This article is about the Pakistani province of Punjab. For the geographical region, seePunjab. For the state of India, seePunjab, India. For other uses of the name, seePunjab (disambiguation).
The province forms the bulk of the transnationalPunjab region,partitioned in 1947 between Pakistan and India.[8] The province is represented in thefederal parliament through 173, out of 336, seats inNational Assembly, the lower house; and 23, out of 96, seats inSenate, the upper house.
Punjab is Pakistan's most industrialised province, with the industrial sector comprising 24 per cent of the province's gross domestic product.[9] It is known for its relative prosperity,[10] and has the lowest rate of poverty among all Pakistani provinces.[11][c] However, a clear divide is present between the northern and southern regions of the province;[10] with northern Punjab being relatively more developed than southern Punjab.[12][13] Punjab is also one of the most urbanised regions ofSouth Asia, with approximately 40 percent of its population being concentrated in urban areas.[14]
The name "Punjab" consists of two parts (پنج,panj,'five' andآب,āb,'water'), ofPersian origin which are cognates of theSanskrit words (पञ्च,pañca,'five' andअप्,áp,'water').[24][25] The wordpañj-āb is thecalque of Indo-Aryanpañca-áp and means "The Land of Five Waters", referring to the riversJhelum,Chenab,Ravi,Sutlej, andBeas.[26] All aretributaries of theIndus River, the Sutlej being the largest.[d] References to a land of five rivers are found in theMahabharata, in which one of the regions is named asPanchanada (Sanskrit:पञ्चनद,romanised: pañca-nada,lit.'five rivers').[27][28] The ancientGreeks referred to the region asPentapotamía (Greek:Πενταποταμία), of the same meaning as that of Punjab.[29][30][31] Earlier, Punjab was also known asSapta Sindhu in theRigveda andHapta Hendu in theAvesta, translating into "The Land of Seven Rivers"; the other two being Indus andKabul which are included in the greater Punjab region.[32] The current name gained currency during theMughal period.[33]
It is believed that the earliest evidence of human habitation in Punjab traces to theSoan Valley of thePothohar, between theIndus and theJhelum rivers, whereSoanian culture developed between 774,000 BC and 11,700 BC. This period goes back to the first interglacial period in thesecond Ice Age, from which remnants of stone and flint tools have been found.[34] The Punjab region was the site of one of the earliestcradle of civilisations, theBronze AgeHarrapan civilisation that flourished from about 3000 B.C. and declined rapidly 1,000 years later, following theIndo-Aryan migrations that overran the region in waves between 1500 and 500 B.C.[35] The migrating Indo-Aryan tribes gave rise to theIron AgeVedic civilisation, which lasted till 500 BC. During this era, theRigveda was composed inPunjab,[36] laying the foundation ofHinduism. Frequent intertribal wars in thepost-Vedic period stimulated the growth of larger groupings ruled by chieftains and kings, who ruled local kingdoms known asMahajanapadas.[35] Achaemenid emperorDarius the Great, in 518 BCE crossed the Indus and annex the regions up to theJhelum River.[37] Taxila is considered to be the site of one of the oldest education centre of South Asia and was part of the Achaemenid province of Hindush.[38][39]
One of the early kings in Punjab wasPorus, who fought the famousBattle of the Hydaspes againstAlexander the Great.[40] The battle is thought to have resulted in a decisiveGreek victory; however, A. B. Bosworth warns against an uncritical reading of Greek sources who were obviously exaggerative.[40] Porus refused to surrender and wandered about atop an elephant, until he was wounded and his force routed.[40] When asked by Alexander how he wished to be treated, Porus replied "Treat me as a king would treat another king".[41] Despite the apparently one-sided results, Alexander was impressed by Porus and chose to not depose him.[42][43][44] Not only was his territory reinstated but also expanded with Alexander's forces annexing the territories of Glausaes, who ruled to the northeast of Porus' kingdom.[42] The battle is historically significant because it resulted in the syncretism of ancient Greek political and cultural influences on the Indian subcontinent, yielding works such as Greco-Buddhist art, which continued to have an impact for the ensuing centuries.
