East_Punjab_Province

East Punjab

East Punjab

Former province of India from 1947 to 1950

This article is about a former state of India. For the current state, see Punjab, India. For other uses, see Punjab (disambiguation).

East Punjab was a province of India from 1947 until 1950. It consisted parts of the Punjab province that remained in India following the partition of the province between the new dominions of Pakistan and the Indian Union by the Radcliffe Commission in 1947. The mostly Muslim western parts of the old Punjab became Pakistan's West Punjab, later renamed as Punjab Province, while the mostly Hindu and Sikh eastern parts remained with India.

Quick Facts Province of East Punjab, Capital ...

History

See also: History of the Punjab

Partition of India

Main article: Partition of India

With the partition of India, the Punjab province was to be divided in two as per the Indian Independence Act 1947, passed by the parliament of the United Kingdom. The province was to cease to exist, and two new provinces were to be constituted, to be known respectively as West Punjab & East Punjab.[2] All the princely states of the Punjab States Agency, except Bahawalpur, which acceded to the Dominion of Pakistan, acceded to the new Union of India and were combined into the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU). The northeast Hill States of the Punjab Province banded together and were declared a union territory in 1950 as Himachal Pradesh.

Renaming of the state

Administrative divisions of India in 1951

The Constitution of India, which came into effect in 1950, renamed the province of "East Punjab" as the state of "Punjab".[citation needed]

Reorganisation of Indian States

Main article: States Reorganisation Act, 1956

In 1956, the PEPSU was merged into an expanded Punjab state.

Punjabi Suba movement

Main article: Punjabi Suba movement
A map of the distribution of native Punjabi speakers in India and Pakistan

With effect from 1 November 1966, there was yet another reorganisation, this time on linguistic lines, when the state of Punjab as constituted in 1956 was divided into three: the mostly Hindi-speaking part became the present-day Indian state of Haryana and the mostly Punjabi-speaking part became the present-day Punjab,[3][4] while a new union territory (Chandigarh) was also created, to serve as a capital to both states. At the same time, some parts of the former territory of Patiala and East Punjab States Union, including Solan and Nalagarh, were transferred to Himachal Pradesh.

Demography

1901 census

Religions in East Punjab, India region (1901)[5]: 34 [6]: 62 [lower-alpha 1]

  Hinduism (58.63%)
  Islam (29.54%)
  Sikhism (11.30%)
  Jainism (0.31%)
  Christianity (0.17%)
  Others[lower-alpha 2] (0.05%)

Prior to partition, the eastern portion of Punjab that was ultimately awarded to India following the demarcation of the Radcliffe Line was made into a new province – East Punjab. The area includes the contemporary states of Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Below is the religious demographics of this region broken down by district and princely state with an overall total as per the 1901 Indian census.

More information District/ Princely state, Hinduism ...

1911 census

Religions in East Punjab, India region (1911)[7]: 27 [8]: 27 [lower-alpha 4]

  Hinduism (54.48%)
  Islam (28.90%)
  Sikhism (15.82%)
  Christianity (0.42%)
  Jainism (0.31%)
  Others[lower-alpha 2] (0.06%)

Prior to partition, the eastern portion of Punjab that was ultimately awarded to India following the demarcation of the Radcliffe Line was made into a new province – East Punjab. The area includes the contemporary states of Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Below is the religious demographics of this region broken down by district and princely state with an overall total as per the 1911 Indian census.

More information District/ Princely state, Hinduism ...

1921 census

Religions in East Punjab, India region (1921)[9]: 29 [lower-alpha 5]

  Hinduism (53.00%)
  Islam (29.05%)
  Sikhism (16.99%)
  Christianity (0.65%)
  Jainism (0.27%)
  Others[lower-alpha 2] (0.05%)

Prior to partition, the eastern portion of Punjab that was ultimately awarded to India following the demarcation of the Radcliffe Line was made into a new province – East Punjab. The area includes the contemporary states of Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Below is the religious demographics of this region broken down by district and princely state with an overall total as per the 1921 Indian census.

More information District/ Princely state, Hinduism ...

1931 census

Religions in East Punjab, India region (1931)[10]: 277 [lower-alpha 6]

  Hinduism[lower-alpha 7] (48.86%)
  Islam (30.17%)
  Sikhism (20.01%)
  Christianity (0.65%)
  Jainism (0.25%)
  Others[lower-alpha 2] (0.05%)

Prior to partition, the eastern portion of Punjab that was ultimately awarded to India following the demarcation of the Radcliffe Line was made into a new province – East Punjab. The area includes the contemporary states of Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Below is the religious demographics of this region broken down by district and princely state with an overall total as per the 1931 Indian census.

