ABSTRACT
The State of Haryana lies in northern India, consisting of the eastern end of the historic Punjab region. The state capital, Chandigarh, constitutes a separate territory under the administration of the Union authorities and lies on the western border of Haryana’s northern arm. Here also, but to the north-east, there is a short border with Himachal Pradesh, while the north-eastern tip of this arm of Haryana also touches a tip of Uttaranchal. The eastern border lies along the Yamuna, an inward-curving crescent interrupted only where Delhi has carved out the National Capital Territory in the southeast of the state. Uttar Pradesh lies beyond the Yamuna. The blunt end of Haryana’s southern arm is just to the south of Delhi, and the border then heads north-westwards, separating the state from Rajasthan, until, at the tip of the third arm, it meets the border of Punjab state. Punjab, of which Haryana was a part until 1 November 1966 (the two states still share Chandigarh as a capital), essentially lies to the north-west of Haryana; from the western tip of Haryana the border heads east, and a little south for a time, before gradually curving north-eastwards towards where the Union Territory of Chandigarh
dissects the final stretch of Punjab frontier. These borders enclose an area of 44,212 sq km (17,077 sq miles), making it one of the smaller states of the Union.
