Punjab (;
Punjabi
Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan
* Punjabi language
* Punjabi people
* Punjabi dialects and languages
Punjabi may also refer to:
* Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also
romanised
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and
historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the
Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern
Pakistan and northwestern
India. Punjab's capital and largest city and historical and cultural centre is
Lahore. The other major cities include
Faisalabad,
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...
,
Gujranwala
Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisala ...
,
Multan,
Ludhiana,
Amritsar
Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...
,
Sialkot,
Chandigarh,
Jalandhar, and
Bahawalpur.
Punjab grew out of the settlements along the five rivers, which served as an important route to the
Near East
The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...
as early as the ancient
Indus Valley civilization
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...
, dating back to 3000 BCE,
and had numerous
migrations by the
Indo-Aryan peoples. Agriculture has been the major economic feature of the Punjab and has therefore formed the foundation of Punjabi culture, with one's social status being determined by land ownership.
The Punjab emerged as an important agricultural region, especially following the
Green Revolution during the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, and has been described as the "breadbasket of both India and Pakistan."
Besides being known for agriculture and trade, the Punjab is also a region that over the centuries has experienced many foreign invasions and consequently has a long-standing history of warfare, as the region is vulnerably situated on the principal route of invasions through the northwestern frontier of the Indian subcontinent, including those of
Persians,
Macedonians,
Scythians,
Parthians Parthian may be:
Historical
* A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran
* Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD)
* Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language
* Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...
,
Kushans,
Huns,
Arabs,
Turks, and
Mongols until the eighteenth century which promoted a lifestyle that entailed engaging in warfare to protect the land,
with the
Marathas,
Durranis
The Durrānī ( ps, دراني, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, Pakistan, but ...
and
British invading the region in subsequent decades.
The boundaries of the region are ill-defined and focus on historical accounts and thus the geographical definition of the term "Punjab" has changed over time. In the 16th century
Mughal Empire it referred to a relatively smaller area between the
Indus
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
and the
Sutlej
The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the Ind ...
rivers.
In British India, until the
Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
in 1947, the
Punjab Province encompassed the present-day Indian
states and union territories of
Punjab,
Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh,
Chandigarh, and
Delhi, and the
Pakistani regions of
Punjab, and
Islamabad Capital Territory. It bordered the
Balochistan and
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...
regions to the west,
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
to the north, the
Hindi Belt to the east, and
Rajasthan and
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
to the south.
The predominant ethnolinguistic group of the Punjab region is the
Punjabi people
The Punjabis ( Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Panjābīs), are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. The ...
, who speak the
Indo-Aryan Punjabi language.
Punjabi Muslims are the majority in
West Punjab
West Punjab ( pnb, ; ur, ) was a province in the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955. The province covered an area of 159,344 km2 (61523 sq mi), including much of the current Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab province and the Islamabad Capital Te ...
(Pakistan), while
Punjabi Sikhs and
Punjabi Hindus are the majority in
East Punjab (India). Other religious groups are Christianity,
Jainism,
Zoroastrianism,
Buddhism, and
Ravidassia
Ravidassia or the Ravidas Panth is an Indian religion based on the teachings of Ravidass, who is revered as a satguru.
Historically, Ravidassia represented a range of beliefs in the Indian subcontinent, with some devotees of Ravidass counting the ...
.
Etymology
Although the name Punjab is of Persian origin, its two parts ( and ) are cognates of the Sanskrit words, and , of the same meaning.
The word ''pañjāb'' thus means "The Land of Five Waters," referring to the rivers
Jhelum
Jhelum ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a city on the east bank of the Jhelum River, which is located in the district of Jhelum in the north of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 44th largest city of Pakistan by population. Jhelum is known for p ...
,
Chenab,
Ravi Ravi may refer to:
People
* Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name
* Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director
* Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist
* Ravi (music director) (1926–201 ...
,
Sutlej
The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the Ind ...
, and
Beas. All are
tributaries of the
Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
, the Sutlej being the largest. References to a land of five rivers may be found in the ''
Mahabharata'', which calls one of the regions in ancient Bharat '' Panchanada'' (). Persian place names are very common in Northwest India and Pakistan. The ancient
Greeks referred to the region as ''Pentapotamía'' ( el, Πενταποταμία),
which has the same meaning as the Persian word.
History
The Punjab region of India and Pakistan has a historical and cultural link to Indo-Aryan peoples as well as partially to various indigenous communities. As a result of several invasions from
Central Asia and the
Middle East, many ethnic groups and religions make up the
cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soci ...
of the Punjab.
Ancient period

The Punjab region is noted as the site of one of the earliest urban societies, the
Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900&n ...
that flourished from about 3000 B.C. and declined rapidly 1,000 years later, following the
Indo-Aryan migrations that overran the region in waves between 1500 and 500 B.C.
Frequent intertribal wars stimulated the growth of larger groupings ruled by chieftains and kings, who ruled local kingdoms known as
Mahajanapadas
The Mahājanapadas ( sa, great realm, from ''maha'', "great", and '' janapada'' "foothold of a people") were sixteen kingdoms or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE during the second urban ...
.
The rise of kingdoms and dynasties in the Punjab is chronicled in the ancient Hindu epics, particularly the
Mahabharata.
The epic battles described in the ''
Mahabharata'' are chronicled as being fought in what is now the state of Haryana and historic Punjab. The
Gandhara
Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...
s,
Kambojas,
Trigartas
Trigarta kingdom was an ancient kingdom in northern Indian region of the Indian subcontinent with its capital at Prasthala (modern Jalandhar), Multan and Kangra.
Trigarta was founded and ruled by the vrishni Dynasty.
Mention in Mahabharata
Tri ...
,
Andhra,
Pauravas
The Pauravas were an ancient dynasty on the Indus (present-day India and Pakistan) to which King Porus may have belonged.
Porus and the Pauravas
The origins of the Pauravas are still disputed. The Pauravas may be related to the Puru tribe, due ...
,
Bahlikas
The Bahlikas ( sa, बाह्लिक; ''Bāhlika'') were the inhabitants of Bahlika ( sa, बह्लिक, located in Bactria), mentioned in Atharvaveda, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas, Vartikka of Katyayana, Brhatsamhita, Amarkosha etc. ...