Multan was the noted center of excellence of the region, which was attacked by the Greek army during the era ofAlexander the Great. The Malli tribe, together with nearby tribes, gathered an army of 90,000-100,000 personnel to face the Greek army. This was perhaps the largest army faced by the Greeks in the entire Indian subcontinent.[45] During the siege of the city's citadel, Alexander leaped into the inner area of the citadel, where he faced the Mallians' leader. Alexander was wounded by an arrow that had penetrated his lung, leaving him severely injured. The city was conquered after a fierce battle.[46][47]
The region was then divided between theMaurya Empire and the Greco-Bactrian kingdom in 302 B.C.E. Menander I Soter conquered Punjab and madeSagala (present-daySialkot) the capital of theIndo-Greek Kingdom.[48][49] Menander is noted for becoming a patron and converting to Greco-Buddhism and he is widely regarded as the greatest of the Indo-Greek kings.[50]
Islam emerged as the major power in Punjab after theUmayyad army led byMuhammad ibn al-Qasim conquered the regionin 711 AD.[35] The city ofMultan became a centre of Islam. After the Umayyads conquered the key cities ofUch and Multan, they ruled the far areas of Punjab and includedKashmir. Islam spread rapidly.[52]
In the ninth century, theHindu Shahi dynasty originating from the region of Oddiyana replaced the Taank kingdom in the Punjab, ruling much of Punjab along with eastern Afghanistan.[35][57][58] In the 10th century, the tribe of theGakhars/Khokhars, formed a large part of the Hindu Shahi army according to the Persian historianFirishta.[59]
Ghaznavid
TheTurkicGhaznavids in the tenth century attacked the regions of Punjab.Multan andUch were conquered after 3 attacks, and Multan's ruler, Abul Fateh Daud was defeated,[60] famous Sun Temple was destroyed. Ghaznavids overthrew the Hindu Shahis and consequently ruled for 157 years, gradually declining as a power until theGhurid conquests of key Punjab cities of Uch, Multan andLahore byMuhammad of Ghor in 1186, deposing the last Ghaznavid rulerKhusrau Malik.[61]
Following the death ofMuhammad of Ghor in 1206, the Ghurid state fragmented and was replaced in northern India by the Delhi Sultanate, and for some time, independent sultanates ruled by various Sultans.[45] TheDelhi Sultanate ruled Punjab for the next three hundred years, led by five unrelated dynasties, theMamluks,Khalajis,Tughlaqs,Sayyids andLodis.
Delhi Sultanate
Tughlaqs
Ghiyath al-Din Tughlaq, the former governor ofMultan andDipalpur founded the Tughlaq dynasty in Delhi and ruled the subcontinent region. Earlier, he served as the governor of Multan and fought 28 battles against Mongols from there and saved Punjab and Sindh regions from the advances of Mongols and survived. After his death, his sonMuhammad Tughlaq became the emperor.[45]
Sayyid Dynasty
The 15th century saw the rise of many prominent Muslims from Punjab.Khizr Khan established theSayyid dynasty, the fourth dynasty of theDelhi Sultanate, with four rulers ruling from 1414 to 1451 for 37 years.[62] The first ruler of the dynasty,Khizr Khan, who was theTimurid vassal ofMultan, conquered Delhi in 1414, while the rulers proclaimed themselves the Sultans of theDelhi Sultanate underMubarak Shah,[63][64] which succeeded theTughlaq dynasty and ruled the Sultanate until they were displaced by theLodi dynasty in 1451.
Khizr Khan was originally a noble in the Delhi Sultanate during theTughlaq Dynasty and was the governor of Multan under SultanFiruz Shah. He was expelled from the city by the Muin tribes under Sarang Khan who occupied Multan in 1395, an Indian Muslim and the brother of Mallu Iqbal Khan, who was the de facto ruler of Delhi.[65] Sarang Khan was aided by the servants of Malik Mardan Bhatti, a former governor of Multan and the grandfather of Khizr Khan by adoption.[66]
In 1398,Timur attacked the Punjab region. After his invasion, Khizr Khan established the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. According toRichard M. Eaton, Khizr Khan was the son of a Punjabi chieftain.[67] He was aKhokhar chieftain who travelled to Samarkand and profited from the contacts he made with theTimurid society.[68]
Following Timur's 1398Sack of Delhi, he appointedKhizr Khan as deputy ofMultan (Punjab). He held Lahore, Dipalpur, Multan and Upper Sindh.[69][70] Collecting his forces in Multan, Khizr Khan defeated and killed Mallu Iqbal Khan in Delhi in 1405.[71] He then captured Delhi on 28 May 1414 thereby establishing the Sayyid dynasty.[72] Khizr Khan did not take up the title ofSultan, but continued the fiction of his allegiance to Timur asRayat-i-Ala (vassal) of theTimurids - initially that of Timur, and later his sonShah Rukh.[73][74] After the accession of Khizr Khan, the Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Sindh were reunited under the Delhi Sultanate, where he spent his time subduing rebellions.[75]
