Punjab is a combination of the Persian words “Panj” which means “Five” and “āb” which means “water”, thus the (land of) five rivers. The five rivers which flow through Punjab are the tributaries of the Indus River namely Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, Sutlej, and Sindhu River itself.
The province of Punjab is predominantly on a plain level, however, there are some hilly areas in the North-West and extreme South-West. There is also a plateau adjacent to the mountains known as the Potohar Plateau and a desert belt in the South Eastern part known as Cholistan.
Punjab literally means “The Land of 5 Rivers”, term refers to the 5 rivers flowing through the region. Due to its rivers, Punjab is the most fertile and most populated province of Pakistan. People speak Punjabi here and have many colorful Traditions.
The landscape is amongst the most heavily irrigated on earth and canals can be found throughout the province. Weather extremes are notable from the hot and barren south to the cool hills of the north. The foothills of the Himalayas are found in the extreme north as well.
Punjab is considered the most developed, populous, and prosperous province of Pakistan having about 60% of the country’s total population living in it. Historically, the Punjab region has been part of “Sindu Sapta” the term meaning (7 Rivers) but in the course of time southern Sindh was shrieked to a small province and Punjab became a larger and more prosperous region of the area.
In the Rigveda, the sacred text of Vedism, the Punjab region is associated with the ancient Sapta Sindhu, the Land of Seven Rivers, whilst the later Greeks referred to Punjab as “Pentapotamia”, an inland delta of five converging rivers. The British used to call Punjab “Our Prussia”.
For more information About Punjab Visit :
- Punjab Portal: www.punjab.gov.pk
- Wikipedia: wikipedia.org
