PUNJAB |
SINDH |
North-West Frontier Province |
Balochistan |
Punjab (historic region) (Hindu, “five rivers”), historic region, north-western portion of the
subcontinent of India,
now divided into the province of Punjab in Pakistan and the states of Punjab and Haryana
in India. The extreme north-eastern part of the Punjab region lies in the
Himalayan foothills, but most of the territory is a level plain sloping from an
elevation of about 490 m (1,600 ft) in the north to less than 61 m (200 ft) in
the extreme south-west. The region's name is derived from the five great rivers
that traverse it: the Indus and its tributaries, and the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi,
and the Sutlej.
The chief cities of the Punjab include Amritsar and Chandìgarh (in India), Lahore,
Multan, Rawalpindi, and Sialkot (in Pakistan).
Most of the region's population work in agriculture;
the Punjab is the most important wheat-growing region of the subcontinent. The
soil is very fertile, but much of it requires extensive irrigation. Punjabi
industry is known for the artisanal and craft products, such as handloomed
carpets, shawls, and rugs; work in gold, silver, brass, and copper; glazed
tiles and pottery.
The climate of the plains is excessively hot and dry
between April and August, with temperatures as high as 49° C (120° F). The
rains of the monsoon season begin at the end of June. Winters are cool with
some frosts. Annual rainfall ranges from about 915 mm (36 in) in the north to
102 mm (4 in) in the south.
In the Indian portion of the Punjab region, the
majority of the population is Hindu, but there is a considerable Sikh
population, and a small proportion of Muslims. In the Pakistani portion, the
majority of the population is Muslim.
Punjab proper was annexed by Great Britain in 1849
(for details on the early history of the Punjab, see Sikhs). Under the terms of the Indian
Independence Act of 1947, the Punjab was divided into the East Punjab province
of the Union of India and the West Punjab province of Pakistan. India was
allotted 96,809 sq km (37,378 sq mi), with a population of about 12.65 million;
Pakistan, 160,610 sq km (62,012 sq mi), with a population of about 18.8
million. The partition line followed the course of the Ravi and Sutlej rivers,
allotting parts of Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Multan divisions to Pakistan and the remainder of the region to India.
In addition to Punjab proper, the Punjab region
included 34 Indian, or Native, states, known as the Punjab States, with an area
of 98,798 sq km (38,146 sq mi) and a population (1941) of 5,503,554. Following
partition, most of the Indian States joined the Union of India.
Rioting and civil strife among Hindus, Muslims, and
Sikhs began even before the 1947 partition, and in August, when the Punjabi
partition was effected, open warfare erupted. Partition cut the Sikh community
in half, and there was bitter conflict between Sikhs and Muslims. As a result
of the communal fighting, large numbers of Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs abandoned
their homes in the Punjab and immigrated to friendly territory.
The Pakistani portion of the Punjab region was amalgamated
in 1955 into the province of West Pakistan; in 1970 it was reconstituted as
Punjab province. In 1956 the Indian portion was merged with other provinces to
form the present state of Punjab; for subsequent history, see Punjab (state,
India).
Sindh, province,
south-eastern Pakistan,
bordered on the north-east by Punjab Province, on the west and north by Baluchistan Province, on the east by
the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan,
and on the south by the Arabian Sea. Sindh was established as a province in its
present form in 1970, and has an area of 140,914 sq km (54,407 sq mi). The
province capital and Pakistan's largest city is Karachi.
The centre of Sindh is made up of the valley and delta
of the River Indus,
which comprises about 40 per cent of the province's area; Sindh is named after
the river, called the Sindhu in Pakistan. The Kirthar Range of mountains runs
north-south down the western side of the Indus Valley; a desert belt borders
the eastern side, merging with the Great Indian Desert in the south. The climate is subtropical with hot summers and cool
winters. Rainfall is sparse, averaging about 180 mm (7 in) a year, and confined
mainly to the Indus Valley area.
