A Comparative Study Of Arya Samaj And Singh Sabha Movement In Punjab

Abstract

newline The state of Punjab also labeled as the Gateway of India has been acknowledged by different names since ancient times. The term Punjab consists of two Persian words i.e. PANJ (five) and AAB (water). It means that the five rivers-the Sutlej, the Beas, the Ravi, the Chenab and the Jhelum- originating from the Himalayas which flow through the fertile land of Punjab. In Rigveda it has been described as Sapt-Sindhu i.e. the land of seven rivers, the Sutlej, the Beas, the Ravi, the Chenab, the Jhelum, the Sindhu and the Saraswati. The Puranas and the great epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata describe it as Panchand . The Greeks have named it Pentopotamia, which also means the land of five rivers. For some time, it was called Taki , after the name of a famous tribe (Tak) living here. newlineIn the medieval times, a large part of it was known as the Province of Lahore and as the Lahore Kingdom during the times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It was given the name of Punjab Province in 1849 A.D. by the Britishers when they made it a part of British Empire. The Indian states of Patiala, Kapurthala, Nabha, Jind, Faridkot and Malerkotla were not a part of it. Delhi and Hissar were integrated into Punjab after the mutiny of 1857 A.D. In 1901 A.D. some of its north-western parts were formed into a separate state-North-West Frontier Province. The size of Punjab started shrinking here after. In 1911 A.D. Delhi was separated from Punjab and with the Partition of India, in 1947 Punjab got divided into two parts. The East Punjab became a part of India and the West Punjab of Pakistan. With the reorganization of states in 1966, some of its parts were given to Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The undivided Punjab was bounded by Jammu and Kashmir in the North-West by the river Yamuna in the east and by the state of Rajasthan on the Southern Frontier. newline