The Punjab ( or ), also spelled Panjab, panj-āb, “five rivers” (Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ (Gurumukhi); (Shahmukhi); पंजाब (Devanagari)), is a geographical region in South Asia comprising vast territories of eastern Pakistan and northern India.In Pakistan, it includes the Punjab province, Islamabad, parts of Azad Kashmir (namely Bhimber and Mirpur) and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (namely Peshawar).In India, it includes Punjab state and Chandigarh union territory, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu Division, parts of Delhi and parts of Rajasthan. The name of the region is a compound of two Persian words and was introduced to the region by the Turkic Muslim conquerors of India and more formally popularized during the Mughal empire. Punjab literally means “(The Land of) Five Waters” referring to the following rivers: the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas. All are tributaries of the Indus River, the Chenab being the largest. The region has a long history. It has been inhabited by Harappans, proto-Dravidians and Indo-Aryans and has seen numerous invasions by the Persians, Greeks, Kushans, Ghaznavids, Timurids, Mughals, Afghans, British and others. The people of the Punjab today are called Punjabis and their principal language is called Punjabi. The main religions of the Punjab region are Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism. Other religious groups are Christians, Jains and Buddhists. In 1947, with the dissolution of British India, the region was partitioned between India and Pakistan.
