The Punjab (pronounced /ˈpʌndʒɑːb/ ( listen) or /ˈpʌndʒæb/; Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, پنجاب, Urdu: پنجاب, Hindi: पंजाब), also spelled Panjab (Persian: پنجاب, panj-āb, "five waters"),[1] is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and Delhi in India.[2] The name of the region is Persian in origin and signifies "(The Land of) Five Waters" referring to the following rivers: the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Sutlej, and the Beas.[3] All are tributaries of the Indus River, the Jhelum being the largest. Punjab has a long history and rich cultural heritage. The people of the Punjab are called Punjabis and their language is called Punjabi. The main religions of the Punjab region are Islam, Sikhism and Hinduism.
The area now known as the Greater Punjab comprises what were once vast territories of West Pakistan and northern western India. The bigger section of the Punjab at about 60% lies within Islamic Republic of Pakistan and 40% within Republic of India where it has been further divided into three states; Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
The region is populated by Indo-Aryan speakers. Of these people there are different religious groups such as Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains and Buddhists. It has also been inhabited by Greeks,[4] Persians[5], Arabs,[6] Turks,[7] Mughals, Afghans, Balochis, and British. In 1947, it was partitioned between British India's successor states with three out of the five rivers going to Pakistan and the remaining two rivers were allotted to India.
The Pakistani Punjab now comprises the most densely populated province in Pakistan. In India, the Government further sub-divided Punjab into the modern Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and Delhi. The Pakistani part of the region West Punjab (which includes the Islamabad capital territory) covers an area of 205,344 square kilometers (79,284 square miles), whereas the Indian State of Punjab is 50,362 square kilometers (19,445 square miles). Besides the Indian Punjab, the region also includes the Jammu state of India. The populations of the region are divided as 86,084,000 (2005) in West Punjab (Pakistan) and 24,289,296 (2000) in the present-day State of (East) Punjab (India). Punjabi is spoken by (approximately) 60% of the entire population in Pakistan mainly in the Punjab province, making it the most spoken language in Pakistan, and 92.2% in Indian Punjab. (3% of overall Indian population).[8] The capital city of undivided Punjab was Lahore, which now sits close to the partition line as the capital of West Punjab; while the capital of East Punjab is Chandigarh; which is not far from Lahore.[9] Indian Punjab uses the Gurmukhi script, while Pakistani Punjab uses the Shahmukhi script.