Haryana

Haryana is one of the 29 states in India, situated in North India. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 November 1966 on a linguistic basis. It stands 21st in terms of its area, which is spread about 44,212 km2 (17,070 sq mi). As of 2011 census of India, the state is eighteenth largest by population with 25,353,081 inhabitants. The city of Chandigarh is its capital while the NCR city of Faridabad is the most populous city of the state.

Haryana is one of the most economically developed regions in South Asia, and its agricultural and manufacturing industries have experienced sustained growth since the 1970s. Since 2000, the state has emerged as the largest recipient of investment per capita in India.

It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south. The river Yamuna defines its eastern border with Uttar Pradesh. Haryana surrounds the country's capital Delhi on three sides, forming the northern, western and southern borders of Delhi. Consequently, a large area of south Haryana is included in the National Capital Region for purposes of planning for development.

Etymology

The name Haryana is found in the works of the 12th-century AD Apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar (VS 1189–1230).

The name Haryana has been derived from the Sanskrit words Hari (the Hindu god Vishnu) and ayana (home), meaning "the Abode of God". However, scholars such as Muni Lal, Murli Chand Sharma, HA Phadke and Sukhdev Singh Chib believe that the name comes from a compound of the words Hari (Sanskrit Harit, "green") and Aranya (forest).

History

Pre-history

Vedic state of Brahmavarta is claimed to be located in a new research in south Haryana, where initial Vedic scriptures were composed after the great floods some 10,000 years ago. Manusmriti, a flood time document composed by Manu and Bhrigu is now dated 10,000 years old. Rakhigarhi village in the Hisar district is home to the largest and one of the oldest ancient Indus Valley Civilization sites, dated as over 5,000 years old. Evidence of paved roads, a drainage system, a large-scale rainwater collection storage system, terracotta brick and statue production, and skilled metal working (in both bronze and precious metals) have been uncovered. According to archeologists, Rakhigarhi may be the origin of Harappan civilisation, which arose in the Ghaggar basin in Haryana and gradually and slowly moved to the Indus valley.

Medieval

Ancient idols of Jain Tirthankara (made of bronze and stone) were found in archaeological expeditions in Badli, Bhiwani (Ranila, Charkhi Dadri, Badhara village), Dadri, Gurgaon (Ferozpur Jhirka), Hansi, Hisar (Agroha), Kasan, Nahad, Narnaul, Pehowa, Rewari, Rohad, Rohtak (Asthal-Abohar) and Sonepat in Haryana.

During the 1398 Timurid conquests of India, Haryana was the site of countless of appalling massacres, Timur's force of 90,000 soldiers each killed 50 to 100 men, women and children in Haryana, such atrocities include the be-headings of most of the enslaved Indian women after they were used for grinding, cooking and raping by Timur's soldiers before marching onward, causing a massive depopulation of the region.

The area that is now Haryana has been ruled by major empires of India. Panipat is known for three seminal battles in the history of India. In the First Battle of Panipat (1526), Babur defeated the Lodis. In the Second Battle of Panipat (1556), Akbar defeated the local Haryanvi Hindu Emperor of Delhi, who belonged to Rewari. Hemu, had earlier won 22 battles across India from Punjab to Bengal defeating Mughals and Afghans. Hemu had defeated Akbar's forces twice at Agra and Battle of Delhi in 1556 to become last Hindu Emperor of India with formal Coronation at Purana Quila in Delhi on 7th Oct. 1556. In the Third Battle of Panipat (1761), the Afghan king Ahmad Shah Abdali defeated the Marathas.

Formation

Haryana state was formed on 1 November 1966. The Indian government set up the Shah Commission under the chairmanship of Justice JC Shah on 23 April 1966 to divide the existing Punjab, India and determine the boundaries of the new state of Haryana after consideration of the languages spoken by the people. The commission delivered its report on 31 May 1966 whereby the then-districts of Hisar, Mahendragarh, Gurgaon, Rohtak and Karnal were to be a part of the new state of Haryana. Further, the tehsils of Jind and Narwana in the Sangrur district—along with Naraingarh, Ambala and Jagadhri—were to be included.

The commission recommended that the tehsil of Kharad, which includes Chandigarh, the state capital of Punjab, should be a part of Haryana. However, only a small portion of Kharad was given to Haryana. The city of Chandigarh was made a union territory, serving as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana.

Bhagwat Dayal Sharma became first Chief Minister of Haryana.

Geography

Haryana is a landlocked state in northern India. It is between 27°39' to 30°35' N latitude and between 74°28' and 77°36' E longitude. The total geographical area of the state is 4.42 m ha, which is 1.4% of the geographical area of the country. The altitude of Haryana varies between 700 and 3600 ft (200 metres to 1200 metres) above sea level. As per India State of Forest Report, FSI, 2013, the Forest Cover in the state is 1586 km2 which is 3.59% of the state's geographical area and the Tree Cover in the state is 1282 km2 which is 2.90% of the geographical area. Thus the Forest and Tree Cover of the Haryana state is 6.49% of its geographical area.

Haryana has four main geographical features.

• The Yamuna-Ghaggar plain forming the largest part of the state
• The Shivalik Hills to the northeast
• Semi-desert sandy plain to the southwest
• The Aravali Range in the south

Rivers

The Yamuna flows along the state's eastern boundary while the ancient Sarasvati River is said to have flowed from Yamuna Nagar, but has now disappeared.

