Geography of Haryana

Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land area. The state capital is Chandigarh, which it shares with the neighboring state of Punjab, and the most populous city is Faridabad, which is a part of the National Capital Region. The city of Gurugram is among India's largest financial and technology hubs. Haryana has 6 administrative divisions, 22 districts, 72 sub-divisions, 93 revenue tehsils, 50 sub-tehsils, 140 community development blocks, 154 cities and towns, 7,356 villages, and 6,222 villages panchayats.

Haryana contains 32 special economic zones (SEZs), mainly located within the industrial corridor projects connecting the National Capital Region. Gurgaon is considered one of the major information technology and automobile hubs of India. Haryana ranks 11th among Indian states in human development index. The economy of Haryana is the 13th largest in India, with a gross state domestic product (GSDP) of and has the country's 5th-highest GSDP per capita of .

The state is rich in history, monuments, heritage, flora and fauna and tourism, with a well developed economy, national highways and state roads. It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, by Rajasthan to the west and south, while river Yamuna forms its eastern border with Uttar Pradesh. Haryana surrounds the country's capital territory of Delhi on three sides (north, west and south), consequently a large area of Haryana state is included in the economically important National Capital Region of India for the purposes of planning and development.

Etymology

Anthropologists came up with the view that Haryana was known by this name because in the post- Mahabharata period here lived the Abhiras who developed special skills in the art of agriculture. According to Pran Nath Chopra Haryana got its name from Abhirayana-Ahirayana-Hirayana-Haryana.

History

Ancient period

The villages of Rakhigarhi in Hisar district and Bhirrana in Fatehabad district are home to the largest and one of the world's oldest ancient Indus Valley Civilization sites, dated at over 9,000 years old. Evidence of paved roads, a drainage system, a large-scale rainwater collection storage system, terracotta brick and statue production, and skilled metal working (in both bronze and precious metals) have been uncovered. According to archaeologists, Rakhigarhi may be the origin of Harappan civilisation, which arose in the Ghaggar basin in Haryana and gradually and slowly moved to the Indus Valley.

During the Vedic era, Haryana was the site of the Kuru Kingdom, one of India's great Mahajanapadas.
The south of Haryana is the claimed location of the Manu's state of Brahmavarta. The area surrounding Dhosi Hill, and districts of Rewari and Mahendragarh had Ashrams of several Rishis who made valuable contributions to important Hindu scriptures like Vedas, Upanishads, Manusmriti, Brahmanas and Puranas. As per Manusmriti Manu was the king of Brahmavarta, the flood time state 10,000 years ago surrounded by oldest route of Sarasvati and Drishadwati rivers on the banks of which Sanatan-Vedic or present day Hindu ethos evolved and scriptures were composed.

Medieval period

Ancient bronze and stone idols of Jain Tirthankara were found in archaeological expeditions in Badli, Bhiwani (Ranila, Charkhi Dadri and Badhra), Dadri, Gurgaon (Gurugram ), Hansi, Hisar, Kasan, Nahad, Narnaul, Pehowa, Rewari, Rohad, Rohtak (Asthal Bohar) and Sonepat in Haryana.

Pushyabhuti dynasty ruled parts of northern India in the 7th century with its capital at Thanesar. Harsha was a prominent king of the dynasty. Tomara dynasty ruled the south Haryana region in the 10th century. Anangpal Tomar was a prominent king among the Tomaras.

After the sack of Bhatner fort during the Timurid conquests of India in 1398, Timur attacked and sacked the cities of Sirsa, Fatehabad, Sunam, Kaithal and Panipat. When he reached the town of Sarsuti (Sirsa), the residents fled and were chased by a detachment of Timur's troops, with thousands of them being killed and looted by the troops. From there he travelled to Fatehabad, whose residents fled and a large number of those remaining in the town were massacred. The Ahirs resisted him at Ahruni but were defeated, with thousands being killed and many being taken prisoners while the town was burnt to ashes. From there he travelled to Tohana, whose Jat inhabitants were robbers according to Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi. They tried to resist but were defeated and fled. Timur's army pursued and killed 200 Jats, while taking many more as prisoners. He then sent a detachment to chase the fleeing Jats and killed 2,000 of them while their wives and children were enslaved and their property plundered. Timur proceeded to Kaithal whose residents were massacred and plundered, destroying all villages along the way. On the next day, he came to Assandh whose residents were " fire-worshippers" according to Yazdi, and had fled to Delhi. Next, he travelled to and subdued Tughlaqpur fort and Salwan before reaching Panipat whose residents had already fled. He then marched on to Loni fort.

