Haryana

(, , IPA: / /) is a state in north India. It was carved out of the state of Punjab in 1966. It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and Rajasthan to the west and south. Eastern border to Uttaranchal & Uttar Pradesh is defined by river Yamuna. Haryana also surrounds Delhi on three sides, forming the northern, western and southern borders of Delhi. Consequently, a large area of Haryana is included in the National Capital Region. The capital of Haryana is Chandigarh which is administered as a union territory and is also the capital of Punjab. The cities near Delhi, particularly Gurgaon and Faridabad are emerging as major hubs for the information technology industry. There is also an established steel and textile industry. Haryana is also home to Maruti Udyog Limited, India's largest automobile manufacturer, and Hero Honda Limited, the world's largest manufacturer of two-wheelers.

Haryana is primarily an agrarian state. The name itself means 'land covered with greenery'. It is known for its wheat and milk production. In addition to the river Yamuna, seasonal rivers such as the Ghaggar, Markanda, and Tangri pass through the state. Numerous irrigation canals that cross the state, bringing water for irrigation from the perennial rivers of the Himalayas. The land is generally flat, covered with loamy soil and very suitable for agriculture. The southwestern area of the state is drier and sandier. There are some hilly areas, which form part of Siwalik Hills in the north-east and Aravalli Hills in the south. The climate is continental, with extremes of heat in summer. Monsoon winds bring adequate rainfall between July and September.

Haryana has four universities and two medical colleges. The official language is Hindi and Punjabi has been recently accepted as the second official language.http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20041203/haryana.htm#18 A majority of residents speak Haryanvi, a dialect of Hindi that is famous for its coarseness. Hinduism is followed by a majority of people, followed by Sikhism, Islam, Jainism and Christianity. Haryana was at the center stage of both the Indus Valley Civilization and the early Vedic civilization.

History

Ancient civilizations

The ancient Saraswati River flowed through the northern part of present-day Haryana, and many consider the dry Ghaggar-Hakra river bed to be that of the Saraswati. Many settlements dating back to the Indus Valley Civilization have been found along this river bed, at Naurangabad and Mittathal in Bhiwani District, Kunal in Fatehabad District, Agroha and Rakhigarhi in Hisar District, Rukhi in Rohtak District and Banawali in Sirsa District. The ancient Vedic civilization also flourished on the banks of the Saraswati, and the hymns of Rigveda were composed here.

In some ancient Hindu texts, the boundaries of Kurukshetra correspond roughly to the state of Haryana. Thus according to the Taittiriya Aranyaka 5.1.1., the Kurukshetra region is south of Turghna (Srughna/Sugh in Sirhind, Punjab), north of Khandava (Delhi and Mewat region), east of Maru (=desert) and west of Parin.Agarwal, Vishal: Is There Vedic Evidence for the Indo-Aryan Immigration to India? (PDF)

Mahabharata

The epic battle of Mahabharata at Kurukshetra

Mahabharata, the greatest mythological epic of India mentions Haryana as Bahudhhanyaka, 'land of plentiful grains' and Bahudhana, 'land of immense riches'. Several places mentioned in Mahabharata correspond to modern day cities in Haryana: Prithudaka (Pehowa), Tilprastha (Tilput), Panprastha (Panipat) and Sonprastha (Sonipat). The great battle between the Kauravas and the Pandavas took place near the city of Kurukshetra. Krishna preached the Bhagvad Gita to the reluctant Arjuna there. For eighteen days following that, armies from all over India battled in the plains of Kurukshetra to decide who sits on the throne of Hastinapura. Maharaja Agrasen is said to have established a flourishing city of merchants at Agroha near modern Hisar. Legend has it that anyone wishing to settle in the city was given a brick and a rupee by each of the city's one lakh residents. Thus, they would have enough bricks to build a house and enough money to start a business of their own.

Medieval period

After ousting the Huns, king Harshavardhana established his capital at Thanesar near Kurukshetra in the 7th century AD. After his death, the kingdom disintegrated. The region, however, remained strategically important for the rulers of Delhi, as it lay in the path of invaders from the northwest. Prithviraj Chauhan established a fort at Hansi in the 12th century. Muhammad Ghori conquered this area in the Second Battle of Tarain. Following his death, the Delhi Sultanate was established that ruled much of India for several centuries. The earliest reference to 'Hariana' occurs in a Sanskrit inscription dated 1328 AD kept in Delhi Museum which refers to this region as The heaven on earth, indicating that it was fertile and relatively peaceful at that time. Firoz Shah Tughlaq established a fort at Hisar in 1354 to further fortify the region.

The three famous battles of Panipat took place near the modern town of Panipat. The first battle took place in 1526, where Babur, the ruler of Kabul defeated Ibrahim Lodi of the Delhi Sultanate, through the use of field artillery. This battle marked the beginning of the Mughal empire in India. In the second battle of Panipat (November 5, 1556), Akbar's general Bairam Khan defeated Hemu, and paved the way for Akbar's reign. The third battle of Panipat marked the end of the Maratha empire in India. On January 13, 1761, the Maratha forces were decisively defeated by the Afghan forces led by Ahmed Shah Abdali.

British rule

During the British rule, most of Haryana formed part of the Punjab province. Some parts were ruled by the princely states of Nabha, Jind and Patiala. During the Indian rebellion of 1857, several leaders from this region, including Rao Tula Ram, participated actively. Later, leaders like Sir Chhotu Ram played an important role in the politics of the Punjab province.

