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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnala_district
Punjab
Punjab (pronounced /pndb/ ( listen); Punjabi: (Gurmukhi)) is a state in
northwest the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is
bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh 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 Chandigarh, which is administered separately as a Union Territory because it is also the
capital of Haryana. Major cities of Punjab includes Mohali, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Bathinda,
Patiala and Jalandhar. 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.
Agriculture is the largest industry in Punjab, it is the largest single provider of wheat to
India. Other major industries include the manufacturing of scientific instruments, water
meter, 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 also has the largest number of Steel Rolling Mill Plants in India which are
located in Steel Town Mandi Gobindgarh, District Fatehgarh Sahib.
Contents:- Etymology/ Geography/ Location/Climate and Temperature/ Wildlife/ History/
Ancient History/ Mughal Rule of Punjab/ Banda Singh Bahadur/ Sikh Misls/ The SikhEmpire/ The British in Punjab/ Independence and its /aftermath/ Formation of current
Punjab/Demographics/ Religion/ Language/ Education/ Economy/ Government and
politics/ Regions and Districts/ Administrative divisions/ Tourism/Transport/Digital
Library of Panjab/Culture/ Bhangra/ Punjabi Folklore
Etymology
The word Doab is a combination of the Indo-Iranian words Doab (two) and b (water), and
thus the (land of) two rivers.[2] The two rivers are the Beas and Sutlej. Sometimes, in
English, there can be a definite article before the name i.e. the Doaba.[3] The name is also
sometimes spelled as Duoab or Douaab or Doaab.
Geography
The geographical area of Punjab is 50,362 km2, in North-west of India. Its average elevation
is 300 m from the sea level. Most of the Punjab is a fertile, alluvial plain with many rivers
and an extensive irrigation canal system.[4] The southwest of the state is semi-arid,
eventually merging into the Thar Desert. The Siwalik Hills extends 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
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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. Zones II and III are referred to as Low Damage
Risk Zone while zone IV referred to as high damage risk zone.[5]
Location
Punjab extends from the latitudes 29.30 North to 32.32 North and longitudes 73.55 Eastto 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. Due to
the presence of a large number of rivers, most of the Punjab is a fertile plain. A belt of
undulating hills extends along the northeastern part of the state at the foot of the
Himalayas.
Climate and Temperature
Punjab is situated in the North-Western part of India. The Punjab Climate is determined by
the extreme hot and extreme cold conditions. The region lying near the foot hills of
Himalayas receive heavy rainfall whereas the region lying at a distant from the hills, the
rainfall is scanty and the temperature is high. Punjabs climate comprises three seasons.
They are the summer months that spans from mid April to the end of June. The rainy
season in Punjab is from the months of early July to end of September. The winter season in
Punjab is experienced during the months of early December to the end of February. The
transitional Seasons in Punjab are the post monsoon season and the post winter season.
The temperature range in Punjab is from 2 to 40 C (min/max), but can reach 47 C (117
F) in summer and4 C in winter. Climatically, Punjab has three major seasons as under:[4]
* Hot weather (April to June) when temperature rises as high as 110 F.
* Rainy season (July to September). Average rainfall annual ranges between 960 mm sub-
mountain region and 460 mm in the plains.
* Cold weather (October to March). Temperature goes down as low as 40 F.
Wildlife
Male and female Blackbucks
The Sivalik area is the richest area of Punjab in terms of floral and faunal diversity and hasbeen identified as one of the micro-endemic zones of India. Amongst the Angiosperms,
about 355 species of herbs, 70 tree species, 70 species of shrubs or under shrubs, 19 of
climbers and 21 species of twiners have been recorded from the area. Apart from
angiosperms, 31 species of Pteridophytes, 27 of bryophytes and one species of
gymnosperms (Pinus roxburghii) have also been recorded. The area is also rich in faunal
diversity including 396 species of birds, 214 species of Lepidoptera, 55 species of fish, 20
species of reptiles, and 19 species of mammals.[6]
There are no natural forests in the plains; extensive tracts occur covered only with grass,
shrubs and bushes. The mango fruit is largely cultivated in the south-east of the Punjab and
attains a high degree of perfection about Multan and Hoshiarpur. Cultivated fruit trees,
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such as orange, pomegranate, apple, peach, fig, mulberry, quince, apricot, almond, and
plum are abundant in the region.[7]
There are a number of wetlands, bird sanctuaries and zoological parks across Punjab. These
include the Hari-Ke-Pattan National Wetland and Wildlife Sanctuary at Harike in Firozepur
District, the Kanjli Wetland, the Kapurthala Sutlej Water Body Wetland, the Ropar
Zoological Park, Chhatbir, Bansar Garden, Sangrur, the Aam Khas Bagh, Sirhind, the RamBagh Garden Amritsar, the Shalimar Garden, Kapurthala and the Baradari Garden at
Patiala.[8]
Alligators are also commonly found in local rivers. The silkworm is reared with great skill
and industry, and bees produce abundant wax and honey. Camels thrive in the hot
southern plains, and herds of buffaloes on the grazing lands adjoining the rivers. Horses are
reared in the north-east part of the Punjab.[7] Among poisonous snakes there are the cobra
and the sangehur, the bite of which causes instant death. Other mammals like the smooth-
coated otter, hog deer, wild boar, flying fox, wildcat, squirrel, fruitbat, and mongoose can
be seen in the wild and in reserves.
The state bird of Punjab is the Baz (Eastern Goshawk)[9] (Melierax poliopterus),[10] the
state animal is the Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), and the state tree is the Shisham
(Dalbergia sissoo).[4]
History
Main article: History of the Punjab
Ancient History
Indus Valley Civilization spanned around much of the Punjab region with cities such as
Harrapa (modern-day Punjab, Pakistan) and Ropar (modern-day Punjab, India). 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.Due to its location, the Punjab region came under constant attack and influence from the
west. Punjab faced invasions by the Persians, Greeks, Scythians, Turks, and Afghans. This
resulted in the Punjab witnessing centuries of bitter bloodshed. Its legacy is a unique
culture that combines Zorastrian, Hindu, Buddhist, Persian, Central Asian, Islamic, Afghan,
Sikh and British elements.
The city of Taxila, founded by son of Taksh the son Bharat who was the brother of Ram. It
was reputed to house the oldest university in the world, Takshashila University, one of the
teachers was the great Vedic thinker and politician Chanakya. Taxila was a great centre of
learning and intellectual discussion during the Maurya Empire. It is a UN World Heritage
site.
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those of Alexander the Great, Chengiz Khan and Tamerlane. Of particular importance were
the periods of contact between Punjab and various Persian Empires when the parts of it
either became integrated with the empire itself, or was an autonomous region which paid
taxes to the Persian King. In later centuries, when Persian was the language of the Mughal
government, Persian architecture, poetry, art and music was an integral part of the region's
culture. The official language of Punjab remained Persian until the arrival of the British inthe mid 19th century, where it was finally abolished and the administrative language was
changed over to English.
Mughal Rule of Punjab
The Mughals controlled the region from 1524 until 1739 and would also lavish the province
with building projects such as the Shalimar Gardens and the Badshahi Mosque, both
situated in Lahore. Muslim soldiers, traders, architects, theologians and Sufis flocked from
the rest of the Muslim world to the Islamic Sultanate in South Asia and some may have
settled in the Punjab. Following the decline of the Mughals, the Shah of Iran and founder of
the Afsharid dynasty in Persia, Nader Shah crossed the Indus and sacked the province in
1739. Later, the Afghan conqueror Ahmad Shah Durrani, incidentally born in Panjab, in the
city of Multan made the Punjab a part of his Durrani Empire lasting until 1762.
