PUNJAB – States of India
Key Information
Capital : Chandigarh
Geographical Feature: Landlocked state
Present Chief Minister : Sardar Parkash Singh Badal
Present Governor : Shivraj Patil
Main language : Punjabi
Geographical Features of Punjab
Punjab is a landlocked state in the north of India
Most of the state comprises of vast plain areas
North areas of Punjab touch the Himalayan foothills whereas western boundary of Punjab touches fringes of vast Indian desert
Punjab touches four states of India – Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan
Punjab also touches union territory of Chandigarh and it is the state which envelopes Chandigarh from three sides
Punjab’s international boundary touches Pakistan
The name Punjab (meaning land of Five Rivers) is derived from five rivers which flow through this area. However, much of this Punjab is now in Pakistan after India’s partition in 1947
Three major rivers to pass through India’s Punjab are –Sutlej, Ravi and Beas
Punjab is famous for its extreme climate – Freezing cold in winters and extremely hot in summers
Punjab has been divided into three regions – Malwa, Majha and Doaba
Historical and Political Journey of Punjab
Punjab is often called ‘the cradle of Indian civilization’ as it was an important part of the Indus Valley Civilization and the Vedic Civilization
Harappa, one of the most important spots of the Indus Valley Civilization, is in the Pakistani Punjab
Indian Punjab’s Ropar city was one of the important Indian cities of Indus Valley Civilization
Punjab has also been mentioned in the civilization of the Vedic Period
In the epic Mahabharata Punjab has been described as Panchanad (land of five rivers)
Punjab had to face numerous western invaders due to its strategic position on India’s western boundary
Great Mogul Emperor Akbar, the Great, was enthroned at Kalanaur by his guardian Bairam Khan in 1556 AD. Kalanaur is now in the Gurudaspur district of Punjab
Guru Nanak was born in 1469 AD in Nanakana Sahib in Punjab (now in Pakistan)
Guru Nanak got immense following in Punjab region and people started following his teachings
He died in 1539 in Kartarpur (now in Pakistani Punjab), which is just 3 Km from Indian Punjab
Guru Nanak’s followers were later converted into a armed militia by Tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, who founded the Khalasa (meaning pure)
Maharaja Ranjit Singh founded a very strong Sikh state, which was spread up to Afghanistan. Punjab was the center-point of this huge kingdom
Punjab’s Amritsar is the most sacred place of Sikhs in the world. This city was founded in 1574 by the fourth Sikh Guru, Guru Ramdas
A sacred pool was also built by Guru Ramdas in middle of this city, and this city is named after this sacred pool (The pool of Nectar)
Amritsar is famous all over the world for its Golden Temple, whose real name is Harmandar Sahib. Construction of this temple (Gurudwara) was started by Guru Arjan Devji, the Fifth Sikh Guru. Arjan Dev laid foundation of this temple in 1588
Sikh’s holy book – the Guru Granth Sahib was kept at Harmandar Sahib in 1604. Slowly this Gurudwara became centre of all activities of Sikhs with establishment of the Akal Takht, Damadami Taksal and Shri Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC)
Renovation of Gurudwara Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple) was done in 1764 AD by Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, the founder of Kapurthala state of Punjab
Sikh Emperor Maharaja Ranjit Singh initiated the work of polishing the upper parts of Harmandar Sahib with gold. After this the temple got its popular name of Golden Temple
Amritsar also has the famous Jallianwalah Bagh, where thousands of unarmed Indians were massacred by incessant and uncontrolled firing by British forces on the orders of Gen. O’ Dyer on 13 April, 1919
Atari (in Amritsar district) is the last Indian railway station on route to Lahore in Pakistan
Punjab was most affected by the Partition of India, which was done after the Mountbatten Plan of 3 June 1947
After India’s partition and carving out of Pakistan from India, Indian Punjab was known as East Punjab
The old capital of Punjab – Lahore, went to Pakistan. Lahore is about 80 km from Amritsar
After India’s partition, there were two Punjabi states, one was called Punjab, which comprised of British Punjab state. It accepted Indian dominion and became part of Indian union
Other Punjab comprised of 8 royal states, which later merged with India. The union of these states was called Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU). PEPSU had autonomous status and royals belonging to it didn’t accepted Indian dominion
8 royal states in PEPSU were Patiala, Jeend, Nabha, Kapurthala, Faridkot, Kalsia, Malerkotla and Nalagarh. Patiala was the capital of PEPSU
In 1950 PEPSU accepted India’s dominion and became part of Indian union
On 1 November 1956 PEPSU was merged with Punjab and the new re-organized state was also called Punjab. With this PEPSU’s existence ceased
Punjab (PEPSU) was the first Indian state to have been clamped with the President’s Rule in 1951 (under section 356 of Indian Constitution)
A new state called Haryana was carved out of Punjab on 1 November 1966. Punjab’s mountainous area were merged with Himachal Pradesh, which later also became a state
Chandigarh became capital of both Haryana and Punjab
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is the main regional party of Punjab
