Punjab

In the 16th century, during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar, the term Punjab was synonymous with the Lahore province. It covered a relatively smaller area lying between the Indus and the Sutlej rivers.[2]

The Punjab, 1849

The Punjab, 1880

Punjab Province (British India), 1909

The 19th century definition of the Punjab region focuses on the collapse of the Sikh Empire and the creation of the British Punjab province between 1846 and 1849. According to this definition, the Punjab region incorporates, in today's Pakistan, Azad Kashmir including Bhimber and Mirpur[20] and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (especially Peshawar,[21] known in the Punjab region as Pishore).[22] In India, the wider definition includes parts of Delhi and Jammu Division.[23][24][25]

Using the older definition, the Punjab region covers a large territory and can be divided into five natural areas:[1]

1. the eastern mountainous region including Jammu Division and Azad Kashmir;
2. the trans-Indus region including Peshawar;
3. the central plain with its five rivers;
4. the north-western region, separated from the central plain by the Salt Range between the Jhelum and the Indus rivers;
5. the semi-desert to the south of the Sutlej river.

The formation of the Himalayan Range of mountains to the east and north-east of the Punjab is the result of a collision between the north-moving Indo-Australian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. The plates are still moving together, and the Himalayas are rising by about 5 millimetres (0.2 in) per year.

The upper regions are snow-covered the whole year. Lower ranges of hills run parallel to the mountains. The Lower Himalayan Range runs from north of Rawalpindi through Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and further south. The mountains are relatively young, and are eroding rapidly. The Indus and the five rivers of the Punjab have their sources in the mountain range and carry loam, minerals and silt down to the rich alluvial plains, which consequently are very fertile.[26]

Historically, Lahore has been the capital of the Punjab region and continues to be the most populous city in the region at 11 million city proper population. Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Multan, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, and Chandigarh are all the other cities in Punjab with a city proper population over a million.

• 
  Bahu Fort, Jammu, India
• 
  Peshawar Museum
• 
  Jama Masjid, Delhi
• 
  City view, Mirpur

The 1947 definition defines the Punjab region with reference to the dissolution of British India, whereby the then British Punjab Province was partitioned between what would become India and Pakistan. In Pakistan, the region now includes the Punjab province and Islamabad Capital Territory. In India, it includes the Punjab state, Chandigarh, Haryana,[27] and Himachal Pradesh.

Using the 1947 definition, the Punjab borders the Balochistan and Pashtunistan regions to the west, Kashmir to the north, the Hindi Belt to the east, and Rajasthan and Sindh to the south. Accordingly, the Punjab region is very diverse and stretches from the hills of the Kangra Valley to the plains and to the Cholistan Desert.

• 
  Punjab, Pakistan
• 
  Punjab, India, 2014
• 
  Haryana, India
• 
  Himachal Pradesh, India

Using the 1947 definition of the Punjab region, some of the major cities of the area include Lahore, Faisalabad, Ludhiana and Amritsar.

• 
  Badshahi Mosque, Lahore
• 
  Golden Temple, Amritsar
• 
  Clock Tower, Faisalabad
• 
  Aerial view of Multan Ghanta Ghar chawk
• 
  Open Hand monument, Chandigarh
• 
  Faisal Masjid (Margalla Hills)

Another definition of the Punjab region adds to the definitions cited above and includes parts of Rajasthan on linguistic lines and takes into consideration the location of the Punjab rivers in ancient times.[28][29][30][31] In particular, the Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh districts are included in the Punjab region.[32]

• 
  Anupgarh fort in Anupgarh city
• 
  Bhatner fort in Hanumangarh city

The epic battles described in the Mahabharata are described as being fought in what is now the State of Haryana and historic Punjab. The Gandharas, Kambojas, Trigartas, Andhra, Pauravas, Bahlikas (Bactrian settlers of the Punjab), Yaudheyas, and others sided with the Kauravas in the great battle fought at Kurukshetra.[35] According to Dr Fauja Singh and Dr. L. M. Joshi: "There is no doubt that the Kambojas, Daradas, Kaikayas, Andhra, Pauravas, Yaudheyas, Malavas, Saindhavas and Kurus had jointly contributed to the heroic tradition and composite culture of ancient Punjab."[36]

Menander I Soter (165/155 –130 BCE), conqueror of the Punjab, carved out a Greek kingdom in the Punjab and ruled the Punjab until his death in 130 BC.[37][38]

In 326 BCE, Alexander the Great invaded Pauravas and defeated King Porus. His armies entered the region via the Hindu Kush in northwest Pakistan and his rule extended up to the city of Sagala (present-day Sialkot in northeast Pakistan). In 305 BCE the area was ruled by the Maurya Empire. In a long line of succeeding rulers of the area, Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka stand out as the most renowned. The Maurya presence in the area was then consolidated in the Indo-Greek Kingdom in 180 BCE.