Khizr Khan was succeeded by his son SayyidMubarak Shah after his death on 20 May 1421. Mubarak Shah referred to himself asMuizz-ud-Din Mubarak Shah on his coins, removing the Timurid name with the name of theCaliph, and declared himself a Shah.[64] A detailed account of his reign is available in theTarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi written byYahya-bin-Ahmad Sirhindi. After the death of Mubarak Shah, his nephew,Muhammad Shah ascended the throne and styled himself as Sultan Muhammad Shah. Just before his death, he called his son SayyidAla-ud-Din Shah fromBadaun, and nominated him as successor.[76]
The last ruler of the Sayyids, Ala-ud-Din, voluntarily abdicated the throne of the Delhi Sultanate in favour ofBahlul Khan Lodi on 19 April 1451, and left for Badaun, where he died in 1478.[77]
In 1445, Sultan Qutbudin, chief ofLangah tribe,[79][80][81] established theLangah Sultanate inMultan. The Sultanate included regions of southern and central Punjab and some areas of present-day Khyber. A large number of Baloch settlers arrived and the towns of Dera Ghazi Khan and Dera Ismail Khan were founded.[82]
TheMughals came to power in the early sixteenth century and gradually expanded to control all of Punjab.[84] During Mughal period Punjab region was divided into two provinces;Province of Multan andProvince of Lahore. TheSubah of Lahore was one of the threesubahs (provinces) of theMughal Empire in thePunjab region, alongsideMultan and Delhi subahs, encompassing the northern, central and easternPunjab.[85][86] It was created as one of the original 12Subahs of the Mughal Empire under the administrative reforms carried byAkbar in 1580. The province ceased to exist after the death of its last viceroy,Adina Beg in 1758, with large parts being incorporated intoDurrani Empire. Collectively, Lahore andMultan subahs, and parts of Delhi subah, comprisedMughal Punjab.[85][86]
The Mughal Empire ruled the region until it was severely weakened in the eighteenth century.[35] As Mughal power weakened, Afghan rulers ofDurrani dynasty took control of the region.[35]
The Sikh Empire ruled Punjab from 1799 until the British annexed it in 1849 following theFirst andSecond Anglo-Sikh Wars.[91]
Under his leadership the Chathas gained several successes over the Sikhs,[38]and it at one time looked as if the progress of the Sikh arms had been arrested and their dominion in theDoab annihilated.[56]
Chattha State was annexed when Jan muhammad Chattha was killed in a siege led byRanjit Singh when the latter recovered the lost Chattha state with Afghan aid.[94]
Pakpattan state (1692–1810 CE)
Following the disintegration of the Mughal Empire, the shrine'sDīwān was able to forge a political independent state centered on Pakpattan.[95] In 1757,Dīwān 'Abd as-Subḥān gathered an army of hisJatmurīds, attacked the Raja ofBikaner, and thereby expanded the shrine's territorial holdings for the first time east of the Sutlej.[95] Around 1776, theDīwān, supported mainly by hisWattumurīds, successfully repelled an attack by the SikhNakai Misl, resulting in the death of the Nakai leader,Heera Singh Sandhu.[95]
Most of the Punjabi homeland formed a province of British India, though a number of smallprincely states retained local rulers who recognised British authority.[35] The Punjab with its rich farmlands became one of the most important colonial assets.[35] Lahore was a noted center of learning and culture, andRawalpindi became an important military installation.[35]
Most Punjabis supported the British duringWorld War I, providing men and resources to the war effort even though the Punjab remained a source of anti-colonial activities.[101] Disturbances in the region increased as the war continued.[35] At the end of the war, high casualty rates, heavy taxation, inflation, and a widespread influenza epidemic disrupted Punjabi society.[35] In 1919 a British officer ordered his troops to fire on a crowd of demonstrators, mostly Sikhs in Amritsar. TheJallianwala massacre fuelled theIndian independence movement.[35] Nationalists declared the independence of India from Lahore in 1930 but were quickly suppressed.[35]
When the Second World War broke out, nationalism in British India had already divided into religious movements.[35] Many Sikhs and other minorities supported the Hindus, who promised a secular multicultural and multireligious society, andMuslim leaders in Lahore passed a resolution to work for aMuslim Pakistan, making the Punjab region a center of growing conflict between Indian and Pakistani nationalists.[35] At the end of the war, the British granted separate independence to India and Pakistan, setting off massive communal violence as Muslims fled to Pakistan and Hindu and Sikh Punjabis fled east to India.[35]
At the time of partition in 1947, the province was split into East and West Punjab.East Punjab (48%) became part of India, whileWest Punjab (52%) became part of Pakistan.[102] The Punjab bore the brunt of thecivil unrest followingpartition, with casualties estimated to be in the millions.[103][104][105][106]
