Punjab, India

Flag of Indian Punjab

Punjab, historically known as Panchanada or Pentapotamía, 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. It is also bordered by the Indian union territories of Chandigarh to the east and Jammu and Kashmir to the north, sharing an international border with Punjab, a province of Pakistan to the west. The state covers an area of 50,362 square kilometers (19,445 square miles), which is 1.53% of India's total geographical area, 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. Punjabi, written in the Gurmukhi script, is the most widely spoken and the official language of the state. The main ethnic groups are the Punjabis, with Sikhs (57.7%) and Hindus (38.5%) as the dominant religious groups. The state capital is Chandigarh, a union territory and also the capital of the neighboring state of Haryana. Three tributaries of the Indus, viz., Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi, flow through Punjab.

The history of Punjab has witnessed the migration and settlement of different tribes of people with different cultures and ideas, forming a civilizational melting pot. The ancient Indus Valley civilization flourished in the region until its decline around 1900 BCE. Punjab was enriched during the height of the Vedic period but declined in predominance with the rise of the Mahajanapadas. The region formed the frontier of initial empires during antiquity, including Alexander's and Maurya empires. It was subsequently conquered by the Kushan Empire, Gupta Empire, and then Harsha's Empire. Punjab continued to be settled by nomadic people, including the Huna, Turkic, and the Mongols. Punjab came under Muslim rule around 1000 CE and was part of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire. Sikhism, based on the teachings of Sikh Gurus, emerged between the 15th and 17th centuries. Conflicts between the Mughals and the later Sikh Gurus precipitated a militarization of the Sikhs, resulting in the formation of a confederacy after the weakening of the Mughal Empire, which competed for control with the larger Durrani Empire. This confederacy was united in 1801 by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, forming the Sikh Empire.

The larger Punjab region was annexed by the British East India Company from the Sikh Empire in 1849. At the time of India's independence from British rule in 1947, the Punjab province was partitioned along religious lines amidst widespread violence. The Muslim-majority western portion became part of Pakistan, and the Hindu- and Sikh-majority east remained in India, causing large-scale migration between the two. After the Punjabi Suba movement, Indian Punjab was reorganized on the basis of language in 1966. Haryanvi- and Hindi-speaking areas were carved out as Haryana, Pahari-speaking regions attached to Himachal Pradesh, and the remaining, mostly Punjabi-speaking areas became the current state of Punjab. A separatist insurgency occurred in the state during the 1980s. At present, the economy of Punjab is the 15th-largest state economy in India with ₹5.29 trillion (US$74 billion) in gross domestic product and a per capita GDP of ₹151,367 (US$2,100), ranking 17th among Indian states. Since independence, Punjab is predominantly an agrarian society. It is the ninth-highest ranking among Indian states in the human development index. Punjab has bustling tourism, music, culinary, and film industries.

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