More information District/ Princely state, Islam ...

1941 census

Religions in East Punjab, India region (1941)[11]: 42 [lower-alpha 8]

  Hinduism[lower-alpha 7] (46.95%)
  Islam (30.88%)
  Sikhism (21.14%)
  Christianity (0.69%)
  Jainism (0.21%)
  Others[lower-alpha 2] (0.12%)

Prior to partition, the eastern portion of Punjab that was ultimately awarded to India following the demarcation of the Radcliffe Line was made into a new province – East Punjab. The area includes the contemporary states of Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh. Below is the religious demographics of this region broken down by district and princely state with an overall total as per the 1941 Indian census.

More information District/ Princely state, Islam ...

2011 census

Religion

Religion in East Punjab (2011)[12]

  Hinduism (65.94%)
  Sikhism (28.63%)
  Islam (4.13%)
  Others (1.3%)

East Punjab comprising the states of (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Union territory of Chandigarh) had a population of 61,014,852 people as of 2011 census report of India. The Hindus form a majority in East Punjab region with 40,234,605 adherents comprising (65.94%), Sikhs are 17,466,731 comprising (28.62%) of the region, Muslims are 2,518,159 comprising (4.12%) of the region and others are 795,357 including Christians, Buddhists, Jains, and atheists together comprising remaining (1.3%) of the region.

Sikhs are the majority in Punjab, while Hindus form the majority in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Chandigarh. Muslims survived in districts of Malerkotla and Nuh. Christians have dominance in Punjab while Bhuddhist dominate Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh. [13]

Language

Languages spoken in East Punjab (2011)[14]

  Punjabi (46.16%)
  Hindi (26.64%)
  Haryanvi (15.44%)
  Pahari languages (7.53%)
  Others (4.23%)

As per 2011 census, Punjabi is the most spoken language and is spoken by 28,166,306 people, followed by Hindi which is spoken by 16,259,205 people, Haryanvi by 9,423,138 people and Western Pahari language by 4,599,283 people. While 2,580,928 people speaks other languages like Nepali.[15]

Modern usage

Since it ceased to be the name of a state, "East Punjab" has been used in India to refer to the eastern part of the present Punjab state, while in Pakistan it means the eastern part of Pakistan's Punjab province, although Pakistanis also sometimes refer to the current Indian Punjab as "East Punjab".[16] Terms East and West Punjab are also often used in modern India and Pakistan when making a comparison between the two territories.

