Punjab, a state bordering Pakistan, is the heart of India’s Sikh community. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast, Rajasthan to the southwest, and the Pakistani province of Punjab to the west. The state capital is located in Chandigarh, a Union Territory and also the capital of the neighbouring state of Haryana. The summer residence of the Governor of Punjab is at Shimla.
The term Punjab comprises two words: "punj meaning five and ab meaning water, thus the land of five rivers." The Greeks referred to Punjab as Pentapotamia, an inland delta of five converging rivers. In Avesta, the sacred text of Zoroastrians, the Punjab region is associated with the ancient hapta həndu or Sapta Sindhu, the Land of Seven Rivers.
Formation of current Punjab :
The capital city of the undivided Province of Punjab, Lahore, was allocated to the Pakistani West Punjab during the partition of British India in 1947, so a new capital for Indian Punjab was built at Chandigarh. Shimla was named temporary capital of the Punjab until Chandigarh was completed in 1960.
After years of protest by Sikh organisations finally Punjab was divided along linguistic basis in 1966. On 1 November 1966, the Hindi-speaking southern half of Punjab became a separate state, Haryana and the Pahari speaking hilly areas in north became Himachal Pradesh. Chandigarh was on the border between Punjab and Haryana and became a union territory that serves as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana. The Indian Punjab was divided in 1966 with the formation of the new states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh alongside the current state of Punjab.
Agriculture is the largest industry in Punjab. During the 1970s, the Green Revolution brought increased economic prosperity for the Punjab. Other major industries include the manufacturing of scientific instruments, agricultural goods, electrical goods, financial services, machine tools, textiles, sewing machines, sports goods, starch, tourism, fertilisers, 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 in the Fatehgarh Sahib district.
Its city of Amritsar, founded in 1577 by Sikh guru Ram Das, is the site of Harmandir Sahib, the holiest gurdwara (Sikh temple). Pilgrims visit its gilded Hari Mandir sanctuary and bathe in the surrounding Pool of Nectar. Also in Amritsar is Durgiana Temple, a Hindu shrine with engraved silver doors.
Area: 50,362 km²
Capital: Chandigarh
Population: 27.98 million (2012)
Bird: Northern goshawk
Bihar became the first state in India to have separate web page for every city and village in the state on its website www.brandbihar.com (Now www.brandbharat.com)
See the record in Limca Book of Records 2012 on Page No. 217