Geography of Punjab Introduction

Punjab is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the west. It is also bounded to the north by Jammu and Kashmir. The state capital is located in Chandigarh, which is a Union Territory and also the capital of the neighbouring state of Haryana. Major cities of Punjab include Amritsar,  Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala,  Tarn Taran Sahib,  Nawanshahr,  Firozpur,  Bathinda, Hoshiarpur and  Mohali. After the partition of India in 1947, the Punjab province of British India was divided between India and Pakistan. The Indian Punjab was divided in 1966 with the formation of the new states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, as well as the current state of Punjab. Punjab is the only state in India with a majority Sikh population.

The Greeks referred to Punjab as Pentapotamia, an inland delta of five converging rivers. In  Avesta, the sacred text of Zoroastrians, the Punjab region is associated with the ancient hapta həndu or  Sapta Sindhu, the Land of Seven Rivers.  Historically, the Punjab region has been the gateway to the Indian Subcontinent for people from Greece, Central Asia, Iran, and Afghanistan and vice versa. The word Punjab is from Sanskrit and Persian words panj (Sanskrit: पंच) and Āb (Persian: آب‎, (which itself derives from "āp" Sanskrit: अाप्) that means "five" and "water", respectively, thus PanjĀb means "Five Rivers", which roughly means "Land of Five Rivers”.  The five rivers are the Beas, Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab and  Jehlum (also spelled Jhelum). Traditionally, in English, there used to be a definite article before the name, i.e. "The Punjab”. The name is also sometimes spelled as "Panjab".

Location Punjab is located in northwestern India, and has an area of 50,362 km2. It extends from the latitudes 29.30° North to 32.32° North and longitudes 73.55° East to 76.50° East. It is bounded on the west by Pakistan, on the north by Jammu and Kashmir, on the northeast by Himachal Pradesh and on the south by Haryana and Rajasthan.

Most of the Punjab lies in a fertile plain, alluvial plain with many rivers and an extensive irrigation canal system.   A belt of undulating hills extends along the northeastern part of the state at the foot of the Himalayas. Its average elevation is 300 meters above sea level, with a range from 180 meters in the southwest to more than 500 meters around the northeast border. The southwest of the state is semiarid, eventually merging into the Thar Desert. The Shiwalik Hills extend along the northeastern part of the state at the foot of the Himalayas. The soil characteristics are influenced to a limited extent by the topography, vegetation and parent rock. The variation in soil profile characteristics are much more pronounced because of the regional climatic differences. Punjab is divided into three distinct regions on the basis of soil types: southwestern, central, and eastern. Punjab falls under seismic zones II, III, and IV. Zone II is considered a low-damage risk zone; zone III is considered a moderate-damage risk zone; and zone IV is considered a high-damage risk zone.

The area of Punjab can be divided into: Malwa is a region of Punjab south to river satluj. The Malwa area makes up majority of the Punjab region consisting 11 districts. Cities such as Ludhiana,Patiala, Sangrur, Bhatinda and Mohali located in the Malwa region. Malwa is also famous for cotton farming. Majha is a historical region of the Indian Punjab comprising the modern districts of Amritsar, Pathankot, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran. It lies between rivers Ravi, Beas and the Sutlej. This region is called heartland of punjab, it is also celebrated as being the 'Cradle of Sikhism'. Doaba is the region of Indian Punjab between the rivers Beas and Sutlej. The name "Doaba" literally translates to "land between two rivers" ("Do" two, "Ab" river; Punjabi). It is one of the most fertile regions of the world, and was the centre of the Green Revolution in India. To this day, it remains one of the largest per capita producers of wheat in the world.The biggest cities in Doaba areJalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Kapurthala.

Administrative divisions The state of Punjab has 22 districts which comprise of sub-divisions, tehsils and blocks. The 22 districts: Districts: Amritsar Barnala Bathinda Firozpur Fazilka Fatehgarh Sahib Faridkot Gurdaspur Hoshiarpur Jalandhar Kapurthala Ludhiana Mansa Moga Mohali Muktsar Patiala Pathankot Rupnagar Sangrur Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar Tarn Taran

The state capital of Punjab is Chandigarh. There are 14 cities and 157 towns in Punjab. Punjab has some very valuable historical, colorful great cities. The major cities in Punjab are Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Patiala, Mohali, Bathinda, Phagwara. The State of Punjab in western India is one of the most fertile regions of the earth. The cities have rich culture of self dependence, self reliance and hard work

According to the India State Hunger Index 2008, Punjab has the lowest level of hunger in India. According to India Today, Leading magazine in India, Punjab has been awarded best overall state since 2003, and has been able to retain the top position every year. It also affords best quality of life to its residents.

Punjab has the best infrastructure in all of India.  Although it has a huge shortage of electricity due to high demand, all major cities in Punjab benefit from this and have some of the lowest tariffs in India. All of Punjab's villages have been provided electricity and connected to the state electrical power grid since 1974.

Punjab (Land of the five rivers) is one of the most fertile regions on earth. The region is ideal for wheat-growing.  Rice, sugar cane, fruits and vegetables are also grown. Indian Punjab is called the "Granary of India" or "India's bread-basket“.  It produces 14% of India's cotton, 20% of India's wheat, and 9% of India's rice. The Fazilka and Ferozpur Districts are the largest producer of wheat and rice in the state. In worldwide terms, Indian Punjab produces 2% of the world's cotton, 2% of its wheat and 1% of the world's rice.  The largest grown crop is wheat. Other important crops are rice, cotton, sugarcane, pearl millet, maize, barley and fruit.

In Punjab per hectare consumption of fertilizer is 177 kg as compared to 90 kg at national level. Also Punjab State has been awarded National Productivity Award for agriculture extension services for consecutively ten years from 1991-92 to 1998-99 and 2001 to 2003-04. In recent years a drop in productivity has been observed mainly due to falling fertility of the soil. This is believed to be due to excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides over the years. Also a big worry is the rapidly falling water table on which almost 90% of the agriculture depends, which has witnessed alarming drops in recent years. By some estimates, groundwater is falling by a meter or more per year.

Ancient History Punjab during Mahabharata times was known as Panchanada. Indus Valley Civilization spanned much of the Punjab region with cities such as Harrapa (modern-day Punjab, Pakistan). The arrival of the Indo-Aryans led to the flourishing of the Vedic Civilization along the length of the Indus River to cover most of Northern India. This civilization shaped subsequent cultures in the Indian Subcontinent and Afghanistan. Punjab was part of the great ancient empires including the Gandhara Mahajanapadas, Nandas, Mauryas, Sungas,  Kushans, Guptas, Palas,Gurjara-Pratiharas and Hindu Shahis. Agriculture flourished and trading cities (such as Jalandhar and Ludhiana) grew in wealth.