All District/Area Committees in Punjab

 
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LIFE YOGDAN MEMBERS

General Information

Geography

                                 

The River Sutlej, one of the five rivers that give Punjab its name from Rampur ca. 1857.

Most of the Punjab is an alluvial plain, bounded by mountains to the North. Despite its dry conditions, it is a rich agricultural area due to the extensive irrigation made possible by the great river system traversing it. Punjab region temperature range from -2° to 40°C (MIN/MAX), but can reach 47°C (117°F) in summer and can touch down to -5°C in winter. The people that live in the state of Punjab are known as Punjabi.

[edit]History

                                 

Maharaja Ranjit Singh the ruler of Punjab ca. 1835-40.

This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia’s quality standards.Please improve this section if you can. (May 2008)

The Indian state of Punjab was created in 1947, when the Partition of India split the former Raj province of Punjab between India and West Pakistan. The mostly Muslim western part of the province became West Pakistan’s Punjab Province; the mostly Sikh eastern part became India’s Punjab state. Many Sikhs and Hindus lived in the west, and many Muslims lived in the east, and so the partition saw many people displaced and much intercommunal violence.^[4] Several small Punjabi princely states, including Patiala, also became part of India. In 1950, two separate states were created; Punjab included of the former Raj province of Punjab, while the princely states were combined into a new state, the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU). PEPSU consisted of the princely states of Patiala, Nabha, Jind, Kapurthala, Malerkotla, Faridkot and Kalsia. Himachal Pradesh was created as a union territory from several princely states and Kangra district. In 1956, PEPSU was merged into Punjab state, and several northern districts of Punjab in the Himalayas were added to Himachal Pradesh.

The capital of the undivided Punjab province, Lahore, ended up in West Pakistan after partition, so a new capital for Indian Punjab state was built atChandigarh. On November 1, 1966, the mostly Hindu southeastern half of Punjab became a separate state, Haryana. Chandigarh was on the border between the two states, and became a separate union territory which serves as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana. Chandigarh was due to transfer to Punjab alone in 1986, but the transfer has been delayed pending an agreement on which parts of the Hindi speaking areas of Abohar andFazilka, currently part of Firozpur District of Punjab, should be transferred to Haryana in exchange.

During the 1970s, the Green Revolution brought increased economic prosperity for the Sikh community in Punjab, mainly due to Pratap Singh Kairon, the late Sikh leader. However, a growing polarisation between the Indian National Congress led Indian government and the main political party of the Sikhs, the Shiromani Akali Dal, began to widen during the 1970s. The hostility and bitterness arose from what was widely seen by the Sikhs as increasing alienation, centralization and discriminatory attitudes towards Punjab by the Government of India. This prompted the Shiromani Akali Dal to unanimously pass the Anandpur Sahib Resolution which among other things called for granting maximum autonomy for the Punjab and other states and limiting the role and powers of the Central Government.

Discord had been developing after the rejection of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution. A small section of Sikhs demanded an independent state of Khalistan. A number of militants took to targeting officials and people opposed to their point of view which included a number of Sikhs. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale along with his supporters sought shelter inside the Akal Takht. Fearing an attack on the Harimandir Sahib, Bhindranwale, with help from Shabeg Singh heavily fortified the temple. The Indian army finally assaulted the Golden Temple to take out armed militants in June, 1984. However, the operation, Operation Bluestar was poorly planned and coordinated, leading to heavy military and civilian casualties.

As a result, the situation in Punjab deteriorated into anarchy with a rise in radicalised militancy. By the early 1990s, after many years of violence across Punjab, the militants’ struggle for Khalistan had lost much of the sympathy given after the assault on the sacred Golden Temple, it had previously had from some Punjabi Sikhs and what little armed resistance remained was eliminated and forced underground. In the following years there was concern over alleged human rights abuses conducted by the central and state government against radical Sikhs, and many human rights organisations were not allowed in the Punjab at the time.^[5]

The Indian BJP former leader stated that the Congress Party governments have been involved in creating terrorism in the Punjab. Recently, BJP national president Lal Krishna Advani, stated that it was his party which pressured Sikh Extremists to take a stand against the government. ^[6] The policy to help the Congress Party by creating militants and moderates backfired resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent people ^[7].

