Selected State >> HARYANA
Haryana is a state in northern India. In the past, the area has been the site of several crucial battles. The great battle between the Kauravas and Pandavas, recorded in the ancient Hindu epic the Mahabharata, occurred at Kurukshetra . Haryana is now an important agricultural region close to Delhi, the capital city of India.
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| People & Government | Economy |
| Transportation & Communication | Land |
| Climate | History |
About 90 per cent of the population are Hindus,
and live mainly in rural areas. Chandigarh,
which is a separate territory, serves as the capital of both Haryana and Punjab. There are also several large market towns. The main language spoken is Hindi, but Urdu and
Punjabi are also widely spoken. The president of India appoints a governor of the state for a five-year term. A council of ministers drawn from the legislative assembly aids the governor. Haryana has 90 seats in the legislative assembly. Haryana has 10 elected members in the Lok Sabha (lower house) and 5 nominated representatives in the Rajya Sabha (upper house) of the Indian national parliament. There are 12 districts, each under the control of a collector. The panchayat raj (village council rule) includes all 7,000 villages in Haryana. |
Agriculture is the main economic activity and the state government has
invested heavily in farming. It has increased
the irrigation network and promoted modern crop technology.
Now crops cover 90 per cent of the total area and grain production is increasing
rapidly. Gram (lentils), mustard, and wheat
are the main winter crops. Cotton, maize,
rice, and sugar cane are the main summer crops. Cotton
and sugar-processing are important industries. The
state also produces high-quality bullocks and dairy cattle. Haryana has no heavy
industry but there are light industrial zones in the south.
The state is the largest producer of industrial components in India. Other products include bicycles, brassware,
cement, glassware, motorbikes, refrigerators, sugar, televisions, tractors, and tyres. The main towns and cities of the region are on the Grand Trunk Road, the great highway from Lahore to Calcutta. The state has good road and rail services. |
Transportation and Communication
| The main towns and cities of the region are on the Grand Trunk Road, the great highway from Lahore to Calcutta. The state has good road and rail services. |
| The average daily minimum temperature is 7 °C in January and 26 °C in June. The maximum is 20 °C in January and 39 °C in June. Annual rainfall in Chandigarh is 106 centimetres, 90 per cent of which falls between June and October. |
The earliest settlements that archaeologists have found in Haryana date to
the late Harappan period (around 1700 B.C.). These
are followed by settlements where archaeologists found ochre colour pottery. The sites are thus known as part of the Ochre
Colour Culture. A later important group to
live in the region herded cattle and other animals and were farmers. Archaeologists know their settlements from a
particular kind of pottery they used known as Painted Grey Ware. The region was on the
receiving end of many invasions from the northwest-the Greeks, the Scythians, the
Kushanas, the Huns, the Turks and Afghans, and eventually the Mughals. Some of these ruled the area, particularly the Mughals. In 1857, Haryana leaders played a large part in
the revolt against British rule. The state of Haryana was formed in 1966 from Hindi-speaking parts of the Indian state of Punjab. |