About Punjab
The satellite view and the map show Punjab. The state in North India was formerly part of the greater Punjab region. In ancient times the area was part of the prehistoric Indus Valley Civilization (Harappa), one of three early cradles of civilizations of the Old World.
With the partition of India in 1947, the Punjab province of British India was divided between India and
Pakistan. After the separation, the Indian part of Punjab was divided into three areas:
Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Many Punjab hill states were merged into Himachal Pradesh.
The Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) in Amritsar is the holiest shrine (gurdwara) of Sikhism, a monotheistic religion that originated in the Punjab region.
Image: Julian Nitzsche
Punjab means the "land of five rivers"; the rivers are the Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Jhelum, and Chenab.
The Indian state borders the Pakistani province of Punjab to the west, the Indian states of
Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the northeast,
Haryana to the south and southeast,
Chandigarh to the southeast and
Rajasthan to the southwest.
India's Punjab covers an
area of 50,362 km² (19,444 sq mi), compared the state is just a little larger than
Slovakia or twice the size of the US state of
Maryland.
India's Punjab region lies in a broad, fertile plain intersected from north to south by the Indus river. The region experiences three main seasons, a Hot Season (from mid-April to the end of June) a Rainy Season (early July to the end of September) and a Cold Season (early December to the end of February).
The Grand Trunk Road, coming from
New Delhi, is a section of the Asian Highway 1 (AH1), it connects the Indian cities of Ludhiana and Amritsar with the Pakistan-Indian border crossing at Wagah, and further with
Lahore in Pakistan.
Punjab has a population of 30 million people (2018 est.). The capital is
Chandigarh, which also serves as the capital of India's Haryana state. The largest city in Punjab is Ludhiana.
Spoken
language is Punjabi, an Indo-Aryan language. The majority of the Punjabis are Sikhs, adherents of Sikhism, a major monotheistic religion.
The map shows Punjab state with expressways, main roads and streets, and the location of
Chandigarh International Airport (
IATA code: IXC) and
Amritsar International Airport (
IATA code: ATQ).
To find a location use the form below.