Menander I Soter ("Menander I the Saviour"; known as Milinda in Indian sources) is the most renowned leader of the era, he conquered the Punjab and made Sagala the capital of his Empire.[37] Menander carved out a Greek kingdom in the Punjab and ruled the region till his death in 130 BCE.[38] The neighbouring Seleucid Empire rule came to an end around 12 BCE, after several invasions by the Yuezhi and the Scythian people.

In 711–713 CE, the 18-year-old Arab general Muhammad bin Qasim of Taif, a city in what is now Saudi Arabia, came by way of the Arabian Sea with Arab troops to defeat Raja Dahir. Bin Qasim conquered parts of present-day Sindh and southern Punjab for the Umayyad Caliphate. The newly created state of Sind, encompassing part of the Punjab, brought Islamic rule to the region for the first time. Sind would later be governed by the Abbasid Caliphate, before fragmenting into five smaller kingdoms, one of which was based in Multan. The remainder of the Punjab at this time was governed by the Hindu Shahis and local Rajputs.

A section of the Lahore Fort built by the Mughal emperor Akbar

In 1001, Mahmud of Ghazni began a series of raids which culminated in establishing Ghaznavid rule across the Punjab by 1026. The Ghaznavids, a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic mamluk origin,[39][lower-alpha 2][40] reigned until 1186 when they were defeated and replaced by the Ghurid dynasty of Iranian descent from the Ghor region of present-day central Afghanistan.[41]

Following the death of Muhammad of Ghor in 1206 the Ghurid state fragmented and in northern India was replaced by the Delhi Sultanate. The Delhi Sultanate ruled the Punjab for the next three hundred years, led by five unrelated dynasties, the Mamluks, Khalajis, Tughlaqs, Sayyids and Lodis.

In 1526, the Delhi Sultanate was conquered and succeeded by the Turko-Mongol Mughal Empire. Under the Mughals prosperity, growth, and relative peace were established, particularly under the reign of Jahangir. The period was also notable for the emergence of Guru Nanak (1469–1539), the founder of Sikhism.

The Afghan forces of Durrani Empire (also known as the Afghan Empire), under the command of Ahmad Shah Durrani, entered Punjab in 1749, and captured Punjab—with Lahore being governed by Pashtuns—and Kashmir regions. In 1758, Punjab came under the rule of Marathas, who captured the region by defeating the Afghan forces of Ahmad Shah Abdali. Following Third Battle of Panipat against Marathas, Durranis reconsolidated its power and dominion over the Punjab region, and Kashmir Valley. Abdali's Indian invasion weakened the Maratha influence.

After the death of Ahmad Shah, the Punjab was freed from the Afghan rule by Sikhs for a brief period between 1773 and 1818. At the time of the formation of the Dal Khalsa in 1748 at Amritsar, the Punjab had been divided into 36 areas and 12 separate Sikh principalities, called Misl. From this point onward, the beginnings of a Punjabi Sikh Empire emerged. Out of the 36 areas, 22 were united by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The other 14 accepted East India Company sovereignty. After Ranjit Singh's death, assassinations and internal divisions severely weakened the empire. Six years later, the British East India Company was given an excuse to declare war, and in 1849, after two Anglo-Sikh wars, the Punjab was annexed by the East India Company. In the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Sikh rulers backed the East India Company, providing troops and support.[42] However, in Jhelum, 35 British soldiers of HM XXIV regiment were killed by the local resistance, and in Ludhiana, a rebellion was crushed with the assistance of the Punjab chiefs of Nabha and Malerkotla.

The British Raj had political, cultural, philosophical, and literary consequences in the Punjab, including the establishment of a new system of education. During the independence movement, many Punjabis played a significant role, including Madan Lal Dhingra, Sukhdev Thapar, Ajit Singh Sandhu, Bhagat Singh, Udham Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Bhai Parmanand, Choudhry Rahmat Ali, and Lala Lajpat Rai. At the time of partition in 1947, the province was split into East and West Punjab. East Punjab (48%) became part of India, while West Punjab (52%) became part of Pakistan.[43] The Punjab bore the brunt of the civil unrest following the end of the British Raj, with casualties estimated to be in the millions.