See also

Notes

  1. 1901 figure taken from census data by combining the total population of all districts (Hisar, Rohtak, Gurgaon, Delhi, Karnal, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Firozpur, Amritsar, Simla, Kangra, Ambala, Hoshiarpur, and Gurdaspur (minus Shakargarh Tehsil)), and princely states (Loharu, Dujana, Pataudi, Kalsia, Kapurthala, Malerkotla, Faridkot, Patiala, Jind, Nabha, Nahan, Simla Hill, Mandi, Suket, and Chamba) in Punjab Province, British India that ultimately fell on the eastern side of the Radcliffe Line. See 1901 census data here: [5]: 34 
    Immediately following the partition of India in 1947, these districts and princely states would ultimately make up the subdivision of East Punjab, which also included Patiala and East Punjab States Union, Chief Commissioner's Province of Himachal Pradesh, and Bilaspur State. The states that make up this region in the contemporary era are Punjab, India, Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh.
  2. Including Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Tribals, others, or not stated
  3. Does not include Shakargarh Tehsil, which was awarded to Pakistan as part of the Radcliffe Line.
  4. 1911 figure taken from census data by combining the total population of all districts (Hisar, Rohtak, Gurgaon, Delhi, Karnal, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Firozpur, Amritsar, Simla, Kangra, Ambala, Hoshiarpur, and Gurdaspur (minus Shakargarh Tehsil)), and princely states (Loharu, Dujana, Pataudi, Kalsia, Kapurthala, Malerkotla, Faridkot, Patiala, Jind, Nabha, Nahan, Simla Hill, Mandi, Suket, and Chamba) in Punjab Province, British India that ultimately fell on the eastern side of the Radcliffe Line. See 1911 census data here: [7]: 27 [8]: 27 
    Immediately following the partition of India in 1947, these districts and princely states would ultimately make up the subdivision of East Punjab, which also included Patiala and East Punjab States Union, Chief Commissioner's Province of Himachal Pradesh, and Bilaspur State. The states that make up this region in the contemporary era are Punjab, India, Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh.
  5. 1921 figure taken from census data by combining the total population of all districts (Hisar, Rohtak, Gurgaon, Karnal, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Firozpur, Amritsar, Simla, Kangra, Ambala, Hoshiarpur, and Gurdaspur (minus Shakargarh Tehsil)), and princely states (Loharu, Dujana, Pataudi, Kalsia, Kapurthala, Malerkotla, Faridkot, Patiala, Jind, Nabha, Nahan, Simla Hill, Bilaspur, Mandi, Suket, and Chamba) in Punjab Province, British India that ultimately fell on the eastern side of the Radcliffe Line. See 1921 census data here:[9]: 29 
    Immediately following the partition of India in 1947, these districts and princely states would ultimately make up the subdivision of East Punjab, which also included Patiala and East Punjab States Union, Chief Commissioner's Province of Himachal Pradesh, and Bilaspur State. The states that make up this region in the contemporary era are Punjab, India, Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh.
  6. 1931 figure taken from census data by combining the total population of all districts (Hisar, Rohtak, Gurgaon, Karnal, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Firozpur, Amritsar, Simla, Kangra, Ambala, Hoshiarpur, and Gurdaspur (minus Shakargarh Tehsil)), and princely states (Loharu, Dujana, Pataudi, Kalsia, Kapurthala, Malerkotla, Faridkot, Patiala, Jind, Nabha, Sirmoor, Simla Hill, Bilaspur, Mandi, Suket, and Chamba) in Punjab Province, British India that ultimately fell on the eastern side of the Radcliffe Line. See 1931 census data here:[10]: 277 
    Immediately following the partition of India in 1947, these districts and princely states would ultimately make up the subdivision of East Punjab, which also included Patiala and East Punjab States Union, Chief Commissioner's Province of Himachal Pradesh, and Bilaspur State. The states that make up this region in the contemporary era are Punjab, India, Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh.
  7. Including Ad-Dharmis
  8. 1941 figure taken from census data by combining the total population of all districts (Hisar, Rohtak, Gurgaon, Karnal, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Firozpur, Amritsar, Simla, Kangra, Ambala, Hoshiarpur, and Gurdaspur (minus Shakargarh Tehsil)), and princely states (Loharu, Dujana, Pataudi, Kalsia, Kapurthala, Malerkotla, Faridkot, Patiala, Jind, Nabha, Sirmoor, Simla Hill, Bilaspur, Mandi, Suket, and Chamba) in Punjab Province, British India that ultimately fell on the eastern side of the Radcliffe Line. See 1941 census data here:[11]: 42 
    Immediately following the partition of India in 1947, these districts and princely states would ultimately make up the subdivision of East Punjab, which also included Patiala and East Punjab States Union, Chief Commissioner's Province of Himachal Pradesh, and Bilaspur State. The states that make up this region in the contemporary era are Punjab, India, Chandigarh, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh.

References

  1. [1]
    Shimla Then & Now. Indus Publishing. 1 January 1996. ISBN 9788173870460 – via Google Books.
  2. [2]
    "Salient features of the act" (PDF). Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  3. [3]
    S. Gajrani, History, Religion and Culture of India (2004), p. 217
  4. [4]
    "Punjab Legislative Assembly". Archived from the original on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
  5. [5]
    "Census of India 1901. [Vol. 17A]. Imperial tables, I-VIII, X-XV, XVII and XVIII for the Punjab, with the native states under the political control of the Punjab Government, and for the North-west Frontier Province". 1901. JSTOR saoa.crl.25363739. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  6. [6]
    "Punjab District Gazetteers Gurdaspur District Vol.21 Statistical Tables". 1913. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  7. [7]
    "Census of India 1911. Vol. 14, Punjab. Pt. 2, Tables". 1911. JSTOR saoa.crl.25393788. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  8. [8]
    Kaul, Harikishan (1911). "Census Of India 1911 Punjab Vol XIV Part II". Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  9. [9]
    "Census of India 1921. Vol. 15, Punjab and Delhi. Pt. 2, Tables". 1921. JSTOR saoa.crl.25430165. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  10. [10]
    "Census of India 1931. Vol. 17, Punjab. Pt. 2, Tables". 1931. JSTOR saoa.crl.25793242. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  11. [11]
    India Census Commissioner (1941). "Census of India, 1941. Vol. 6, Punjab". JSTOR saoa.crl.28215541. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  12. [12]
    https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/11361 [bare URL]
  13. [13]
    https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/11361 [bare URL]
  14. [14]
    https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/10191 [bare URL]
  15. [15]
    https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/10191 [bare URL]
  16. [16]
    "Ties will grow, says Indian Punjab CM". 31 January 2004.
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