The religion of Sikhism began at the time of the Conquest of Northern India by Babur. His
grandson, Akbar supported religious freedom and after visiting the langar of Guru Amar Das
had a favorable impression of Sikhism. As a result of his visit he donated land to the langar
and had a positive relationship with the Sikh Gurus until his death in 1605.[11] His
successor, Jahangir, saw the Sikhs as a political threat. He arrested Guru Arjun Dev because
of Sikh support for Khusrau Mirza[12] and ordered him to be put to death by torture. Guru
Arjan Dev's Martyrdom led to the sixth Guru, Guru Har Gobind, declaring Sikh sovereignty
in the creation of the Akal Takht and the establishment of a fort to defend Amritsar.[13]
Jahangir attempted to assert authority over the Sikhs by jailing Guru Har Gobind at Gwalior
and released him after a number of years when he no longer felt threatened. Sikhism did
not have any further issues with the Mughal Empire until the death of Jahangir in 1627. His
successor, Shah Jahan "took offense" at Guru Har Gobind's sovereignty and after a series ofassaults on Amritsar forced the Sikhs to retreat to the Sivalik Hills.[13] Guru Har Gobind's
successor, Guru Har Rai maintained the guruship in the Sivalik Hills by defeating local
attempts to seize Sikh land and taking a neutral role in the power struggle between
Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh for control of the Timurid dynasty. The ninth Guru, Guru Tegh
Bahadur, moved the Sikh community to Anandpur and traveled extensively to visit and
preach in Sikh communities in defiance Aurangzeb, who attempted to install Ram Rai to the
guruship. He aided Kashmiri Brahmins in avoiding conversion to Islam and was arrested and
confronted by Aurangzeb. When offered a choice between conversion or death, he chose to
die rather than compromise his principles and was executed.[14] Guru Gobind Singh,
assumed the guruship in 1675 and to avoid battles with Sivalik Hill Rajas moved the gurship
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to Paunta. He built a large fort to protect the city and garrisoned an army to protect it. The
growing power of the Sikh community alarmed Sivalik Hill Rajas who attempted to attack
the city but the Guru's forces routed them at the Battle of Bhangani. He moved on to
Anandpur and established the Khalsa, a collective army of baptized Sikhs, on March 30,
1699. The establishment of the Khalsa united the Sikh community against various Mughal-
backed claimants to the guruship.[15] In 1701, a combined army composed of the SivalikHill Rajas and the Mughal army under Wazir Khan attacked Anandpur and, following a
retreat by the Khalsa, were defeated by the Khalsa at the Battle of Mukstar. In 1707, Guru
Gobind Singh accepted an invitation by Bahadur Shah I, Aurangzeb's successor to meet in
southern India. When he arrived in Nanded in 1708, he was assassinated by agents of Wazir
Khan, the governor of Sirhind.
Banda Singh Bahadur
Banda Singh Bahadur was an ascetic who converted to Sikhism after meeting Guru Gobind
Singh at Nanded. A short time before his death, Guru Gobind Singh ordered him to
reconquer Punjab and gave him a letter that commanded all Sikhs to join him. After two
years of gaining supporters, Banda Singh Bahadur initiated an agrarian uprising by breaking
up the large estates of Zamindar families and distributing the land to the poor Sikh,
Hindu,and Muslim peasants who farmed the land.[16] Banda Singh Bahadur started his
rebellion with the defeat of Mughal armies at Samana and Sadhaura and the rebellion
culminated in the defeat of Sirhind. During the rebellion, Banda Singh Bahadur made a
point of destroying the cities in which Mughals had been cruel to Sikhs, including executing
Wazir Khan in revenge for the deaths of Guru Gobind Singh's sons after the Sikh victory at
Sirhind.[17] He ruled the territory between the Sutlej river and the Yamuna river
established a capital in the Himalayas at Lohgarh and struck coinage in the names of Guru
Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh.[16] In 1716, his army was defeated by the Mughals after he
attempted to defend his fort at Gurdas Nangal. He was captured along with 700 of his men
and sent to Delhi where he was tortured and executed after refusing to convert to Islam.
Sikh Misls
Main article: Sikh ConfederacyMaharaja Ranjit Singh in 1829
The period from 1716 to 1799 was a highly turbulent time politically and militarily in the
Punjab. This was caused by the overall decline of the Mughal Empire.[18] This left a power
vacuum that was eventually filled by the Sikhs in the late 18th century, after fighting off
local Mughal remnants and allied Rajput leaders, Afghans, and occasionally hostile Punjabi
Muslims who sided with other Muslim forces. Sikh warlords eventually formed their own
independent Sikh administrative regions (misls), which were united in large part by Ranjit
Singh.
The Sikh Empire
Main article: Sikh Empire
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Sikh Empire
At the beginning of the fifteenth century, the religion of Sikhism was born, and during the
Mughal period gradually emerged as a formidable military force until subjugated and
assimilated by the later rising and expanding Sikh Empire. After fighting Ahmad Shah
Durrani, the Sikhs wrested control of the Punjab from his descendants and ruled in a
confederacy, which later became the Sikh Empire of the Punjab under Maharaja RanjitSingh. A denizen of the city of Gujranwala, the capital of Ranjit Singh's empire was
Lahore.[19]
The Sikh Empire (18011849) was formed on the foundations of the Punjabi Army by
Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The empire extended from the Khyber Pass in the west, to Kashmir
in the north, to Sindh in the south, and Tibet in the east. The main geographical footprint of
the empire was the Punjab region. The religious demography of the Sikh Empire was
Muslim (80%), Sikh (10%), Hindu (10%).[20]
The foundations of the Sikh Empire could be defined as early as 1707, starting from the
death of Aurangzeb and the downfall of the Mughal Empire. The fall of the Mughal Empire
provided opportunities for the army, known as the Dal Khalsa, to lead expeditions against
the Mughals and Afghans. This led to a growth of the army, which was split into different
Punjabi armies and then semi-independent "misls". Each of these component armies were
known as a misl, each controlling different areas and cities. However, in the period from
17621799, Sikh rulers of their misls appeared to be coming into their own. The formal
start of the Sikh Empire began with the disbandment of the Punjab Army by the time of
coronation of Ranjit Singh in 1801, creating a unified political state. All the misl leaders who
were affiliated with the Army were nobility with usually long and prestigious family
histories in Punjab's history.[21][22]
Dalip Singh, the last Maharaja of Punjab.
The golden throne of Maharaja Ranjit Singh
After Ranjit Singh's death in 1839, the empire was severely weakened by internal divisions
and political mismanagement. This opportunity was used by the British Empire to launch
the Anglo-Sikh Wars. A series of events of the Sikhs being betrayed by some prominentleaders in the army led to its downfall. Maharaja Gulab Singh and Raja Dhian Singh, were
Hindu Rajput Dogras from Jammu, and top Generals of the army.[23][24]
The Sikh Empire was finally dissolved after a series of wars with the British at the end of the
Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849 into separate princely states and the British province of
Punjab, which were granted statehood. Eventually, a Lieutenant Governorship was formed
in Lahore as a direct representative of the British Crown.
The British in Punjab
By 1845 the British had moved 32,000 troops to the Sutlej frontier, to secure their
northernmost possessions against the succession struggles in the Punjab. In late 1845,
British and Sikh troops engaged near Ferozepur, beginning the First Anglo-Sikh War. The
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war ended the following year, and the territory between the Sutlej and the Beas was ceded
to Great Britain, along with Kashmir, which was sold to Gulab Singh of Jammu, who ruled
Kashmir as a British vassal.
The Maharaja's death in the summer of 1839 brought political chaos and the subsequent
battles of succession and the bloody infighting between the factions at court weakened the
state. Relationships with neighbouring British territories then broke down, starting the FirstAnglo-Sikh War; this led to a British official being resident in Lahore and the annexation of
territory south of the Satluj to British India. Sikhs were the first people of the Punjab to rule
their own land since Prithviraj Chauhan's defeat.
As a condition of the peace treaty, some British troops, along with a resident political agent
and other officials, were left in the Punjab to oversee the regency of Maharaja Dhalip Singh,
a minor. The Sikh army was reduced greatly in size. In 1848, out-of-work Sikh troops in
Multan revolted, and a British official was killed. Within a few months, the unrest had
spread throughout the Punjab, and British troops once again invaded. The British prevailed
in the Second Anglo-Sikh War, and under the Treaty of Lahore in 1849, the Punjab was
annexed by the British East India Company, and Dhalip Singh was pensioned off. The Punjab
became a province of British India, although a number of small states, most notably Patiala,
retained local rulers who recognized British sovereignty.
In every way, the Punjab was one of Great Britain's most important assets in colonial India.
Its political and geographic predominance gave Britain a base from which to project its
power over more than 500 princely states that made up India. Lahore was a center of
learning and culture under British rule, and Rawalpindi became an important Army
installation.
The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of 1919 occurred in Amritsar. In 1930, the Indian National
Congress proclaimed independence from Lahore. The 1940 Lahore Resolution of the
Muslim League to work for Pakistan, made Punjab the centerstage of a different, bloodier
and dirtier struggle.
In 1946, massive communal tensions and violence erupted between the majority Muslims
of Punjab, and the Hindu and Sikh minorities. The Muslim League attacked the governmentof Unionist Punjabi Muslims, Sikh Akalis and the Congress, and led to its downfall. Unwilling
to be cowed down, Sikhs and Hindus counter-attacked and the resulting bloodshed left the
province in great disorder. Both Congress and League leaders agreed to partition Punjab
upon religious lines, a precursor to the wider partition of the country. The British Punjab
province, which includes present-day Punjab province of Pakistan, and the Indian states of
Punjab, Haryana, Himachal pradesh was partitioned in 1947 prior to the independence of
Pakistan and subsequently, India.
