Portal:Punjab

The Punjab Portal Punjab map (topographic) with cities Punjab (/pʌnˈdʒɑːb, -ˈdʒæb, ˈpʊn-/; Punjabi: [pə̞ɲˈdʒäːb] ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb), also known as the Land of the Five Rivers, is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is specifically located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern-Pakistan and northwestern-India. Punjab's major cities are Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Multan, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Sialkot, Chandigarh, Shimla, Jalandhar, Patiala, Gurugram, and Bahawalpur. Punjab grew out of the settlements along the five rivers, which served as an important route to the Near East as early as the ancient Indus Valley civilization, dating back to 3000 BCE, followed by migrations of the Indo-Aryan peoples. Agriculture has been the chief economic feature of the Punjab and formed the foundation of Punjabi culture. The Punjab emerged as an important agricultural region, especially following the Green Revolution during the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, and has been described as the "breadbasket of both India and Pakistan." Punjab's history is a tapestry of conflict, marked by the rise of indigenous dynasties and empires. Following Alexander the Great's invasion in the 4th century BCE, Chandragupta Maurya allied with Punjabi republics to establish the Maurya Empire. Successive reigns of the Indo-Greek Kingdom, Kushan Empire, and Indo-Scythians followed, but were ultimately defeated by Eastern Punjab Janapadas such as the Yaudheya, Trigarta Kingdom, Audumbaras, Arjunayanas, and Kuninda Kingdom. In the 5th and 6th centuries CE, Punjab faced devastating Hunnic invasions, yet the Vardhana dynasty emerged triumphant, ruling over Northern India. The 8th century CE witnessed the Hindu Shahis rise, known for defeating the Saffarid dynasty and the Samanid Empire. Concurrently, the Tomara dynasty and Katoch Dynasty controlled eastern Punjab, resisting Ghaznavid invasions. Islam took hold in Western Punjab under Ghaznavid rule. The Delhi Sultanate then succeeded the Ghaznavids in which the Tughlaq dynasty and Sayyid dynasty Sultans are described as Punjabi origin. The 15th century saw the emergence of the Langah Sultanate in south Punjab, acclaimed for its victory over the Lodi dynasty. After the Mughal Empire's decline in the 18th century, Punjab experienced a period of anarchy. In 1799 CE, the Sikh Empire established its rule, undertaking conquests into Kashmir and Durrani Empire held territories, shaping the diverse and complex history of Punjab. The boundaries of the region are ill-defined and focus on historical accounts and thus the geographical definition of the term "Punjab" has changed over time. In the 16th century Mughal Empire the Punjab region was divided into three, with the Lahore Subah in the west, the Delhi Subah in the east and the Multan Subah in the south. Under the British Raj until the Partition of India in 1947, the Punjab Province encompassed the present Indian states and union territories of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, and Delhi, and the Pakistani regions of Punjab, and Islamabad Capital Territory. The predominant ethnolinguistic group of the Punjab region are the Punjabi people, who speak the Indo-Aryan Punjabi language. Punjabi Muslims are the majority in West Punjab (Pakistan), while Punjabi Sikhs are the majority in East Punjab (India). Other religious groups include Hinduism, Christianity, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, and Ravidassia. (Full article...) Selected article Lahore (Punjabi: لہور) is the capital city of the province of western Punjab. It is the second largest and most populous city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and the 32nd most populous urban city in the world. The city is located in the north east part of Punjab province, near the border with India. Lahore is ranked as a world city, and is one of Pakistan's wealthiest cities with an estimated total nominal GDP of $58.14 billion as of 2014. Lahore is the historic cultural centre of the Punjab region, and is the largest Punjabi city in the world. The city has a long history, and was once under the rule of the Hindu Shahis, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Lodis, Marathas and the Delhi Sultanate. Lahore reached the height of its splendour under the Mughal Empire, serving as its capital city for a number of years. The city then became capital of the Sikh Empire, before becoming the capital of the Punjab under British rule. Lahore was central to the independence movements of both India and Pakistan, with the city being site of both the declaration of Indian Independence, and the resolution calling for the establishment of Pakistan. Following the Partition of British India, Lahore became the capital of the western Punjab province. Selected biography Harjit Singh Sajjan PC OMM MSM CD MP (born September 6, 1970) is a Canadian Liberal politician, the current Minister of National Defence and a Member of Parliament representing the riding of Vancouver South. He is the first Punjabi and Sikh to become Minister of Defence. Sajjan was first elected during the 2015 federal election, defeating Conservative incumbent MP Wai Young, and was sworn as defence minister into the Cabinet, headed by Justin Trudeau, on November 4, 2015. Before politics, Sajjan was a detective investigating gangs for the Vancouver Police Department and a regimental commander in the Canadian Armed Forces decorated for his service in Afghanistan. Sajjan was also the first Sikh-Canadian to command a Canadian army reserve regiment. Selected picture Darbar (court) of Maharaja Ranjit Singh during the Panjab Empire Credit: Edwin Binney More information... Related portals Associated Wikimedia The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject: Commons Free media repository Wikibooks Free textbooks and manuals Wikidata Free knowledge base Wikinews Free-content news Wikiquote Collection of quotations Wikisource Free-content library Wikispecies Directory of species Wikiversity Free learning tools Wikivoyage Free travel guide Wiktionary Dictionary and thesaurus Wikipedia in Punjabi There is a Shahmukhi پنجابی version of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. There is a Gurmukhi ਪੰਜਾਬੀ version of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.