(
Bactrian settlers of the Punjab),
Yaudheyas, and others sided with the
Kauravas in the great battle fought at
Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra (, ) is a city and administrative headquarter of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty ") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita".
Legends
According to the Pura ...
. According to DrFauja Singh and Dr.L.M. Joshi: "There is no doubt that the Kambojas, Daradas, Kaikayas, Andhra, Pauravas, Yaudheyas, Malavas, Saindhavas, and Kurus had jointly contributed to the heroic tradition and composite culture of ancient Punjab."
The earliest known notable local king of this region was known as
King Porus, who fought the famous
Battle of the Hydaspes against
Alexander the Great. His kingdom spanned between rivers ''Hydaspes'' (
Jhelum
Jhelum ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a city on the east bank of the Jhelum River, which is located in the district of Jhelum in the north of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 44th largest city of Pakistan by population. Jhelum is known for p ...
) and ''Acesines'' (
Chenab);
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
had held the territory to contain almost 300 cities.
He (alongside
Abisares) had a hostile relationship with the Kingdom of
Taxila
Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and ...
which was ruled by his extended family.
When the armies of Alexander crossed Indus in its eastward migration, probably in
Udabhandapura, he was greeted by the-then ruler of Taxila,
Omphis
Taxiles (in Greek language, Greek Tαξίλης or Ταξίλας; lived 4th century BC) was the Greece, Greek chroniclers' name for the ruler who reigned over the tract between the Indus River, Indus and the Jhelum River, Jhelum (Hydaspes) Riv ...
.
Omphis had hoped to force both Porus and Abisares into submission leveraging the might of Alexander's forces and diplomatic missions were mounted, but while Abisares accepted the submission, Porus refused.
This led Alexander to seek for a face-off with Porus.
Thus began the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC; the exact site remains unknown.
The battle is thought to be resulted in a decisive
Greek victory; however, A. B. Bosworth warns against an uncritical reading of Greek sources who were obviously exaggerative.
Alexander later founded two cities—''
Nicaea'' at the site of victory and
''Bucephalous'' at the battle-ground, in memory of
his horse, who died soon after the battle.
Later,
tetradrachms would be minted depicting Alexander on horseback, armed with a ''sarissa'' and attacking a pair of Indians on an elephant.
Porus refused to surrender and wandered about atop an elephant, until he was wounded and his force routed.
When asked by Alexander how he wished to be treated, Porus replied "Treat me as a king would treat another king". Despite the apparently one-sided results, Alexander was impressed by Porus and chose to not depose him.
Not only was his territory reinstated but also expanded with Alexander's forces annexing the territories of Glausaes, who ruled to the northeast of Porus' kingdom.
After Alexander's death in 323 BCE,
Perdiccas became the regent of his empire, and after Perdiccas's murder in 321 BCE,
Antipater
Antipater (; grc, , translit=Antipatros, lit=like the father; c. 400 BC319 BC) was a Macedonian general and statesman under the subsequent kingships of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. In the wake of the collaps ...
became the new regent. According to
Diodorus, Antipater recognized Porus's authority over the territories along the
Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
. However,
Eudemus, who had served as Alexander's
satrap
A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires.
The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with consid ...
in the Punjab region, treacherously killed Porus. The battle is historically significant because it resulted in the
syncretism
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various school of thought, schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or religious assimilation, assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in t ...
of ancient Greek political and cultural influences to the Indian subcontinent, yielding works such as
Greco-Buddhist art
The Greco-Buddhist art or Gandhara art of the north Indian subcontinent is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between Ancient Greek art and Buddhism. It had mainly evolved in the ancient region of Gandhara.
The s ...
, which continued to have an impact for the ensuing centuries. The region was then divided between the
Maurya Empire
The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...
and the
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
The Bactrian Kingdom, known to historians as the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom or simply Greco-Bactria, was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era Hellenistic Greece, Greek state, and along with the Indo-Greek Kingdom, the easternmost part of the Helleni ...
in 302 B.C.E.
Menander I Soter conquered Punjab and made
Sagala (present-day
Sialkot) the capital of the
Indo-Greek Kingdom.
Menander is noted for having become a patron and convert to
Greco-Buddhism and he is widely regarded as the greatest of the Indo-Greek kings. Greek influence in the region ended around 12 B.C.E. when the Punjab fell under the
Sassanids.
Medieval period
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
emerged as the major power in southern Punjab after the
Umayyad Caliphate conquered the region in
711 AD.
The city of Multan became a center of the
Ismaili
Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...
sect of Islam. In the ninth century, the
Hindu Shahi dynasty emerged in the Punjab, ruling much of Punjab and eastern Afghanistan.
The 10th century Arab historian
Masudi mentioned that in his time the kings of
Gandhara
Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...
were all called ''Hajaj'', ''J.haj'' or ''Ch'hach'', while the area itself was called "country of the ''Rahbūt''" (
Rajputs). The character transliterated to "Hahaj" and
Alexander Cunningham
Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly ...
had it equated to the
Janjua tribe/clan. Rahman doubts this theory and instead transliterates to "J.haj", an Arabicised form of ''
Chhachh'', which is even today the name of the region around the Hindu Shahi capital of
Hund. In the 10th century, this region was occupied by the tribe of the
Gakhars/
Khokhars
Khokhar are a Punjabi community native to Pothohar Plateau of Pakistan, and the adjoining areas of India. Khokhars now predominantly follow Islam, though a minority continue to follow Hinduism. Many Khokhars converted to Islam from Hinduism a ...
, who formed a large part of the Hindu Shahi army according to the Persian historian
Firishta.

The
Turkic
Turkic may refer to:
* anything related to the country of Turkey
* Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages
** Turkic alphabets (disambiguation)
** Turkish language, the most widely spoken Turkic language
* ...
Ghaznavids
The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...
in the tenth century overthrew the Hindu Shahis and consequently ruled for 157 years, gradually declining as a power until the
Ghurid conquest of Lahore by
Muhammad of Ghor in 1186, deposing the last Ghaznavid ruler
Khusrau Malik. Following the death of
Muhammad of Ghor in 1206, the Ghurid state fragmented and was replaced in northern India by the
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526). . The Delhi Sultanate ruled the Punjab for the next three hundred years, led by five unrelated dynasties, the
Mamluks
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') i ...