Independence and its aftermath
British Punjab Province,before 1947
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In 1947 the Punjab province of British India was divided along religious lines into West
Punjab and East Punjab. The western Punjab was assimilated into new country of Pakistan
while the east Punjab stayed in India. This led to massive rioting as both sides committed
atrocities against fleeing refugees. The Partition of India in 1947 split the former Raj
province of Punjab; the mostly Muslim western part became the Pakistani province of West
Punjab and the mostly Sikh and Hindu eastern part became the Indian province of Punjab.Many Sikhs and Hindus lived in the west, and many Muslims lived in the east, and so
partition saw many people displaced and much intercommunal violence. Several small
Punjabi princely states, including Patiala, also became part of India. The undivided Punjab,
of which Punjab (Pakistan) forms a major region today, was home to a large minority
population of Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus unto 1947 apart from the Muslim majority.[25]
At the time of independence in 1947 and due to the ensuing horrendous exchange of
populations, the Punjabi Sikhs and Hindus migrated to India.[26] Punjabi Muslims were
uprooted similarly from their homes in East Punjab which now forms part of India.[27]
Approximately 7 million plus who moved to Pakistan, over 6 million settled in Punjab. In
1950, two new states were created; the former Raj province became the state of Punjab,
while the princely states were combined into the Patiala and East Punjab States Union
(PEPSU). 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 transferred to Himachal Pradesh.
Formation of current Punjab
The capital of the undivided Province of Punjab, Lahore, ended up in Pakistan after
partition, so a new capital for Indian Punjab was built at Chandigarh.
After years of struggle by the Akali leadership(Punjabi Suba Movement) and detention of
thousands of Sikhs and loss of many lives Punjab was divided on a linguistic basis. On 1
November 1966, the majority Hindi-speaking southern half of Punjab became a separate
state, Haryana. Chandigarh was on the border between the two states, and became a
separate union territory but serves as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana. Chandigarh
was due to transfer to Punjab in 1986, but this has been delayed due to Indiangovernment's appeasement of neighbouring Hindu majority Haryana. During the 1970s, the
Green Revolution brought increased economic prosperity for the Punjab, mainly due to the
late Sikh leader, Pratap Singh Kairon. However, a growing polarisation between the Indian
National Congress led central government and the main Sikh political party, the Shiromani
Akali Dal, began to widen during the 1970s. Hostility and bitterness arose from what was
widely seen by the Sikhs as increasing alienation, centralization and discriminatory attitudes
towards Punjab by the Government of India. This prompted the Shiromani Akali Dal to
unanimously pass the Anandpur Sahib Resolution which among other things called for
granting maximum autonomy to the region of Punjab and other states, and limited the role
and powers of the Central Government.
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Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Punjab (India)
Religion "PUNJAB" Religion No. of people[28] % of total
Total population 24358999[29] 100%
Sikhs 16,656,345 63.60%
Hindus 7,997,942 34.00%Muslims 382,045 1.57 %
Christians 292,800 1.20 %
Buddhists 41,487 0.17 %
Jains 39,276 0.16 %
Others 8,594 0.04 %
Population Growth
Census Pop. %
1951 9,161,000
1961 11,135,000 21.5%
1971 13,551,000 21.7%
1981 16,788,915 23.9%
1991 20,281,969 20.8%
2001 24,289,296 19.8%
source:Census of India[30][31]The Indian state of Punjab is 66% Sikh and 31% Hindu. There is a small Muslim population
still living there, especially in Malerkotla.[28] In recent times, there is growing concern in
the state about the immigration of labourers from other Indian states such as Orissa, Uttar
Pradesh and Bihar. Around 15-20% of Punjab's population is now made up of migrants from
other states. The literacy rate in Punjab is 75%, male literacy being 80.23% and female
literacy is 68.36%. Being an agricultural state, a large part of the population lives in the rural
area. Approx. 66% of people live in rural areas while the rest 34% is urban resident. The
state has a very skewed sex ratio, according to the 2001 census there are 876 females per1000 males in Punjab.
Religion
See also: Sikhism
Sikh Flag- The Nishan Sahib
Sikhism is the predominant faith in Punjab. More than 60% of the people in the state are
Sikhs, while the remaining population mostly follow a dual religious traditions, believing in
Sikhism along with their major faith [citation needed]. The holiest of Sikh shrines, the Sri
Harmandir Sahib Ji (or Golden Temple), is in the city of Amritsar. The Sri Akal Takht Sahib
which resides within the Golden temple complex is the temporal seat of Sikhs. Of the five
Takhts (Temporal Seats of religious authority) of Sikhism, three are in Punjab. These are Sri
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Akal Takht Sahib, Damdama Sahib and Anandpur Sahib. Anandpur Sahib is where Guru
Gobind Singh Ji created the Khalsa in 1699 on the day of Vaisakhi. During major holidays on
the Sikh calendar (such as Vaisakhi, Hola Mohalla, Gurpurb and Diwali), many Sikhs gather
and march in religious processions through virtually every city, town and village in Punjab.
Sikhism is in fact so common that at least one Sikh Gurdwara can be found in almost every
village in the state beside towns and cities (in various architectural styles and sizes).Hinduism has a large following in Punjab and is the second most practiced faith in Punjab. A
large segment of Punjabis who are now categorized as Hindus or who identify themselves
as Punjabi Hindus, continue to live out heterogeneous religious practice that includes
spiritual kinship with Sikhism. This not only includes veneration of the Sikh Gurus in private
practice, but also visit to Sikh Gurdwaras as well as Hindu temples. This is evident from the
continuing propensity to conduct important life cycle ceremonies such as on marriage or
death by any of the Hindu or Sikh rites. This is especially true for the Khatri and Arora
communities, and even more so among the Kukhrain tribe.Punjabi Hindus go to Hindu
temples for worship. In addition to that, they also believe in Sikh Gurus and liberal Sufi
saints. It is also very common for Hindus to worship at the Gurudwara. Other religions like
Islam(1.5%) and Christianity(1.2%) are also followed by few people in the state,beside
Buddhism(0.2%) and Jainism(0.2%).
Station sign in the Latin and Gurmukhi scripts
Language
See also: Punjabi Language
See also: Gurmukhi
The Punjabi language, written in the Gurmukhi script, is the only official and most
commonly used language in the state.[32] The language is now popular across India and the
wider world due to large scale migration of Punjabis[33] and the rich Punjabi music.Punjabi
has always been an integral part of Indian Bollywood cinema. In recent years a trend of
Bollywood songs written totally in Punjabi can be observed. Punjabi is also the most spoken
language in Pakistan and is the provincial language of Punjab (Pakistan), the second largest
and the most populous province of Pakistan. It is also the second official language in theIndian states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the National capital of Delhi.[34]
Apart from India and Pakistan, Punjabi is the second most spoken language in England[35]
and fourth most spoken language in Canada according to official census.[36] Among the
world languages, Punjabi is the 11th most spoken language in the world.[37] The major
dialects of Punjabi spoken in Punjab are Majhi, Malwi, Pwadhi and Doabi.[37]
Other languages common in Punjab are English, Hindi, Urdu (mainly in Malerkotla) and
Bihari languages.[38]
Education
The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research
The Ranjit Singh Block at Guru Nanak Dev University
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Guru Gobind Singh Bhawan at Punjabi University
Main article: Education in Punjab (India)
Punjab is served by several institutions of higher education, which provide undergraduate
and postgraduate courses in all the major arts, humanities, science, engineering, law,
medicine, veterinary science, and business courses. Punjab Agricultural University is a
leading institution globally for the study of agriculture, and played a significant role inPunjab's Green Revolution in the 1960s-70s. Among the alumni of the Panjab University,
Chandigarh include Manmohan Singh, the current Prime Minister of India, and Har Gobind
Khorana, a biochemistry nobel laureate. One of the oldest institutions of higher education
is the Christian Medical College, Ludhiana which has existed since 1894.
* Aryabhatta group of institutes, Barnala
* Adesh Institute of Engineering and Technology, Faridkot
* Central University of Punjab, Bathinda
* Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar
* Punjabi University, Patiala
* Panjab University, Chandigarh
* Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh
* Chitkara Institute Of Engineering And Technology, Rajpura
* Lala Lajpat Rai Institute of Engineering and Technology(LLRIET), Moga
* Giani Zail Singh College of Engineering and Technology, Bathinda
* Shaheed Bhagat Singh College of Engineering and Technology, Ferozepur
* Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana
* Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
* Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar
* Desh Bhagat Institute of Engineering and Management, Moga
* Swami Vivekanand Institute of Engineering and Technology, SVIET, Rajpura
* Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot
* Regional Institute of Management and Technology, Fatehgarh Sahib
* Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana* National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Mohali
* Dr B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar
* Thapar University, Patiala
* Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala
* Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology, Sangrur
* Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Rupnagar
* Lovely Professional University, Phagwara
Economy
Main article: Economy of Punjab (India)
PCA Stadium under lights
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Quark, Mohali
According to the India State Hunger Index 2008, Punjab has the lowest level of hunger in
India. .[40]
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.[41]Punjab has the best infrastructure in all of India[42][43] 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".[44] It produces 14% of India's cotton, 20% of India's wheat, and 9%
of India's rice.The Firozpur District is 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.[44] 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.[45][46]
Excluding agriculture other major industries include the manufacture of scientific
instruments, electrical goods, machine tools, textiles, tourism, sewing machines, sports
goods, starch, fertilizers, bicycles, and the processing of pine oil and sugar.