Another major consequence of partition was the sudden shift towards religious homogeneity that occurred in all districts across Punjab owing to the new international border that cut through the province. This rapid demographic shift was primarily due to wide-scale migration but also caused by large-scalereligious cleansing riots which were witnessed across the region at the time. According to historical demographerTim Dyson, in the eastern regions of Punjab that ultimately becameIndian Punjab following independence, districts that were 66% Hindu in 1941 became 80% Hindu in 1951; those that were 20% Sikh became 50% Sikh in 1951. Conversely, in the western regions of Punjab that ultimately became Pakistani Punjab, all districts became almost exclusively Muslim by 1951.[107]
Punjab's landscape mostly consists of fertile alluvial plains of theIndus River and its four major tributaries in Pakistan, theJhelum,Chenab,Ravi, andSutlej rivers which traverse Punjab north to south – the fifth of the "five waters" of Punjab, theBeas River, lies exclusively in the Indian state of Punjab. The landscape is amongst the most heavily irrigated on earth and canals can be found throughout the province. Punjab also includes several mountainous regions, including theSulaiman Mountains in the southwest part of the province, theMargalla Hills in the north nearIslamabad, and theSalt Range which divides the most northerly portion of Punjab, thePothohar Plateau, from the rest of the province. Sparsedeserts can be found in southern Punjab near the border with Rajasthan and the Sulaiman Range. Punjab also contains part of theThal andCholistan deserts. In the South, Punjab's elevation reaches 2,327 metres (7,635 ft)[citation needed] near the hill station ofFort Munro in Dera Ghazi Khan.
Climate
Sunset in Punjab, during summer
Most areas in Punjab experience extreme weather with foggy winters, often accompanied by rain. By mid-February the temperature begins to rise; springtime weather continues until mid-April, when the summer heat sets in.The onset of the southwestmonsoon is anticipated to reach Punjab by May, but since the early 1970s, the weather pattern has been irregular. The spring monsoon has either skipped over the area or has caused it to rain so hard that floods have resulted. June and July are oppressively hot. Although official estimates rarely place the temperature above 46 °C, newspaper sources claim that it reaches 51 °C and regularly carry reports about people who have succumbed to the heat. Heat records were broken inMultan in June 1993, when themercury was reported to have risen to 54 °C. In August the oppressive heat is punctuated by the rainy season, referred to asbarsat, which brings relief in its wake. The hardest part of the summer is then over, but cooler weather does not come until late October.
In early 2007, the province experienced one of the coldest winters in the last 70 years.[111]
Punjab's region temperature ranges from −2° to 45 °C, but can reach 50 °C (122 °F) in summer and can touch down to −10 °C in winter.
Climatically, Punjab has three major seasons:[112]
Hot weather (April to early June) when temperature rises as high as 123 °F (51 °C).
Rainy season (late June to September). Average annual rainfall ranges between 950 and 1300 mm sub-mountain region and 500–800 mm in the plains.
Cold / Foggy / mild weather (October to March). Temperature goes down as low as 35.6 °F (2.0 °C).
Weather extremes are notable from the hot and barren south to the cool hills of the north. The foothills of theHimalayas are found in the extreme north as well, and feature a much cooler and wetter climate, with snowfall common at higher altitudes.[citation needed]
The major native language spoken in Punjab isPunjabi, representing the largest language spoken in the country. The Punjabi language is spoken in the form of many dialects across the province, includingMajhi,Pothwari,Thali,Jhangvi,Dhanni,Shahpuri, andDoabi. In addition to Punjabi, other closely related languages such asSaraiki in the south (includingMultani,Derawali, andRiasti dialects) andHindko in the northwest (includingChachhi,Ghebi, andAwankari dialects) are also spoken widely. Both Saraiki and Hindko have been enumerated separately from Punjabi in thePakistani censuses of 1981 and 2017.
According to the 2023 census, the population of Punjab, Pakistan was 127,688,922.[129] With 124,462,897 adherents,Muslims comprise the largest religious group, with aSunniHanafi majority and aShiaIthna 'ashariyah minority, forming approximately 97.75 percent of the population.[129] The largest non-Muslim minority isChristians with 2,458,924 adherents, forming roughly 1.93 percent of the population.[129]Hindus form 249,716 people, comprising approximately 0.20 percent of the population.[129] The other minorities includeSikhs and Parsis.[129]
The Government of Punjab is a provincial government in the federal structure of Pakistan, is based inLahore, the capital of the Punjab Province. The Chief Minister of Punjab (CM) is elected by theProvincial Assembly of the Punjab to serve as the head of the provincial government in Punjab, Pakistan. The current Chief Minister isMaryam Nawaz Sharif, who is also the first ever woman Chief Minister of any province in Pakistan. The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the province of Punjab, which is located in Lahore in eastern Pakistan. The Assembly was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of Pakistan as having a total of 371 seats, with 66 seats reserved for women and eight reserved for non-Muslims.