,
Khalajis,
Tughlaqs,
Sayyids
''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Prophets in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali ...
and
Lodis. 15th century saw rise of many prominent Muslims from Punjab.
Khizr Khan established the
Sayyid dynasty, the fourth dynasty of the
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526). after the fall of the
Tughlaqs.
A contemporary writer
Yahya Sirhindi mentions in his ''Takhrikh-i-Mubarak Shahi'' that Khizr Khan was a descendant of prophet
Muhammad. Members of the dynasty derived their title,
Sayyid, or the descendants of the Islamic prophet,
Muhammad, based on the claim that they belonged to his lineage through his daughter
Fatima
Fāṭima bint Muḥammad ( ar, فَاطِمَة ٱبْنَت مُحَمَّد}, 605/15–632 CE), commonly known as Fāṭima al-Zahrāʾ (), was the daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his wife Khadija. Fatima's husband was Ali, th ...
. However, Yahya Sirhindi based his conclusions on unsubstantial evidence, the first being a casual recognition by the famous saint Sayyid Jalaluddin Bukhari of Uch Sharif of his Sayyid heritage, and secondly the noble character of the Sultan which distinguished him as a Prophet's descendant. According to
Richard M. Eaton
Richard Maxwell Eaton (born 1940) is an American historian, currently working as a professor of history at the University of Arizona.
*
*
*
* He is known for having written the notable books on the history of India before 1800. He is also credited ...
, Khizr Khan was son of a Punjabi chieftain.
He was a
Khokhar chieftain who travelled to Samarkand and profited from the contacts he made with the Timurid society Later on,
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526). , weakened by invasion of Emir
Timur, could not control all regions of the Empire and different local kingdoms appeared. In 1407,
Sultan Muzaffar Shah I
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...
, a Tank
Rajput[*
*
*
*
*
*
**
*
*
*] or a
Khatri[*
*
*
*
*] Muslim from Punjab
established the
Gujarat Sultanate.

In 1445, Sultan Qutbudin, chief of ''Langah'', a
Jat
The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subse ...
Zamindar tribe
established the
Langah Sultanate
The Langah Sultanate, also known as the Sultanate of Multan, was a kingdom which emerged after the decline of Delhi Sultanate in the Punjab region. The capital of the Sultanate was the city of Multan in south Punjab.
Origin
There are conflicti ...
in
Multan. Another prominent name is that of
Jasrath Khokhar who helped
Sultan Zain Ul Abideen of Kashmir to gain his throne and ruled over vast tracts of
Jammu and
North Punjab
The Pothohar Plateau ( ur, ) is a plateau in north-eastern Pakistan, located between Indus River and the Jhelum River, forming the northern part of Punjab.
Geography
Potohar Plateau is bounded on the east by the Jhelum River, on the west by the ...
. He also conquered Delhi for a brief period in 1431 but was driven out by
Mubarak Shah.
Modern period
The
Mughals came to power in the early sixteenth century and gradually expanded to control all of the Punjab from their capital at
Lahore. During the Mughal era,
Saadullah Khan, born into a family of
Jat
The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and subse ...
agriculturalists
belonging to the
Thaheem tribe from
Chiniot remained
Grand vizier
Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...
(or Prime Minister) of the
Mughal Empire in the period 1645–1656.
Other prominent Muslims from Punjab who rose to nobility during the Mughal Era include
Wazir Khan,
Adina Beg Arain, and
Shahbaz Khan Kamboh
Shahrullah Kamboh ( fa, شهرالله کمبوه; 1529 – 11 November 1599), better known as Shahbaz Khan Kamboh ( fa, شاهباز خان کمبوه), was one of the generals of Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor Akbar. He participated in some of ...
. The Mughal Empire ruled the region until it was severely weakened in the eighteenth century.
As Mughal power weakened, Afghan rulers took control of the region.
Contested by
Marathas and Afghans, the region was the center of the growing influence of the Sikhs, who expanded and established the
Sikh Empire as the Mughals and Afghans weakened, ultimately ruling the Punjab, eastern
Afghanistan, and territories north into the
Himalayas.

The Sikh Empire ruled the Punjab until the British annexed it in 1849 following the
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
Second Anglo-Sikh Wars. Most of the Punjabi homeland formed a province of British India, though a number of small
princely state
A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...
s retained local rulers who recognized British authority.
The Punjab with its rich farmlands became one of the most important colonial assets.
Lahore was a noted center of learning and culture, and
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...
became an important military installation.
Most Punjabis supported the British during
World War I, providing men and resources to the war effort even though the Punjab remained a source of anti colonial activities.
Disturbances in the region increased as the war continued.
At the end of the war, high casualty rates, heavy taxation, inflation, and a widespread influenza epidemic disrupted Punjabi society.
In 1919 a British officer ordered his troops to fire on a crowd of demonstrators, mostly Sikhs in
Amritsar
Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...
. The
Jallianwala massacre fueled the
indian independence movement.
Nationalists declared the independence of India from Lahore in 1930 but were quickly suppressed.
When the Second World War broke out, nationalism in British India had already divided into religious movements.
Many Sikhs and other minorities supported the Hindus, who promised a secular multicultural and multireligious society, and Muslim leaders in Lahore passed a resolution to work for a Muslim Pakistan, making the Punjab region a center of growing conflict between Indian and Pakistani nationalists.
At the end of the war, the British granted separate independence to India and Pakistan, setting off massive communal violence as Muslims fled to Pakistan and Hindu and Sikh Punjabis fled east to India.
The
British Raj had major political, cultural, philosophical, and literary consequences in the Punjab, including the establishment of a new system of education. During the
independence movement, many Punjabis played a significant role, including
Madan Lal Dhingra,
Sukhdev Thapar
Sukhdev Thapar (15 May 1907 – 23 March 1931) was an Indian revolutionary who worked to make India independent from the British Raj along with his best friends and partners Bhagat Singh and Shivaram Rajguru. A senior member of the Hindustan S ...
,
Ajit Singh Sandhu Ajit, Ajith or Ajeet may refer to:
* Ajit (given name), an Indian masculine given name (including a list of persons with the name)
* ''Ajit'' (newspaper), an Indian Punjabi daily newspaper
* Ajit Khan (born 1922), an Indian Hindi film actor
* Ajit ...