Government and politicsMain articles: Government of Punjab (India), Politics of Punjab (India), and List of districts of
Punjab (India)
Each of the states of India possesses a parliamentary system of government, with a
ceremonial state Governor, appointed by the President of India on the advice of the central
government. The head of government is an indirectly-elected Chief Minister who is vested
with most of the executive powers. The state legislature is the unicameral Punjab
Legislative Assembly, with 117 members elected from single-seat constituencies. The
capital of Punjab is Chandigarh which also serves as the capital of Haryana, and is thus
administered separately as a Union Territory of India. The judicial branch of the state
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government is provided by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh.[47] The state
of Punjab is divided into four administrative divisions and twenty districts:
Regions and Districts
Districts of Punjab along with their headquarters
The area of Punjab can be divided into:
* Malwa is a region of Punjab and parts of Haryana between the Sutlej and Yamunarivers. People of Malwa are known for being great fighters, and warriors. The Malwa area
makes up majority of the Punjab region consisting 11 districts. Cities such as Ludhiana,
Patiala, Bhatinda and Mohali located in the Malwa region.
* Majha is a historical region of the Indian Punjab comprising the modern districts of
Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran. It lies between two of the five great rivers of the
Punjab: the Ravi and the Sutlej. This region is also celebrated as being the 'Cradle of
Sikhism'.
* Doaba is the region of Indian Punjab surrounded by the rivers Beas and Sutlej. The
name "Doaba" literally translates to "land of 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 are Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Adampur, Nawansher and Phagwara.
Administrative divisions
The Indian state of Punjab is divided as follows:
* Ferozepur Division
* Jalandhar Division
* Faridkot Division
* Patiala Division
* Ropar Division
Each division contains several districts. The state of Punjab has 20 districts which comprise
of sub-divisions, tehsils & blocks. Punjab has 20 districts:
Districts:
* Amritsar * Barnala * Bathinda * Firozpur * Fatehgarh Sahib * Faridkot * Gurdaspur *Hoshiarpur * Jalandhar
* Kapurthala * Ludhiana* Mansa* Moga * Mohali * Muktsar * Patiala* 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. 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.
Tourism
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Main article: Tourism in Punjab, India
Moti Bagh Palace in Patiala
Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar is a major tourist destination in Punjab
Tourism in Indian Punjab centres around the historic palaces, battle sites, great Sikh
architecture of the state and the surrounding region. Examples include various sites of the
Indus Valley Civilization, the ancient fort of Bathinda, the architectural monuments ofKapurthala, Patiala, and Chandigarh, the modern capital designed by Le Corbusier.[48] The
Golden Temple in Amritsar is one of the major tourist destination of Punjab and indeed
India, attracting more visitors than the Taj Mahal, Lonely Planet Bluelist 2008 has voted the
Harmandir Sahib as one of the worlds best spiritual sites.*49+ Moreover, there is a rapidly
expanding array of international hotels in the holy city that can be booked for overnight
stays.
Transport
Infrastructure of Punjab has been rated the best in India. Public transport in Punjab is
provided by buses, auto rickshaws and Indian railways.The state has a large network of
multimodal transportation system:
Air
Punjab has six airports . Domestic airports are at Ludhiana, Patiala, Pathankot, Mohali.
International airport, Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar is the largest
and most important airport in the state and is also the second busiest in North India after
Delhi Airport. Prominent Airports in Punjab are:
* Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport
* Sahnewal Airport
* Pathankot Airport
* Patiala Airport
* Chandigarh Airport
Rail
Almost all the major as well as smaller cities of the state are linked through railways.
Amritsar is the largest railway station having trains connecting to all major cities. ShatabdiExpress connects Amritsar to Delhi. The railway junction in Bhatinda is the largest in asia.
A DMU Train in Ludhiana
Road
All the cities ans towns of Punjab are connected with four lane roads, National Highway.
The Grand Trunk Road also called as NH1 connect Calcutta to Peshawar passing through
Jalandhar and Amritsar. Another major National Highway connect Punjab to Jammu passing
through Hoshiarpur and Pathankot. The state road conditions are the finest in India. The
national Highways passing through the state is ranked the best in the country with road
networks widely spread,covering isolated towns as well as border region.
The following National Highways connect major towns, cities and villages:
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National Highway 1 (India) National Highway 10 (India) National Highway 15 (India)
National Highway 1A (India) National Highway 20 (India) National Highway 21 (India)
National Highway 22 (India) National Highway 64 (India) National Highway 70 (India)
National Highway 71 (India) National Highway 95 (India)
Digital Library of Panjab
Launched in 2003 under Nanakshahi Trust, the Panjab Digital Library was a result of theearly phase of the digital revolution in Panjab. While most saw the Nanakshahi as a small
digitization organization, or as an assemblage of some unknown youth working towards
capturing some manuscripts on their digital cameras, its founders saw it as a cornerstone of
a fundamentally new approach to preserving Panjabs heritage for future generations. In
the shadow of search engines, a Semantic Web approach thought of in the early 2003
reached maturity in 2006. This was when the organization planned to expand its operations
from a mere three employee organization to one of the leading NGOs working in the field
of digital preservation all over India.
Digitized collections include manuscripts held by the Punjab Languages Department, items
from the Government Museum and Art Gallery Chandigarh, Chief Khalsa Diwan, SGPC,
DSGMC and manuscripts in the Jawahr Lal Nehru Library of Kurukshetra University. It also
include hundreds of personal collections. With over 5 million pages digitized it is the biggest
repository of digital data on Panjab.
Culture
Main article: Punjabi culture
The culture of the Punjab comprises many elements including music such as bhangra, an
extensive religious and non-religious dance tradition, a long history of poetry in the Punjabi
language, a significant film industry which dates back to before Partition, a vast range of
cuisine which has become widely popular abroad, and a number of seasonal and harvest
festivals such as Lohri,[50] Basant, Baisakhi and Teej, all of which are celebrated in addition
to the religious festivals of India.
A kissa is a Punjabi language oral story-telling tradition that has a mixture of origins ranging
from the Arabian peninsula to Iran and Afghanistan.[51]Punjabi wedding traditions and ceremonies are a strong reflection of Punjabi culture.
Marriage ceremonies are known for their rich rituals, songs, dances, food and dresses,
which have evolved over many centuries.
Bhangra
Bhangra concert
Bhangra (Punjabi: (Gurmukhi),; pronounced [p +) is a form of dance and music
that originated in the Punjab region.[52] Bhangra dance began as a folk dance conducted byPunjabi Sikh farmers to celebrate the coming of the harvest season. The specific moves of
Bhangra reflect the manner in which villagers farmed their land. This hybrid dance became
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Bhangra. The folk dance has been popularised in the western world by Punjabi Sikhs in
England, UK[53] and is seen in the West as an expression of South Asian culture as a
whole.[54] Today, Bhangra dance survives in different forms and styles all over the globe
including pop music, film soundtracks, collegiate competitions and cultural shows.
Punjabi Folklore
Main article: Punjabi folkloreThe folk heritage of the Punjab is the traditional urge of thousands of years of its history.
While Majhi is considered the standard dialect of Punjabi language, there are a number of
local dialects through which the people communicate. These include Majhi, Malwi, Doabi,
and Pwadhi. The songs, ballads, epics and romances are generally written and sung in these
dialects.
There are a number of folk tales that are popular in different parts of the Punjab. These are
the folk tales of Mirza Sahiban, Heer Ranjha, Sohni Mahiwal, Dulla Bhatti, and Sassi Punnun.
The mystic folk songs includes the Shalooks of Gurbani by Guru Nanak, Baba Farid and
others. They also include Baits, Dohas, Lohris, Sehra, and Jugni.[55]
The most famous of the romantic love songs are Mayhiah, Dhola and Boliyan. Punjabi
romantic dances include Dhamaal, Bhangra, Giddha, Dhola, and Sammi.
