PUNJAB

Punjab : The word 'Punjab' is made of two Persian words 'Panj' and 'Aab', where 'Punj' means five and 'Aab' means water. Lying north-west of India, Punjab has had to take a lot of battle ring from the invaders. Punjab emerges into history with the coming of Aryans into India. Since then the land has seen the advent of Darius of Persia in 522 B.C., Alexander the Great in 326 B.C., Chandragupta Maurya, the Scythians, the Parthians, the Kushans and the Mughals from the 10^thcentury A.D. to Nadir Shah in 1738 and Ahmed Shah Abdali in 1748, 1750 and 1751. Punjab had the worst of all these invasions.

The Sikh faith, which played a decisive role in the creation of a Punjabi-speaking state, came into being during a period of religious revival in the 15^th and 16^th centuries. It was founded as a new religious order by Guru Nanak and was followed by Gurus. The subsequent 200 years witnessed the growth of Sikhism.

With the partition of India, Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan as East Punjab and West Punjab. The Punjab state was finally founded on November 1, 1966 and is one of the most lively states in India.

Ancient land, cradle of civilisations and a melting pot of world cultures, Punjab has an amazing wealth of old and new tourist destinations. Punjab is traveller's dream, a gourmet's paradise, a shopper's delight, a sportsman's inspiration, a musician's mecca, a dancer's delight. It is the land of pilgrimage, archaeological digs, palaces, museums and historical sites. Sword arm of India, Punjab is the freedom fighter's home. Punjab is animal husbandry, poultry and horticulture centre of India.

State Government : http://www.punjab.gov.in

Capital :	Chandigarh
Area :	50,362 square Kilometers
Population :	24,358,999 (2001 census)
Literacy :	69.65% (2001)
Language :	Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu
Roads :	58,151 Kms
Railways :	3,630 Kms
Airport :	Amritsar, Ludhiana, Bathinda
Seaport :	Nil
Climate :	Summer (45° - 35° C), Winter (14° - 0° C), Monsoon : July to September
Best Season :	October to March
Places of Interest :	State Tourism : http://punjabtourism.org / http://ptdc.nic.in
	Amritsar : Sacred city of the Sikhs, The Golden Temple, Shrines, Gardens, Fort, Museums. [Ram Tirath (10 Kms) : Temples, Hindu pilgrim centre, Birth place of Lav and Kush (of the epic Ramayana). Taran Taran (22 Kms) : Sikh shrine.] Anandpur Sahib : Temples, Fort, Holla Mohalla festival. Bathinda : Fort. Chandigarh : Capital City & Union Territory. Dera Baba Jaimal Singh : Ashram Colony of all faiths. Dera Baba Nanak : Sikh pilgrim centre. Dholbaha : Temple, Antiquities. Faridkot : Fort. Govindwal : Sikh pilgrim centre. Hoshiarpur : Murals, Vedic research centre. Jalandhar : Sports goods and Publishing centre, Major Music Festival (in December). [Phillaur : Fort.] Kapurthala : Palace, Temple, Mosque. Kiratpur Sahib : Sikh pilgrim centre. Ludhiana : 'Major centre of small-scale industry, 'Hosiery Capital', Fort. Nangal : Dam-site picnic spot, Temple, Agricultural University. Neelon : Holiday resort. Pathankot : Gateway to Jammu & Kashmir and the valleys of Himachal Pradesh. [Shahpur (7 Kms) : Fort, Muslim Antiquities.] Patiala : Palace and Museum, Fort, National Institute of Sports, Gardens, Art Gallery. [Saifabad (6 Kms) : Fort.] Rupnagar : Archaeological site, Boating and fishing on Lake. [Sanghal (32 Kms) : Major Archaeological site going back to Harappan period.] Sangrur : Gardens, Antiquities, Sikh holy places nearby. Sultanpur : Sikh pilgrim centre, Temples. Sirhind : Sikh and Muslim shrines, Lakh-side Garden serai in historical town of Aam Khas Bagh (5 Kms). Wagah : Cross-over point for Pakistan.
Festivals :	Lohri (January), Holi (March), Hola Mohalla (March / April), Baisakhi (April), Diwali (October / November), Guru Purab (November).