Haryana (Hindi: हरियाणा, Punjabi: ਹਰਿਆਣਾ, IPA: [hərɪjaːɳaː]) is a state in India. Historically it is a part of Kuru region of North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar (VS 1189-1230). 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 Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Haryana also surrounds Delhi on three sides, forming the northern, western and southern borders of Delhi. Consequently, a large area of Haryana is included in the National Capital Region. The capital of the state is Chandigarh which is administered as a union territory and is also the capital of Punjab. The name Haryana means the Abode of God from Sanskrit Hari (the Hindu God Vishnu) and ayana (home), although it may also refer to the lush green landscape of the state (from Sanskrit harit
meaning green).
Haryana was the cradle of the Indus Valley and Vedic Civilizations, both flourishing on the banks of the now lost Sarasvati River. Several decisive battles were fought in the area, which shaped much of the history of India. These include the epic battle of Mahabharata at Kurukshetra (including the recital of the Bhagavad Gita by Krishna), and the three battles of Panipat. Haryana was administered as part of the Punjab province of British India, and was carved out on linguistic lines as India's 17th state in 1966. Haryana is now a leading contributor to the country's production of foodgrain and milk. Agriculture is the leading occupation for the residents of the state, the flat arable land irrigated by submersible pumps and an extensive canal system. Haryana contributed heavily to the Green Revolution that made India self-sufficient in food production in the 1960s.
Haryana is one of the wealthiest states of India and has the third highest per capita income in the country at Rs. 67,891, including the largest number of rural crorepatis in India. Haryana is also one of the most economically developed regions in South Asia and its agricultural and manufacturing industry has experienced sustained growth since 1970s. Haryana is India's largest manufacturer of passenger cars, two-wheelers, and tractors. Since 2000, the state has emerged as the largest recipient of investment per capita in India. The city of Gurgaon has rapidly emerged as a major hub for the information technology and automobile industries. Gurgaon is home to Maruti Udyog Limited, India's largest automobile manufacturer, and Hero Honda Limited, the world's largest manufacturer of two-wheelers. Panipat, Panchkula and Faridabad are also industrial hubs, with the Panipat Refinery being the second largest refinery in South Asia. There are also long established steel and textile industries in the state.
Major ethnic group in Haryana is of Jat people. Other ethnic groups are of Ahirs, Punjabis, Gujjars, Agarwals, Rors, Brahmins, Rajputs and Sainis.[14] Hindus are majority in Haryana and are about 90% of the population, Sikhs 6.2%, Muslims 4.05% and Christians 0.10%.
Formation of Haryana
Haryana state was formed on 1 November 1966, on the recommendation of the Sardar Hukam Singh Parliamentary Committee. The formation of this committee was announced in the Parliament on 23 September 1965. On 23 April 1966, acting on the recommendation of the Hukam Singh Committee, the Indian government set up the Shah Commission under the chairmanship of Justice J. C. Shah, to divide and set up the boundaries of Punjab and Haryana giving consideration to the language spoken by the people. The commission gave its report on 31 May 1966. According to this report the then districts of Hissar, Mahendragarh, Gurgaon, Rohtak, and Karnal were to be a part of the new state of Haryana. Further, the tehsils of Jind (district Sangrur), Narwana (district Sangrur), Naraingarh, Ambala and Jagadhari were also to be included. The commission recommended that Tehsil Kharar (including Chandigarh) should be a part of Haryana.
The city of Chandigarh, and a Punjabi-speaking area of district Rupnagar were made a Union Territory serving as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana. According to the Rajiv-Longowal Accord, Chandigarh was to be transferred to the state of Punjab in 1986, but the transfer was delayed and it has not been executed so far.
Climate
The climate of Haryana is similar to other states of India lying in the northern plains. It is very hot in summer (up to a high of 50 deg Celsius) and cold in winters (down to a low of 1 deg Celsius). The hottest months are May and June and the coldest being December and January. Rainfall is varied, with the Shivalik Hills region being the wettest and the Aravali Hills region being the driest. About 80% of the rainfall occurs in the monsoon season (July-September) and sometimes causes local flooding.
Government and politics
Politics of Haryana is mainly dominated by Jats . Like in all other states of India, Haryana is governed through a governor, a largely ceremonial position who is appointed by the President of India. The Chief Minister is the head of the Haryana state government and is vested with most of the executive powers. Haryana’s legislature is unicameral; its one house, the Haryana Legislative Assembly, consists of 90 members. Haryana has five seats in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's national parliament, and ten in the Lok Sabha, the lower house. The largest political parties in Haryana are the Indian National Lok Dal, Haryana Janhit Congress, Bhartiya Janata Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Indian National Congress. The present political scenario of the state is clear and it has a stable government under Bhupinder Singh Hooda who is presently the Chief Minister of the state.
Culture
Haryana has a rich cultural heritage that goes way back to the Vedic times. The state is rich in folklore with the oldest extant romance being that of Sorath and Dhaj, Ror Kumar. The people of Haryana have their own traditions. The age old customs of meditation, Yoga and chanting of Vedic Mantras, are still observed by the masses. Famous yoga guru Swami Ramdev is from Mahendragarh in Haryana. Seasonal and religious festivals glorify the culture of this region. Dance is said to be the mother of all arts. Music and poetry exist in tune, painting and architecture in space. Dance is not just a form of recreation but something needed to release physical and emotional energy. Haryana has a variety of folk dances, which like other creative art, help in sublimating the performer's worries and cares.