There are 48 departments in Punjab government. Each Department is headed by a Provincial Minister (Politician) and a Provincial Secretary (A civil servant of usually BPS-20 or BPS-21). All Ministers report to the Chief Minister, who is the Chief Executive. All Secretaries report to the Chief Secretary of Punjab, who is usually a BPS-22 Civil Servant. The Chief Secretary in turn, reports to the Chief Minister. In addition to these departments, there are several Autonomous Bodies and Attached Departments that report directly to either the Secretaries or the Chief Secretary.
Below you will find a list of all 41 districts in the province of Punjab, along with the division it belongs to, the area of the district, the population and population density of the district, the average annual population growth rate of each district (between 1998 and 2017), and a map showing its location. The districts are initially listed in alphabetical order, but they can be sorted in different ways by clicking the headers of the table.
List of the Districts by area, population, density, literacy rate etc.
Punjab has thelargest economy in Pakistan, contributing most to the national GDP. The province's economy has quadrupled since 1972.[144] Its share of Pakistan's GDP was 54.7% in 2000 and 59% as of 2010. It is especially dominant in the service and agriculture sectors of Pakistan's economy. With its contribution ranging from 52.1% to 64.5% in the Service Sector and 56.1% to 61.5% in the agriculture sector. It is also a major manpower contributor because it has the largest pool of professionals and highly skilled (technically trained) manpower in Pakistan. It is also dominant in the manufacturing sector, though the dominance is not as huge, with historical contributions ranging from a low of 44% to a high of 52.6%.[145] In 2007, Punjab achieved a growth rate of 7.8%[146] and during the period 2002–03 to 2007–08, its economy grew at a rate of between 7% and 8% per year.[147] and during 2008–09 grew at 6% against the total GDP growth of Pakistan at 4%.
Despite the lack of a coastline, Punjab is the most industrialised province of Pakistan;[9] its manufacturing industries produce textiles, sports goods, heavy machinery, electrical appliances, surgical instruments, vehicles, auto parts, metals, sugar mill plants, aircraft, cement, agricultural machinery, bicycles and rickshaws, floor coverings, and processed foods. In 2003, the province manufactured 90% of the paper and paper boards, 71% of the fertilisers, 69% of the sugar and 40% of the cement of Pakistan.[148]
Lahore and Gujranwala Divisions have the largest concentration of small light engineering units. The district of Sialkot excels in sports goods, surgical instruments and cutlery goods. Industrial estates are being developed by Punjab government to boost industrialisation in province,Quaid e Azam Business Park Sheikhupura is one of the industrial areas which is being developed near Sheikhupura on Lahore-Islamabad motorway.[150]
Punjab has the lowest poverty rates in Pakistan, although a divide is present between the northern and southern parts of the province.[10]Sialkot District in the prosperous northern part of the province has a poverty rate of 5.63%,[151] whileRajanpur District in the poorer south has a poverty rate of 60.05%.[13]
The literacy rate has increased greatly over the last 40 years (see the table below). Punjab has the highestHuman Development Index out of all of Pakistan's provinces at 0.550.[152]
The culture in Punjab grew out of the settlements along the five rivers, which served as an important route to theNear East as early as the ancientIndus Valley civilisation, dating back to3000 BCE.[184]Agriculture has been the major economic feature of the Punjab and has therefore formed the foundation of Punjabi culture, with one's social status being determined by landownership.[184] Punjab emerged as an important agricultural region, especially following theGreen Revolution during the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, has been described as the "breadbasket of both India and Pakistan".[184]
TheIslamic festivals are typically observed.[185][186] Non-Islamic festivals includeLohri,Basant andVaisakhi, which are usually celebrated as seasonal festivals.[187] The Islamic festivals are set according to the lunarIslamic calendar (Hijri), and the date falls earlier by 10 to 13 days from year to year.[188]
Some Islamic clerics and some politicians have attempted to ban the participation of non-Islamic festivals because of the religious basis,[189] and they being declaredharam (forbidden in Islam).[190]
A demonstration by Punjabis at Lahore, Pakistan, demanding to make Punjabi as official language of instruction in schools of the Punjab.
