The Punjab, also spelled and romanised as Panjāb, is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern Pakistan and northern India. The boundaries of the region are ill-defined and focus on historical accounts.
Punjab is Pakistan's most populous province, with an estimated population of 110,012,442 as of 2017. Forming the bulk of the transnational Punjab region, it is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the enclave of Islamabad, and Azad Kashmir. It also shares borders with the Indian states of Punjab, Rajasthan, and the Indian-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The capital is Lahore, a cultural, historical, economic and cosmopolitan centre of Pakistan where the country's cinema industry, and much of its fashion industry, are based.
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language with more than 125 million native speakers in the Indian subcontinent and around the world. It is the native language of the Punjabi people, an ethnolinguistic group of the cultural region of Punjab, which encompasses northwest India and eastern Pakistan.
Sikhs are people associated with Sikhism, a monotheistic religion that originated in the 15th century, in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term Sikh has its origin in the words शिष्य, meaning a "disciple" or a "student". According to Article I of the Sikh Rehat Maryada, a Sikh is:
Any human being who faithfully believes in One Immortal Being; ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh; Guru Granth Sahib; the teachings of the ten Gurus and the baptism bequeathed by the tenth Guru.
The Khalistan movement is a Sikh separatist movement seeking to create a separate country called Khalistān in the Punjab region as a homeland for Sikhs. The proposed country would consist of both the Punjab, India along with Punjab, Pakistan and include parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh in Pakistan; as well as Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and Rajasthan in India. According to Jagjit Singh Chohan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto the Prime Minister of Pakistan had proposed to make Nankana Sahib, as the capital of Khalistan during his talks with Chohan after the conclusion of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
The Partition of India of 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, India and Pakistan by an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. India is today the Republic of India; Pakistan is today the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The partition involved the division of two provinces, Bengal and Punjab, based on district-wise non-Muslim or Muslim majorities. The partition also saw the division of the British Indian Army, the Royal Indian Navy, the Indian Civil Service, the railways, and the central treasury. The partition was outlined in the Indian Independence Act 1947 and resulted in the dissolution of the British Raj, or Crown rule in India. The two self-governing countries of India and Pakistan legally came into existence at midnight on 15 August 1947.
India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions.
Jalandhar is a city in the Indian state of Punjab. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is 146 km northwest of Chandigarh, the state capital of Punjab and Haryana. Its name was rendered Jullundur during the British period.
Punjabi cuisine is a culinary style originating in the Punjab, a region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, which is now divided in an Indian part and a Pakistani part. This cuisine has a rich tradition of many distinct and local ways of cooking. One is a special form of tandoori cooking that is now famous in other parts of India, UK, Canada, Hong Kong and in many parts of the world.
The Punjabis or Punjabi people are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, presently divided between Punjab, India and Punjab, Pakistan. They speak Punjabi, a language from the Indo-Aryan language family. The name Punjab literally means the land of five waters in Persian: panj ("five") āb ("waters"). The name of the region was introduced by the Turko-Persian conquerors of the Indian subcontinent. The Punjabis are the 7th largest ethnic group in the world by total population.
Vaisakhi, also pronounced as Baisakhi is a historical and religious festival in Sikhism and Hinduism. It is usually celebrated on 13 or 14 April every year, and celebrates the start of the month of Vaisakha. For Sikhs, the day commemorates the formation of Khalsa panth of warriors under Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. For many Hindus, the holiday is known as Vaisakha Sankranti and celebrates the Solar new year, based on the Hindu Vikram Samvat calendar. Vaisakhi marks the first day of the month of Vaisakha. It is additionally a spring harvest festival for many Indians.
Captain Amarinder Singh is an Indian politician serving as the 15th and current Chief Minister of Punjab. An elected Member of the Legislative Assembly from Patiala, he was also the president of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, the state division of the Indian National Congress. He has also previously served as the Chief Minister of Punjab from 2002–2007. His father was the last Maharaja of the princely state of Patiala. He has also served in the Indian Army from 1963 to 1966. In 1980, he won a seat in the Lok Sabha for the first time. He currently also serves as the chairman of the Punjab Urdu Academy.
The Punjab Police is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the state of Punjab, India. Punjab Police has a broad array of specialized services, including the prevention and detection of crime, maintenance of law and order and the enforcement of the Constitution of India. Its headquarters are located at Jan Marg, Chandigarh. On September 7, 2011, Punjab Police started a video conferencing service to redress problems of NRIs. The present DGP of Punjab Police is Dinkar Gupta since February 7, 2019. He is an IPS officer of 1987 batch.
The University of Punjab, also referred to as Punjab University, is a public research university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. With multiple campuses in Gujranwala, Jhelum, and Khanspur, the university was formally established by the British Government after convening the first meeting for establishing higher education institutions in October 1882 at Simla. Punjab University was the fourth university to be established by the British colonial authorities in the Indian subcontinent; the first three universities were established in other parts of British India. There are 45,678 Students who attend the university, and Punjab University has a total of 13 faculties within which there are 83 academic departments, research centers, and institutes. Punjab University has ranked first among large-sized multiple faculty universities by the HEC in 2012. There are also two Nobel Laureates among the university's alumni and former staff. Additionally, the university is also a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities of the United Kingdom. In the recently issued rankings of Asian universities by QS World Universities Rankings, Punjab University jumped from the 232nd to 193rd position, improving its position by 39 places. Punjab University also ranks 251-300 in the subject of Agriculture and Forestry, 501-550 in the subject of Physics & Astronomy and 501-550 in the subject of Chemistry according to QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019.
Amritsar district is one of 22 districts located in the Majha region of the Indian state of Punjab. The city of Amritsar is the headquarters of this district.
Punjab was a province of British India. Most of the Punjab region was annexed by the East India Company in 1849, and was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British control. In 1858, the Punjab, along with the rest of British India, came under the direct rule of the British crown. The province comprised five administrative divisions, Delhi, Jullundur, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi and a number of princely states. In 1947, the partition of India led to the province being divided into East Punjab and West Punjab, in the newly independent dominions, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan respectively.
Jalandhar district is a district in Doaba region of the state of Punjab, India. District headquarters is Jalandhar city.
The Punjab Legislative Assembly or the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is the unicameral legislature of the state of Punjab in India. At present, it consists of 117 members, directly elected from 117 single-seat constituencies. The tenure of the Legislative Assembly is five years unless dissolved sooner. The current Speaker of the Assembly is Rana K. P. Singh. The meeting place of the Legislative Assembly since 6 March 1961 is the Vidhan Bhavan in Chandigarh.
Punjab is a state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir to the north, and the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast, and Rajasthan to the southwest. It is bordered by the Pakistani province of Punjab to the west. The state covers an area of 50,362 square kilometres, 1.53% of India's total geographical area. It is the 20th-largest Indian state by area. With 27,704,236 inhabitants at the 2011 census, Punjab is the 16th-largest state by population, comprising 22 districts. Punjabi is the most widely spoken and official language of the state. The main ethnic group are the Punjabis, with Sikhs (58%) and Hindus (38%). The state capital is Chandigarh, a Union Territory and also the capital of the neighbouring state of Haryana. The five tributary rivers of the Indus River from which the region took its name are Sutlej, Ravi, Beas, Chenab and Jhelum Rivers; Sutlej, Ravi and Beas are part of the Indian Punjab.
The first case of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic in Punjab was reported on 9 March 2020, originating from Italy. As of 21 April 2020, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has confirmed a total of 251 cases, including 16 deaths and 38 recoveries in the Punjab.