Amritsar district
Amritsar district is one of 20 districts in the state of Punjab in West India. It has a
population of 3,074,207 (2001 Indian census) and covers an area of 5075 km. The city of
Amritsar is headquarters of this district.
Contents:- History/District administration
History
During British Rule Amritsar was part of Lahore Division and was administratively
subdivided into 3 tehsils namely - Amritsar, and Ajnala. Tarn Taran has itself formed into a
district headquarters.[1] However as part of the partition of India in 1947 Amritsar district
was separated from the rest of the division and awarded to India. During the partition
period, the Muslim population of the district, some 46%, left for Pakistan while Hindus and
Sikhs from Pakistan migrated in the opposite direction.District administration
* The Deputy Commissioner, an officer belonging to the Indian Administrative Service is
in charge of general administration of the district. He is generally a middle-level IAS officer
of Punjab Cadre. As the District Magistrate, he also effectively the head of the police force.
* Administration of departments such as public works, health, education, agriculture,
animal husbandry, etc is headed by district officers who belong to various Punjab state
services.
* The Senior Superintendent of Police, an officer belonging to the Indian Police Service is
responsible for maintaining law and order in the district. He is assisted by officers of the
Punjab Police Service and other Punjab Police officials.
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* The Divisional Forest Officer, an officer belonging to the Indian Forest Service is
responsible for the management of forests and wildlife in the district. He is assisted by
officers of the Punjab Forest Service, other Punjab Forest officials and Punjab Wildlife
officials.
* A Municipal corporation is responsible for the management of public works and health
systems in the city of Amritsar. The municipal corporation is a democratic body ofcouncilors and is presided over by the Mayor, who is elected by the councilors. At present,
there are more than 70 councilors.
* The state government's department of Town and Country Planning has a district level
office of District Town Planning. Since the formation of this office, the city has not received
a comprehensive development plan[citation needed]. Amritsar has been selected by the
government of India recently to receive Rs. 1000 Crore in development assistance over the
next few years
Amritsar (Punjabi: IPA: [mts], also colloquially known as ,
ambarsar) is a city in the northwestern part of India and is the administrative headquarters
of Amritsar district Langar in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the
population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering just
over 3,695,077. Amritsar is situated 217 kilometres (135 mi) northwest of state capital
Chandigarh and is 32 kilometres (20 mi) east of Lahore, Pakistan and therefore, very close
to India's western border with Pakistan.
A typical chilly Amritsar morningIt is home to the Harmandir Sahib, known as the Golden Temple, the spiritual and cultural
center of the Sikh religion. This important Sikh shrine attracts more visitors than the Taj
Mahal in Agra as it has more than 100,000 visitors on week days alone and is the number
one destination for non-resident-Indians (NRI) in the whole of India.[1] The city boasts of
being the main centre of Sikhs' cultural, religious and political history. Amritsar is also
known for the incidents of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in 1919 under British Rule and
Operation Bluestar in 1984 under the late Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. The main
commercial activities include tourism, carpets and fabrics, farm produce, handicrafts,
service trades and light engineering. The city is known for its food and culture. Amritsar is
also home to Central Khalsa Orphanage, which was once a home for Shaheed Udham Singh,
a prominent figure in the Indian independence movement.
Contents:- History/Partition of 1947/Gallery/Massacres in the holy city of
Amritsar/Jallianwala Bagh Massacre/ Operation bluestar/Modern Amritsar/Geography
and climate/Demographics/Transport/Air/Rail/Road
HistoryAmritsar city is one of the cities of the Punjab state in India. This city was founded by Guru
Ram Das in 1574 on land bought by him for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of
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Tung. Earlier Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of
Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before
1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to this place. At that time, it
was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das).
Since then this city has been known as Amritsar (after the name of the sarovar). The first
stone of the foundation of the Darbar Sahib is said to have been laid by Sain Mian MirSahib, a Muslim saint from Punjab, at Guru Arjun Dev's request. A story in Sikh lore tells of a
mason who then corrected the stone's alignment and was chided by Guru Arjun Dev for
doing so with the Saint stating that the re-alignment was symbolic of the complex being
continually attacked and rebuilt. Masons worked on laying the foundation on January 3,
1588.
Sant Mian Mir was very friendly with Guru Arjun Dev and tried to intercede to prevent the
Guru's subsequent torture and death at the hands of the Emperor Jahangir. He continued
to be a friend of the next Guru, Guru Hargobind, and again worked on attaining his freedom
when he was held for some time at Gwalior Fort. In 1590, Guru Arjun Dev moved to the
village of Wadali where Guru Hargobind was born on June 19, 1590.
By 1601, the Darbar Sahib was fully ready and on August 16, 1604 the first volume of the
Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scriptures, was prepared and installed in the Darbar Sahib at
Amitsar.
It is here that the Akal Takht (The throne of immortality, lit. the never ending throne) the
seat of Sikh political power was built by Guru Hargobind in 1609. Two flags representing
temporal and spiritual authority and Sikh sovereignty were set up in front of the Akal Takht.
Here Guru Hargobind wore two swords of Miri and Piri (temporal and transcendental
authority).
On April 13, 1634, the Mughal army attacked Guru Hargobind here. From 1635 to 1698,
Amritsar remained in the control of the Mina family (descendants of Pirthi Chand). Guru
Tegh Bahadur visited the town on November 23, 1664. In April 1698, Bhai Mani Singh was
appointed as the caretaker of the shrines of Amritsar.
The Mughal chief of Patti tried to occupy Amritsar several times. One such attempt wasmade in April 1709. The Sikhs, under the command of Bhai Mani Singh and Bhai Tara Singh
of Dhillwan, repelled this attack. When Baba Banda Singh Bahadur occupied several areas in
the Punjab, Bhai Mani Singh chose to leave Amritsar in order to avoid the Mughal attacks.
On December 30, 1711, the Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah, granted Ajit Singh Palit charge
of Amritsar. After the death of Bahadur Shah, Ajit Singh Palit returned to Delhi. In 1721,
Bhai Mani Singh returned to Amritsar and re-started regular worship. His first act was to
solve a dispute between the Tat Khalsa and the Bandai Khalsa factions for the right to the
management of the shrines in Amritsar.
On March 29, 1733, a major gathering of Sikhs was held here in front of Akal Takht. During
the same time a Sarbat Khalsa gathering was also held. It discussed the Mughal offer of
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Nawab-hood. In April 1734, Bhai Mani Singh was arrested and was executed in Lahore on
June 24, 1734.
In 1740, Massa Ranghar, an official, desecrated the Darbar Sahib. He was killed for this
action by Bhai Sukha Singh and Bhai Mahtab Singh, on August 11, 1740. In 1757 an Afghan
army of Ahmed Shah Abdali demolished both the Darbar Sahib and the Akal Takht. Baba
Deep Singh led several thousand Sikhs against the Afghans. A major battle was fought onNovember 11, 1757. Baba Deep Singh and several thousand Sikhs were killed. In 1762 the
Darbar Sahib complex was demolished by an Afghan army once again. On December 1,
1764, the Afghan army raided again. 30 Sikhs, led by Jathedar Gurbakhsh Singh, fought
against the mammoth Afghan army and were killed. In 1765 the Sikhs began re-
construction of the shrines. The central part was ready by 1776.
During the eighteenth century, Amritsar, like the Sikh community as a whole, faced great
difficulties including the repeated desecration and destruction of sacred monuments. This
was ended by the establishment of the sovereign authority of the Sikh misls, or
principalities, over the Punjab in 1765. Amritsar was thereafter under the control of several
misl chiefs although its surrounding district was held by Sardr Har Sigh of the Bhg
misl. Different sardrs or chiefs constructed their own bugs or residential houses around
the principal sarovar and also their respective kas or wards, encouraging traders and
craftsmen to reside in them and over which each exercised exclusive control.
The sacred shrines were administered by a joint council comprising representatives of the
chiefs who had made endowments in land for their maintenance. Even prior to the time ofSikh ascendancy, joint councils, known as Sarbat Khalsa (lit. the entire Sikh Panth), had been
held at Amritsar to take crucial decisions on political matters. Now, with all misl chiefs
having their bugs there, Amritsar became the common capital of the Khls. Devotees
from far and near, free to visit the holy city after six decades of persecution, flocked to
Gur k Nagar (the Gur's town). Business and trade flourished thanks to the increased
pilgrim and resident population and moeetain stability.
Trade, commerce and crafts flourished in different kas each having its own markets and
manufacturings. By the end of the eighteenth century, Amritsar had become Punjab's major
trading center. Yet the town with its multiple command setup remained a confederated
rather than a composite habitation until Mahrj Rajt Sigh (17801839) rose to power
and consolidated the Punjab into a sovereign State.
