Portal:Punjab

The Punjab Portal

Introduction

P:PAP:PA

Punjab (Punjabi: Panjāb, pronounced [pə̞ɲˈdʒäːb] ^ⓘ) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. Pakistan's major cities in Punjab are Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Multan, Sialkot, Sargodha, and Bahawalpur, while India’s are Ludhiana, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Patiala, Mohali, and Bathinda.

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 Persianate 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. 12 Sikh Misls along with Muslim Chattha, Sial, Tarar, Chisti and Gakhar States fought for political acedency. In 1799 CE, the Sikh Empire established its rule, undertaking conquests into the 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...)

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The Punjabi dialects and languages or Greater Panjabic are a series of dialects and Indo-Aryan languages spoken around the Punjab region of Pakistan and India with varying degrees of official recognition. They have sometimes been referred to as the Greater Punjabi macrolanguage. Punjabi may also be considered as a pluricentric language with more than one standard variety.

Punjabi is a language spoken primarily in the Punjab region, which is divided between India and Pakistan. It is also spoken by Punjabi diaspora communities around the world. Punjabi itself has several dialects that can vary based on geographical, cultural, and historical factors. (Full article...)

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General images

Image 1Two late 19th century drawings of Sikh troops in action against British forces during the Anglo-Sikh Wars (from Sikh Empire)
Image 2Contemporary painting of the Battle of Sobraon in 1846. (from Sikh Empire)
Image 3Left to right: Gurkha, Brahmin, and Shudra (Chuhra-Chamar) in Shimla (1868) (from Punjab)
Image 4Rajputs in Delhi (1868) (from Punjab)
Image 5Map of the Punjab Province (British India) (from Punjab)
Image 6The Indian subcontinent in 1805. (from Sikh Empire)
Image 7
Ranjit Singh listening to Guru Granth Sahib being recited near the Akal Takht and Golden Temple, Amritsar, Punjab, India.
(from Sikh Empire)
Image 8
The dominant mother tongue in each District of Pakistan, according to the 2017 Pakistan Census
(from Punjab)
Image 9Tarkhans in Lahore (c. 1862–1872) (from Punjab)
Image 10A letter sent from the King of France, Louis-Philippe to Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Ranjit Singh is addressed as “Rendjit Sing Bahador – Padichah du Pendjab”. 27 October 1835 (from Sikh Empire)
Image 11Jats in Delhi (1868) (from Punjab)
Image 12Detail from ‘Darbar (royal court) of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’, gouache, ca.1850 (from Sikh Empire)
Image 13Rig Veda, the oldest known Hindu text, originated in the Punjab region. (from Punjab)
Image 14Ranjit Singh, c. 1830. (from Sikh Empire)
Image 15Gujjars in Delhi (c. 1859–1869) (from Punjab)
Image 16Illustration of Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire (from Punjab)
Image 17The expanding Sikh Empire in 1809. The Cis-Sutlej states are visible south of the Sutlej River (from Sikh Empire)
Image 18The snow-covered Himalayas (from Punjab)
Image 19Taxila in Pakistan is a World Heritage Site. (from Punjab)
Image 20Maharaja Ranjit Singh seeking the sanctuary of Guru Nanak, c. 1830 (from Sikh Empire)
Image 21The charge of the British 16th Lancers at Aliwal on 28 January 1846, during the First Anglo-Sikh War (from Sikh Empire)
Image 22Arora in Lahore (c. 1862–1872) (from Punjab)
Image 23One of the first known kings of ancient Punjab, King Porus, fought against Alexander the Great. His surrender is depicted in this 1865 engraving by Alonzo Chappel. (from Punjab)
Image 24Silver copper coin of Khizr Khan, founder of the Sayyid dynasty (from Punjab)
Image 25Ranjit Singh holding court in 1838 (from Sikh Empire)
Image 26Sikh Empire (green) in northwest India in 1823 (from Punjab)
Image 27The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh is located in Lahore, Pakistan, adjacent to the iconic Badshahi Mosque (from Sikh Empire)
Image 28Nanakshahi coins of the Sikh Empire (from Sikh Empire)
Image 29Maharaja Ranjit Singh holding court outside near the Golden Temple in Amritsar with everyone dressed in Basant (yellow) (from Sikh Empire)
Image 30Kumhars in Lahore (c. 1859–1869) (from Punjab)
Image 31Arains in Lahore (1868) (from Punjab)
Image 32Brahmin in Lahore (c. 1799–1849) (from Punjab)
Image 33Sikh warrior helmet with butted mail neckguard, 1820–1840, iron overlaid with gold with mail neckguard of iron and brass (from Sikh Empire)

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Har Gobind Khorana (9 January 1922 – 9 November 2011) was an Indian-American biochemist. While on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he shared the 1968 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Marshall W. Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley for research that showed the order of nucleotides in nucleic acids, which carry the genetic code of the cell and control the cell's synthesis of proteins. Khorana and Nirenberg were also awarded the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University in the same year.

Born in British India, Khorana served on the faculties of three universities in North America. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1966, and received the National Medal of Science in 1987. (Full article...)

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Guru Gobind Singh Guru Nanak Ranjit Singh Porus Bulleh Shah Manmohan Singh Harjit Sajjan Abdus Salam Jagmeet Singh Banda Singh Bahadur Jind Kaur Sophia Duleep Singh Bhagat Singh Abdus Salam Guru Tegh Bahadur

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Maharaja Ranjit Singh's throne made by Hafez Muhammad Multani between 1820 to 1830.

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Punjabi wikipedians' noticeboard

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WikiProject Punjab

WikiProject Punjab was formed to foster better articles on the region of Punjab with a spirit of cooperation. The project is a home base that provides a place for Wikipedians (editors) to discuss issues, while share information and resources regarding improvements to Punjabi related articles, which can be discussed at the project's talk page. To join WikiProject Punjab (anyone may join), simply list your username on the members page. Editors are also encouraged to participate in the more regional and/or topic specific WikiProject 's as listed below.

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