ABSTRACT
Punjab, as the land of the five rivers, is one region. Geographically, it is the western extension of the Ganges plain through which flow the five tributaries of the River Indus, the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej; a natural area stretching from the Khyber Pass to Delhi and from the Himalayan ranges to the deserts of Sind and Rajasthan. Moreover, among all Punjabis certain behavioural characteristics and habits are very common. The whole of Punjab is a food surplus area and it exports grain, particularly wheat, to other parts of India, being at present the second largest wheat-producing area in the union. The population of Punjab, which was just over eleven million, almost one-fifth of whom were urban, was divided on the basis of community, of language, and of urban or rural residence. In agriculture, minor irrigation works, primary education and local communication, the state government had devolved all its functions on a three-tier structure of elected bodies.