Hem Chandra Vikramaditya also called Hemu claimed royal status and throne of Delhi after defeating Akbar's Mughal forces on 7 October 1556 in the Battle of Delhi and assumed the ancient title of Vikramaditya. The area that is now Haryana has been ruled by some of the major empires of India. Panipat is known for three seminal battles in the history of India. In the First Battle of Panipat (1526), Babur defeated the Lodis. In the Second Battle of Panipat (1556), Akbar defeated the local Haryanvi Hindu Emperor of Delhi, who belonged to Rewari. Hem Chandra Vikramaditya had earlier won 22 battles across India during 1553 to 1556 from Punjab to Bengal, defeating Mughals and Afghans. Hemu had defeated Akbar's forces twice at Agra and the Battle of Delhi in 1556 to become the last Hindu Emperor of India with a formal coronation at Purana Quila in Delhi on 7 October 1556. In the Third Battle of Panipat (1761), the Afghan king Ahmad Shah Abdali defeated the Marathas.

British Period

The state was part of the British Punjab province. The Delhi division of Punjab province formed the bulk of Haryana. Among the princely states that were located in the state were Jind, Kalsia, Loharu, Dujana and Pataudi, as well as parts of the Patiala State.

Partition and aftermath

During the Partition of India, the Punjab province was one of two British Indian provinces, alongside Bengal, to be partitioned between India and Pakistan. Haryana, along with other Hindu and Sikh dominated areas of Punjab province, became part of India as East Punjab state. As a result, a significant number of Muslims left for the newly formed country of Pakistan. Similarly, a huge number of Hindu and Sikh refugees poured into the state from West Punjab. Gopi Chand Bhargava, who hailed from Sirsa in present-day Haryana, became the first Chief Minister of East Punjab.

Formation of Haryana

Haryana as a state came into existence on 1 November 1966 the Punjab Reorganisation Act (1966). The Indian government set up the Shah Commission under the chairmanship of Justice JC Shah on 23 April 1966 to divide the existing state of Punjab and determine the boundaries of the new state of Haryana after consideration of the languages spoken by the people. The commission delivered its report on 31 May 1966 whereby the then-districts of Hisar, Mahendragarh, Gurgaon, Rohtak and Karnal were to be a part of the new state of Haryana. Further, the tehsils of Jind and Narwana in the Sangrur district – along with Naraingarh, Ambala and Jagadhri – were to be included.

The commission recommended that the tehsil of Kharar, which includes Chandigarh, the state capital of Punjab, should be a part of Haryana. However Kharar was given to Punjab. The city of Chandigarh was made a union territory, serving as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana.

Bhagwat Dayal Sharma became the first Chief Minister of Haryana.

Demographics

Religion

According to the 2011 census, of total 25,351,462 population of Haryana, Hindus (87.46%) constitute the majority of the state's population with Muslims (7.03%) (mainly Meos) and Sikhs (4.91%) being the largest minorities.

Muslims are mainly found in the Nuh. Haryana has the second largest Sikh population in India after Punjab, and they mostly live in the districts adjoining Punjab, such as Sirsa, Jind, Fatehabad, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Ambala and Panchkula.

Languages

The official language of Haryana is Hindi.
Several regional languages or dialects, often subsumed under Hindi, are spoken in the state. Predominant among them is Haryanvi (also known as Bangru), whose territory encompasses the central and eastern portions of Haryana. Hindustani is spoken in the northeast, Bagri in the west, and Ahirwati, Mewati and Braj Bhasha in the south.

