Punjab

Punjab ( ; Punjabi: Panjāb, pronounced) is a geographical, ethnolinguistic, and historical region in South Asia, located in its northwestern part, comprising areas of modern-day Pakistan and northwesternIndia. Lahore is its largest city and historic capital, with other major cities including Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Multan, and Sialkot in Pakistan; alongside Ludhiana, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, and Patiala in India.

Human settlements in Punjab developed along its five rivers as early as the ancient Indus Valley civilization, dating back to 3000 BCE, followed by migrations of the Indo-Aryan peoples. Agriculture has been the chief economic feature of the Punjab and is considered an important element of Punjabi culture. 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."

The boundaries of the region are imprecisely defined and depend on historical and ethnographic definitions, and thus the geographical meaning of the term "Punjab" has changed over time. During the existence British India, from 1849 till 1901, the Punjab Province encompassed the present Indian states and union territories of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, and Delhi, and the Pakistani regions of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad Capital Territory. After the Partition of British India in 1947, it was divided into West and East Punjab; East Punjab was further divided into Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh in 1966 by India.

The predominant ethnolinguistic group of the Punjab region are the Punjabi people, who speak the Indo-AryanPunjabi language of South Asia. Punjabi Muslims are the majority in Pakistani Punjab, while Punjabi Sikhs are the majority in Indian Punjab. Other religious groups include Punjabi Hindus, Punjabi Christians, Jains, Zoroastrians,Buddhists, and Ravidassias.