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Tourism Places In Punjab
Punjab is dotted with
places of historical and cultural interest. Ropar, one of the centers
of Indus Valley Civiliztion, Amritsar, the city of the Golden Temple, the ancient
fort of Bhatinda, the architectural monuments of Kapurthala, the City of Gardens,
Patiala and Chandigarh, the capital designed by the Swiss-born French architect
Le Corbusier are among the leading tourist attractions of the state.
Punjab is situated in the northwestern corner of the country. It is bounded
on the north by the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, on the east by Himachal Pradesh
and the Union territory of Chandigarh, on the south by Haryana and Rajasthan, and
on the west by Pakistan. The city of Chandigarh is the joint administrative capital
of Punjab and Haryana.
The word Punjab is a compound of two Persian words, panj ("five") and ab
("water"), signifying historically the land of five waters, or rivers. Owing to
territorial changes, however, only two of the rivers referred to (the Sutlej and
the Beas) lie within the boundaries of India's Punjab.
Punjab has a single-chamber legislative assembly with 117 seats. The state sends
19 members to the Indian national parliament; 7 to the Rajya Sabha (Upper
House) and 12 to the Lok Sabha (Lower House). The state is made up of 12 administrative
districts.
History
Punjab has a recorded history beginning from the annexation of Punjab and Sindh
to the Persian Empire by Darius (c. 518 B.C). Many Muslim emperors ruled over Punjab
before the Mughals entered the political scene in 1526. Under the Mughals, Punjab
enjoyed relative peace and prosperity which lasted for more than 200 years. Later,
British rule took over Punjab after a period of vigorous struggle by the Sikhs against
the foreign domination. When India finally attained Independence in 1947, Punjab
was split into two parts, the larger portion becoming a part of Pakistan. The Partition
resulted in a brutal lose of lives and properties. The present provincial boundaries
were drawn in 1970.
Society & Culture
According to the census of 1991, Punjab had a population of 20,281,986, with an
average density of 403 persons per sq km. The population of Punjab consists mainly
of Punjabis, Jats and Rajputs. Punjabi, the principal spoken language of present-day
Punjab is also the official state language, written in the Gurmukhi script. The
majority 60 per cent of the population follow Sikhism, a faith originated from the
teachings of Nanak, the first Sikh Guru. The largest minority is Hindu followed
by Muslims, Buddhists, Christian and Jains. Scheduled castes of both the Hindu and
Sikh religion constitute about one-fourth of the Punjab’s population. The literacy
rate of Punjab is 59%.
The culture of Punjab is best reflected in its folklore, ballads of love and war,
fairs and festivals, dancing, music and literature. Punjab holds numerous religious
and seasonal festivals, such as Dussehra, Diwali, and Baisakhi, as
well as anniversary celebrations in honour of Gurus and saints. The bhangra, jhumar,
and sammi are the popular dance forms. The giddha, a native Punjabi
form, is a humorous song-dance performed by women. In addition to Sikh religious
music, semiclassical Mughal forms, such as the khayal, thumri, ghazal, and
qawwali, continue to be popular. Punjabi literature owes its origin to the
mystical and religious writings of the 13th century Muslim sufi (mystic)
Shikh Farid and of the 15th-16th century Guru Nanak, founder
of the Sikh faith, who were the first to use Punjabi extensively as medium of their
politically tinged poetic pursuits. Author Bhai Vir Singh and the poets Puran Singh
and Dhani Ram Chatrik inaugurated the modern Punjabi literature at the beginning
of the 20th century.
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Punjab is also famous for its handicraft products. Young girls in villages weave
durries (cotton bed or floor spreads) in different attractive designs. Needlework
of Punjab is unique. Baghs, Phulkaris, rumals and scarves are intricately
designed in rich traditional patterns and motifs. The woodwork of Punjab is exquisitely
beautiful. Artistic beds with comfortable, skillfully made back rests fitted with
mirrors and carved colourful legs called Pawas, low seats called Peeras, Peerian
were made by the carpenters in almost every village. Furniture designed with inlay
ivory work, coloured mirror and engraved woodwork is also exported to different
countries.
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Economy & Infrastructure
Agriculture is the main occupation of the people of Punjab and forms the backbone
of the state economy. More than 80 percent of Punjab is cultivated. Punjab alone
contributed about 62 per cent of wheat, and 50 per cent of rice, to the central
pool in the 1994-95 seasons, despite the fact, that it comprises only 1.53 per cent
of the area in the country. The major crops are wheat, maize (corn), rice, pulses
(legumes), sugarcane, and cotton. Among the livestock raised are buffalo and other
cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry. The principal industries include the manufacture
of textiles, sewing machines, sporting goods, starch, fertilizers, bicycles, scientific
instruments, electrical goods, and machine tools, and the processing of sugar and
pine oil.
Punjab has developed a network of about 30,000 miles of roads, of which about
75 percent are surfaced. A fairly dense and efficient network of the Northern Railway
zone--a part of the national railway system--exists in Punjab. Regular air
passenger service from Delhi to Chandigarh and to the Punjabi cities of Amritsar,
Ludhiana, and Bathinda is available. Like the railways, the postal and telegraph
services and radio and television broadcasting are under the central government's
control.
Hotels Of Punjab
The State has hotels of star and non star category catering to the needs of the
tourists visiting Punjab. Besides it has resorts, restaurants and cafés which cater
to the needs of all segment of travelers.
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