Punjab, India
State in northern India / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Punjab (/pʌnˈdʒɑːb/ i;[8] Punjabi: [pənˈdʒɑːb]) is a state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the north and northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, and Rajasthan to the southwest; by the Indian union territories of Chandigarh to the east and Jammu and Kashmir to the north. It shares an international border with Punjab, a province of Pakistan to the west.[9] The state covers an area of 50,362 square kilometres (19,445 square miles), which is 1.53% of India's total geographical area,[10] making it the 19th-largest Indian state by area out of 28 Indian states (20th largest, if Union Territories are considered). With over 27 million inhabitants, Punjab is the 16th-largest Indian state by population, comprising 23 districts.[2] Punjabi, written in the Gurmukhi script, is the most widely spoken and the official language of the state.[11] The main ethnic groups are the Punjabis, with Sikhs (57.7%) and Hindus (38.5%) as the dominant religious groups.[12] The state capital is Chandigarh, a union territory and also the capital of the neighbouring state of Haryana. Three tributaries of the Indus, viz., Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi, flow through Punjab.[13]
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The history of Punjab has witnessed the migration and settlement of different tribes of people with different cultures and ideas, forming a melting pot of Punjabi civilisation. The Indus Valley civilization flourished in antiquity before recorded history until their decline around 1900 BCE.[14] Punjab was enriched during the height of the Vedic period, but declined in predominance with the rise of the Mahajanapadas.[15] The region formed the frontier of initial empires during antiquity including the Alexander's and Maurya empires.[16][17] It was subsequently conquered by the Kushan Empire, Gupta Empire,[18] and then Harsha's Empire.[19] Punjab continued to be settled by nomadic people; including the Huna, Turkic and the Mongols. c. 1000 CE, the Punjab came under the rule of Muslims[20] and was part of the Delhi Sultanate, Mughal Empire, and Durrani Empire.[21] Sikhism was founded in the 15th to 17th centuries by the Sikh Gurus in Punjab and resulted in the formation of the Sikh Confederacy after the fall of the Mughal Empire and ensuing conflict with the Durrani Empire.[22] This confederacy was united into the Sikh Empire in 1801 by Maharaja Ranjit Singh.[23]
The greater Punjab region was annexed by the British East India Company from the Sikh Empire in 1849.[24] Following widespread religious violence in 1947, Undivided Punjab was partitioned along religious lines into the provinces of West Punjab and East Punjab.[25] West Punjab became part of a Muslim-majority Pakistan, while East Punjab remained a part of a Hindu-majority India. After the Punjabi Suba movement, Indian Punjab was reorganised on the basis of language on 1 November 1966.[26] Haryanvi and Hindi-speaking southern and eastern areas were carved out as Haryana, while Pahari-speaking northern hilly regions were attached to Himachal Pradesh. The remaining, mostly Punjabi-speaking areas became the current state of Punjab. A separatist insurgency occurred in Punjab during the 1980s.[27] At present, the economy of Punjab is the 15th-largest state economy in India with ₹5.29 trillion (US$66 billion) in gross domestic product and a per capita GDP of ₹151,367 (US$1,900), ranking 17th amongst Indian states.[4] Since independence, Punjab is predominantly an agrarian society. It is the ninth-highest ranking among Indian states in human development index.[5] Punjab has bustling tourism, music, culinary, and film industries.[28]