The use of Urdu and English as the near exclusive languages of broadcasting, the public sector, and formal education have led some to fear that the Punjabi language in the province is being relegated to a low-status language and that it is being denied an environment where it can flourish.[195][196][197][198]
In August 2015, the Pakistan Academy of Letters, International Writer's Council (IWC) and World Punjabi Congress (WPC) organised theKhawaja Farid Conference and demanded that a Punjabi-language university should be established inLahore and that Punjabi language should be declared as the medium of instruction at the primary level.[199][200] In September 2015, a case was filed inSupreme Court of Pakistan againstGovernment of Punjab, Pakistan as it did not take any step to implement the Punjabi language in the province.[201][202] Additionally, several thousand Punjabis gather inLahore every year onInternational Mother Language Day.
Hafiz Saeed, chief of Jama'at-ud-Da'wah (JuD), has questioned Pakistan's decision to adopt Urdu as its national language in a country where majority of people speak Punjabi language, citing his interpretation of Islamic doctrine as encouraging education in the mother-tongue.[203] Some of the organisations and activists that demand the promotion of the Punjabi language include:
Cultural and research institutes: Punjabi Adabi Board, the Khoj Garh Research Centre, Punjabi Prachar, Institute for Peace and Secular Studies, Adbi Sangat, Khaaksaar Tehreek, Saanjh, Maan Boli Research Centre, Punjabi Sangat Pakistan, Punjabi Markaz, Sver International.
Trade unions and youth groups: Punjabi Writers Forum, National Students Federation, Punjabi Union-Pakistan, Punjabi National Conference, National Youth Forum, Punjabi Writers Forum, National Students Federation, Punjabi Union, Pakistan, and the Punjabi National Conference.
Notable activists include Tariq Jatala, Farhad Iqbal, Diep Saeeda, Khalil Ojla, Afzal Sahir, Jamil Ahmad Paul, Mazhar Tirmazi, Mushtaq Sufi, Biya Je, Tohid Ahmad Chattha and Bilal Shaker Kahaloon, Nazeer Kahut.[204][205][206]
List of Punjabi people, also includes people of Punjabi ethnicity from India and elsewhere
Notes
^abPunjab's contribution to national economy was 60.58%, or $925 billion (PPP) and $225 billion (nominal) in 2022.[2][3]
^No official status; just recognition as the province's language, managed under the statutory body Punjab Institute of Language, Art & Culture (PILAC).
^Islamabad Capital Territory is Pakistan's least impoverished administrative unit, but ICT is not a province.Azad Kashmir also has a rate of poverty lower than Punjab, but is not a province.
^Alternatively, Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej are counted among thefive rivers of Punjab, with Beas considered as a tributary of Sutlej.
^Arif, G. M."Poverty Profile of Pakistan"(PDF).Benazir Income Support Programme. Government of Pakistan. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 13 December 2016. Retrieved14 July 2016.Among the four provinces, the highest incidence of poverty is found in Sindh (45%), followed by Balochistan (44%), Khyber Pakhtukhaw (KP) (37%) and Punjab (21%)
^Arif, G. M."Poverty Profile of Pakistan"(PDF).Benazir Income Support Programme. Government of Pakistan. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 13 December 2016. Retrieved14 July 2016.See Table 5, Page 12 "Sialkot District"
^abArif, G. M."Poverty Profile of Pakistan"(PDF).Benazir Income Support Programme. Government of Pakistan. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 13 December 2016. Retrieved14 July 2016.See Table 5, Page 12 "Rajanpur District"
^Government of the Punjab – Planning & Development Department (March 2015)."PUNJAB GROWTH STRATEGY 2018 Accelerating Economic Growth and Improving Social Outcomes"(PDF).Archived(PDF) from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved14 July 2016.Punjab is among the most urbanized regions of South Asia and is experiencing a consistent and long-term demographic shift of the population to urban regions and cities, with around 40% of the province's population living in urban areas
^Nizami, K.A., "Farīd al-Dīn Masʿūd "Gand̲j̲-I-S̲h̲akar"", in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs.
^Gilmartin, David (1988).Empire and Islam: Punjab and the Making of Pakistan. University of California Press. pp. 40–41.
^H K Manmohan Siṅgh."The Punjab".The Encyclopedia of Sikhism, Editor-in-Chief Harbans Singh.Punjabi University, Patiala.Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved18 August 2015.
^Gandhi, Rajmohan (2013).Punjab: A History from Aurangzeb to Mountbatten. New Delhi, India, Urbana,Illinois: Aleph Book Company. p. 1 ("Introduction").ISBN978-93-83064-41-0.