Punjab’s economy was acutely affected in the 1980s and early 1990s. However in recent times, there have been serious attempts by the Central Government to diminish resentment and strong feelings of Punjabis over the issue. Punjab’s economy is now on the path to recovery. However, corruption and violence continues to hamper the state.

[edit]Present issues

In recent times, there is growing concern in the state about the immigration of labourers from other Indian states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Around 10% of Punjab’s population is now made up of migrants from these states. The Sikhs are concerned that they will soon became a minority in the state, and allege that the unchecked immigration is encouraged by the government.^[8] The pro-Khalistan organization Dal Khalsa (International) has blamed the problems like rising crime rate and unemployment on immigration. On the other hand the leaders like Tarsem Jodha have stated that immigration is vital to Punjab’s economy since the Jatt landlords of Punjab have always relied on immigrants for labour.^[8]

In last few decades, the disputes between the Jat and the Dalit castes have caused much violence in Punjab.^[8] In the Talhan riots, Dalit Sikhs were brutally suppressed by Jats allegedly with the police help over the management of the local Gurdwara. The daughter of the Dalit activist Bant Singh was raped by a group of Jats, and he was beaten up leading to amputation of his limbs.^[9] Dera Sacha Sauda claims to be a pro-Dalit organization, but Jat Sikhs regard it as a conspiracy aimed at diluting the Sikh identity.^[8] There have been many cases of violence between the two groups. Another example is the breakaway sect of a godman called Baba Piara Singh Bhaniarawala. The followers of Bhaniarwala are mostly Dalits who claim to be Sikhs. However, mainstream Sikhs have accused him of modifying the Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred book of the Sikhs. They have accused him of blasphemy, alleging that his 2,400-page “Bhavsagar Samundar Amar Bani” contains blasphemous references to Sikhism.

According to the World Drug Report released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2007, Punjab is the World’s No 1 transit point for opium. According to the Akali leader Captain Kanwaljeet Singh, Punjab finds itself bypassed as neighbouring states are prospering due to the services book, while industrialisation in Punjab has not happened in a planned manner due to “a crucial decade lost in militancy.”^[8]

[edit]Demographics

Sikhism is the most practiced faith in Punjab, and roughly 60% of the population belongs to the Sikh faith.^[13] 37% of the population practices Hinduism. Other faiths include Islam, Buddhism, Christianity and Jainism.^[14]

The holiest of Sikh Shrines, the Shri Harmandir Sahib Ji (or Golden Temple), is in The Holy city of Amritsar. The Sri Akal Takht Sahib Ji which resides within the Golden temple complex is the temporal seat of Sikhs. Of the five Takhts[Temporal Seat] of Sikhism, three are in Punjab. Anandpur Sahib is where Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji created the Khalsa on Vaisakhi. During major holidays on the Sikh calendar (such as Vaisakhi, Hola Mohalla, Gurpurb or Diwali), many Sikhs gather and march through virtually every city, town and village in Punjab. Sikhism is so common in fact, that at least one Sikh Gurdwara can be found in every village, town and city (in various styles and sizes).

The Punjabi language, written in the Gurmukhi script is the official and most commonly used language in the state. The other language which is spoken in Punjab is Hindi, the widely spoken language across India.

The Christians only make up about 0.3% of the population consisting in Firozpur. The Muslims only make up close to 1.3% resided in Malerkotla and Qudian.

Districts such as Jalandhar, Ludhiana, and Firozpur have a constant population because 70% of the Sikhs from these districts are settled in North America and England. Doaba, and Malwa dominate the Western countries. On the other hand 95% of Majha regions population is still resided in Punjab.

Doaba population is 5,2 million, Malwa population 7.8 million and Majha population 11.3 million.