The population of Sindh (1991 estimate) is about 25 million,
concentrated in the cities and the Indus Valley. About 43 per cent of the
population is urbanized. Karachi (1981 population
estimate; 5.18 million) is Pakistan's commercial and industrial centre, as well
as its largest city. Its population, only half a million in early 1947, was
dramatically swollen by Muslim refugees from India at the time of partition.
Sizeable inward migration to Sindh has continued and the population is
ethnically mixed. Urdu-speaking settlers (muhajirs), concentrated in the
cities, form one of the largest immigrant groups. The principal languages of
the province are Sindhi and Urdu. In central Sindh, society is agrarian and
predominantly feudal. Nomadic tribes inhabit the Kirthar Mountain region. The
predominant religion is Islam.
The Indus, and its associated canal-based irrigation
system, is the foundation of Sindh's economy; the majority of people are
employed in agriculture. The major crops are wheat, rice, sugar cane, maize,
cotton, and oilseeds. Productivity has increased substantially since the 1960s
because of greater use of fertilizers and the development of better drainage,
which has reduced waterlogging and salinity in the soil. Sindh has many
orchards producing a wide variety of fruits. Livestock are important; cattle,
sheep, buffalo, and goats are the main animals kept. The concentration of
large-scale manufacturing in Karachi
has helped to make Sindh one of Pakistan's most industrialized areas, in terms
of production. The province is a major focus of cotton processing and textile
production. The production of cement, fertilizers, vegetable oils, sugar, cars,
pharmaceuticals, and petroleum products is also important.
Sindh's recorded history goes back more than 4,000
years to the Indus Valley civilization (2300-1750 BC); there are
major archaeological sites at Mohenjo-Daro, Amre, and Kot Diji. In the late 6th century BC the region was annexed to the Persian Empire. In 325 BC it was conquered by Alexander the Great, and was subsequently
incorporated into various empires, including those of the Parthians, Scythians,
and Kushans. In the third century AD
it was reincorporated into the Persian Empire, where it remained until the Arab
conquest of 711. From the 10th to the 16th centuries Sindh was part of the Mughal Empire. It was then ruled by a succession
of independent Sindhi dynasties, until the British annexed the area in 1843. In
1937 Sindh was made a separate province within British India. As part of
independent Pakistan, Sindh was incorporated into the province of West Pakistan
from 1955 until 1970, when it was re-established as a separate province.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,
founder of the Pakistan People's party (PPP) and president and prime minister
of Pakistan from 1971-1977, was from one of the most prominent Sindhi families.
His daughter, Benazir Bhutto,
became Pakistan's first female prime minister in 1988; she was dismissed from
office by the military in 1990, but re-elected in 1993. Over the past 15 years
ethnic tensions between indigenous Sindhi speakers and the muhajirs, as well as
sectarian conflicts, have intensified and successive provincial governments
have been unable to resolve them. The PPP has dominated the state legislature,
as it has the national government, for much of the period of non-military rule.
In elections held in 1993, the party gained 56 seats of the 99 seats in the
provincial assembly. The Muhajir National Front, representing the majority of
muhajirs in Sindh, has become by far the largest opposition party; it won 27
seats in 1993.
North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), province, northern Pakistan, bordered on the north by Afghanistan, on the west by tribal areas administered by the government of
Pakistan, on the north-east by the territory of Jammu
and Kashmir, and on the south-east and south-west by Punjab and Baluchistan provinces. It has been a
province since 1901; until 1947 within British India. NWFP has an area of
74,521 sq km (28,773 sq mi). The province capital is Peshawar.
The mountain ranges which dominate the topography of
NWFP are bisected, east-west, by the River Kabul. To the north of the river lies the scenically beautiful Hindu Kush, divided into two ranges—the
northern Hindu Kush and the Hindu Raj—by the River Kunar. South of the Hindu
Raj is lower, but still rugged country, cut by the Panjkora, Swat, and Kandia
rivers. The fertile Valley of Peshawar
extends along the Kabul River and contains almost 50 per cent of the population
of NWFP. Peshawar lies at the western end of the valley.