,
Bhagat Singh,
Udham Singh,
Kartar Singh Sarabha,
Bhai Parmanand
Bhai Parmanand (4 November 1876 – 8 December 1947) was an indian nationalism, Indian nationalist and a prominent leader of the Hindu Mahasabha.
Early life
Parmanand was born into a prominent family of the Punjab (India), Punjab, Mohyal Brahmi ...
,
Choudhry Rahmat Ali, and
Lala Lajpat Rai. At the time of partition in 1947, the province was split into East and West Punjab.
East Punjab (48%) became part of India, while
West Punjab
West Punjab ( pnb, ; ur, ) was a province in the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955. The province covered an area of 159,344 km2 (61523 sq mi), including much of the current Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab province and the Islamabad Capital Te ...
(52%) became part of Pakistan. The Punjab bore the brunt of the
civil unrest following
partition
Partition may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive
* Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job
Software
* Partition (database), the division of a ...
, with casualties estimated to be in the millions.
Another major consequence of partition was the sudden shift towards religious homogeneity occurred in all districts across Punjab owing to the new international border that cut through the province. This rapid demographic shift was primarily due to wide scale migration but also caused by large-scale
religious cleansing
Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs or affiliations or their lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within societies to alienate o ...
riots which were witnessed across the region at the time. According to historical demographer
Tim Dyson, in the eastern regions of Punjab that ultimately became
Indian Punjab following independence, districts that were 66% Hindu in 1941 became 80% Hindu in 1951; those that were 20% Sikh became 50% Sikh in 1951. Conversely, in the western regions of Punjab that ultimately became
Pakistani Punjab
Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...
, all districts became almost exclusively Muslim by 1951.
Geography
The geographical definition of the term "Punjab" has changed over time. In the 16th century
Mughal Empire it referred to a relatively smaller area between the
Indus
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
and the
Sutlej
The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the Ind ...
rivers.
Sikh empire
In the 19th century,
Maharaja Ranjit Singh established the
Sikh Empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Ranjit Singh captured
Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered in the
Second Anglo-Sikh War. It was forged on the foundations of the
Khalsa from a collection of autonomous
Sikh
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
''
misl
The Misls (derived from an Arabic word wikt:مثل#Etymology_3, مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian ...
s''.
At its peak in the 19th century, the Empire extended from the
Khyber Pass
The Khyber Pass (خیبر درہ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by traversing pa ...
in the west to western
Tibet in the east, and from
Mithankot in the south to
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
in the north. It was divided into four provinces:
Lahore, in Punjab, which became the Sikh capital;
Multan, also in Punjab;
Peshawar; and Kashmir from 1799 to 1849. Religiously diverse, with an estimated population of 3.5 million in 1831 (making it the
19th most populous country at the time),
[ Amarinder Singh's The Last Sunset: The Rise and Fall of the Lahore Durbar] it was the last major region of the Indian subcontinent to
be annexed by the
British Empire.

The Sikh Empire spanned a total of over at its zenith.
The Punjab was a region straddling India and the Afghan
Durrani Empire
The Durrani Empire ( ps, د درانيانو ټولواکمني; fa, امپراتوری درانیان) or the Afghan Empire ( ps, د افغانان ټولواکمني, label=none; fa, امپراتوری افغان, label=none), also know ...
. The following modern-day political divisions made up the historical Punjab region during the Sikh Empire:
* Punjab region, to
Mithankot in the south
**
Punjab, Pakistan, excluding
Bahawalpur State
**
Punjab, India, south to areas just across the
Sutlej
The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the Ind ...
river
**
Himachal Pradesh, India, south to areas just across the
Sutlej
The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the Ind ...
river
**
Jammu Division,
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to:
* Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent
* Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory
* Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...
, India and Pakistan (1808–1846)
*
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
, from 5 July 1819 to 15 March 1846, India/Pakistan/China
**
Kashmir Valley
The Kashmir Valley, also known as the ''Vale of Kashmir'', is an intermontane valley concentrated in the Kashmir Division of the Indian- union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The valley is bounded on the southwest by the Pir Panjal Range and ...
, India from 1819 to 1846
**
Gilgit
Gilgit (; Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a h ...
,
Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan, from 1842 to 1846
**
Ladakh, India 1834–1846
*
Khyber Pass
The Khyber Pass (خیبر درہ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by traversing pa ...
, Pakistan/Afghanistan
**
Peshawar, Pakistan (taken in 1818, retaken in 1834)
**
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the
Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan (documented from
Hazara
Hazara may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* The Hazaras, a Persian-speaking people of Afghanistan and Pakistan
* Aimaq Hazara, Aimaq's subtribe of Hazara origin
* Hazarawals, a Hindko-speaking people of the Hazara region of northern Pakistan
* Hazar ...
(taken in 1818, again in 1836 to
Bannu
Bannu ( ps, بنو, translit=banū ; ur, , translit=bannū̃, ) is a city located on the Kurram River in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the capital of Bannu Division. Bannu's residents are primarily members of the Banuchi tribe ...
)
* Parts of
Western Tibet
The geography of Tibet consists of the high mountains, lakes and rivers lying between Central, East and South Asia. Traditionally, Western (European and American) sources have regarded Tibet as being in Central Asia, though today's maps show a t ...
, China (
briefly in 1841, to
Taklakot
Purang or Burang, known as Puhreng in Tibetan (, Help:IPA/Tibetan, IPA: puʂeŋ), is a Towns of China, town which serves as the administrative center of Purang County, Ngari Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region ''(TAR)'', China. The town li ...
),
After Ranjit Singh's death in 1839, the empire was severely weakened by internal divisions and political mismanagement. This opportunity was used by the
East India Company to launch the
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
Second Anglo-Sikh Wars. The country was finally annexed and dissolved at the end of the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849 into separate
princely states and the
province of Punjab
Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...
. Eventually, a Lieutenant Governorship was formed in Lahore as a direct representative of
the Crown.