• 3300–1500 BCE: Indus Valley Civilisation
• 1500–1000 BCE: (Rigvedic) Vedic civilisation
• 1000–500 BCE: Middle and late Vedic Period
  • 599 BCE: Birth of Mahavira
  • 567–487 BCE: Time of Gautama Buddha
• 550 BCE – 600 CE: Buddhism remained prevalent
• 326 BCE: Alexander's Invasion of Punjab
• 322–298 BCE: Chandragupta I, Maurya period
• 273–232 BCE: Reign of Ashoka
• 125–160 BCE: Rise of the Sakas (Scythians)
• 2 BCE: Beginning of Rule of the Sakas
• 45–180: Rule of the Kushans
• 320–550: Gupta Empire
  • 500: Hunnic Invasion
• 510–650: Vardhana's Era
• 711–713: Muhammad bin Qasim conquers Sindh and small part of Punjab region
• 713–1200: Rajput states, Kabul Shahi & small Muslim kingdoms
• 1206–1290: Mamluk dynasty established by Mohammad Ghori
• 1290–1320: Khalji dynasty established by Jalal ud din Firuz Khalji
• 1320–1413: Tughlaq dynasty established by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
• 1414–1451: Sayyid dynasty established by Khizr Khan
• 1451–1526: Lodhi dynasty established by Bahlul Khan Lodhi
  • 1469–1539: Guru Nanak
• 1526–1707: Mughal rule
  • 1526–1530: Zaheeruddin Muhammad Babur
  • 1530–1540: Nasiruddin Muhammad Humayun
  • 1540–1545: Sher Shah Suri of Afghanistan
  • 1545–1554: Islam Shah Suri
  • 1555–1556: Nasiruddin Muhammad Humayun
  • 1556–1556: Hem Chandra Vikramaditya
  • 1556–1605: Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar
  • 1605–1627: Nooruddin Muhammad Jahangir
  • 1627–1658: Shahaabuddin Muhammad Shah Jahan
  • 1658–1707: Mohiuddin Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir
  • 1539–1675: Period of 8 Sikh Gurus from Guru Angad Dev to Guru Tegh Bahadur
  • 1675–1708: Guru Gobind Singh (10th Sikh Guru)
    • 1699: Birth of the Khalsa
• 1708–1713: Conquests of Banda Bahadur
• 1714–1759: Sikh chiefs (Sardars) war against Afghans & Mughal Governors
  • 1722: Birth of Ahmed Shah Durrani, either in Multan in Mughal Empire or Herat in Afghanistan
  • 1739: Invasion by Nader Shah and defeat of weakened Mughal Empire
• 1747–1772: Durrani Empire led by Ahmad Shah Durrani
  • 1756–1759: Sikh and Maratha Empire cooperation in the Punjab
  • 1761: The Third Battle of Panipat, between the Durrani Empire against the Maratha Empire.
  • 1762: 2nd massacre (Ghalughara) from Ahmed Shah's 2nd invasion
• 1765–1801: Rise of the Sikh Misls, who gained control of significant swathes of Punjab
• 1801–1839: Sikh Empire also known as Sarkar Khalsa, Rule by Maharaja Ranjit Singh
• 1845–1846: First Anglo-Sikh War
• 1846: Jammu joined with the new state of Jammu and Kashmir
• 1848–1849: Second Anglo-Sikh War
• 1849: Complete annexation of Punjab into British India
• 1849–1947: British rule
  • 1901: Peshawar and adjoining districts separated from the Punjab Province
  • 1911: Parts of Delhi separated from Punjab Province
• 1947: The Partition of India divided Punjab into two parts: the Eastern side, with two rivers, became the Indian Punjab; and the Western side, with three rivers, became the Pakistan Punjab.
• 1966: Indian Punjab divided into three parts: Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh
• 1973–1995: Punjab insurgency

Distribution of Punjabi in Pakistan

Map of the languages of Pakistan; Punjabi is in teal and Saraiki, commonly thought to be a dialect of Punjabi, is in light green

The major language is Punjabi, (Gurmukhi: ਪੰਜਾਬੀ; Shahmukhi: پنجابی) written in India with the Gurmukhi script, and in Pakistan using the Shahmukhi script.[44] The Punjabi language has official status and is widely used in education and administration in Indian Punjab, whereas in Pakistani Punjab these roles are instead communicated by the Urdu language. In the western half of the Pakistani province, the major native languages are Saraiki, Hindko and Pothwari, all of which are closely related to Punjabi.

The vast majority of Pakistani Punjabis are Sunni Muslim by faith, but also include large minority faiths, such as Shia Muslim, Ahmadis, Hinduism, Sikhism and Christians.

Sikhism, founded by Guru Nanak is the main religion practised in the post-1966 Indian Punjab state. About 57.7% of the population of Punjab state is Sikh, 38.5% is Hindu, and the rest are Muslims, Christians, and Jains.[45] Punjab state contains the holy Sikh cities of Amritsar, Anandpur Sahib, Tarn Taran Sahib, Fatehgarh Sahib and Chamkaur Sahib.

The Punjab was home to several Sufi saints, and Sufism is well established in the region.[46] Also, Kirpal Singh revered the Sikh Gurus as saints.[47]

Punjabis celebrate different festivals based on their following culture, season and religion:

Traditional Punjabi clothing differs depending on the region. It includes the following: