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Punjab (India)
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Punjab is a state in northwest India. The Indian state borders the Pakistani province of Punjab to the west, Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, 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.
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Punjab is a state in northwest India. The Indian state borders the Pakistani province of Punjab to the west, Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, 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 Mohali, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Patiala and Jalandhar. Mohali is the fastest growing city adjacent to chandigarh and is known for its well designed roads and structure similar to chandigarh.
The Indian Punjab historically forms a part of the larger Punjab region, which includes some parts of Afghanistan, the Pakistani province of Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province, the Indian states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, parts of J&K and Delhi and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. Indian Punjab was trifurcated in the year 1966 leading to the formation of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
Agriculture is the largest industry in Punjab, it is the largest single provider of wheat to India. Others major industries include the manufacture of scientific instruments, electrical goods, financial services, machine tools, textiles, sewing machines, sports goods, starch, tourism, fertilizers, bicycles, garments, and the processing of pine oil and sugar. Punjab is considered to have the best infrastructure in India , this includes road, rail, air and river transport links that are extensive throughout the region. Punjab also has the lowest poverty rate in India at 6.16% (1999-2000 figures), and has won the best state performance award, based on statistical data compiled by the Indian Government. According to the Global Hunger Index 2008, Punjab has the lowest level of hunger in India.
From the late 1970s to the 1990s, Punjab was struck by political, governmental and religious turmoil, to form a Sikh state called Khalistan to avoid the alleged discrimination faced by Sikhs by the Government of India. The violence during the Punjab insurgency saw deaths of several thousand people, and gradually came to a halt in the mid 1990s.
The word "Punjab" is a combination of the Persian words panj Five, and ab Water, giving the literal meaning of the "Land of Five Rivers". The five rivers after which Punjab is named are the Beas, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej.
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.
Punjab region temperature range from -2° to 40°C (MIN/MAX), but can reach 47°C (117°F) in summer and can touch down to -5°C in winter.
The people that live in the state of Punjab are known as Punjabi.
History
The Indian state of Punjab was created in 1947, when the Partition of India split the former Raj province of Punjab between India and West Pakistan. The mostly Muslim western part of the province became West Pakistan's Punjab Province; the mostly
Sikh eastern part became India's Punjab state. Many Sikhs and Hindus lived in the west, and many Muslims lived in the east, and so the partition saw many people displaced and much intercommunal violence. Several small Punjabi princely states, including Patiala, also became part of India. In 1950, two separate states were created; Punjab included 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). PEPSU consisted of the princely states of Patiala, Nabha, Jind, Kapurthala, Malerkotla, Faridkot and Kalsia. Himachal Pradesh was created as a union territory from several princely states and Kangra District. 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 the undivided Punjab province, Lahore, ended up in West 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. Chandigarh was due to transfer to Punjab alone in 1986, but the transfer has been delayed pending an agreement on which parts of the Hindi speaking areas of Abohar and Fazilka, currently part of Firozpur District of Punjab, should be transferred to Haryana in exchange.
During the 1970s, the Green Revolution brought increased economic prosperity for the Sikh community in Punjab, mainly due to Pratap Singh Kairon, the late Sikh leader. However, a growing polarisation between the Indian National Congress led Indian government and the main political party of the Sikhs, the Shiromani Akali Dal, began to widen during the 1970s. The hostility and bitterness arose from what was widely seen by the Sikhs as increasing alienation, centralization and discriminatory attitudes towards Punjab by the Government of India. This prompted the Shiromani Akali Dal to unanimously pass the Anandpur Sahib Resolution which among other things called for granting maximum autonomy for the Punjab and other states and limiting the role and powers of the Central Government. The Anandpur Sahib Resolution was rejected and erroneously dubbed as being of a hidden separatist agenda by India's Congress Party, specifically to discredit the resolution.
Discord had been developing after the rejection of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution. A small section of Sikhs demanded an independent state of Khalistan. A number of militants took to targeting officials and people opposed to their point of view which included a number of Sikhs. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale along with his supporters sought shelter inside the Akal Takht. Fearing an attack on the Harimandir Sahib, Bhindranwale, with help from Shabeg Singh heavily fortified the temple. The Indian army finally assaulted the Golden Temple to take out armed militants in June, 1984. However, the operation, Operation Bluestar was poorly planned and coordinated, leading to heavy military and civilian casualties.
