Punjab (historic region)

I

Introduction

Punjab (historic region), historical region in the northwestern part of the subcontinent of India. The region is now divided into the province of Punjab in Pakistan and the states of Punjab and Haryāna in India.

II

Land and Climate

The region’s name means 'land of five rivers' and comes from the five tributaries of the Indus river that traverse the Punjab: the Jhelum, Chenāb, Rāvi, Beās, and Sutlej. The rivers’ floodplains, generally running from northeast to southwest, are the major topographical feature of the region. The Salt Hills border the Punjab on the north, and to the northeast lie the Siwālik foothills of the Himalayas. East of the Punjab flows the Yamuna River of the Ganges River system. To the south and west, the Punjab touches the Thar Desert. Also to the west is the Indus River. Temperatures in the region average 34°C (94°F) in June, often exceeding 45°C (113°F), but drop to an average of 12°C (54°F) in January. Annual rainfall across the region averages about 500 mm (20 in). About 70 percent of the total falls during the monsoon season, from June through September. In winter, cyclones from the west bring rain to the northern part of the region.

III

Culture

The Punjab region has a rich cultural tradition. Punjabi literature dates to the Islamic poetry of Attar, a 13th-century follower of Sufism. Romantic folk ballads such as the Hir Ranjha, Sohni Mahiwal, and Mirza Sahiban have remained popular in the region. Giddha—a dance that originated in the region—and both Sikh and Muslim musical forms are still common across the Punjab.

IV

History

People have inhabited the Punjab since the late Stone Age. The Indus Valley Civilization, the earliest known civilization of South Asia included a city at Harappā, which dates to about 2000 bc. Between 2000 bc and 1000 bc, Aryan-speaking tribes migrated into the Punjab from the northwest. Early inhabitants of the region are described in ancient scriptures written in Vedic, an early form of Sanskrit, and in some Indian epics. The battle between the Kauravas and Pandavas, recorded in the Indian epic poem the Mahabharata, took place at Kurukshetra, which lies in eastern Punjab near the city of Delhi.

---

---

Beginning with the invading Greeks in 327 bc, political and cultural influences from the northwest have repeatedly affected the Punjab region. Hindu conquerors of the Punjab from northern India included members of the Gupta Dynasty, in the 4th and 5th centuries ad, and the Shahiyas in the 8th and 9th centuries. The Ghaznavids and the Ghurids, Muslim invaders from Afghanistan, conquered the Punjab in the 11th century. The region subsequently fell within the early Muslim empires of northern India.

From the 13th to 16th centuries, the Punjab was devastated by periodic invasions of Mongol tribes and the Turkic Tatar tribes, including an invasion by Tamerlane, who sacked Delhi in 1398. In 1526 Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty and a direct descendant of Tamerlane, defeated the sultan of Delhi at the Battle of Pānīpat. Under Babur’s dynasty, which held sway for some 250 years, the Punjab was split among its Lahore, Multān, and Delhi subahs (provinces).

An important influence in the history of the Punjab region was the development of the Sikh religion (see Sikhs). Influenced by both Hindu and Muslim thought, the Sikh religion started with the teachings of the guru Nanak during the 15th century. In the 18th century the Sikhs, the Moguls, and the Afghans all struggled for control of the Punjab. By 1765 many independent Sikh kingdoms had been established in the region. These kingdoms were later welded into a single powerful state, called the Sikh Kingdom of the Punjab, founded by Indian warrior Ranjit Singh. The kingdom, which included Kashmīr and eastern Afghanistan, began to unravel after Singh’s death, and the British annexed it to India after the Anglo-Sikh wars (1845-1846 and 1848-1849).

Despite its historic and geographic unity, the Punjab was partitioned between India and Pakistan when India gained independence from Britain in 1947. Under the terms of the Indian Independence Act, the Punjab was divided into the East Punjab province of the Union of India and the West Punjab province of Pakistan. The partition cut the Sikh community in half, causing violent conflicts. As a result of the fighting, large numbers of Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs abandoned their homes in the Punjab and emigrated to friendly territory. Partition also disrupted irrigation systems, leading to bitter disputes over water distribution between the two countries. These conflicts ended in 1960, when India and Pakistan signed the Indus Waters Treaty.

The Pakistani portion of the Punjab region was merged in 1955 into the province of West Pakistan, and in 1970 it was reconstituted as Punjab province. In 1956 the Indian portion was merged with other provinces to form the present state of Punjab. For the subsequent history of Punjab state, see Punjab (state, India).

	More from Encarta
	•  Presidential Myths Quiz •  Coffee break: Recharge your brain