To the west of the capital, in the Sefìd
Koh mountain range, is the historic Khyber Pass—for centuries the preferred route of invaders from central Asia into
India. The province's climate varies with elevation. Summers in the mountains
are cool; winters cold. Temperatures rise markedly in the valleys and towards
the south of the province. Precipitation averages about 400 mm (16 in) a year.
NWFP has a population (1985 estimate) of about 12.3
million, giving an average density of about 165 people per sq km (427 per sq
mi). Only about 10 per cent of the population is urbanized. Peshawar (population, 1981 census; 566,248) and Mardan (population, 147,977) are the only
cities. The population is predominantly Pashtun, a fiercely independent people with
strong clan and tribal loyalties. They have tended to be slow to accept social
change; literacy rates are lower in NWFP than elsewhere in Pakistan. During the
1980s the province was inundated with refugees from Afghanistan. There were
almost 3 million at the peak, but about half returned home during the early
1990s.
NWFP has few natural resources and the economy is
mainly agricultural. About one third of the cultivated land is irrigated.
Wheat, maize, sugar cane, and tobacco are the major crops. The province's
limited industry is primarily based on the processing of these crops. However,
the manufacture of guns and other small arms, primarily for local use, is
traditionally important and carried out primarily as a craft industry.
The provincial legislature has 80 seats. The tribal
areas on the western fringes of NWFP are administered by political and military
agents representing the federal government. Their people govern themselves
according to their own traditions; the political and military agents control
subsidies and entry and departure into the tribal areas. In ancient times the
state of Ghandhara dominated the Peshawar
valley and adjoining areas, gaining importance from its control of the Khyber
Pass. It was annexed by the Persian Empire in the early 6th century BC and remained a Persian satrapy for
about 200 years. During the next 2,000 years the north-west frontier region
fell under the sway of many different rulers, including the Greeks, Parthians,
Turks, Afghans, and Mughals. In the first half of the 19th century, Sikhs from
the Punjab
seized control of much of the region. However, in 1849, following the Second
Sikh War, the frontier territories were annexed to British India and attached,
for administrative purposes, to the Punjab. In 1901 the North-West Frontier
Province was created, administered from Peshawar.
In 1947 it became part of newly independent Pakistan.
Balochistan,
(also spelt Baluchistan), historic region in south central Asia, on the Arabian
Sea, comprising the province of Baluchistan in the south-west of modern-day
Pakistan, and neighbouring parts of south-eastern Iran and southern Afghanistan. It is a generally mountainous region, dominated by the arid, rocky
Balochistan Plateau and cut through with deserts and barren plains. Rainfall is
scant and vegetation is generally stunted and sparse.
Balochistan takes its name from one of the dominant
ethnic groups of the region, the Balochi, who began migrating into the region
in about the 11th century, probably from the Iranian Plateau area. It was a
province of the Persian Empire from the 5th century BC until 330 BC,
when it passed into the empire of Alexander the
Great. In the following centuries, control of
the region was contested by the various dynasties ruling in Persia and in the Indian subcontinent. It was
annexed by the Arabs in the 7th and 8th centuries AD. In the 10th century the Persians again made Balochistan
part of their empire, and except for four decades in the early 17th century,
when it was part of the Mughal Empire, it remained Persian until 1747. It was
then briefly incorporated into Afghanistan. During the 19th century, the
western part of Balochistan (the area within modern Iran) was reincorporated
into the Persian empire; the boundary was fixed in 1872. British influence in
the rest of the region grew and it was made the British Province of Balochistan
in the late 19th century. In the run-up to the British withdrawal from India in
1947, the province of Balochistan voted to join Pakistan.
The lives of the majority of Balochi and Pashtun—the
other main ethnic group in Balochistan—have changed little over the years, and
reflect the remoteness and harsh environment of the region. Most people are
nomadic, or semi-nomadic, raising camels, sheep, and goats, and growing a few
grains and vegetables. The sheep produce a high-quality wool which is either
sold for cash or woven into carpets; the carpets produced by the Balochi of
Afghanistan and Iran are particularly famed. Most of the people of Balochistan
are Muslims.