History of Punjab 

The history of Punjab goes back to thousands of years ago. Undivided Punjab has been the cradle of the Indus Valley Civilization, Harappan Civilization as well as the Mohenjodaro Civilization. This fertile ancient land finds mention even in Mahabharata and Ramayana. Places like Ropar, Kiratpur, Dholbaha, Rohira and Ghuram...all in Punjab have unearthed artifacts that date back to centuries earlier. The word "Punjab", however, was used for the first time in the Book "Tarikh-e-Sher Shah" (1580). 

Major Events in the History of Punjab

The milestones in the history of Punjab are the Persian rule and the migration of the Aryans to Punjab between 516 BC to 321 AD, immediately followed by Alexander's Invasion, which changed the fate of India as a whole. The Muslims ruled between 713 AD till around 1300 AD and then came the rise of the Sikhs from 1700 AD to 1849 AD.

Punjab in the Indian Struggle for Independence

Punjab had always ranked high when it comes to courage, might and valor. The state had major contribution to the freedom struggle of India though in the process it had to face its own pathetic division. Satyagraha, Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, Jallianwala Bagh Massacre... with names like Ajit Singh, Lala Lajpat Rai, Madan Lal Dhingra, Guru Gobind Singh, Bhagat Singh and the like instantly evokes the memories of the struggle for Indian Independence. The list is unending for Punjab has been one of the most happening places in the struggle. Punjab now is shared by India and Pakistan though the ethos continues to be the same on both ends, divided only in body and not in soul.

Present Day Punjab

The partition of Punjab with its brutal riots was one of the most traumatic experiences for some and it continues to have its effect till today. The newly formed Pakistan has, time and again, tried to encroach the whole of the fertile lands of Punjab resulting in continuous bloodshed over the years. But Punjab has been able to defend herself against all odds and have improved considerably. The flourishing position of the state in terms of agriculture, industries, education and all other fields prove the tenacity that is so unique to the state and its people. 

##The word 'Punjab’ appeared for the first time in the Book "Tarikh-e-Sher Shah” (1580). It describes the construction

of a fort by 'Sher Khan of Punjab’. Reference to the word 'Punjab’ can be found in "Ain-e-Akbari” Part 1 as well, which

describes that the territory can be divided into provinces of Lahore and Multan. Even the second volume of 'Ain-e-

Akbari’ contains the word 'Punjab’ in it. The word also occurs in the book of the Mughal King Jahangir, under the

name 'Tuzk-i-Janhageeri’. However, the first mentioning of Punjab as a place occurs in the Great Hindu epic

Mahabharata, where it is described as Pancha-nanda meaning 'the country of five rivers’. Let us now delve into the

origin and history of Punjab.

History

Archaeologists have discovered evidence of life in the Punjab region as early as 7000 B.C. By around 3000 BC, life

grew in and around the Indus Valley, which gave rise to the Indus Valley Civilization. Then, there was the evolution of

historic cities like Harappa (near Sahiwal in West Punjab) and Mohenjo Daro (near Sindh). After 19th century BC,

there was the sudden decline in these civilizations. Next thousand years saw the dominance of Aryans, who migrated

from the North-West (1500-100 BC), over the Indus region. The oldest book of human history, Rig Veda, is supposed

to be written in the region only, during the Aryan period.

Punjab was continuously attacked by the Persian kings, as it was lying just at the outskirt of the Persian Empire. The

Persian king King Gustasp conquered the region in 516 BC. Consequently, Punjab became the wealthiest satrapy i.e.

a province of the Persian kingdom. Greeks, the strong competitors of the Persians, also had a lure for Punjab

territory. In 321 BC, the Great Greek King Alexander invaded Punjab, breaking the authority of the Persian kings. He

invited all the chieftains of the Persian Satrapy to come and surrender to him.

After a stretch of time, the Greek empire in the east was disrupted by the ascendancy of the Bacterians. In the

second century BC, Bacterian king Demetrius I added Punjab to his kingdom. During the same period, the Northern

Sakas successfully wrestled the power of the area from the Indo-Greeks. The white Huns established their rule over

the state in the later 3rd century AD. Now, it was the turn of the Arabs to get attracted to the land. They conquered

the area of Multan in 8th century AD. Meanwhile, Mahmud, the ruler of Ghazni, attacked Punjab 17 times during his

reign. However, the Ghaznavids were uprooted by the Ghauris, who spreader as far as Delhi. Then, there were

subsequent short-term rules of the Mamluks, Mongols, Khiljis and Tughluqs.

Punjab had a picture of chaos and disorder when Maharaja Ranjit Singh took over as its ruler, on 12th April 1801.

Ahmad Shah Abdali's empire in India had crumbled. Punjab was under the Afghan rule since 1757 and they had to

face the rising power of Sikhs. Sikhs joined hands to overthrow Taimul Shah and his Chief, Jalal Khan. Afghans had

to return and Lahore came under the Sikhs in 1758. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia became the head of the Sikh sovereignty.

Under his rule, the domain of Sikhs considerably grew over Punjab. After the death of Jassa Singh, Afghans started

gaining power again. However, that was short term, as Maharaja Ranjit Singh built up a strong force to counteract

them.

One of the main rivals to be defeated by Ranjit Singh was Shah Zaman. Shah Zaman, despite his previous defeats,

attacked Lahore and surrounded Sikhs from all the sides. The Afghans now planned to attack Amritsar, which was

well answered by the forces of Ranjit Singh. Ranjit Singh won the hearts of everyone in Punjab, irrespective of

religion and status. It was on July 7, 1799 that the victorious Ranjit Singh entered Lahore. He finally acquired a

kingdom in the Punjab, which stretched from the Sutlej river in the east to Peshawar in the west, and from the

junction of the Sutlej and the Indus in the south to Ladakh in the north. Ranjit Singh died in 1839 and a succession

struggle followed his death.

British entered the province of Punjab with 32,000 troops by 1845 and moved to the Sutlej frontier. British and Sikh

troops engaged in the First Anglo-Sikh War near Ferozepur, in the late 1845. The war ended the following year and

the territory between the Sutlej and the Beas fell into the hands of the British rule, along with Kashmir. As per the

Peace Treaty and the Treaty of Lahore, Punjab was totally annexed by the British East India Company and Dhalip

Singh, the minor Sikh ruler, was pensioned off. The black day of the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre occurred at Amritsar,

in 1919. It agitated the Sikhs to revolt against the tyranny of the colonial rule. The 1940 Lahore Resolution of the

Muslim League made Punjab the center of a bloodier struggle.

In 1946, communal tensions erupted between the majority Muslims of Punjab and the Hindu and Sikh minorities. The

British Punjab province, which forms the present day Punjab province of Pakistan and the Punjab of India were

partitioned in 1947, prior to independence. The Indian state of Punjab has never seen back after independence. The

Green Revolution in the 1960s swept the land and consequently, it developed to become the bread-basket of the

country. Punjab has grown ever since both in the economical and moral matter. Today, it is counted amongst the

popular tourist destinations of the country as well.