Punjab (British India)
In British India, until the
Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
in 1947, the
Punjab Province was geographically a triangular tract of country of which the
Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
and its tributary the
Sutlej
The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the Ind ...
formed the two sides up to their confluence, the base of the triangle in the north being the
Lower Himalayan Range
The Lower Himalayan Range ( ne, पर्वत शृङ्खला parbat shrinkhalā) – also called the Middle Himalayas or Lesser Himalayas or Himachal – is a major east–west mountain range with elevations 3,700 to 4,500 m (12,000 to ...
between those two rivers. Moreover, the province as constituted under British rule also included a large tract outside these boundaries. Along the northern border, Himalayan ranges divided it from
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
and
Tibet. On the west it was separated from the
North-West Frontier Province by the Indus, until it reached the border of
Dera Ghazi Khan District, which was divided from
Baluchistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
by the
Sulaiman Range. To the south lay
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
and
Rajputana
Rājputana, meaning "Land of the Rajputs", was a region in the Indian subcontinent that included mainly the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan, as well as parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and some adjoining areas of Sindh in modern-day ...
, while on the east the rivers
Jumna
The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ban ...
and
Tons
Tons can refer to:
* Tons River, a major river in India
* Tamsa River, locally called Tons in its lower parts (Allahabad district, Uttar pradesh, India).
* the plural of ton, a unit of mass, force, volume, energy or power
:* short ton, 2,000 poun ...
separated it from the
United Provinces.
In total Punjab had an area of approximately 357 000 km square about the same size as modern day Germany, being one of the largest provinces of the British Raj.

It encompassed the present day
Indian states of
Punjab, Haryana,
Chandigarh, Delhi, and some parts of
Himachal Pradeshwhich were merged with Punjab by the British for administrative purposes (but excluding the former
princely state
A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...
s which were later combined into the
Patiala and East Punjab States Union) and the Pakistani regions of the
Punjab,
Islamabad Capital Territory and
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In 1901 the frontier districts beyond the Indus were separated from Punjab and made into a new province: the
North-West Frontier Province. Subsequently, Punjab was divided into four natural geographical divisions by colonial officials on the decadal census data:
# ''Indo-Gangetic Plain West geographical division'' (including
Hisar district,
Loharu State,
Rohtak district,
Dujana State,
Gurgaon district,
Pataudi State
Pataudi State was a small princely state in India, established in 1804 during the East India Company rule in India.
The state formed a part of the Delhi Territory in the Ceded and Conquered Provinces. It was under the suzerainty of the Commiss ...
, Delhi,
Karnal district
Karnal district is one of the 22 districts of Haryana state in North India which constitutes the National Capital Region (NCR) of the country. The city of Karnal is a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) and is the administrative headqu ...
,
Jalandhar district,
Kapurthala State
Kapurthala State, with its capital at Kapurthala, was a former Princely state of Punjab. Ruled by Ahluwalia
Sikh rulers, spread across . According to the 1901 census the state had a population of 314,341 and contained two towns and 167 village ...
,
Ludhiana district
Ludhiana district is one of the 23 districts in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. It is Punjab's largest district by both area and population. Ludhiana, the largest city in Punjab, is the district headquarters.
The main industries are ...
,
Malerkotla State
The State of Malerkotla or Maler Kotla was a princely state in the Punjab region during the era of British India. The last Nawab of Maler Kotla signed the instrument of accession to join the Dominion of India on 20 August 1948. Its rulers belo ...
,
Firozpur district
Firozpur district, also known as Ferozepur district, is one of the twenty-three districts in the state of Punjab, India. Firozpur district comprises an area of .
Firozpur (Ferozepur) is the capital city of the district. It is situated inside t ...
,
Faridkot State,
Patiala State,
Jind State,
Nabha State,
Lahore District,
Amritsar district,
Gujranwala District, and
Sheikhupura district);
# ''Himalayan geographical division'' (including
Nahan State,
Simla District
Shimla is a district in the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. Its headquarters is the state capital of Shimla. Neighbouring districts are Mandi and Kullu in the north, Kinnaur in the east, Uttarakhand in the southeast, Solan to the sou ...
,
Simla Hill States
The Hill States of India were princely states lying in the northern border regions of the British Indian Empire.
History
During the colonial Raj period, two groups of princely states in direct relations with the Province of British Punja ...
,
Kangra district,
Mandi State
Mandi State was a native state of British India, within the Punjab; with Mandi, Himachal Pradesh as its capital. The state of Mandi (the name means "market" in Hindi), which included two towns and 3,625 villages, was part of the States of the ...
,
Suket State, and
Chamba State
Chamba State was one of the oldest princely states in present-day Republic of India, having been founded during the late 6th century. It was part of the States of the Punjab Hills of the Punjab Province of British India from 1859 to 1947. I ...
);
# ''Sub-Himalayan geographical division'' (including
Ambala district,
Kalsia State
Kalsia was a princely state in Punjab, British India, one of the former Cis-Sutlej states. It was founded by Raja Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu in 1760. After India's independence, it was included in PEPSU and later in the Indian East Punjab after the ...
,
Hoshiarpur district
Hoshiarpur district is a district of Punjab, India, Punjab state in northern India. Hoshiarpur, one of the oldest districts of Punjab, is located in the North-east part of the Punjab state and shares common boundaries with Gurdaspur district in ...
,
Gurdaspur district,
Sialkot District,
Gujrat District
Gujrat ( Punjabi and ur, ), is a district of Punjab Province in Pakistan.
It is bounded on the northeast by Mirpur, on the northwest by the River Jhelum, which separates it from Jhelum District, on the east and southeast by the Chenab Ri ...
,
Jhelum District
Jhelum District (Urdu and pnb, ), is partially in Pothohar Plateau, and partially in Punjab Plain of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Jhelum is one of the oldest districts of Punjab. It was established on 23 March 1849. According to the 1998 ...
,
Rawalpindi District
Rawalpindi District ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a district located in the northernmost part of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Parts of the district form part of the Islamabad Rawalpindi metropolitan area. Rawalpindi city is the district capi ...
, and
Attock District
Attock District (Urdu and pnb, ) is a district in Pothohar Plateau of the Punjab Province of Pakistan. Its capital is Attock city.
The district was created in April 1904 by the merging of tehsils of nearby districts. Its former name was C ...