Ranjit Singh, chief of the Sukarchak misl, first occupied Lahore the traditional capital of
the Punjab in 1799 and declared himself Mahrj in 1801. Ranjit Singh extended his
hegemony to Amritsar in 1805 when he took over from his traditional rivals, the Bhng
chiefs, their fort with its mint striking the Nnakshh rupee, and the famous Zamzam gun.The fort of the Rmgarh misl was occupied in 1815 and with the possessions of Rn Sad
Kaur of Kanhaiy misl and FatehSingh hlwl in Amritsar during the early 1820s, Ranjt
Singh's occupation of Amritsar was complete.
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Ranjit Sigh then constructed a double wall and moat around the city with twelve gates with
corresponding bridges over the moat. Already in 1809 he had constructed the Gobindgarh
Fort outside Lahaur Gate complete with a formidable moat, three lines of defense and
several bastions and emplacements for heavy guns. Amritsar thus became his second
capital. The royal Toshkhn or treasury was kept in Gobindgarh Fort which was also used
as the royal residence during the Mahrj's frequent visits to the city before his palace inthe city, Rm Bgh, was completed in 1831.
Several members of the nobility also raised palatial houses and beautiful gardens in and
around the city. Ranjt Singh devoutly provided liberal funds to have the dome and exterior
of the Darbar Sahib gold plated and to have the interior ornamented with fine filigree and
enamel work and with decorative murals and panels in marble inlaid with colored stone.
Sardr Des Singh Majth (died 1832), who had been appointed manager of the holy
shrines in the city since its occupation by Ranjt Singh, donated gold for gilding the top of
Bb Attal. Around 1830, Ranjit Singh had Muslim goldsmiths to gold-plate some parts ofthe inner section of the Darbar Sahib. The profusion of gold plating led to it being called the
Golden Temple.
In 1846, more than six years after Ranjt Singh's death, the British established themselves in
the Lahore Darbar with a resident in the Court. In order to keep the sanctity of the city, H.
M. Lawrence, the British resident, issued an order, dated March 24, 1847, asking the English
people to follow Sikh protocol while visiting Sikh places of worship.
In 1858, a municipal committee was set up here. In 1862, train services between Lahore
and Amritsar were started. Khalsa College, the first Sikh college was established here in
1892. In 1969 Guru Nanak Dev University was established in Amritsar. In 1913, the city was
electrified. In September 1915, the British declared Amritsar a holy City. This order was
later annulled after Indian independence on August 15, 1947 by the Indian government. On
April 13, 1919, General Reginald Dyer opened fire on the gathering, at Jallianwala Bagh,
near Darbar Sahib, killed 379 people and wounded another 1200. The Shiromani Gurdwara
Parbandhak Committee (S.G.P.C.) and the Shiromani Akali Dal were established here in
1920.Pilgrims at the Harmandir Sahib
Amritsar is dominated by the history of Hindus and Sikhs and many of their sacred shrines
are found in and around the city. It was established by Guru Ramdas. The city has highest
temporal seat of Sikhs "The Harimandir Sahib" popularly known as Golden Temple.
Amritsar's central walled city has narrow zig zag streets mostly developed in the 17th and
18th century. The city is a peculiar example of an introverted planning system wit unique
areas called Katras. The Katras are self styled residential units that provided unique defence
system during attacks on the city.
The city lies on the main Grand Trunk Road (GT Road) from Delhi to Amritsar connecting to
Lahore in Pakistan. The G. T. Road, built by Sher Shah Suri, runs through the whole of the
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northern half of the Indian subcontinent, connecting Peshawar, Pakistan to Sonargaon,
Bangladesh. The city is also connected to most other major cities such as New Delhi,
Mumbai, Calcutta by an extensive network of rail system. The city also provides air
connectivity to major Indian cities, as well as international cities such as Birmingham,
Toronto, Dubai, Singapore, Tashkent, Ashgabat, London etc. from the Raja Sansi
International Airport, recently renamed as Guru Ramdas International Airport. The airport isbeing developed for increasing demand in future; a new International inbound & outbound
terminal is operational and cargo terminal is also under construction. The city is the
administrative center for the Amritsar District. Amritsar developed from a small village pool
to a business center. However, it did not become the industrial center of Punjab due to its
proximity to the volatile Indo-Pak border.
Partition of 1947
Partition of British India into India and Pakistan had the most profound effect on the
demographics, economics, social structure and culture of Amritsar. The state of Punjab was
divided between India and Pakistan and Amritsar became a border city, often on the front
lines of India-Pakistan wars. Prior to partition, the Muslim league wanted to incorporate
Amritsar into Pakistan because of the Amritsar's proximity to Lahore (a distance of 30 miles)
and a nearly 50% Muslim population, but the city became part of India. The Indian National
Congress had similar aims of incorporating Lahore into India as Lahore was the cultural,
economic, and political capital of undivided Punjab and Hindus and Sikhs constituted nearly
50% of the population, but Lahore became a part of Pakistan. Amritsar and Lahore
experienced some of the worst communal riots during the partition of India. Muslim
residents of Amritsar left the city en-masse leaving their homes and property behind due to
violent anti-Muslim riots in Amritsar. Similar scenes of communal carnage against Hindus
and Sikhs were witnessed in Lahore and led to their mass evacuation.
Important Muslim dominated villages in Amritsar district prior to partition include
Sultanpur, Kala Afgana, Abdul kalan, Rasheed bal, Lahorie, Qadian, Shahpur, Shahkot,
Alipur, Aliwal, Allahbad, Fatehbad, Chak, Guza chak, Jattan, Cheema.
Massacres in the holy city of AmritsarJallianwala Bagh Massacre
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, involving the killing of hundreds of unarmed, defenceless
Indians by a senior British military officer, which took place on 13 April 1919 in the heart of
Amritsar, the holiest city of the Sikhs, took place on a day sacred to them as the birth
anniversary of the Khalsa (Vaisakhi day). Jallianvala Bagh, a garden belonging to the Jalla,
derives its name from that of the owners of this piece of land in Sikh times. It was then the
property the family of Sardar Himmat Singh Jallevalia (d. 1829), a noble in the court of
Maharaja Ranjit Singh (17801839), who originally came from the village of Jalla, now in
Fatehgarh Sahib district of the Punjab. The family were collectively known as Jallhevale or
simply Jallhe or Jalle, although their principal seat later became Alavarpur in Jallandhar
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district. The site, once a garden or garden house, was in 1919 an uneven and unoccupied
space, an irregular quadrangle, indifferently walled, approximately 225 x 180 metres which
was used more as a dumping ground. In the Punjab, during World War I (191418), there
was considerable unrest particularly among the Sikhs, first on account of the demolition of
a boundary wall of Gurdwara Rakab Ganj at New Delhi and later because of the activities
and trials of the Ghadrites almost all of whom were Sikhs. In India as a whole, too, therehad been a spurt in political activity mainly owing to the emergence of two leaders
Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi (18691948) who after a period of struggle
against the British in South Africa, had returned to India in January 1915 and Mrs Annie
Besant (18471933), head of the Theosophical Society of India, who established, on 11 April
1916, Home Rule League with autonomy for India as its goal. In December 1916, the Indian
National Congress, at its annual session held at Lucknow, passed a resolution asking the
British government to issue a proclamation announcing that it is the aim and intention of
British policy to confer self government on India at an early date." On 10 April, Satyapal and
Kitchlew were called to the deputy commissioner's residence, arrested and sent off by car
to Dharamsetla, a hill town, now in Himachal Pradesh. This led to a general strike in
Amritsar. Excited groups of citizens soon merged together into a crowd of about 50,000
marching on to protest to the deputy commissioner against the deportation of the two
leaders. The crowd, however, was stopped and fired upon near the railway foot-bridge.
According to the official version, the number of those killed was 12 and of those wounded
between 20 and 30. But evidence before the Congress Enquiry Committee put the number
of the dead between 20 and 30. Crowds react to the intimidation
As those killed were being carried back through the streets, an angry mob of people went
on the rampage. Government offices and banks were attacked and damaged, and five
Europeans were beaten to death. One Miss Marcella Sherwood, manager of the City
Mission School, who had been living in Amritsar district for 15 years working for the Church
of England Zenana Missionary Society, was attacked by a mob in a narrow street, the Kucha
Kurrichhan. Beaten, she was rescued by local Indians who hid her from the mob and moved
her to the fort. The civil authorities, unnerved by the unexpected fury of the mob, called inthe army the same afternoon. The ire of the people had by and large spent itself, but a
sullen hatred against the British persisted. There was an uneasy calm in the city on 11 April.
In the evening that day, Brigadier-General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer born ironically at
Murree in the Punjab hills, commander of the 45th Infantry Brigade at Jalandhar, arrived in
Amritsar incensed at the attack on an English lady, instructed the troops of the garrison
regarding reprisals against Indians. Meeting at Jallianvala bagh.