There are also significant numbers of speakers of Urdu, the latter of which was recognised as a second official language of Haryana for government and administrative purposes in 2010. After the state's formation, Telugu was made the state's "second language" – to be taught in schools – but it was not the "second official language" for official communication. Due to a lack of students, the language ultimately stopped being taught. Tamil was made the second language in 1969 by Bansi Lal to show the state's differences with Punjab although there were no Tamil speakers in Haryana at the time. In 2010, due to the lack of Tamil speakers, the language was removed from its status.

There are also some speakers of several major regional languages of neighbouring states or other parts of the subcontinent, like Bengali, Bhojpuri, Marwari, Mewari, and Nepali, as well as smaller communities of speakers of languages that are dispersed across larger regions, like Bauria, Bazigar, Gujari, Gade Lohar, Oadki, and Sansi.

Culture

Music

Haryana has its own unique traditional folk music, folk dances, saang (folk theatre),Sachchidananda'' Encyclopaedic Profile of Indian Tribes'' Volume 1 - 1996 817141298X p416. cinema, belief system such as Jathera (ancestral worship),A Glossary of the tribes & castes of Punjab by H. A Rose and arts such as Phulkari and Shisha embroidery.

Folk dances

Folk music and dances of Haryana are based on satisfying cultural needs of primarily agrarian and martial natures of Haryanavi tribes.

Haryanvi musical folk theatre main types are Saang, Rasa lila and Ragini. The Saang and Ragini form of theatre was popularised by Lakhmi Chand.Manorma Sharma, 2007
Musical Heritage of India
Page 65-125.

Haryanvi folk dances and music have fast energetic movements. Three popular categories of dance are: festive-seasonal, devotional, and ceremonial-recreational. The festive-seasonal dances and songs are Gogaji/Gugga, Holi, Phaag, Sawan, Teej. The devotional dances and songs are Chaupaiya, Holi, Manjira, Ras Leela, Raginis). The ceremonial-recreational dances and songs are of following types: legendary bravery ( Kissa and Ragini of male warriors and female Satis), love and romance (Been and its variant Nāginī dance, and Ragini), ceremonial ( Dhamal Dance, Ghoomar, Jhoomar (male), Khoria, Loor, and Ragini).

Folk music and songs

Haryanvi folk music is based on day to day themes and injecting earthly humour enlivens the feel of the songs. Haryanvi music takes two main forms: "Classical folk music" and "Desi Folk music" (Country Music of Haryana), and sung in the form of ballads and love, valor and bravery, harvest, happiness and pangs of parting of lovers.S. C. Bhatt and Gopal K. Bhargava, 2006
Land and People of Indian States and Union Territories: 21 Arts and Crafts of Haryana
S. Gajrani, 2004
History, Religion and Culture of India
Volume 1, Page 96.

=Classical Haryanvi folk music

=
Classical Haryanvi folk music is based on Indian classical music. Hindustani classical ragas, learnt in gharana parampara of guru–shishya tradition, are used to sing songs of heroic bravery (such as Alha-Khand (1163–1202 CE) about the bravery of Alha and Udal, Jaimal and Patta of Maharana Udai Singh II), Brahmas worship and festive seasonal songs (such as Teej, Holi and Phaag songs of Phalgun month near Holi). Bravery songs are sung in high pitch.

=Desi Haryanvi folk music

=
Desi Haryanvi folk music, is a form of Haryanvi music, based on Raag Bhairvi, Raag Bhairav, Raag Kafi, Raag Jaijaivanti, Raag Jhinjhoti and Raag Pahadi and used for celebrating community bonhomie to sing seasonal songs, ballads, ceremonial songs (wedding, etc.) and related religious legendary tales such as Puran Bhagat. Relationship and songs celebrating love and life are sung in medium pitch. Ceremonial and religious songs are sung in low pitch. Young girls and women usually sing entertaining and fast seasonal, love, relationship and friendship related songs such as Phagan (song for eponymous season/month), Katak (songs for the eponymous season/month), Samman (songs for the eponymous season/month), (male-female duet songs), (songs of sharing heartfelt feelings among female friends). Older women usually sing devotional Mangal Geet (auspicious songs) and ceremonial songs such as Bhajan, Bhat (wedding gift to the mother of bride or groom by her brother), Sagai, Ban (Hindu wedding ritual where pre-wedding festivities starts), Kuan-Poojan (a custom that is performed to welcome the birth of a child by worshiping the well or source of drinking water), Sanjhi and Holi festival.