Haryana's main seasonal river, the Ghaggar rises in the outer Himalayas, between the Yamuna and the Satluj and enters the state near Pinjore in the Panchkula district. Passing through Ambala and Sirsa, it reaches Bikaner in Rajasthan and runs for 460 km (290 mi) before disappearing into the deserts of Rajasthan. Important tributaries include the Chautang and Tangri.

The seasonal Markanda River is a stream, which in ancient times was known as the Aruna. It originates from the lower Shivalik Hills and enters Haryana west of Ambala. During monsoons, this stream swells into a raging torrent notorious for its devastating power. The surplus water is carried on to the Sanisa Lake where the Markanda joins the Saraswati and later the Ghaggar.

Three other rivulets in and around the Mewat hills, the Indori, Dohan and Kasavati all flow from East to West and once were tributaries of the Drishadwati/Saraswati rivers.

Flora and fauna

State symbols of Haryana Formation day 1 November (Day of
separation from Punjab) State mammal Black buck State bird Black francolin State tree Peepal State flower Lotus

Thorny, dry, deciduous forest and thorny shrubs can be found all over the state. During the monsoon, a carpet of grass covers the hills. Mulberry, eucalyptus, pine, kikar, shisham and babul are some of the trees found here. The species of fauna found in the state of Haryana include black buck, nilgai, panther, fox, mongoose, jackal and wild dog. More than 450 species of birds are found here.

Protected wildlife areas

Haryana has two national parks, eight wildlife sanctuaries, two wildlife conservation areas, four animal and bird breeding centers, one deer park and three zoos, all of which are managed by the Haryana Forest Department of the Government of Haryana.

Transport

The Haryana and Delhi governments have constructed the 4.5-kilometre (2.8 mi) international standard Delhi Faridabad Skyway, the first of its kind in North India, to connect Delhi and Faridabad. The Delhi-Agra Expressway (NH-2) that passes through Faridabad is being widened to six lanes from current four lanes. It will further boost Faridabad's connectivity with Delhi.

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation connects Faridabad and Gurgaon with Delhi. Faridabad has the longest metro network in the NCR Region consisting of 9 stations and track length being 14 km.

Haryana has a total road length of 23,684 kilometres (14,717 mi). There are 29 national highways with a total length of 1,461 kilometres (908 mi) and many state highways, which have a total length of 2,494 kilometres (1,550 mi). The most remote parts of the state are linked with metaled roads. Its modern bus fleet of 3,864 buses covers a distance of 1.15 million km per day, and it was the first state in the country to introduce luxury video coaches.

The Grand Trunk Road, commonly abbreviated to GT Road, is one of South Asia's oldest and longest major roads. It passes through the districts of Sonipat, Panipat, Karnal, Kurukshetra and Ambala in north Haryana where it enters Delhi and subsequently the industrial town of Faridabad on its way. The state government proposes to construct Express highways and freeways for speedier vehicular traffic. The 135.6 kilometres (84.3 mi) Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway(KMP) will provide a high-speed link to northern Haryana with its southern districts such as Sonepat, Gurgaon, Jhajjar and Faridabad. The work on the project has already started and is scheduled to be completed by July 2013.

Haryana State has always given high priority to the expansion of electricity infrastructure, as it is one of the most important inputs for the development of the state. Haryana was the first state in the country to achieve 100% rural electrification in 1970 as well as the first in the country to link all villages with all-weather roads and provide safe drinking water facilities throughout the state.

Healthcare

The Total Fertility Rate of Haryana is 2.3. The Infant Mortality Rate is 41 (SRS 2013) and Maternal Mortality Ratio is 146 (SRS 2010–2012).

• Haryana Civil Medical Services (HCMS)
• National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)

Communication and media

Haryana has a statewide network of telecommunication facilities. Haryana Government has its own statewide area network by which all government offices of 21 districts and 127 blocks across the state are connected with each other thus making it the first SWAN of the country. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and most of the leading private sector players (such as Reliance Infocom, Tata Teleservices, Bharti Telecom, Idea Vodafone Essar, Aircel, Uninor and Videocon) have operations in the state. Important areas around Delhi are an integral part of the local Delhi Mobile Telecommunication System. This network system would easily cover major towns like Faridabad and Gurgaon.

Electronic media channels include, MTV, 9XM, Star Group, SET Max, News Time, NDTV 24x7 and Zee Group. The radio stations include All India Radio and other FM stations.

The major newspapers of Haryana include Dainik Bhaskar, Punjab Kesari, Jag Bani, Dainik Jagran, The Tribune, Amar Ujala, Hindustan Times, Dainik Tribune, The Times of India and Hari-Bhumi.

Utilities

Haryana Power Generation Corporation Ltd (HPGCL) is setting up a solar power plant at the site of a defunct thermal power plant in Faridabad. The power generator plans to set up the plant over 151.78 acres near Bata Chowk in the district that generated coal-based energy in the past.

Tourism

There are 21 tourism hubs created by Haryana Tourism Corporation Limited, which are located in Ambala, Bhiwani, Faridabad, Fatehabad, Gurgaon, Hisar, Jhajjar, Jind, Kaithal, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Panchkula, Sirsa, Sonipat, Panipat, Rewari, Rohtak, Yamunanagar, Palwal and Mahendergarh.