He immediately established file facto army rule, though the official proclamation to this
effect was not made until 15 April. The troops at his disposal included 475 British and 710
Indian soldiers. On 12 April he issued an order prohibiting all meetings and gatherings. On
13 April which marked the Baisakhi festival, a large number of people, mostly Sikhs, had
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poured into the city from the surrounding villages. Local leaders called upon the people to
assemble for a meeting in the Jallianvala Bagh at 4:30 in the evening. Brigadier-General
Dyer set out for the venue of the meeting at 4.30 with 50 riflemen and two armoured cars
with machine guns mounted on them. Meanwhile, the meeting had gone on peacefully,
and two resolutions, one calling for the repeal of the Rowlatt Act and the other
condemning the firing on 10 April, had been passed. A third resolution protesting againstthe general repressive policy of the government was being proposed when Dyer arrived at
about 5:15 p.m. He deployed his riflemen on an elevation near the entrance and without
warning or ordering the crowd to disperse, opened fire. The firing continued for about 20
minutes whereafter Dyer and his men marched back the way they had come. 1650 rounds
of .303-inch ammunition had been fired. Dyer's own estimate of the killed based on his
rough calculations of one dead per six bullets fired was between 200 and 300. The official
figures were 379 killed and 1200 wounded.
Operation bluestar
Operation Bluestar(3 6 June 1984) was an Indian military operation ordered by Indira
Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India [2] to remove armed Sikh separatists from the Golden
Temple in Amritsar.
Modern Amritsar
Amritsar is currently witnessing rapid urban growth. Government of India and Government
of Punjab have unveiled a Rs. 3,150 Crore plan to modernize Amritsar.[citation needed].
Money from the plan would fund construction of roads, water and sewage management,
and a mass Rapid transit system. Amritsar has witnessed a spurt in high-end residential
property and multiplex development, courtesy the governments decision to set up a
special economic zone there.
Leading property developers from north India have lined up a series of townships
containing villas, luxury apartments, service apartments, and penthouses. About a dozen
malls are also in various phases of completion. A new city Convention Centre has been
planned (as of October 2007), as are four 5-star hotels by the Radisson group (set to open
by October 2008), the Taj group of hotels, the Holiday Inn Group and the Marriott group.New localities like Sahej enclave are set up by Puda for the Elite in town. Amritsar lately has
become hub for medicare for North India. To protect Amritsar's historical and religious
heritage, part of the new budget is dedicated to the preservation of religious shrines in the
city[citation needed].
Geography and climate
Amritsar
Precipitation totals in inches
Amritsar is located at 3138N 7452E / 31.63N 74.87E / 31.63; 74.87 [3] with an average
elevation of 234 metres (768 ft).
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Amritsar has a semiarid climate, typical of Northwestern India and experiences four seasons
primarily: winter season (November to March) with temperature ranges from 4 C (39 F) to
about 19 C (66 F), summer season (April to June) where temperatures can reach 45 C
(113 F), monsoon season (July to September) and post-monsoon season (September to
November). Annual rainfall is about 681 millimetres (26.8 in).[4] Since 1970, the lowest
temperature, 2.6 C (27 F), was recorded on 21 Jan 2005 [5] and the highest temperature,47.7 C (117.9 F), was recorded on 21 May 1978.[6] There are on average 3,200 sunshine
hours per year in Amritsar [7]
Demographics
As of 2007, Sikhism and Hinduism are the main religions followed in Amritsar. Males and
females constitute 55% and 45% of the population, respectively. Amritsar has an average
literacy rate of 75% (which is higher than the national average of 59.5%). 15% of the
population is under 6 years of age. The main spoken language in Amritsar and in the
surrounding villages is the Punjabi dialect of Maajhi, considered to be Standard Punjabi.
Other languages spoken in the city are Urdu and English and Hindi.
Transport
Air
Amritsar's international airport, Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport, has more than
200 domestic and international flights during the week with daily connections to Delhi,
Chandigarh and Jammu.
Rail
Amritsar Railway Station at night
Amritsar is well connected with daily trains from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai,
Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Indore, Bhopal, Agra, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Ujjain,
Ahmedabad, Pune and other major Indian cities. Amritsar Railway Station is the main
station. There is a special train that runs west to Wagah (Attari Border), which is the last
station on the border in India before continuing on to Pakistan.
Indian Railways has proposed a high speed rail line to serve Delhi-Amritsar via Chandigarh
and Ambala. The train is to run at high speeds of 350 km/h, second only in India to theBhopal Shatabdi Express. It will travel the 445 km between the two cities in 2.5 hours
(compared to the current time of 5 hours). Companies from Japan, China, UK and Canada
have expressed an interest in the project. The contract for building the line were to be
awarded at the end of May 2008. Other lines of this kind have proposed in Mumbai,
Ahmedabad, Pune, and Kolkata.[8][9][10]
Road
Amritsar is located on the historic Grand Trunk Road(G.T Road) also known as National
Highway 1 and therefore, very well connected to the road network. Daily bus services run
to and from Ambala, Delhi, Chandigarh and Jammu. A sum of Rs 450 crores is being spent to
expand the Amritsar-Jalandhar stretch of G.T. Road to four lanes. In 2010, elevated road
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with four lanes connected to the National highway for better access to the Golden Temple
has been started.[11]
For transportation within Amritsar city, rickshaws, autorickshaws, taxis and buses are easily
available. Recently, the government of India and Punjab pledged Rs. 2,100 Crore for the
development of a Mass Rapid Transport system for the city.[citation needed] It is hoped
that this will help in relieving traffic congestion and improving air quality.Amritsar Cantonment
Amritsar Cantonment is a cantonment town in Amritsar District in the state of Punjab,
India.
Demographics
As of 2001[update] India census,[1] Amritsar Cantonment had a population of 11,300.
Males constitute 63% of the population and females 37%. Amritsar Cantonment has an
average literacy rate of 81%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 66% of the
males and 34% of females literate. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Ajnala
Ajnala is a town and a nagar panchayat in Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India.
Contents:- Geography/Demographics/Indian Rebellion of 1857
Geography
Ajnala is located at 3150N 7446E / 31.84N 74.76E / 31.84; 74.76 in western Punjab near
to the border with Pakistan.[1] It has an average elevation of 213 metres (698 feet).
Demographics
As of 2001[update] India census,[2] Ajnala had a population of 18,602. Males constitute
55% of the population and females 45%. Ajnala has an average literacy rate of 68%, higher
than the national average of 59.5%; with 58% of the males and 42% of females literate. 12%
of the population is under 6 years of age.
Indian Rebellion of 1857
During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, 282 sepoys of the 26th Native Infantry who had
mutinied at Lahore and subsequently surrendered believing they were going to be given a
fair trial, were summarily executed without trial by Fredric Cooper--the then DeputyCommissioner of the district. Cooper was a proud Christian of the "true English stamp and
mould". The bodies were dumped into a deep dry well located near the police station. The
guard that shot the sepoys were made up entirely of Sikhs.
Budha Theh
Budha Theh is a census town in Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India.
Demographics
As of 2001[update] India census,[1] Budha Theh had a population of 8730. Males constitute
56% of the population and females 44%. Budha Theh has an average literacy rate of 72%,
higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 79% and female literacy of
63%. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.
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Jandiala Guru
Jandiala Guru is a town in the Amritsar district of Punjab, India. It is located on the Grand
Trunk Road[1] at 31 33' 41N 751'36E and has an altitude of 229 m (754 ft).[2]
Contents:- History/Non-Profit Organizations/Jandiala Guru Development/ Gaganmai
Thaal Museum: Mecca for heritage lovers
HistoryJandiala Guru was founded by Guru Baba Handal. GURU word comes from Jats Guru and it
was named after Jand, the son of the founder.[3] The municipality was created in 1867
during the colonial period of British rule and formed part of Amritsar Tehsil. The town was
situated on the route of the North-Western Railway. The population according to the 1901
census was 7,750, the income 1903-4 was Rs. 8,400 mainly from octroi. At the turn of 21st
century the population was estimated at about 100,000. Though the population of Jandiala
Guru is diverse, it is the original home of Ghangas Jat Sikhs. Other large communities are
Jains (mainly Jewellars, Grain Merchants and business people), Thathiars (Steel Utencil
makers). Large concentration of these skillful artisans make Jandiala Guru the hub for
Jewellary and Utencils for the surrounding areas.
