza, Hazara and Swat districts of northern Pakistan at 12:11 UTC on December 28, 1974. The epicentre was located at 35.1 degrees north and 72.9 degrees east. The quake had a shallow focal depth and was followed by...
- Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization which centred mostly in the western part of the Indian Subcontinent and flourished around the Indus river basin....
- Sindhology
Sindhology is a field of study and academic research that covers the history, society, culture, and literature of Sindh. The subject was first brought into the academic circles with the establishment of the Institute of Sindhology at Sindh University in 1964...
- Indus Waters Treaty
The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-sharing treaty between the Republic of India and Islamic Republic Of Pakistan. The treaty was signed in Karachi on September 19, 1960 by the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the then President of Pakistan Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan...
External links