^Kenneth Pletcher, ed. (2010).The Geography of India: Sacred and Historic Places. Britannica Educational Publishing. p. 199.ISBN978-1-61530-202-4.The word's origin can perhaps be traced to panca nada, Sanskrit for "five rivers" and the name of a region mentioned in the ancient epic the Mahabharata.
^Rajesh Bala (2005). "Foreign Invasions and their Effect on Punjab". In Sukhdial Singh (ed.).Punjab History Conference, Thirty-seventh Session, March 18–20, 2005: Proceedings. Punjabi University. p. 80.ISBN978-81-7380-990-3.The word Punjab is a compound of two words-Panj (Five) and aab (Water), thus signifying the land of five waters or rivers. This origin can perhaps be traced to panch nada, Sanskrit for "Five rivers" the word used before the advent of Muslims with a knowledge of Persian to describe the meeting point of the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers, before they joined the Indus.
^Lassen, Christian. 1827.Commentatio Geographica atque Historica de Pentapotamia IndicaArchived 18 November 2022 at theWayback Machine [A Geographical and Historical Commentary on Indian Pentapotamia]. Weber. p. 4:"That part of India which today we call by the Persian name ''Penjab'' is namedPanchanada in the sacred language of the Indians; either of which names may be rendered in Greek by Πενταποταμια. The Persian origin of the former name is not at all in doubt, although the words of which it is composed are both Indian and Persian.... But, in truth, that final word is never, to my knowledge, used by the Indians in proper names compounded in this way; on the other hand, there exist multiple Persian names which end with that word, e.g.,Doab andNilab. Therefore, it is likely that the name Penjab, which is now found in all geographical books, is of more recent origin and can be attributed to the Muslim kings of India, among whom the Persian language was predominantly in use. That the Indian name Panchanada is ancient and genuine is evident from the fact that it is already seen in theRamayana andMahabharata, the most ancient Indian poems, and that no other exists in addition to it among the Indians; forPanchála, which English translations of theRamayana render with Penjab...is the name of another region, entirely distinct from Pentapotamia...."[whose translation?]
^Latif, Syad Muhammad (1891).History of the Panjáb from the Remotest Antiquity to the Present Time. Calcultta Central Press Company. p. 1.The Panjáb, the Pentapotamia of the Greek historians, the north-western region of the empire of Hindostán, derives its name from two Persian words,panj (five), anáb (water), having reference to the five rivers which confer on the country its distinguishing features."
^Khalid, Kanwal (2015)."Lahore of Pre Historic Era"(PDF).Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan.52 (2): 73.Archived(PDF) from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved20 January 2019.The earliest mention of five rivers in the collective sense was found in Yajurveda and a word Panchananda was used, which is a Sanskrit word to describe a land where five rivers meet. [...] In the later period, the Greeks used the term "Pentapotamia" to identify this land. (Penta means 5 and potamia, water ___ the land of five rivers) Muslim Historians implied the word "Punjab" for this region. Again, it was not a new word because in Persian-speaking areas, there are references of this name given to any particular place where five rivers or lakes meet.
^Canfield, Robert L. (1991).Persia in Historical Perspective.Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 1 ("Origins").ISBN978-0-521-52291-5.
^Singh 1989, p. 1. sfn error: no target: CITEREFSingh1989 (help)
^abcBosworth, Albert Brian (1993). "The campaign of the Hydaspes".Conquest and Empire: The Reign of Alexander the Great. Cambridge University Press. pp. 125–130.
^Rogers, p. 200. sfn error: no target: CITEREFRogers (help)
^abBosworth, Albert Brian (1993). "From the Hydaspes to the Southern Ocean".Conquest and Empire: The Reign of Alexander the Great. Cambridge University Press.
^Anson, Edward M. (2013).Alexander the Great: Themes and Issues. Bloomsbury. p. 151.ISBN9781441193797.
^Roy 2004, pp. 23–28. sfn error: no target: CITEREFRoy2004 (help)
^Hazel, John (2013).Who's Who in the Greek World. Routledge. p. 155.ISBN9781134802241.Menander king in India, known locally as Milinda, born at a village named Kalasi near Alasanda (Alexandria-in-the-Caucasus), and who was himself the son of a king. After conquering the Punjab, where he made Sagala his capital, he made an expedition across northern India and visited Patna, the capital of the Mauraya empire, though he did not succeed in conquering this land as he appears to have been overtaken by wars on the north-west frontier with Eucratides.