;
# ''North-West Dry Area geographical division'' (including
Montgomery District
Montgomery District was an administrative district of the former Punjab Province of British India, in what is now Pakistan. Named after Sir Robert Montgomery, it lay in the Bari Doab, or the tract between the Sutlej and the Ravi rivers, extendi ...
,
Shahpur District
Shahpur District was a district in current day Pakistan from 1893, during the British Raj, till 1960. From 1893 to 1914 Shahpur was the district headquarters. In 1914 the district headquarters were moved from Shahpur to Sargodha, although the dis ...
,
Mianwali District,
Lyallpur District,
Jhang District,
Multan District,
Bahawalpur State,
Muzaffargarh District
Muzaffargarh District ( ur, ) is a district of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Its capital is Muzaffargarh city. It lies on the bank of the Chenab River.
Administration
The district is administratively divided into the following three teh ...
, and
Dera Ghazi Khan District).
Partition of British Punjab
The struggle for Indian independence witnessed competing and conflicting interests in the Punjab. The landed elites of the Muslim, Hindu and Sikh communities had loyally collaborated with the British since annexation, supported the Unionist Party and were hostile to the Congress party–led independence movement.
[Pritam Singh, Federalism, Nationalism and Development: India and the Punjab Economy, Routledge, 19 February 2008, p.54] Amongst the peasantry and urban middle classes, the Hindus were the most active
National Congress ''National Congress'' is a term used in the names of various political parties and legislatures .
Political parties
*Ethiopia: Oromo National Congress
*Guyana: People's National Congress (Guyana)
*India: Indian National Congress
*Iraq: Iraqi Nati ...
supporters, the Sikhs flocked to the
Akali movement whilst the Muslims eventually supported the
Muslim League.
Since the partition of the sub-continent had been decided, special meetings of the Western and Eastern Section of the Legislative Assembly were held on 23 June 1947 to decide whether or not the Province of the Punjab be partitioned. After voting on both sides, partition was decided and the existing Punjab Legislative Assembly was also divided into
West Punjab
West Punjab ( pnb, ; ur, ) was a province in the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955. The province covered an area of 159,344 km2 (61523 sq mi), including much of the current Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab province and the Islamabad Capital Te ...
Legislative Assembly and the East Punjab Legislative Assembly. This last Assembly before independence, held its last sitting on 4 July 1947.
Major cities
Historically,
Lahore has been the capital of the Punjab region and continues to be the most populous city in the region, with a population of 11 million for the city proper.
Faisalabad is the 2nd most populous city and largest industrial hub in this region. Other major cities are
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...
,
Gujranwala
Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisala ...
,
Multan,
Ludhiana,
Amritsar
Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...
,
Jalandhar, and
Chandigarh are the other cities in Punjab with a city-proper population of over a million.
File:Royal mosque Lahore.jpg, Badshahi Mosque, Lahore
File:Lahore Fort view from Baradari.jpg, Lahore Fort
The Lahore Fort ( ur, , lit=Royal Fort, translit=Shāhī Qilā, label=Punjabi language, Punjabi and Urdu) is a citadel in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of Walled City of Lahore, walled city Lahore, a ...
, Lahore
File:University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.jpg, University of Agriculture
This article lists agricultural universities and colleges around the world, by continent and country.
Africa Algeria
* Higher National Agronomic School (French name: Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique)
Benin
* Agricultural University of ...
, Faisalabad
File:Chandigarh Road.jpg, Chandigarh
File:Golden Temple India.jpg, Golden Temple, Amritsar
File:Clock Tower Faisalabad by Usman Nadeem.jpg, Clock Tower, Faisalabad
File:Aerial view of Multan Ghanta Ghar chawk.jpg, Aerial view of Multan Ghanta Ghar chawk
File:Open Hand monument, Chandigarh.jpg, Open Hand monument, Chandigarh
Climate

The climate has significant impact on the economy of Punjab, particularly for agriculture in the region. Climate is not uniform over the whole region, as the sections adjacent to the Himalayas generally receive heavier rainfall than those at a distance.
There are three main seasons and two transitional periods. During the hot season from mid-April to the end of June, the temperature may reach . The
monsoon season
The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...
, from July to September, is a period of heavy rainfall, providing water for crops in addition to the supply from canals and
irrigation systems. The transitional period after the
monsoon is cool and mild, leading to the winter season, when the temperature in January falls to at night and by day. During the transitional period from winter to the hot season, sudden
hailstorms and heavy showers may occur, causing damage to crops.
[Royal Geographical Societ]
Climate and Landscape of the Punjab
Western Punjab
Central Punjab
Eastern Punjab
Demographics
Languages

The major language is
Punjabi
Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan
* Punjabi language
* Punjabi people
* Punjabi dialects and languages
Punjabi may also refer to:
* Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
, which is written in India with the
Gurmukhi script, and in Pakistan using the
Shahmukhi script. The Punjabi language has official status and is widely used in education and administration in Indian Punjab, whereas in Pakistani Punjab these roles are instead fulfilled by the
Urdu language.
Several languages closely related to Punjabi are spoken in the periphery of the region.
Dogri,
Kangri Kangri can mean:
*of, from, or related to the Kangra Valley or the Kangra district of northern India
*Kangri language, the Indo-Aryan language of the valley
*Kanger
A kanger (; also known as kangri or kangid or kangir) is an earthen pot woven aro ...
, and other
western Pahari
The Western Pahari languages are a group of Northern Indo-Aryan languages that are spoken in the state of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir and parts of Uttarakhand and Punjab
Languages
The following lists the languages cla ...
dialects are spoken in the north-central and northeastern peripheries of the region, while
Bagri is spoken in south-central and southeastern sections. Meanwhile,
Saraiki is generally spoken across a wide belt covering the southwest, while in the northwest there are large pockets containing speakers of
Hindko
Hindko (, romanized: , ) is a cover term for a diverse group of Lahnda dialects spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in several areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pun ...
and
Pothwari
The Indo-Aryan language spoken on the Pothohar Plateau in the far north of Pakistani Punjab, as well as in most of Pakistan's Azad Kashmir and in western areas of India's Jammu and Kashmir, is known by a variety of names, the most common of whi ...
.