Non-Profit Organizations
ASK [Association For Social Kause http://www.askause.org/] Founded 2003
Hon. Members: Kawal Parkash Preet Singh Harjai Bakhshinder Harjai
Bank Branches
HDFC Bank
Canara Bank
Oriental Bank OF Commerce (OBC)
Punjab And Sind Bank
Punjab National Bank (PNB)
Amritsar Co-operative Bank
State Bank Of India
Education Sector
GITC (Hardware and Networking Institute)Hospitals
Jain Hospital
Deep Hospital
Gupta Nursing House (Sushma Hospital)
S.S. Bhullar Hospital
Bhai Kanhaiya Ji Cheritable Hospital
Jandiala Guru Development
Now, Jandiala Guru is one of the developed areas in the Amritsar District There are some
places of interest in this area such as TEJ RESORTS, Hotel HEY DAY,OLIVE GARDENS and
after that there is a automobiles agency named BABA MOTORS. in field of education there
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is some improved condition from the past there are two colleges but only for girls but some
schools are co-educational up to senior secondary. And two private ICSE schools also
complete the basic need of Jandiala Guru. it also includes some cyber cafes and computer
coaching centers among them HAK COMPUTER WORLD "'KJI COMPUTERS " and "ROTARY
COMPUTER CENTER" ( Mr Jaspal Singh gehri)is very famous in nearby villages which
presently take up many students. About 90% roads are constructed in the year 2009-10 bythe rescently elected president of Jandiala Municipal Coorperation, i.e. Mr. Raj Kumar
Malhotra which take up the seat from his oldest Opponent Mr. Ravinder Pal Singh (Kukku).
Ravinderpal Singh has a deep impact on the Jandiala's political history and win the
President seat from many years continuously. But this time Raj Kumar Malhotra after some
conflicts win the president seat of municipal coorperation.
Gaganmai Thaal Museum: Mecca for heritage lovers
A report by The Tribune
President :- S. Abnashi Singh
Gaganmai Thaal International Mini Museum at Jandiala Guru, about 16 km from Amritsar,
has become the Mecca for the heritage lovers of this holy city. What various universities
and institutions could not do, it has been done by an individual of a small town by
establishing a museum to preserve all handwritten documents along with the photographs
of various Gurus, eminent writers and freedom fighters, collected till date. Mr Abinashi
Singh, conferred upon with Punjab Rattan award by former President of India Late Giani Zail
Singh, has set up a museum in the lobby of his small house displaying photographs of 144
writers, including six Sikh Gurus whose verses are in Guru Granth Sahib. Mr Singh said he
was inspired by the rich cultural history of Punjab, where the Rig-Veda was compiled and
which was considered as the cradle of most advanced civilization of the world having a rich
religious, literary and cultured heritage. He felt its his duty to preserve the handwritten
manuscripts along with the photographs of various gurus, writers and freedom fighters. So
in the absence of any other alternative, he converted a portion of his house into the
museum. On his efforts to spread the glory of the state across the world, Mr Singh said that
he had organised about 150 exhibitions across the country and the world including manyEuropean and Asian nations. He said his first exhibition was held in Mumbai in April 1992 on
the advice of Mr Tarlok Singh Komal, a renowned artiste. Recalling an incident, Mr Singh
said that Mr B. Satyanand Reddy, the then Governor of Uttar Pradesh, specially came to his
exhibition. After going through his works, Mr Reddy asked him to arrange more exhibitions
in various cities of UP.
The Punjab Rattan awardee said that he had been able to display only 10 per cent of his
collections and rest of the works lie packed in other three rooms of his house due to lack of
adequate space.
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But Unfortunately He isn't Given any economical help from the government and they die at
27th, January 2010 after failed to recover from an injury and their dream of developing the
museum at some higher level remain uncompleted.
Majitha
Majitha is a town and a municipal council in Amritsar district in the Indian state of Punjab.
Majitha holds a distinguished place in the history of Punjab as the well-known MajithiaSirdars (chiefs) came from this region. These were several generals in Maharaja Ranjit
Singh's army of the Sikh Empire in the first half of the 19th century. No less than ten
generals from Majitha can be counted in the Maharaja's army during the period of 1800-
1849. Chief amongst the Majithia generals during the Sikh Empire were General Lehna
Singh, General (aka Raja) Surat Singh, and General Amar Singh. Sons of General Lehna Singh
(Sirdar Dyal Singh) and of General Surat Singh (Sirdar Sundar Singh Majithia) had great
impact on the affairs of Punjab during the British rule through the latter 19th century and
the first half of the 20th century.
Hari Singh Nalwa was the most celebrated general of the Sikh Kingdom. His family was
known to have migrated to Gujranwala (now Pakistan) from Majitha sometime in the 18th
century.Among the present lauretes Prof Ranjit Pal Singh Gill (Majithia) is a well educated
figure. He has served the prestigious Khalsa College Amritsar in Botany and Biotechnology
Department and also contributed to educate the masses of his home town.
Contents:- Majithia Sirdars/Geography/Demographics/Today Position of Majitha/Famous
School/ College/ Institutes/Distance
Majithia Sirdars
The Majithia clans threw in with the rising star of the Sikh misls - Ranjit Singh - during the
latter 18th century. As Ranjit Singh established the Sikh Empire around the turn of the 19th
century, the Majithia sirdars gained prominence and became very influential in the
Maharaja's army. Ten different Majithia generals can be counted amongst the Sikh army
during the period of 1800-1849. According to the English historians, the Majithia family was
one of the three most powerful families in Punjab under the Maharaja. Best known of the
Majithia generals were General Lehna Singh, General Surat Singh and General Amar Singh -each representing one of the three main branches of the family.
The son of General Lehna Singh, Sirdar Dyal Singh, was perhaps the most significant Punjabi
of the late 19th century in the British Punjab. He was the main force behind the founding of
Punjab University; was the founder and the owner of The Tribune newspaper - the most
respected English-language newspaper in north-western India to this day; and the founder
and owner of the Punjab Bank - also the most powerful bank in north-western India until
nationalized by Indira Gandhi in the early 1970s. He was also one of the charter members of
the Indian National Congress party - which later became the main Indian nationalist political
party and the party of Nehru and Gandhi.
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The son of General Surat Singh, Sirdar Sundar Singh Majithia, also had tremendous impact
on the early 20th century Punjab. He was a main force in the Sikh revivalist movement and
was one of the founders of the "Chief Khalsa Diwan Society". Amongst his accomplishments
can be counted the establishment of the Khalsa College, Amritsar and the founding of the
Punjab and Sind Bank. He was knighted by the British - thus often referred to as Sir Sundar
Singh Majithia.Sirdar Sundar Singh's brother, Sirdar Umrao Singh, was the father of Amrita Sher-Gil -
considered by many to be first great female artist of the Indian subcontinent.
The Majithia family, although referred to by the name of their village Majitha - which is
common in Punjab, in actuality belong to the "Shergill" clan of the Jat Sikhs - itself a subset
of the "Gill" clan.
In recent times, the most famous member of the Majithia family was Sardar Parkash Singh
Majitha. Who was one of the most prominent of the Akali leaders of the 70s, 80s and 90s,
and was popularly known as 'Majhe da jarnail'. He remained cabinet minister in many Akali
governments holding important portfolios like Irrigation, Transport, Revenue and
Rehabilitation. He was elected MLA five times from Ajnala and Majitha constituencies. He
also played the steller role during the Anti-Emergency Morcha and the Dharam Yudh
Morcha. In the aftermath of Operation Blue Star, he served as the acting President of Akali
Dal. Being the senior most Akali leader in the 1990s, he was unanimously appointed the
Patron of Shiromani Akali Dal, an honour he retained till he breathed his last.
Other prominent Majithias include: Sardar Parkash Singh Majitha's nephew Sardar
Rajmohinder Singh Majitha (MP and MLA) and Sardar Bikram Singh Majithia (Minister and
MLA) who's the brother-in-law of Sukhbir Singh Badal.
Geography
Majitha() is located at 3146N 7457E / 31.76N 74.95E / 31.76; 74.95.[1] It has an
average elevation of 215 metres (705 feet).
Demographics
As of 2001[update] India census,[2] Majitha had a population of 13,006. Males constitute
53% of the population and females 47%. Majitha has an average literacy rate of 59%, lower
than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 63%, and female literacy is 54%. In
Majitha, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age. Jatt Gill Sikhs dominate Majitha.
Today Position of Majitha
Current MLA : Bikramjit Singh Majithia[3]. He was a first-time MLA and the youngest
Cabinet minister in the Punjab government. An alumunus of the Lawrence School, Sanawar,
and St. Stephen's College, Majithia was handling the corporate side of his family-owned Rs.
1000-crore Saraya Group of industries and had a passion for flying, car rallying andbasketball. That was before he plunged into Punjab politics.
Famous School/ College/ Institutes
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* Govt Sen Sec. School(Boys & Gi