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The word Punjab consists of the two
words "Panj" and "Aab" where
Panj means five and Aab means water. This name was
given to this region to symbolize its five rivers.
The Northwest location of the state and its fertile
land created a strong attraction for foreign influence.
Persians, Arabs, the British, and Turko-Mongolians
were a few of the groups which contributed to its
development. Punjab also was a nurturing ground
to several religious movements such as Buddism,
Sikhism, and several schools of Islam.
The historical area of Punjab was defined to the
east from the basin of the river Bias to the boundary
of the river Indus to the west. On the north the
state was bounded by the Kashmiri Himalayas and
on the south it reached the plains of Rajasthan
and Cholistan. However, over history Punjab has
had its boundaries expand as well as shrink. The
high time for Punjab occurred under the reign of
Mugal emperor Babur and the empire of Maharaja Ranjit
Singh. With the partition in 1947 the borders of
the region shrank to its current size, with its
division into the Pakistani province of Punjab and
the Indian state of Punjab
Location:
Situated in the north-west of India, Punjab is
bordered by Pakistan on the west, the Indian states
of Jammu & Kashmir on the north, Himachal Pradesh
on it's nort-east and Haryana and Rajasthan on it's
south.
Area:
50362 square kilometers (Punjab occupies 1.54 %
of the country’s total geographical area).
Capital:
Chandigarh (population: 642,0000)
Population:
23.51 million (P) for the year 1999
Rural: 16.56 million (70.45 )%
Urban: 6.95 million (29.55 )%
The population of Punjab consists mainly of Punjabis
and Rajputs.
Occupation:
More than 80 percent of Punjab is cultivated, and
farming is the leading occupation. The major crops
are wheat, maize (corn), rice, pulses (legumes),
sugarcane, and cotton. Among the livestock raised
are buffalo and other cattle, sheep, goats, and
poultry. The principal industries include the manufacture
of textiles, sewing machines, sporting goods, starch,
fertilizers, bicycles, scientific instruments, electrical
goods, and machine tools, and the processing of
sugar and pine oil.
Languages:
The official language is Punjabi, which is spoken
by about two-thirds of the population. Many people
are fluent in Hindi, English and Urdu also.
Currency:
Rupee (100 paise equals one rupee)
State Animal:
Black Buck - Locally called kala hiran, the Black
Buck is a graceful antelope blessed with a striking
colour and spiraled horns. The fawn’s coat
is yellowish but it becomes turns black at maturity.
It is found in the plains and avoid forests and
hilly tracks. Mostly found in herds of 20-30, large
herds may number several hundreds. With a keen eyesight
and speed, it responds to alarm call by leaps and
bounds.
State Bird:
Baz (Eastern Goshawk)
State Tree:
Shisham
Geography:
Find Punjab on the globe at 29’30’’
N to 32’32’’ N latitude and 73’55
E to 76’50 E longitude. Punjab lies between
the Indus and the Ganges rivers. Most of the state
is an alluvial plain irrigated by canals. Punjab's
arid southern border edges on the Thar or Great
Indian Desert. The Siwalik Range rises sharply in
the north of the state. The average temperature
in January is 13° C (55° F), although at
night the temperature sometimes lowers to freezing
point. In June, the average temperature is 34°
C (93° F), occasionally rising as high as 45°
C (113° F). Annual average rainfall in Punjab
ranges from 1250 mm (49 in) in the north to 350
mm (14 in) in the southwest. More than 70 percent
of the annual rainfall occurs during the monsoon
season i.e., from July to September.
Climate:
Climatically the state has three major seasons
- summer, winter and rainy season.
Major Land Features:
Most of Punjab is a fertile plain; toward the southeast
one finds semi-arid and desert landscape; a belt
of undulating hills extends along the northeast
at the foot of the Himalayas. Four rivers, the Ravi,
Beas, Satluj and Ghaggar flow across the state in
a southwesterly direction. They have numerous small
and seasonal tributaries. In addition, Punjab is
watered by an extensive canal system.
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