Religions
Background
The
Punjabi people
The Punjabis ( Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Panjābīs), are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. The ...
first practiced
Hinduism, the oldest recorded religion in the Punjab region.
The
historical Vedic religion constituted the religious ideas and practices in the Punjab during the
Vedic period (1500–500 BCE), centered primarily in the worship of
Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...
.
The bulk of the
Rigveda was composed in the Punjab region between circa 1500 and 1200 BC, while later Vedic scriptures were composed more eastwards, between the
Yamuna and
Ganges rivers. An ancient Indian law book called the
Manusmriti, developed by Brahmin Hindu priests, shaped Punjabi religious life from 200 BC onward.
Later, the
spread of Buddhisim and Jainism in the Indian subcontinent saw the growth of
Buddhism and
Jainism in the Punjab.
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
was introduced via southern Punjab in the 8th century, becoming the majority by the 16th century, via local conversion.
There was a small Jain community left in Punjab by the 16th century, while the Buddhist community had largely disappeared by the turn of the 10th century. The region became predominantly
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
due to missionary
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
saints whose
dargahs dot the landscape of the Punjab region.
The rise of
Sikhism in the 1700s saw some Punjabis, both Hindu and Muslim, accepting the new Sikh faith.
A number of Punjabis during the
colonial period of India became Christians, with all of these religions characterizing the religious diversity now found in the Punjab region.
Colonial era
A number of Punjabis during the
colonial period of India became Christians, with all of these religions characterizing the religious diversity now found in the Punjab region.
Additionally during the colonial era, the practice of
religious syncretism among
Punjabi Muslims and
Punjabi Hindus was noted and documented by officials in census reports:
Territory comprises the contemporary subdivisions of
Punjab, Pakistan and
Islamabad Capital Territory.
Territory comprises the contemporary subdivisions of
Punjab, India, Chandigarh,
Haryana, and
Himachal Pradesh.
The ''Indo−Gangetic Plain West geographical division'' included
Hisar district,
Loharu State,
Rohtak district,
Dujana State,
Gurgaon district,
Pataudi State
Pataudi State was a small princely state in India, established in 1804 during the East India Company rule in India.
The state formed a part of the Delhi Territory in the Ceded and Conquered Provinces. It was under the suzerainty of the Commiss ...
, Delhi,
Karnal district
Karnal district is one of the 22 districts of Haryana state in North India which constitutes the National Capital Region (NCR) of the country. The city of Karnal is a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) and is the administrative headqu ...
,
Jalandhar district,
Kapurthala State
Kapurthala State, with its capital at Kapurthala, was a former Princely state of Punjab. Ruled by Ahluwalia
Sikh rulers, spread across . According to the 1901 census the state had a population of 314,341 and contained two towns and 167 village ...
,
Ludhiana district
Ludhiana district is one of the 23 districts in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. It is Punjab's largest district by both area and population. Ludhiana, the largest city in Punjab, is the district headquarters.
The main industries are ...
,
Malerkotla State
The State of Malerkotla or Maler Kotla was a princely state in the Punjab region during the era of British India. The last Nawab of Maler Kotla signed the instrument of accession to join the Dominion of India on 20 August 1948. Its rulers belo ...
,
Firozpur district
Firozpur district, also known as Ferozepur district, is one of the twenty-three districts in the state of Punjab, India. Firozpur district comprises an area of .
Firozpur (Ferozepur) is the capital city of the district. It is situated inside t ...
,
Faridkot State,
Patiala State,
Jind State,
Nabha State,
Lahore District,
Amritsar district, and
Gujranwala District.
The ''Himalayan geographical division'' included
Nahan State,
Simla District
Shimla is a district in the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. Its headquarters is the state capital of Shimla. Neighbouring districts are Mandi and Kullu in the north, Kinnaur in the east, Uttarakhand in the southeast, Solan to the sou ...
,
Simla Hill States
The Hill States of India were princely states lying in the northern border regions of the British Indian Empire.
History
During the colonial Raj period, two groups of princely states in direct relations with the Province of British Punja ...
,
Kangra district,
Mandi State
Mandi State was a native state of British India, within the Punjab; with Mandi, Himachal Pradesh as its capital. The state of Mandi (the name means "market" in Hindi), which included two towns and 3,625 villages, was part of the States of the ...
,
Suket State, and
Chamba State
Chamba State was one of the oldest princely states in present-day Republic of India, having been founded during the late 6th century. It was part of the States of the Punjab Hills of the Punjab Province of British India from 1859 to 1947. I ...
.
The ''Sub−Himalayan geographical division'' included
Ambala district,
Kalsia State
Kalsia was a princely state in Punjab, British India, one of the former Cis-Sutlej states. It was founded by Raja Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu in 1760. After India's independence, it was included in PEPSU and later in the Indian East Punjab after the ...
,
Hoshiarpur district
Hoshiarpur district is a district of Punjab, India, Punjab state in northern India. Hoshiarpur, one of the oldest districts of Punjab, is located in the North-east part of the Punjab state and shares common boundaries with Gurdaspur district in ...
,
Gurdaspur district,
Sialkot District,
Gujrat District
Gujrat ( Punjabi and ur, ), is a district of Punjab Province in Pakistan.
It is bounded on the northeast by Mirpur, on the northwest by the River Jhelum, which separates it from Jhelum District, on the east and southeast by the Chenab Ri ...
,
Jhelum District
Jhelum District (Urdu and pnb, ), is partially in Pothohar Plateau, and partially in Punjab Plain of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Jhelum is one of the oldest districts of Punjab. It was established on 23 March 1849. According to the 1998 ...
,
Rawalpindi District
Rawalpindi District ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a district located in the northernmost part of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Parts of the district form part of the Islamabad Rawalpindi metropolitan area. Rawalpindi city is the district capi ...
, and
Attock District
Attock District (Urdu and pnb, ) is a district in Pothohar Plateau of the Punjab Province of Pakistan. Its capital is Attock city.
The district was created in April 1904 by the merging of tehsils of nearby districts. Its former name was C ...
.
The ''North−West Dry Area geographical division'' included
Montgomery District
Montgomery District was an administrative district of the former Punjab Province of British India, in what is now Pakistan. Named after Sir Robert Montgomery, it lay in the Bari Doab, or the tract between the Sutlej and the Ravi rivers, extendi ...