SAD was established as a political arm of Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), which is a very powerful organization of Sikhs and which control affairs of managing numerous Gurudwaras not just in India but the world over
SAD presents itself as the main representative of the Sikhs and tries to woo Sikhs by its efforts
SAD’s relations with centre have always been not very warm as state governments run by it were removed by clamping president’s rule
The demand for a separate and autonomous Punjabi state (Punjabi Soobaa) was put by Master Tara Singh
It was a general feeling among Sikhs that they were not given their due in spite of toiling for the country the most. Sikhs comprised a substantial part of Indian Army and Punjab was the pre-eminent state as far as contributing to country’s food- stock was concerned
In 1973 a 12-member committee was formed after Akali Dal’s poor showings in the legislative elections in Punjab in 1972. This committee put many important proposals and its proposals were named Anandpur Proposals. A declaration was made later in demand of these proposals and this declaration became famous as Anandpur Declaration
In Anandpur Declaration, welfare and upliftment of Sikhs was called for and related demands were put to the Centre
The Khalistan Movement was later started by some Sikh hardliners and this movement was inspired by the Anandpur Declaration in 1973
Khalistan meant a place based on teachings of the Khalsa, which was established by tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh
Khalistan Movement was a brainchild of Jagjit Singh Chouhan, who started collecting funds for Khalistan
Later Jarnail Singh Bhindarawale became the most important icons of the Khalistan movement, who however has not explicitly supported formation of Khalistan
Bhinadrawale raised an armed force of Sikhs in 1982 called Dharam Yuddh Morcha. This organization was instrumental in sowing militant thoughts among Silk youths and other Sikh supporters
Operation Blue Star of 1984 was the turning point in Khalistan Movement. In this operation hundreds of militant Sikhs were flushed out of the Golden Temple in Amritsar. These militants had assembled ample amount of armed equipments inside Golden Temple
These Sikh militants were led by Jarnail Singh Bhindarawale and his trusted lieutenant Maj. Gen. Shabeg Singh, who was a former high official of the Indian Army
Operation Blue Star was ordered by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and was led by Lt. Gen. KS Brar. This operation was executed between 3-8 June 1984 and culminated with death of Jarnail Singh Bhindarawale and hundreds of his trusted milita. However, hundreds of Indian Army personnel were too lost in this operation
After this operation two more operations were carried out by the Indian Army to flush out militants from Golden Temple. These operations were christened as Operation Black Thunder I and II
Operation Black Thunder I took place in 1986
Operation Black Thunder II took place in 1988
Punjab remained embroiled in militancy during major part of the decade of 80. In 90s control over militancy was achieved mainly due to severe tactics adopted by the then DGP of Punjab Police JF Rubeiro. By 1990 militancy was much under control
Punjab’s Art and Culture
Punjabi is the main language spoken in Punjab. However, the script of Punjabi language is known as Gurumukhi, which is one of the scheduled languages of Indian Constitution
Guru Angad Dev, the second Guru of Sikh faith is credited to have standardized the Gurumukhi script
Bhangra is the major folk dance form of Punjab and is performed mainly by men
Giddha is another folk dance form of Punjab and is performed by women
Phulkari is a famous handicraft of Punjab in which flowers are hanr-crafted on textile fabrics with a hue of colours and shades. This art probably travelled to Punjab through Iran
Baisakhi is the main festival of Punjab. It is on this day that the Khalsa was raised by Guru Gobing Singh in 1699 AD
Guru Parb or birthday of the first Guru, Guru Nanak is also celebrated with much fan-fare through length and breadth of Punjab. This festival is celebrated on Kartik Purnima
Lohri is also an important festival of state. It is celebrated as a gesture to the residing cold weather and coming season of prosperity (due to harvest time of Rabi crops)
Hola Mohalla is celebrated at the holi Gurudwara city of Anandpur Sahib. This festival was started by Guru Gobind Singh to show the might and prowess of Sikh militia raised by him
Miscellaneous Information of Punjab
Punjab is one of the most important states as far as agriculture is concerned. It contributes the maximum in
India’s food-stock and is therefore often described as ‘Granary of India’
Punjab received the maximum benefit of Green Revolution initiated during late 1960s to make India self-sufficient in food production
Pratap Singh Kairon, the then Chief Minister of Punjab, was instrumental in bringing maximum benefits of Green Revolution to Punjab
Netaji Shubash National Sports Academy (NSNSA) is situated in Patiala and is the most important sports institutes of the country. It is operated by the Sports Authority of India (SAI)
Guru Ramdas International Airport is situated in Amritsar and is the most important international airport of Punjab
Punjab Cricket Association (PCA)’s cricket stadium at Mohali is one of India’s best cricket stadiums
Ludhiana is the most populous state of Punjab. It is also the most industrialized city of Punjab with cycle, automotive parts, sports goods, woolen and hosiery industry concentrated in the city
Mohali is a satellite town of Chandigarh
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