About Punjab - TDCP, The Official Site of Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab

The name Punjab has been derived from the words punj meaning five, and aab meaning waters. Five major rivers run across the province.

Although Pakistan as a country is relatively new but the Indus River region here is known as the cradle of civilization. This area was situated right along a natural trade route between central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, which encouraged wave after wave of invasions.

The first of these incursions was that by the Aryans, who arrived from Central Asia around 1700 BC, displacing the Indus Civilization and bringing Hinduism to the region. Twelve hundred years later, the Aryans yielded in turn to the armies of Cyrus the Great, and the Indus region became a part of his Achaemenid Persian empire. The next conqueror to arrive was Alexander the Great, who passed through the Khyber Pass in 326 BC.

Alexander's successors, the Seleucids, survived for about a century, until they capitulated to Ashoka, emperor of the great Mauryan empire of India. The Mauryans were then succeeded by the Bactrians, the Saka, the Parthians and in 2nd century AD by the Kushans. Islam was introduced in the 8th century.

Early in the 16th century, Pakistan became part of the Mughal Empire. By the early 19th century, the Sikhs had consolidated their power and declared Lahore their capital. When India prepared for independence from the British in the 1940s, Muslim Indians pushed for their own independent state, and the republic of Pakistan came into being.

Punjab has a long and tremendous historical background. The oldest settlements are found in Taxila, which is about thirty kilometers north-west of Rawalpindi out along the Grand Trunk Road. Other historical sites in the province are Sher Shah Suri's settlements such as Rohtas Fort and Grand Trunk Road, Mughal settlements such as the famous Lahore Fort, Badshahi Masjid, Shalimar Gardens and Jehangir's Tomb to name a few and Hindu settlements near the Salt Range such as Ketas ruins which are associated with Mahabharata, temples at Malot and at Shiv Ganga.

The province of Punjab comprises of eight administrative divisions extending over an area of 205,346 sq.. km (97,192 miles). According to the preliminary results of the 1998 Census, the population of the province stands at 71.5 million (about 55% of the total population of Pakistan) compared with 47.12 million of 1981 population census figures. Population density in the province is 348 persons per sq.. km.

Agriculture is the most important industry in Punjab. Wheat, rice, sugar, fruit, tobacco, cotton and many other crops flourish. Visitors may be surprised to see how much industrial development there is. The factories of Punjab produce anything and everything; from food processing and textiles, to furnaces, foundaries and chemical plants. The province of Punjab is criss-crossed by canals as a result of which the area is now a huge oasis where there are hundreds of new settlements.

Punjab consists mostly of plains north and south of the ancient Salt Range, which stretch from east to west. Punjab can be divided into five major physical regions, such as, (I) Northern Mountains, (II) South-West Mountains, (III) Pothwar Plateau, (IV) the Upper Indus Plain and (V) The Deserts. In the north are the outer ranges of the Himalayas: Murree and Kahuta hills in the north and the Pubbi hills of Gujrat in the South.

In the southwest are the hills of Sulaiman Range which, running from north to south in the D.G. Khan Division, are not higher than 1200 meters and are dry and barren. The area across the Indus is also called "Derajat". The Pothwar Plateau (height 305 to 610 meters) has an area of 12,944 sq.. km and is bounded by river Jhelum in the east and by Indus in the west. Covering virtually the whole of Rawalpindi Division, it extends to the northern slope of Kala Chitta Range and Margalla Hills and to the Salt Range in the south.

The Upper Indus Plain covering Lahore, Multan, Gujranwala and Faisalabad Divisions and large parts of Sargodha, D.G. Khan and Bahawalpur Divisions, is a feature-less terrain. To the southwest of Sutlej, there is a vast desert of about 2592 million hectares of land covering about two-thirds of the entire Bahalwalpur Division, divided into 'smaller' and 'greater' Cholistan, consisting of saline alluvial land with low dunes, ridges and depressions.

Punjab is considered to be nerve center of Pakistan besides being known as its "Cultural Capital". Punjab is known for a great variety of arts and crafts - from the blue tiles of Multan to the woodwork of Chiniot - as well as industrial units.

The magnificent edifices dotting this land of ancient civilizations, in the form of forts, palaces, gardens, mosq.ues and mausoleums, are eloquent reminders of the great tradition in Muslim architecture. The inscriptions on the mausoleum of Shah Rukn-I-Alam (Multan) on bricks and tiles are outstanding specimens of architectural calligraphy which shows a deep Seljuk influence. The earliest existing building in South Asia which is replete with enameled tilework, is the tomb of Shah Yusuf Gardezi at Multan.

There are a number of places, which hold historical, cultural and architectural interests. Some of the worth mentioning are Badshahi Masjid, Lahore Fort, Moghul Emperor Jahangir and Nur Jehan's mausoleums, Attock and Rohtas Forts, Fort Munro, Kallar Kahar Salt Lake, Lal Sunehra Park-Bahawalpur, Ghulshan-e-Iqbal, picturesq.ue Shalimar Gardens, Minar-e-Pakistan, Changa Manga Forest, Ayub National Park, Hiran Minar, Mazar of poet-philosopher Allama Mohammad Iqbal, Mazars of well-known saints such as Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh, Hazrat Mianmir Sahib, Baba Bulley Shah, Hazrat Masood Ganj Shakkar and Hazrat Bahauddin Zakariya, are spread all over the province.

Lahore is also the center of hand-made carpets - a fine blend from Iran and Turkey. Since ancient times the weavers of the region have produced colorful fabrics of silk and cotton. In spite of the existence of modern textile mills, the hand woven cottons like Khaddar of Kamalia are still popular. The cloth woven on handlooms is either block printed or beautifully embroidered. In the Northern Areas, even woolen cloth is hand-woven. Multan is famous for beautiful hand-woven bed covers.

The potter at his wheel is a common sight in every village, uninfluenced by modern glamour. Bahawalpur, Rawalpindi, Gujrat and places around also produce colorful pottery, painted after firing. The blue glazed pottery of Multan dates back to the 13th century with obvious traces for woodwork. Chiniot is also known for brass and iron inlay. Copper and brass work is done within the walled city of Lahore.