Independent India

On 1st November, 1966, Haryana was carved out of the mostly Hindi-speaking eastern portion of Punjab, while the mostly Punjabi-speaking western portion remained as current day Punjab. The city of Chandigarh, on the linguistic and physical border, was made a union territory to serve as capital of both these states. Chandigarh was due to transfer to state of Punjab in 1986, according to the Rajiv-Longowal Accord, but the transfer has been delayed pending an agreement on the districts of Punjab that should be transferred to Haryana in exchange. In the 1970s, Haryana contributed significantly to the Green Revolution and White Revolution in India.

Geography

Haryana is a landlocked state in northern India. It is located between 27 deg 37' to 30 deg 35' latitude and between 74 deg 28' to 77 deg 36' longitude. The altitude of Haryana varies between 700 to 3600 ft (200 metres to 2 kilometres) above sea level. An area of 1,553 km² is covered by forest. Haryana has four main geographical features.
* The Yamuna-Ghaggar plain forming the largest part of the state
* The Shivalik Hills to the northeast
* Semi-desert sandy plain to the southwest
* The Aravalli Range in the south

Demographics

The population of Haryana, according to the 2001 census, is 2,10,83,000, with 1,13,28,000 males and 97,55,000 females. The population density is 477 people/sq km.

Hindus are about 80% of the population, Sikhs 16%, Muslims 4% and Christians 0.10%.

Economy

Commercial buildings in Gurgaon

Haryana is a small but prosperous state. In 2001-02, per capita income was Rs. 23,742, net state domestic product was Rs. 47,474 crore, with Rs. 7,050 crore worth of exports.http://www.haryana-online.com/business.htm Rapid industrialization has occurred over the last two decades. More than a thousand medium and large industries with a capital investment of Rs. 200 billion have been established in the state. These include Maruti Udyog Limited, Escorts, Hero Honda, Alcatel, Sony India, Whirlpool India and Bharti Telecom. Gurgaon and Faridabad have seen emergence of an active information technology industry in the recent years. In addition there are more than 80,000 small-scale industries in the state which cumulatively bring in a substantial income for the state and its people. Haryana ranks first in the nation in the production of cars, motorcycles, tractors, sanitary ware, gas stoves and scientific instruments.

Despite recent industrial development, Haryana is primarily an agricultural state. About 70% of residents are engaged in agriculture. Wheat and rice are the major crops. Haryana is self-sufficient in food production and the second largest contributor to India's central pool of food grains. Other crops include sugarcane, cotton, maize, bajra, and oilseeds. About 86% of the area is arable, and of that 96% is cultivated. About 75% of the area is irrigated, through tubewells and an extensive system of canals. Electricity is provided at a subsidized rate to farmers. Haryana contributed significantly to the Green Revolution in India in the 1970s that made the country self-sufficient in food production.

Dairy farming is also an essential part of the rural economy. Milk and milk products form an essential part of the local diet. There is the saying Desaan main des Haryana, jit doodh dahi ka khaana, which means "Among countries there is Haryana, where the staple food is milk and yoghurt." There is a vast network of milk societies that support the dairy industry. The National Dairy Research Institute at Karnal, and the Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes at Hisar are instrumental in development of new breeds of cattle and propagation of these breeds through embryo transfer technology. The Murrah breed of water buffalo from Haryana is world-famous for its milk production.

Macro-economic trend

This is a chart of trend of gross state domestic product of Haryana at market prices estimated by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.

Year ¦¦ Gross State Domestic Product
1980	33,860
1985	65,520
1990	136,360
1995	297,890
2000	550,050

Haryana's gross state domestic product for 2004 is estimated at $25 billion in current prices.

Over 3% of the S&P CNX 500 conglomerates have corporate offices in Haryana.

Divisions

The state is divided into four divisions for administrative purpose - Ambala, Rohtak, Gurgaon and Hisar. There are 20 districts, 47 sub-divisions, 67 tehsils, 45 sub-tehsils and 116 blocks. Haryana has a total of 81 cities and towns. It has 6,759 villages.

Education

Haryana has a large network of schools, colleges and universities. During 2001-02, there were 11,013 primary schools, 1,918 middle schools, 3,023 high schools and 1,301 senior secondary schools in the state.http://www.haryana-online.com/education.htm Haryana Board of School Education, established in September 1969 and shifted to Bhiwani in 1981, conducts public examinations at middle, matriculation, and senior secondary levels twice a year. Over seven lakh candidates attend annual examinations in February and March, and 150,000 attend supplementary examinations each November. The Board also conducts examinations for Haryana Open School at senior and senior secondary levels twice a year.http://hbse.nic.in/history.htm The Haryana government provides free education to women up to graduation level.

Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Medical Research & Education, Agroha (Hisar district)

There are four universities in the state. Technical education and management studies are provided by Maharshi Dayanand University at Rohtak, Kurukshetra University at Kurukshetra and Guru Jambheshwar University at Hisar. Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University at Hisar is one of the biggest agricultural universities in Asia. It is engaged in education, research and development related to agriculture. The National Dairy Research Institute at Karnal provides education in the field of dairy science. It has been upgraded to the level of a Deemed University. There are medical colleges in Rohtak and Agroha.

Haryana: Encyclopedia BETA

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