= Socially normative-cohesive impact

=
Music and dance for Haryanvi people is a great way of demolishing societal differences as folk singers are highly esteemed and they are sought after and invited for the events, ceremonies and special occasions regardless of their caste or status. These inter-caste songs are fluid in nature, and never personalised for any specific caste, and they are sung collectively by women from different strata, castes, dialects. These songs do transform fluidly in dialect, style, words, etc. This adoptive style can be seen from the adoption of tunes of Bollywood movie songs into Haryanvi songs. Despite this continuous fluid transforming nature, Haryanvi songs have a distinct style of their own as explained above.

With the coming up of a strongly socio-economic metropolitan culture in the emergence of urban Gurgaon (Gurugram) Haryana is also witnessing community participation in public arts and city beautification. Several landmarks across Gurgaon are decorated with public murals and graffiti with cultural cohesive ideologies and stand the testimony of a lived sentiment in Haryana folk.

Cuisine

As per a survey, 13% of males and 7.8% of females of Haryana are non-vegetarian. The regional cuisine, saag, vegetarian sabzi and milk products such as ghee, milk, lassi and kheer.Cuisine of Haryana
, Haryana Tourism.

Society

Haryanvi people have a concept of inclusive society involving the ''" 36 Jātis"'' or communities. Castes such as Jat, Rajput, Gurjar, Saini, Pasi, Ahirs, Ror, Mev, Charan, Bishnoi, Harijan, Aggarwal, Brahmin, Khatri and Tyagi are some of the notable of these 36 Jātis.

Geography

Haryana is a landlocked state in northern India. It is between 27°39' to 30°35' N latitude and between 74°28' and 77°36' E longitude. The total geographical area of the state is 4.42 m ha, which is 1.4% of the geographical area of the country. The altitude of Haryana varies between 700 and 3600 ft (200 metres to 1200 metres) above sea level. Haryana has only 4% (compared with national 21.85%) area under forests. Karoh Peak, a tall mountain peak in the Sivalik Hills range of the greater Himalayas range located near Morni Hills area of Panchkula district, is highest point in Haryana.
Most of the state sits atop the fertile Punjab Plain, a subsection of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Haryana has 4 states and 2 union territories on its border – Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, and Chandigarh.

Plains and mountains

Haryana has four main geographical features.
* The Yamuna- Ghaggar plain forming the largest part of the state is also called ''Delhi doab'' consisting of ''Sutlej-Ghaggar doab'' (between Sutlej in north in Punjab and Ghaggar river flowing through northern Haryana), ''Ghaggar-Hakra doab'' (between Ghaggar river and Hakra or Drishadvati river which is the paleochannel of the holy Saraswati River) and ''Hakra-Yamuna doab'' (between Hakra river and Yamuna).
* The Lower Shivalik Hills to the northeast in foothills of Himalaya
* The Bagar tract semi-desert dry sandy plain to the south-west. See also: Bangar and Khadir.
* The Aravali Range's northernmost low rise isolated non-continuous outcrops in the south

Hydrography

The Yamuna, tributary of Ganges, flows along the state's eastern boundary.

Northern Haryana has several north-east to west flowing rivers originating from the Sivalik Hills of Himalayas, such as Ghaggar-Hakra (palaeochannel of vedic Sarasvati river),

Chautang (paleochannel of vedic Drishadvati river, tributary of Ghagghar), Tangri river (tributary of Ghagghar), Kaushalya river (tributary of Ghagghar), Markanda River (tributary of Ghagghar), Sarsuti, Dangri, Somb river