[edit]Education

Punjab is served by 16 public institutes in higher education (listed below). All the major arts, humanities, science, engineering, law, medicine, veterinary science, and business courses are offered, leading to first degrees as well as postgraduate awards. Punjab Agricultural University is one of the world’s leading authorities in agriculture. It was instrumental and played vital role in Punjab’s Green Revolution in the 1960s-70s.

• Research and development Center for Bicyle & Sewing machine, LUDHIANA

The current Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh was educated at Punjab University, Chandigarh and Oxford and Cambridge in UK.

Professor Har Gobind Khorana, famous Nobel laureate & biotechnologist was educated at Panjab University.

Christian Medical College, Ludhiana has been training doctors since 1894, and has been a pioneering institution of higher education in north India.(www.cmcludhiana.org). The First ever full face and scalp transplant in the world was performed here is among the other firsts that CMC Ludhiana’s contribution to Punjab and North India,(http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050815/asp/knowhow/story_5105265.asp)

[edit]Economy

                                 

Punjabi Jatt Agriculturalist.

According to the India State Hunger Index 2008, Punjab has the lowest level of hunger in India. Less than one-fourth of children below the age of five are underweight, although Punjab “came off worse than countries like Gabon and Vietnam when measured on the index”.^[17]

Punjab has the best infrastructure in all of India^[2][18] The Indian National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has ranked Punjab’s infrastructure as the best in India. Its road, rail, air and transport system is rated best in the country with ranking of 210 points^[2] compared to the national average of 100 in NCAER’s infrastructure index. It has highest per capita generation of electricity in India, which is 2.5 times the national average. Although it has a huge shortage of electricity due to high demand .All major cities in Punjab benefit from this and have some of the lowest tariff’s in India. All of Punjab’s villages have been electrified and connected to the state electrical power grid since 1974. The state run electricity board is in a perpetual state of crisis and lack of funds due to corruption, faulty subsidies and poor management and work ethic.

Punjab (the five rivers region) is one of the most fertile regions on earth. The region is ideal for wheat-growing. Rice, sugar cane, fruits and vegetables are also grown. Indian Punjab is called the “Granary of India” or “India’s bread-basket.” ^[19] It produces 14% of India’s cotton, 20% of India’s wheat, and 9% of India’s rice. In worldwide terms, Indian Punjab produces 2% of the world’s cotton, 2% of its wheat and 1% of the world’s rice.^[20] The largest grown crop is wheat. Other important crops are rice, cotton, sugarcane, pearl millet, maize, barley and fruit.In Punjab per hectare consumption of fertilizer is 177 kg as compared to 90 kg at national level. Also Punjab State has been awarded National Productivity Award for agriculture extension services for consecutively ten years from 1991-92 to 1998-99 and 2001 to 2003-04. In recent years a drop in productivity has been observed mainly due to falling fertility of the soil. this is believed to be due to excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides over the years. Also a big worry is the rapidly falling water table on which almost 90% of the agriculture depends, which has witnessed alarming drops in recent years. The challenge therefore is to adopt a new and more environmentally friendly agricultural model which would have to be radically different from the one followed now.

Source: Punjab Government^{[citation needed]}

Excluding agriculture other major industries include the manufacture of scientific instruments, electrical goods, machine tools, textiles, tourism, sewing machines, sports goods, starch, fertilizers, bicycles, and the processing of pine oil and sugar.

[edit]Districts

                                 

Districts of Punjab along with their headquarters

Punjab state is divided into 20 administrative districts (listed below):

[edit]Government and politics

Like other states in India, the head of state of Punjab is the Governor, appointed by the President of India on the advice of the Central government. His or her post is largely ceremonial. The Chief Minister is the head of government and is vested with most of the executive powers. Chandigarh is the capital of Punjab, and houses the Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) and the secretariat. Chandigarh also serves as the capital of Haryana, and is a union territory of India. The Punjab & Haryana High Court, located in Chandigarh, has jurisdiction over the whole state.^[21]

[edit]Tourism

                                 

Famous tourist visiting siteMohindra College, Patiala at night.

