Punjab GK was the part of my preparation with no single good book. I made my own notes from many sources, and geography is the easiest place to start, because it barely changes. Learn it once with a map in front of you, revise it with 1-7-30, and these questions become fixed marks.
What this topic covers
Basic facts
- Area: 50,362 sq km, about 1.53% of India's area.
- Districts: 23. Malerkotla became the 23rd district in 2021.
- Capital: Chandigarh, a Union Territory and also the capital of Haryana.
- The name: Punjab comes from Persian, panj (five) + ab (water): the land of five rivers. Before 1947 those were the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.
Neighbours
- West: Pakistan (international border).
- North: Jammu and Kashmir.
- North-east: Himachal Pradesh.
- South and south-east: Haryana.
- South-west: Rajasthan.
Six districts touch the Pakistan border: Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka.
The three rivers of present-day Punjab
| River | Key points |
|---|---|
| Sutlej | Rises in Tibet near Lake Rakas Tal. Bhakra Dam (Bilaspur, Himachal) and Nangal Dam (Rupnagar, Punjab) are on it. Longest river of Punjab. |
| Beas | Rises at Beas Kund near Rohtang Pass. Pong Dam (Himachal) is on it. It flows only in India and joins the Sutlej at Harike. |
| Ravi | Rises in Himachal. Ranjit Sagar (Thein) Dam near Pathankot and the Shahpur Kandi project are on it. Forms part of the border with Pakistan. |
The Ghaggar is a seasonal river in the south-east (Patiala and Sangrur side).
The five historic doabs
A doab is the land between two rivers. Paper setters love these names:
| Doab | Between |
|---|---|
| Bist (Jalandhar) Doab | Beas and Sutlej |
| Bari Doab | Beas and Ravi |
| Rachna Doab | Ravi and Chenab |
| Chaj Doab | Chenab and Jhelum |
| Sind Sagar Doab | Jhelum and Indus |
Memory trick: the names are made from the rivers' first letters. Bist = BeasSutlej, Bari = BeasRavi, Rachna = RaviChenab, Chaj = ChenabJhelum.
Majha, Doaba and Malwa
- Majha: north-west of the Beas. Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Pathankot.
- Doaba: between the Beas and Sutlej. Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar.
- Malwa: south of the Sutlej. The largest region, with most of the districts, including Ludhiana, Patiala, Bathinda and Sangrur.
Wetlands (Ramsar sites)
Punjab's Ramsar sites include Harike (the largest wetland of northern India, where the Beas meets the Sutlej), Kanjli (Kapurthala), Ropar, Nangal, Keshopur-Miani (Gurdaspur) and the Beas Conservation Reserve. Harike was the first, in 1990.
How it is asked in the exam
- "Which river does not flow through present-day Punjab?" (Options include Chenab or Jhelum.)
- "Harike wetland is at the confluence of?" (Beas and Sutlej.)
- "Bist Doab lies between?" (Beas and Sutlej.)
- "Which district is newest?" (Malerkotla.)
- "Which state does not share a border with Punjab?" (Options include Uttarakhand or Delhi.)
Points to remember
- Bhakra Dam is in Himachal Pradesh, not Punjab. Nangal Dam is in Punjab.
- Beas is the only one of the three that flows entirely in India.
- Bist Doab = Jalandhar Doab, the land Punjab lost to the British in 1846.
Common mistakes
- Placing Bhakra in Punjab.
- Swapping Majha and Doaba. Remember: Do-aba = two waters, so it is the land between two rivers, the Beas and Sutlej.
- Counting 22 districts from an old book. It is 23.
Practise straight after reading
Draw an outline map of Punjab from memory tomorrow. Mark the three rivers, the dams, Harike and the six border districts. Check it against this page, then repeat after 7 and 30 days.