As a result, the situation in Punjab deteriorated into anarchy with a rise in radicalised militancy. By the early 1990s, after many years of violence across Punjab, the militants' struggle for Khalistan had lost much of the sympathy given after the assault on the sacred Golden Temple, it had previously had from some Punjabi Sikhs and what little armed resistance remained was eliminated and forced underground. In the following years there was concern over alleged human rights abuses conducted by the central and state government against radical Sikhs, and many human rights organisations were not allowed in the Punjab at the time.
The Indian BJP former leader stated that the Congress Party governments have been involved in creating terrorism in the Punjab. Recently, BJP national president Lal Krishna Advani, stated that it was his party which pressured Sikh Extremists to take a stand against the government. The policy to help the Congress Party by creating militants and moderates backfired resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent people .
Punjab's economy was acutely affected in the 1980s and early 1990s. However in recent times, there have been serious attempts by the Central Government to diminish resentment and strong feelings of Punjabis over the issue. Punjab's economy is now on the path to recovery. However, corruption and violence continues to hamper the state.
Present issues
In recent times, there is growing concern in the state about the immigration of labourers from other Indian states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Around 10% of Punjab's population is now made up of migrants from these states. The native Sikhs are concerned that they will soon became a minority in their own state, and allege that the unchecked immigration is encouraged by the government. The pro-Khalistan organization Dal Khalsa (International) has blamed the problems like rising crime rate and unemployment on immigration. On the other hand the leaders like Tarsem Jodha have stated that immigration is vital to Punjab's economy since the Jatt landlords of Punjab have always relied on immigrants for labour.
In last few decades, the disputes between the Jat and the Dalit castes have caused much violence in Punjab. In the Talhan riots, Dalit Sikhs were brutally suppressed by Jats allegedly with the police help over the management of the local Gurdwara. The daughter of the Dalit activist Bant Singh was raped by a group of Jats, and he was beaten up leading to amputation of his limbs. Dera Sacha Sauda claims to be a pro-Dalit organization, but Jat Sikhs regard it as a conspiracy aimed at diluting the Sikh identity. There have been many cases of violence between the two groups. Another example is the breakaway sect of a godman called Baba Piara Singh Bhaniarawala. The followers of Bhaniarwala are mostly Dalits who claim to be Sikhs. However, mainstream Sikhs have accused him of modifying the Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred book of the Sikhs. They have accused him of blasphemy, alleging that his 2,400-page "Bhavsagar Samundar Amar Bani" contains blasphemous references to Sikhism.
According to the World Drug Report released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2007, Punjab is the World’s No 1 transit point for opium. According to the Akali leader Captain Kanwaljeet Singh, Punjab finds itself bypassed as neighbouring states are prospering due to the services book, while industrialisation in Punjab has not happened in a planned manner due to “a crucial decade lost in militancy.”
Demographics
| Religion | % of total |
|---|
| All | 100% | | Sikhs | 59.9% | | Hindus | 36.9% | | Muslims | 1.184 % | | Christians | 1.11 % | | Buddhists | 0.12 % | | Jains | 0.10 % | | Others | 0.08 % |
Sikhism is the most practiced faith in Punjab, and roughly 58% of the population belongs to the Sikh faith. 40% of the population practices Hinduism. Other faiths include Islam, Buddhism, Christianity and Jainism.
The holiest of Sikh Shrines, the Shri Harmandir Sahib Ji (or Golden Temple), is in The Holy city of Amritsar. The Sri Akal Takht Sahib Ji which resides within the Golden temple complex is the temporal seat of Sikhs. Of the five Takhts[Temporal Seat] of Sikhism, three are in Punjab. Anandpur Sahib is where Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji created the Khalsa on Vaisakhi. During major holidays on the Sikh calendar (such as Vaisakhi, Hola Mohalla, Gurpurb or Diwali), many Sikhs gather and march through virtually every city, town and village in Punjab. Sikhism is so common in fact, that at least one Sikh Gurdwara can be found in every village, town and city (in various styles and sizes).
The Punjabi language, written in the Gurmukhi script is the official and most commonly used language in the state. The other language which is spoken in Punjab is Hindi, the national language.
Religion Population by District
| District | Sikhs | Hindus |
|---|
| Gurdaspur | 65% | 30% | | Amritsar | 80% | 20% | | Tarn Taran | 90% | 10% | | Kapurthala | 80% | 20% | | Jalandhar | 58% | 42% | | Hoshiarpur | 70% | 30% | | Nawanshahar | 60% | 40% | | Ludhiana | 65% | 35% | | Moga | 82% | 18% | | Batinda | 90% | 10% | | Faridkot | 78% | 22% | | Firozpur | 52% | 44% | | Mansa | 80% | 20% | | Sangrur | 75% | 25% | | Muktsar | 70% | 10% | | Fatehgarh Sahib | 90% | 10% | | Barnala | 80% | 20% | | Patiala | 92% | 8% | | Mohali | 64% | 36% | | Chandigarh | 30% | 70% | |
The Christians only make up about 0.3% of the population consisting in Firozpur. The Muslims only make up close to 2% resided in Malerkotla and Qudian.
Districts such as Jalandhar, Ludhiana, and Firozpur have an constant popultion because 70% of the Sikhs from these districts are settled in North America, U.S.A, and England. Doaba, and Malwa dominate the Western countries. On the other hand 95% of Majha regions population is still resided in Punjab.
The table above showning the population of Doaba, Malwa, and Majha, people living aboard also referred as NRI.
| Doaba | Malwa | Majha |
|---|
| 5,200,000 | 4,800,000 | 100,000 | | |
Education
Punjab is served by 16 leading public institutes of excellence in higher education (listed below). All the major arts, humanities, science, engineering, law, medicine, veterinary science, and business courses are offered, leading to first degrees as well as postgraduate awards. Advanced research is conducted in all major areas of excellence. Punjab Agricultural University is one of the world's leading authorities in agriculture. It was instrumental and played vital role in Punjab's Green Revolution in the 1960s-70s.
- Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.
- Punjabi University, Patiala.
- Panjab University, Chandigarh.
- Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh.
- Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.
- Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar.
- Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot.
- Punjab Veterinary Sciences University, Talwandi Sabo.
- Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University.
- National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research, Mohali
- National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar.
- Thapar University, Patiala.
- Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology, Sangrur
- Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana
- Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Engineering College, Fatehgarh Sahib
The current Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh was educated at Punjab University, Chandigarh and Oxford and Cambridge in UK.
Professor Har Gobind Khorana, famous Nobel laureate & biotechnologist was educated at Panjab University.
Economy
According to the Global Hunger Index 2008, Punjab has the lowest level of hunger in India. Less than one-fourth of children below the age of five are underweight, although Punjab "came off worse than countries like Gabon and Vietnam when measured on the index".
Punjab has the best infrastructure in all of India and as a result it is becoming attractive to foreign companies looking for bases and manufacturing zones for their Indian operations. The Indian National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has ranked Punjab's infrastructure as the best in India. Its road, rail, air and transport system is rated best in the country with ranking of 210 points compared to the national average of 100 in NCAER’s infrastructure index. It has highest per capita generation of electricity in India,
which is 2.5 times the national average. All major cities in Punjab benefit from this and have some of the lowest tariff's in India. All of Punjab's villages have been electrified and connected to the state electrical power grid since 1974.
Punjab (the five rivers region) is one of the most fertile regions on earth. The region is ideal for wheat-growing. Rice, sugar cane, fruits and vegetables are also grown. Indian Punjab is called the "Granary of India" or "India's bread-basket." It produces 14% of India's cotton, 20% of India's wheat, and 9% of India's rice. In worldwide terms, Indian Punjab produces 2% of the world's cotton, 2% of its wheat and 1% of the world's rice. The largest grown crop is wheat. Other important crops are rice, cotton, sugarcane, pearl millet, maize, barley and fruit.In Punjab per hectare consumption of fertilizer is 177 kg as compared to 90 kg at national level. Also Punjab State has been awarded National Productivity Award for agriculture extension services for consecutively ten years from 1991-92 to 1998-99 and 2001 to 2003-04.
Source: Punjab Government
Excluding agriculture other major industries include the manufacture of scientific instruments, electrical goods, machine tools, textiles, tourism, sewing machines, sports goods, starch, fertilizers, bicycles, and the processing of pine oil and sugar.
Districts
Punjab state is divided into 20 administrative districts (listed below):
- Amritsar District
- Barnala District
- Bathinda District
- Firozpur District
- Fatehgarh Sahib District
- Faridkot District
- Gurdaspur District
- Hoshiarpur District
- Jalandhar District
- Kapurthala District
- Ludhiana District
- Mansa District
- Moga District
- Mohali District
- Muktsar District
- Nawanshahr District
- Patiala District
- Rupnagar District
- Sangrur District
- Tarn Taran District
Cities
The largest cities of Punjab state are: Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Patiala, Barnala, Bathinda, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot, Batala, Moga, Abohar, Chandigarh and Mohali(not in order)
Government and politics
Like other states in India, the head of state of Punjab is the Governor, appointed by the President of India on the advice of the Central government. His or her post is largely ceremonial. The Chief Minister 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.
Tourism
Tourism is a swiftly expanding area and many analysts predict huge potential. Tourism of Punjab is principally suited for the tourist interested in culture, civilization, spirituality and epic history. More specifically tourism is particularly suited for the person who is interested in epic history, the celebrated Punjabi culture, royal Punjabi palaces, historic battles and of course the world-renowned examples of Sikh Architecture, shrines and temples.
Culture
Music of Punjab is well-known. Bhangra is one of the many Punjabi musical art forms that is increasingly being listened to in the west and is becoming a mainstream favourite. Punjabi music is being used by western musicians, in many ways, such as mixing it with other compositions to produce award-winning music. In addition, Punjabi Classical music is increasingly becoming popular in the west due to the beauty of sounds of the Punjabi language and its composition.
Punjabi cuisine has an immense range of dishes and has become world-leader in the field so much so that many entrepreneurs that have invested in the sector have built large personal fortunes due to popularity of Punjabi Cuisine throughout the world.
Punjabi Poetry is renowned for its extremely deep meaning, beautiful, exciting and hopeful use of words. The poetry is one of the deepest insights into the Punjabi mindset. The large number of Punjabi poetry masterpieces are being translated throughout the world into many languages. Famous Punjabi poets.
A Punjabi qissa (story; pl. qisse) is a tradition of Punjabi language oral story-telling that came to South Asia with migrants from the Arabian peninsula and contemporary Iran and Afghanistan.
Punjabi dances, due to the long history of the Punjabi culture and of the Punjabi people there is a large number of dances. These dances are normally performed at times of celebration the most prominent being at Punjabi weddings, where the elation is usually particularly intense. The particular background of the dances can be non-religious and religious. The overall style can range from very high energy to more reserved, however the common elements make it particularly attractive to the viewers whether they be of Punjabi heritage or not, the allure is considered universal. Punjabi dances are designed for either men or women.
Punjabi wedding traditions and ceremonies are traditionally conducted in Punjabi and are a strong reflection of Punjabi culture. Marriage ceremonies are conducted in Punjabi by Granthi for Sikhs, in Sanskrit by Pundits for Hindus and Jains, and in Arabic by Kazis for Muslims. There are occasional commonalities in ritual, song, dance, food, dress. The Punjabi wedding has many rituals and ceremonies that have evolved since traditional times.
Famous people
The Punjab Medals of Honour are a collection of awards that are given by the Government of Punjab for exceptional excellence and achievement in the service of Punjab, the Punjabi people and internationally. Some awards are given yearly and some are only given rarely and under exceptional circumstances, where the individual has shown remarkable sacrifice or personal service of Punjab. To win one of the rare awards would probably make the individual a household famous name in Punjab. Two of the most prestigious awards are Punjab Rattan Award and the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award (a very prestigious award).
The Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is a Punjabi. Two former Indian Prime Ministers include I K Gujral and Gulzarilal Nanda both of whom were also Punjabis. Another Punjabi to occupy the topmost post in India was the former President of India Giani Zail Singh. A former Chief of Army Staff of India, General General Joginder Jaswant Singh is a Punjabi, so is famous Nobel laureate Professor Har Gobind Khorana. The first Indian in Outer space is a Punjabi - Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma. The highest ranking office in the history of the Indian Air force was a Punjabi, Marshal of the Air Force of India - Arjan Singh (the highest rank ever given in the history of the Indian Air force). The first Indian-American Governor and new Governor Elect of Louisiana., USA Bobby Jindal (Rep) is also a Punjabi Hindu from his fathers parental lineage. In the entertainment sector, the giant Dalip Singh helps "promote" Punjab in the sphere of Professional wrestling. Indian cricket star Harbhajan Singh is from the Punjab from a village called Lamhbra on the outskirts of Jalandhar. Gurdas Mann and Hans Raj Hans are two of the most famous singers to come from the punjab. The first ever Asian Member of the US Senate, Dr. Dalip Singh Saund, was a Punjabi as was Kalpana Chawla, the famous US astronaut.
Twin Punjabi Associations
The Punjab historically, since ancient times, has been one cultural and political entity within which the Punjabi people have lived in. However, after the partition of India the Punjab was divided, cutting the Punjabi people in two across the international border between Pakistan and India. Relations after partition were unusually Luke-warm between the twin Punjabs. However, over the last 20 years both Punjab governments, in India and Pakistan, have made concerted effort to maintaining cultural and historical ties of the Punjabi people. This included the international Punjabi Games held in 2004, arranged by both Punjab Governments.
Academic institutions have kept their strong contacts such as Universities that were spilt after partition, such as the twin Punjab Universities at Chandigarh and Lahore.
See also
External links
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