Tourism is a swiftly expanding area and many analysts predict huge potential. Tourism of Punjab is principally suited for the tourist interested in culture, civilization, spirituality and epic history. More specifically tourism is particularly suited for the person who is interested in epic history, the celebrated Punjabi culture, royal Punjabi palaces, historic battles and of course the world-renowned examples of Sikh Architecture, shrines and temples.

[edit]Culture

                                 

A Sikh man at the Harimandir Sahib.

Music of Punjab is well-known. Bhangra is one of the many Punjabi musical art forms that is increasingly being listened to in the west and is becoming a mainstream favourite. Punjabi music is being used by western musicians, in many ways, such as mixing it with other compositions to produce award-winning music. In addition, Punjabi Classical music is increasingly becoming popular in the west due to the beauty of sounds of the Punjabi language and its composition.

Punjabi cuisine has an immense range of dishes and has become world-leader in the field so much so that many entrepreneurs that have invested in the sector have built large personal fortunes due to popularity of Punjabi Cuisine throughout the world.

Punjabi Poetry is renowned for its extremely deep meaning, beautiful, exciting and hopeful use of words. The poetry is one of the deepest insights into the Punjabi mindset. The large number of Punjabi poetry masterpieces are being translated throughout the world into many languages. Famous Punjabi poets.

A Punjabi qissa (story; pl. qisse) is a tradition of Punjabi language oral story-telling that came to South Asia with migrants from the Arabian peninsula and contemporary Iran and Afghanistan.^[22]

                                 

A Punjabi woman participating in Gidhafolk dance.

Punjabi dances, due to the long history of the Punjabi culture and of the Punjabi people there is a large number of dances. These dances are normally performed at times of celebration the most prominent being at Punjabi weddings, where the elation is usually particularly intense. The particular background of the dances can be non-religious and religious. The overall style can range from very high energy to more reserved, however the common elements make it particularly attractive to the viewers whether they be of Punjabi heritage or not, the allure is considered universal. Punjabi dances are designed for either men or women.

Punjabi wedding traditions and ceremonies are traditionally conducted in Punjabi and are a strong reflection of Punjabi culture. Marriage ceremonies are conducted in Punjabi by Granthi for Sikhs, in Sanskrit by Pundits for Hindus and Jains, and in Arabic by Kazis for Muslims. There are occasional commonalities in ritual, song, dance, food, dress. The Punjabi wedding has many rituals and ceremonies that have evolved since traditional times.

[edit]Famous people

The Punjab Medals of Honour are a collection of awards that are given by the Government of Punjab for exceptional excellence and achievement in the service of Punjab, the Punjabi people and internationally. Some awards are given yearly and some are only given rarely and under exceptional circumstances, where the individual has shown remarkable sacrifice or personal service of Punjab. To win one of the rare awards would probably make the individual a household famousname in Punjab. Two of the most prestigious awards are Punjab Rattan Award and the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award (a very prestigious award).

The Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh is a Punjabi. Two former Indian Prime Ministers include I K Gujral and Gulzarilal Nanda both of whom were also Punjabis. Another Punjabi to occupy the topmost post in India was the former President of India Giani Zail Singh. A former Chief of Army Staff of India, General General Joginder Jaswant Singh is a Punjabi, so is famous Nobel laureate Professor Har Gobind Khorana. The first Indian in Outer space is a Punjabi - Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma. The highest ranking office in the history of the Indian Air force was a Punjabi, [[Arjan Singh|Marshal of the Air Force of India - Arjan Singh]] (the highest rank ever given in the history of the Indian Air force). The first Indian-American Governor and new Governor Elect of Louisiana., USA Bobby Jindal (Rep) is also a Punjabi Hindu from his father’s parental lineage. In the entertainment sector, the giant Dalip Singh helps “promote” Punjab in the sphere of Professional wrestling. Indian cricket star Harbhajan Singh is from the Punjab from a village called Lamhbra on the outskirts of Jalandhar. Gurdas Mann and Hans Raj Hans are two of the most famous singers to come from the punjab. The first ever Asian Member of the US Senate, Dr. Dalip Singh Saund, was a Punjabi as was Kalpana Chawla, the famous US astronaut.

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