,
Shahpur District
Shahpur District was a district in current day Pakistan from 1893, during the British Raj, till 1960. From 1893 to 1914 Shahpur was the district headquarters. In 1914 the district headquarters were moved from Shahpur to Sargodha, although the dis ...
,
Mianwali District,
Lyallpur District,
Jhang District,
Multan District,
Bahawalpur State,
Muzaffargarh District
Muzaffargarh District ( ur, ) is a district of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Its capital is Muzaffargarh city. It lies on the bank of the Chenab River.
Administration
The district is administratively divided into the following three teh ...
, and
Dera Ghazi Khan District.
Post-partition
In the present-day, the vast majority of Pakistani Punjabis are Sunni Muslim by faith, but also include significant minority faiths, such as Shia Muslims, Ahmadi Muslims,
Hindus,
Sikhs
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...
and Christians.
Sikhism, founded by
Guru Nanak is the main religion practised in the post-1966 Indian Punjab state. About 57.7% of the population of Punjab state is
Sikh
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
, 38.5% is
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
, with the remaining population including
Muslims,
Christians, and
Jains. Punjab state contains the holy Sikh cities of
Amritsar
Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...
,
Anandpur Sahib,
Tarn Taran Sahib,
Fatehgarh Sahib
Fatehgarh Sahib is a city and a sacred pilgrimage site of Sikhism in the north west Indian state of Punjab. It is the headquarters of Fatehgarh Sahib district, located about north of Sirhind. Fatehgarh Sahib is named after Fateh Singh, the 7-y ...
and
Chamkaur Sahib.
The Punjab was home to several
Sufi saints, and Sufism is
well established in the region. Also,
Kirpal Singh revered the Sikh Gurus as saints.
Castes and tribes
The Punjab region is diverse. As seen in historic census data taken in the
colonial era, many
castes, subcastes &
tribes all formed parts of the various ethnic groups in Punjab Province, contemporarily known as
Punjabis
The Punjabis ( Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Panjābīs), are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. The ...
,
Saraikis,
Haryanvis,
Hindkowans
Hindkowans (lit. "Indian-speakers"), also known as the Hindki, is a contemporary designation for speakers of Indo-Aryan languages who live among the neighbouring Pashtuns, particularly the speakers of various Hindko dialects of Lahnda. The or ...
,
Dogras,
Paharis, and more.
Economy
The historical region of Punjab produce a relatively high proportion of India and Pakistan's food output respectively. The region has been used for extensive wheat farming. In addition, rice, cotton,
sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...
, fruit, and vegetables are also grown.
The agricultural output of the Punjab region in Pakistan contributes significantly to Pakistan's GDP. Both Indian and Pakistani Punjab is considered to have the best infrastructure of their respective countries. The Indian state of Punjab is currently the
16th richest state or the eighth richest large state of India. Pakistani Punjab produces 68% of Pakistan's foodgrain production. Its share of Pakistan's GDP has historically ranged from 51.8% to 54.7%.
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. In 2001, it was recorded that farmers made up 39% of Indian Punjab's workforce. In the Punjab region of Pakistan, 42.3% of the labour force is engaged in the agriculture sector.
Alternatively, Punjab is also adding to the economy with the increase in employment of Punjab youth in the
private sector. Government schemes such as 'Ghar Ghar Rozgar and Karobar Mission' have brought enhanced employability in the private sector. So far, 32,420 youths have been placed in different jobs and 12,114 have been skill-trained.
Education
*
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute
The Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute, also known as the Maharaja Ranjit Singh AFPI or the MRSAFPI, is an institute that trains young boys from Punjab for permanent commission through the National Defence Academy into the ...
Environment
Three Punjab cities;
Bathinda,
Patiala and
Ferozepur, were featured in a list of the top 100 cleanest cities of India from a
Swachh Survekshan
''Swachh Survekshan'' ( lit. Cleanliness survey) is an annual survey of cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation in villages, cities and towns across India. It was launched as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, which aimed to make India clean and free ...
report released in August 2020.
See also
*
History of Punjab
*
Sattagydia
*
Chak (village)
*
Dhani (settlement type)
*
Jallianwala Bagh
*
Music of Punjab
Music of Punjab ( Punjabi: پنجاب دی موسیقی ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦਾ ਸੰਗੀਤ ) reflects the traditions of the Punjab region of the Subcontinent, with East Punjab in India, and West Punjab in Pakistan. The Punjab has diverse ...
*
Punjabi cuisine
*
Punjabi dance
Punjabi dances are an array of folk and religious dances of the Punjabi people indigenous to the Punjab region, straddling the border of India and Pakistan. The style of Punjabi dances ranges from very high energy to slow and reserved, and there ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
Further reading
* Condos, Mark. ''The Insecurity State: Punjab and the Making of Colonial Power in British India'' (2020
excerpt*
*
uraishee 73''Punjabi Adab De Kahani'', Abdul Hafeez Quaraihee, Azeez Book Depot, Lahore, 1973.
*
hopra 77''Punjab as a Sovereign State'', Gulshan Lal Chopra, Al-Biruni, Lahore, 1977.
* Patwant Singh. 1999. ''The Sikhs''. New York: Doubleday. .
* ''The Evolution of Heroic Tradition in Ancient Panjab'', 1971, Buddha Parkash.
* ''Social and Political Movements in ancient Panjab'', Delhi, 1962, Buddha Parkash.
* ''History of Porus'', Patiala, Buddha Parkash.
* ''History of the Panjab'', Patiala, 1976, Fauja Singh, L.M. Joshi (Ed).
* ''The Legacy of the Punjab'', 1997, R.M. Chopra.
* ''The Rise Growth and Decline of Indo-Persian Literature'', R.M. Chopra, 2012, Iran Culture House, New Delhi. 2nd revised edition, published in 2013.
* Sims, Holly. "The State and Agricultural Productivity: Continuity versus Change in the Indian and Pakistani Punjabs." ''
Asian Survey'', 1 April 1986, Vol. 26(4), pp. 483–500.
External links
*
*
*
*
{{Authority control
Regions of India
Historical regions
Divided regions
Geography of South Asia
Historical Indian regions
Historical regions of Pakistan
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.