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                PUNJAB TRAVEL GUIDE

                          AMRITSAR

Punjab is a state in northwest India. The Indian state borders the Pakistani province
of Punjab to the west, Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the
northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, Chandigarh to the southeast and
Rajasthan to the southwest. . Punjab's capital is Chandigarh, which is administered
separately as a Union Territory since it is also the capital of neighbouring Haryana.
Other major cities of Punjab include Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala. The
state is the location of one of the world's first and oldest civilizations, the Indus Valley
Civilization, India's first civilization.

The Indian Punjab historically forms a part of the larger Punjab region, which
includes some parts of Afghanistan, Pakistani province of Punjab and the North
West Frontier Province, the Indian states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, parts of
J&K and Delhi and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, and a small part of China.
Indian Punjab was trifurcated in the year 1966 leading to the formation of Haryana
and Himachal Pradesh.

The word "Punjab" is a combination of the Persian words 'panj' Water, giving the
literal meaning of the Land of the Five Rivers. The five rivers after which Punjab is
named are the Beas, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej; Agriculture is the largest
industry in Punjab. Others major industries include the manufacture of scientific
instruments, electrical goods, financial services, machine tools, textiles, sewing
machines, sports goods, starch, tourism, fertilizers, bicycles, garments, and the
processing of pine oil and sugar. Punjab is considered to have the best
infrastructure in India

The Indian state of Punjab was created in 1947, when the Partition of India split the
former Raj province of Punjab between India and Pakistan. The mostly Muslim
western part of the province became Pakistan's Punjab Province; the mostly Sikh
and Hindu eastern part became India's Punjab state. Many Hindus and Sikhs lived in
the west, and many Muslims lived in the east, and so the partition saw many people
displaced and much intercommunal violence. Several small Punjabi princely states,
including Patiala, also became part of India. In 1950, two separate states were
created; Punjab included of the former Raj province of Punjab, while the princely
states were combined into a new state, the Patiala and East Punjab States Union
(PEPSU). PEPSU consisted of the princely states of Patiala, Nabha, Jind,
Kapurthala, Malerkotla, Faridkot and Kalsia. Himachal Pradesh was created as a
union territory from several princely states and Kangra District. In 1956, PEPSU was
merged into Punjab state, and several northern districts of Punjab in the Himalayas
were added to Himachal Pradesh.

The capital of undivided Punjab province, Lahore, ended up in Pakistan after
partition, so a new capital for Indian Punjab state was built at Chandigarh. On
November 1, 1966, the mostly Hindu southeastern half of Punjab became a
separate state, Haryana. Chandigarh was on the border between the two states, and
became a separate union territory which serves as the capital of both Punjab and
Haryana. Chandigarh was due to transfer to Punjab alone in 1986, but the transfer
has been delayed pending an agreement on which parts of the Hindi speaking
areas of Abohar and Fazilka, currently part of Firozpur District of Punjab, should be
transferred to Haryana in exchange.


GENERAL INFORMATION


Time zone         IST (UTC+5:30)
Area                    50,362 kmē (19,445 sq mi)
Capital               Chandigarh
Largest city        Ludhiana
District(s)           20
Population         24,289,296 (15th)
Density               482/kmē (1,248/sq mi)
Language(s)      Punjabi