Punjab (state, India)

Punjab (state, India), state in northwestern India, bordered on the north by Jammu and Kashmīr state and Himāchal Pradesh state, on the east and south by Haryāna state, on the south and southwest by Rājasthān state, and on the west by Pakistan. Punjab covers an area of 50,362 sq km (19,445 sq mi).

Punjab state lies between the great systems of the Indus and Ganges rivers. Most of the state is an alluvial plain, irrigated by canals; Punjab's arid southern border edges on the Thar, or Great Indian, Desert. The Siwālik Range rises sharply in the north of the state. The average temperature in January is 13° C (55° F), although at night the temperature sometimes lowers to freezing. In June the average temperature is 34° C (93° F), occasionally climbing as high as 45° C (113° F). Annual average rainfall ranges from 1,250 mm (49 in) in the north to 350 mm (14 in) in the southwest. More than 70 percent of the annual rainfall occurs during the monsoon season from July to September.

At the 2001 census Punjab had a population of 24,289,296, with an average density of 482 persons per sq km (1,248 per sq mi). Chandīgarh is the state capital. The population of Punjab consists mainly of Punjabis, Jats, and Rajputs. The official language is Punjabi, which is spoken by about two-thirds of the population; the rest speaks Hindi. The majority of the population is Sikh, the largest minority is Hindu, and a very small percentage is Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, or Jain. In 2001, 70 percent of Punjab's population was literate. Universities located in the state include Guru Nanak Dev University (founded in 1969) in Amritsar, Punjab Agricultural University (1962) in Ludhiāna, and Punjabi University (1962) in Patiāla.

More than 80 percent of Punjab is cultivated, and farming is the leading occupation. The major crops are wheat, maize (corn), rice, pulses (legumes), sugarcane, and cotton. Among the livestock raised are buffalo and other cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry. The principal industries include the manufacture of textiles, sewing machines, sporting goods, starch, fertilizers, bicycles, scientific instruments, electrical goods, and machine tools, and the processing of sugar and pine oil.

Punjab has a single-chamber legislative assembly with 117 seats. The state sends 19 members to the Indian national parliament: 7 to the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) and 12 to the Lok Sabha (Lower House). Local government is based on 12 administrative districts.

The state of Punjab was formed on November 1, 1956, by merging East Punjab States Union with Punjab and Patiāla provinces of India (for earlier history of the area, see Punjab, historic region). Subsequently, the Sikhs in the new state demanded a Punjabi-speaking state. In 1966 most of Punjab was divided into Punjabi-speaking Punjab state and Hindi-speaking Haryāna state. An accord with India to expand the boundaries of Punjab state and to make Chandīgarh, formerly capital of both Punjab and Haryāna states, the capital of Punjab only, due to be implemented in 1986, has been delayed.