Hotels in the Punjab
Hotels in the state of Pubjab are often required for tourists who require short term accommodation. Some may want to stay at large or small hotels in the state. Some may want to stay at well known hotels. Some may want to stay at old or new hotels. Some may want to stay at cheap or luxury hotels. Some may want to stay at hotels that have a good reputation. Some may want to stay at hotels that are well known.
Hotels in the Punjab are often useful for tourists.
Punjab
is a region straddling the border between India and Pakistan. The Five Rivers
are Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Chenab and Jhelum; all these are tributaries of the Indus
river, Jhelum being the biggest one. Punjab has a long history and rich cultural
heritage. The people of the Punjab are called Punjabis and their language is also
called Punjabi. The main religions of the Punjab region are Sikhism, Islam and
Hinduism.
The area now known as the Greater Punjab comprises what were once vast territories of eastern Pakistan and northern western India. The bigger section of the Punjab is owned by Pakistan (55% to India's 45%). It comprised, in its original sense, regions extending from Swat/Kabul in the west to Delhi in the east i.e. the area including parts of Afghanistan and the plains up to the Ganges.
The region, populated by Indo-Aryan speaking peoples, has been ruled by many different empires and ethnic groups, including Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, ancient Macedonians, Persians, Arabs, Turks, Mughals, Afghans, Balochis, Sikhs and British. In 1947, it was partitioned between British India's successor states with 2 out of the 5 rivers going to Pakistan and the remaining river was alloted to India.
The Pakistani Punjab now comprises the majority of the region together with the Hazara region of the North-West Frontier Province and Azad Kashmir. The Indian Punjab has been further sub-divided into the modern Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. The capital city of undivided Punjab was Lahore, which now sits close to the partition line as the capital of West Punjab. Indian Punjab has as its capital the city of Chandigarh. Previously, the capital of Undivided Indian Punjab was Shimla. Indian Punjab uses the Gurmukhi script, while Pakistani Punjab uses the Shahmukhi script.
The language of the region is Punjabi. The official written script of Punjabi in the state of Punjab in India is holy and called Gurmukhi "(from the Mouth of the Guru)". All holy sacred Sikh texts are written in the Punjabi Script.
As a result of numerous invasions, many ethnic groups and religions make up the cultural heritage of the Punjab. Punjab known as 'Panchal' when the Aryans came to India in the third millennium BC.
In prehistoric times, one of the earliest known cultures of South Asia, the Harappa civilization, was located in the Punjab.
The Vedic and Epic period was socially and culturally prolific in the Punjab. During this period, the Hindu scriptures, the Rig Veda and the Upanishads, were composed in the Punjab. Tradition maintains that the sage Valmiki composed the Ramayana near the present location of Amritsar. In legend, Krishna delivered the divine message of the Bhagavad Gita at Kurukshetra. Eighteen principal Puranas were written in the region. The authors of Vishnu Purana and the Shiva Purana belonged to Central Punjab.
The epic battles described in the Mahabharata were fought in the Punjab. The Gandharas, Kambojas, Trigartas, Andhra, Pauravas, Bahlikas (Bactrian settlers of Punjab), Yaudheyas and others sided with the Kauravas in the great battle fought at Kurukshetra.
In 326 BCE, Alexander the Great invaded the Punjab from the north and incorporated it into his empire. His armies entered the region via the Hindu Kush in north west Pakistan and his rule extended up to the city of Sagala (modern day Sialkot) in north east Pakistan.
At all times during the establishment and consolidation of Mughal rule, there was conflict, chaos, and political upheaval in the Punjab. However, with the Mughals prosperity, growth and relative peace was established, particularly under the reign of Jahangir. The period was also notable for the emergence of Guru Nanak (1469-1539), the founder of a powerful popular movement which has left a lasting impression on the history and culture of Punjab. Born in the district of Sheikhupura, he rejected the division of mankind into rigid compartments of orthodox religions and castes and preached the oneness of humanity, and oneness of God, thus aiming at creating a new order which embraced the all pervasive spirit in man. This new philosophy would serve as the foundation for the Sikh faith.
In 1713, Banda Singh Bahadur wanted to establish a Sikh state in the Punjab. For this he fought relentlessly with the Mughals. His state lasted just under a year before its collapse. A number of years afterward, he was captured and executed.
In 1756, the Marathas under Raghunath Rao, with the help of Sikhs, managed to stop the Afghan Ahmed Shah Abdali on his first attempt at conquering India. However, the Marathas failed to enlist the support of the Rajputs, and they were defeated by the Abdali at the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761.
Abdali's Indian invasion weakened the Maratha influence, but he could not defeat the Sikhs. At the formation of the Dal Khalsa in 1748 at Amritsar, the Punjab had been divided into 36 areas and 12 separate Sikh principalities. From this point onwards the beginnings of a Punjabi Sikh Empire emerged. Out of the 36 areas, 22 were united by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The other 14 accepted British sovereignty. Ten years after Maharaja Ranjit Singh's death, the empire broke up and the British were then able to the defeat Punjab with the help of some traitor Dogra kings. The Sikh State of Punjab was the only state which was a not a part of British rule at that time. Hence, it was conquered last by the British.
The British Raj had political, cultural, philosophical and literary consequences in the Punjab, including the establishment of a new system of education. During the independence movement, many Punjabis played a significant role, including Ajit Singh Sandhu, Bhagat Singh, Udham Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Bhai Parmanand, Muhammad Iqbal, Chaudhary Rehmat Ali, Ilam Din Shaheed and Lajpat Rai.
The Punjabis also play a prominent role in the mutiny against the British of 1857. The cities like Jhelum and Ludhiana served as center of rebellion against the British government.
At the time of partition in 1947, the province was split in to East and West Punjab. East Punjab became part of India, while West Punjab became part of Pakistan. The Punjab bore the brunt of the civil unrest following the end of the British Raj, with casualties estimated in the hundreds of thousands or even higher.
Hotels in the Punjab
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