Punjab, India

Punjab
Punjab
State
	Clockwise from top : Golden Temple, Wagah border, Virasat-e-Khalsa, Qila Mubarak, Punjabi Bhangra dance, Jallianwala Bagh memorial
	Location of Punjab in India
	Coordinates (Chandigarh): 30°47′N 75°50′E / 30.79°N 75.84°E
Country	India
Capital	Chandigarh†
Largest city	Ludhiana
Districts	22
Government
• Governor	Banwarilal Purohit
• Chief Minister	Bhagwant Mann (INC)
• Legislature	Unicameral (117 seats)
• Parliamentary constituency	Lok Sabha (13 seats); Rajya Sabha (7 seats)
• High Court	Punjab and Haryana High Court††
Area
• Total	50,362 km2 (19,445 sq mi)
• Rank	20th
Highest elevation	551 m (1,808 ft)
Lowest elevation	150 m (490 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	27,704,236
• Rank	16th
• Density	550/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
Demonym	Punjabi
GDP (2018–19)
• Total	₹5.18 lakh crore (US$68 billion)
• Per capita	₹153,061 (US$2,000)
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 code	IN-PB
HDI (2017)	0.721 (high) · 8th
Literacy (2011)	76.68%
Official language	Punjabi
Website	punjab.gov.in
	^† Joint Capital with Haryana.; ††Common for Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.
Symbols of Punjab
Emblem	Lion Capital of Ashoka with Wheat stem (above) and Crossed Swords (below)
Language	Punjabi
Dance	Bhangra, Giddha
Mammal	Blackbuck
Bird	Baaz (Accipiter gentilis)

Punjab (/pʌnˈdʒɑːb/ (listen), Punjabi: [pənˈdʒaːb]) is a state in the northern Republic of India. About 30 million people live there. Its national capital city is Chandigarh. The state is in the Punjab region. It covers an area of 19,445 mi² or 50,362 km². It is bigger than Slovakia but smaller than Costa Rica. In traditional Indian geography it falls under the North Indian zone. The state of Punjab has 22 districts. It is mainly known as the land of god/gurus, Punjab's culture is very rich and the dwellers of Punjab respect their culture . The half population of Punjab depends on agriculture, that's why its known as food-provider (anna-datta- in Punjabi). In Punjab people of all religions live with integrity and love .

Etymology

The word Doab is a combination of the Indo-Iranian words Doab (two) and āb (water), and thus the (land of) two rivers.^[7] The two rivers are the Beas and Sutlej. Sometimes, in English, there can be a definite article before the name i.e. the Doaba.^[8] The name is also sometimes spelled as Duoab or Douaab or Doaab. It originally contained 5 rivers before partition, British influence and the influence of the Indian government, so therefore its name came from the Punjabi word for five (Panj/Punj) and the word for river/water (ab).

History

All of India and Pakistan was once ruled by the British Empire. The Indians wanted freedom, but the Hindus, Sikhs and the Muslims of India always argued. So it was decided to divide the country into two parts—one part for Muslims and one part for Hindus and Sikhs. In 1947 Punjab (British India), which was a province of India, was divided into West Punjab and East Punjab (which the state is home to the active independence movement of Khalistan by the Sikh nationalists). East Punjab went to the Republic of modern India, and West Punjab went to Islamic Pakistan.