Punjab region

The Punjab (meaning: "Land of five Rivers"; also Panjab, Gurmukhi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, Shahmukhi: 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 three main religions in the area are Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism.

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, Madras, 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 or Shakas (See: Evolution of Heroic Tradition in Ancient Panjab, 1971, p 53, Dr Buddha Parkash).

The region, populated by Indo-Aryans, has been invaded and ruled by many different empires and races, including the Persians, Turks, Mughals, Afghans and British. Around the time of the fifteenth Century, Guru Nanak founded the Sikh religion, which quickly came to prominence in the region, and shortly afterwards, Maharaja Ranjit Singh reformed the Punjab into a secular and powerful state. The nineteenth Century saw the beginning of British rule, which led to the emergence of several heroic Punjabi freedom fighters. In 1947, at the end of British rule, the Punjab was split between Pakistan and India.

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. Muslims occupied the western part of the region by the eighth century, introducing Islam, and although they later conquered the eastern part, Hinduism remained entrenched there. The Mughals brought the region to cultural eminence until their empire declined in the eighteenth century. The Punjab was controlled by Sikhs from 1799 to 1849, when it was annexed by Britain. It was partitioned between India and Pakistan in 1947.

Once a single entity, it is now split between two nations: Pakistan's Punjab Province and India's Punjab state. The Indian states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh were also parts of the former undivided Punjab. Delhi had been apart of the British Punjab province. Punjab, India covers an area of 50,362 square kilometres (19,445 square miles). Punjab, Pakistan is 205,344 square kilometres, (79,284 square miles). Population: 24,289,296 (2000) in India, 86,084,000 (2005) in Pakistan. Roughly half of Pakistan's population lives in Pakistani Punjab. Punjabi is spoken by (approx) 90% of population in Pakistani Punjab and 92.2% in Indian Punjab [1] . The capital city of the Indian Punjab is Chandigarh. The capital city of the Pakistani Punjab is Lahore.

History

Many races of people and religions made up the cultural heritage of the Punjab. Punjab is the land where spiritual aspirations arose. This heroic land bore numerous invasions, and after all its suffering, did not entirely lose its glory and its strength. Here it was that the gentle Nanak 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 stone age 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 glorious period, the people accelerated 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 and 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 the 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 (See: Evolution of Heroic Tradition in Ancient Panjab, p 36, Dr Buddha Parkash).

According to Dr Fauja Singh and Dr L. M. Joshi, it is indisputable that the Kambojas, Daradas, Kaikayas, Madras, Pauravas, Malavas, Saibdhavas and Kurus had jointly contributed to the evolution of heroic tradition of ancient Punjab (See: History of Panjab, Vol I, p 4).

Right from the attempted invasion by Alexander in 326 B.C., the Punjab bore the brunt of incursions and the aggressive assaults of invaders from the north.

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 preached the oneness of humanity, and oneness of God, thus aiming at creating a new order which embraced the all pervasive spirit in man. He condemned and ridiculed the false and unnatural notions of high and low castes practices in Hindu society. Guru Nanak also denounced idolatory and laid stress on meditation for the realization of the Universal self.

British intrution 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 freedom movement, Punjab played a role worthy of its name. Many heroes emerged from the Punjab such as Lajpat Rai, Ajit Singh, Bhagat Singh, Uddham Singh, Bhal Parmanand and a host of others.

Since independence, life in the Punjab proves to be tragic and traumatic. The partition resulted in riots and terror which tore up millions of homes and destroyed many lives. The massive exodus resulting from the newly formed state of Pakistan created problems of uncontrollable dimensions. The Punjabis trekked in blood and shreds.

However, the Punjabi spirit of tenacity and toughness sustained the uprooted people. The disillusioned people set to work with no self pity to plough fresh fields. They built new industries and became prominent in sports. Punjabis attained an eminent place in cultural, aesthetic, and literary work, and revived folk art, song, dance and drama. All of this has created a sense of pride and climate of involvement in the heritage of the Punjab.

Religion

Sikhism is the main religion of the Indian Punjab. About 60% of the population is Sikh, 35% is Hindu, and the rest is Christian and Muslim. Indian Punjab contains the holy Sikh city of Amritsar.

Islam is the religion of more than 98% of the population of the Punjab in Pakistan. There are small Christian, Ahmadi and Sikh minorities. The language of the region is Punjabi, although the national language is Urdu, over 70% percent of Punjab speak dialects of Punjabi.

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).

Agricultural region

This region, historical 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.

Timeline

• 2500 - 1500 B.C.: Harappa Culture
• 1500 - 1000 B.C.: Early Vedic Civilization
• 1000 - 500 B.C.: Middle and late Vedic Period
• 599 B.C.: Jainism
• 567 - 487 B.C.: Buddha
• 550 B.C - 600 A.D.: Buddhism remained prevalent
• 550 - 515 B.C.: Persian Invasion to west of Indus River
• 326 B.C.: Alexander's Invasion
• 322 - 298 B.C.: Chandragupta I Maurya Period
• 273 - 232 B.C.: Ashoka's Period
• 125 - 160 B.C.: Rise of the Sakas (Scythians known as Jat ancestors)
• 2 B.C.: Beginning of Rule of the Sakas.
• 45 - 180 A.D.: Rule of the Kushanas
• 320 - 550 A.D.: Gupta Empire
• 500 A.D.: Huns Invasion
• 510 - 650 A.D.: Vardhanas Era
• 647 - 1192 A.D.: Rajput Period
• 713 - 1300 A.D.: Muslim Invaders (Turks and Arabs) famous invaders like Mahmud Gori and Mahmud Ghazni
• 8th Century A.D.: Arabs capture Sind and Multan
• 1450 - 1700 A.D.: Mughal Rulers
• 1469 - 1539 A.D.: Guru Nanak Dev Ji (1st Sikh Guru)
• 1539 - 1675 A.D.: Period of 8 Sikh Gurus from Guru Angad Dev Ji to Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji
• 1675 - 1708 A.D.: Guru Gobind Singh Ji (10th Sikh Guru)
• 1699 A.D.: Birth of the Khalsa
• 1708 - 1715 A.D.: Conquests of Banda Bahadur
• 1716 - 1759 A.D.: Sikh struggle against Moghul Governors
• 1739 A.D.: Invasion of Nadir Shah
• 1748 -1769 A.D.: Ahmed Shah Abdali's nine invasions
• 1762 A.D.: 2nd Holocaust (Ghalughara) from Ahmed Shah's 6th invasion
• 1764 - 1799 A.D.: Rule of the Sikh Misls
• 1799 - 1839 A.D.: Rule by Maharaja Ranjit Singh
• 1849 A.D.: Annexation of Punjab
• 1849 - 1947 A.D.: British Rule
• 1947 A.D.: Partition of India thus Punjab into 2 parts the Eastern part became the Indian Punjab and the Western part the Pakistan Punjab
• 1966 A.D.: Punjab in India divided into 3 parts on Linguistic basis (Haryana, Himachal and Punjabi suba the present Punjab)
• 1984 A.D.: Operation Blue Star and its aftermath

Etymology

The name "Punjab" (pŭn'jăb', pŭn-jäb') means "land of five rivers" and derives from the Persian words 'panj' (پنج) meaning five, and 'āb' (اب) meaning water. 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.