^Ahir, D. C. (1971).Buddhism in the Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Maha Bodhi Society of India. p. 31.OCLC1288206.Demetrius died in 166 B.C., and Apollodotus, who was a near relation of the King died in 161 B.C. After his death, Menander carved out a kingdom in Punjab. Thus from 161 B.C. onward Menander was the ruler of Punjab till his death in 145 B.C. or 130 B.C.
^Rambo, Lewis R.; Farhadian, Charles E. (6 March 2014).The Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion. Oxford University Press. pp. 489–491.ISBN978-0-19-971354-7.Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved11 August 2022.First, Islam was introduced into the southern Punjab in the opening decades of the eighth century. By the sixteenth century, Muslims were the majority in the region, and an elaborate network of mosques and mausoleums marked the landscape. Local converts constituted the majority of this Muslim community, and as far as the mechanisms of conversion, the sources of the period emphasize the recitation of the Islamic confession of faith (shahada), the performance of the circumcision (indri vaddani), and the ingestion of cow-meat (bhas khana).
^Rahman, Abdul (2002)."New Light on the Khingal, Turk and the Hindu Sahis"(PDF).Ancient Pakistan.XV:37–42.The Hindu Śāhis were therefore neither Bhattis, or Janjuas, nor Brahmans. They were simply Uḍis/Oḍis. It can now be seen that the term Hindu Śāhi is a misnomer and, based as it is merely upon religious discrimination, should be discarded and forgotten. The correct name is Uḍi or Oḍi Śāhi dynasty.
^Richard M. Eaton (2019).India in the Persianate Age: 1000–1765. University of California Press. p. 117.ISBN978-0520325128.
^Orsini, Francesca (2015).After Timur left : culture and circulation in fifteenth-century North India. Oxford Univ. Press. p. 49.ISBN978-0-19-945066-4.OCLC913785752.
^Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1996).The New Islamic Dynasties. Columbia University Press. p. 304.ISBN978-0231107143.
^Richard M. Eaton (2019).India in the Persianate Age: 1000–1765. University of California Press. p. 117.ISBN978-0520325128.The career of Khizr Khan, a Punjabi chieftain belonging to the Khokar clan...
^Ahmed, Iftikhar (1984). "Territorial Distribution of Jatt Castes in Punjab c. 1595 – c. 1881".Proceedings of the Indian History Congress.45. Indian History Congress: 429, 432.ISSN2249-1937.JSTOR44140224.
^Mubārak, A.F.; Blochmann, H. (1891).The Ain I Akbari. Bibliotheca Indica. Vol. 2. Asiatic Society of Bengal. p. 321. Retrieved28 July 2022.
^Lambrick, H. T. (1975).Sind : a general introduction. Hyderabad: Sindhi Adabi Board. p. 212.ISBN0-19-577220-2.OCLC2404471.
^Islamic Thought and Movements in the Subcontinent, 711–1947, 1979, p 278, Syed Moinul Haq.
^Grewal, J. S. (1998). "The Sikh empire (1799–1849) - Chapter 6".The Sikhs of the Punjab. The New Cambridge History of India (Revised ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 126–128.ISBN0-521-63764-3.
^Talbot, Ian (2009). "Partition of India: The Human Dimension".Cultural and Social History.6 (4):403–410.doi:10.2752/147800409X466254.S2CID147110854.The number of casualties remains a matter of dispute, with figures being claimed that range from 200,000 to 2 million victims.
^D'Costa, Bina (2011).Nationbuilding, Gender and War Crimes in South Asia. Routledge. p. 53.ISBN978-0415565660.
^A PricewaterhouseCoopers study released in 2009, surveying the 2008 GDP of the top cities in the world, calculated Faisalabad's GDP (PPP) at $35 billion. The city was third in Pakistan behind Karachi ($78 billion) and Lahore ($40 billion). Faisalabad's GDP is projected to rise to $37 billion in 2025 at a growth rate of 5.7%, higher than the growth rates of 5.5% and 5.6% predicted for Karachi and Lahore.[2][ "PricewaterhouseCoopers Media Centre". Ukmediacentre.pwc.com. 1 June 2005.]– Last Paragraph[permanent dead link]
^Arif, G. M."Poverty Profile of Pakistan"(PDF).Benazir Income Support Programme. Government of Pakistan. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 13 December 2016. Retrieved14 July 2016.See Table 5, Page 12
^The barricaded Muslim mindArchived 4 April 2023 at theWayback Machine, Saba Naqvi (28 August 2016), Quote: "Earlier, Muslim villagers would participate in Hindu festivals; now they think that would be haraam, so stay away. Visiting dargahs is also haraam"
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