The people of Haryana have preserved their old religious and social traditions. They celebrate festivals with great enthusiasm and traditional fervor. Their culture and popular art are Saangs, dramas, ballads and songs in which they take great delight. Haryanavi has traditionally been the dominant language spoken by the martial people of Haryana. Post-1947, Punjabi is also spoken by a lot of people in Haryana especially by those Hindus and Sikhs who came over from Pakistan. Punjabi is second official language of Haryana. Sanskrit is also taught in most of the schools in Haryana. In towns and cities, English is still to be adopted as the household lingo, but is spoken in a hazy mixture of Haryanvi. The most striking feature of Haryana is its language itself; or rather, the manner in which it is spoken. Popularly known as Haryanavi, with Bangaru or Jatu (language of Jats) being the most widely spoken dialect, it is perhaps a bit crude, but full of earthy humor and straightforwardness. With rapid urbanization, and due to Haryana's close proximity to Delhi, the cultural aspects are now taking a more modern hue.
Agriculture
Despite recent industrial development, Haryana is primarily an agricultural state. About 70% of residents are engaged in agriculture Wheat and rice are the major crops. Haryana is self-sufficient in food production and the second largest contributor to India's central pool of food grains. The main crops of Haryana are wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton, oilseeds, pulses, barley, maize, millet etc. There are two main types of crops in Haryana: Rabi and Kharif. The major Kharif crops of Haryana are rice, jowar, bajra, maize, cotton, jute, sugarcane, sesame and groundnut. For these crops the ground is prepared in April and May and the seeds are sown at the commencement of rains in June. The crops are ready for harvesting by the beginning of November. The major Rabi crops are wheat, tobacco, pulses, linseed, rapeseed and mustard. The ground is prepared by the end of October or the beginning of November and the crops are harvested by March.
About 86% of the area is arable, and of that 96% is cultivated. About 75% of the area is irrigated, through tube wells and an extensive system of canals. Haryana contributed significantly to the Green Revolution in India in the 1970s that made the country self-sufficient in food production. The state has also significantly contributed to the field of agricultural education in the country. Asia's biggest agricultural University[33] - Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University is located at Hisar and it has made a significant contribution in ushering in the 'Green Revolution' in the state.
Dairy farming is also an essential part of the rural economy. Haryana has a livestock population of 98.97 lakh. Milk and milk products form an essential part of the local diet. There is the saying Desaan main des Haryana, jit doodh dahi ka khaana, which means "Best among all the countries in the world is Haryana, where the staple food is milk and yoghurt". Haryana, with 660 grams of availability of milk per capita per day, ranks at number two in the country as against the national average of 232 grams. There is a vast network of milk societies that support the dairy industry. The National Dairy Research Institute at Karnal, and the Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes at Hisar are instrumental in development of new breeds of cattle and propagation of these breeds through embryo transfer technology. The Murrah breed of water buffalo from Haryana is world-famous for its milk production.
Administrative Divisions
The state is divided into four divisions for administrative purpose - Ambala Division, Rohtak Division, Gurgaon Division and Hisar Division. There are 21 districts, 47 sub-divisions, 67 tehsils, 45 sub-tehsils and 116 blocks. Haryana has a total of 81 cities and towns and 6,759 villages.
Education
The state of Haryana has made tremendous progress in the field of higher education since its inception. SCERT Haryana Gurgaon was established in April 1979. It was the conglomeration of State Institute of Education and State Institute of Science, to provide new dimensions to school education. It has been the endeavor of the government to make educational facilities available to the poorest of children. 32 primary schools, 69 middle schools and 101 high schools were upgraded to middle, high and senior secondary respectively during the year 2004-05. Now accessibility to schooling is available within the radius of 1.10 km, 1.38 km, 1.66 km and 2.79 km at the primary, middle, high and senior secondary levels respectively. During 2001-02, there were 11,013 primary schools, 1,918 middle schools, 3,023 high schools and 1,301 senior secondary schools in the state. Haryana Board of School Education, established in September 1969 and shifted to Bhiwani in 1981, conducts public examinations at middle, matriculation, and senior secondary levels twice a year. Over seven lac candidates attend annual examinations in February and March, and 150,000 attend supplementary examinations each November. The Board also conducts examinations for Haryana Open School at senior and senior secondary levels twice a year. The Haryana government provides free education to women up to the Bachelor's Degree level.
North Haryana is more developed in terms of education and agriculture because of more fertile land and water availability. People from South Haryana were mostly government employees, soldiers and politicians but agriculture has picked up a lot in recent years as a result of efforts from the Haryana Agricultural University, Hissar.
Leading institutes for Technical and Engineering Education in Haryana are NIT Kurukshetra, University Institute of Engineering & Technology, University Campus (UIET, Kurukshetra University Kurukshetra), Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, YMCA Institute of Engineering and the Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences, Bhiwani. Earlier NIT Kurukshetra was known by the name of Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra. There are six universities in the state. Technical education and management studies are provided by Maharishi Dayanand University at Rohtak have a University Institute of Engineering & Technology, University Campus (UIET, Rohtak), Kurukshetra University at Kurukshetra, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology at Hisar and Chaudhary Devi Lal University at Sirsa. Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University at Hisar is one of the biggest agricultural universities in Asia. It is engaged in education, research and development related to agriculture. The Holy Land where the University stands was first transformed into a centre of learning in 1936 by Bhagat Phool Singh Ji when he started a Gurukul for girls. The Gurukul was opened after he opened a boys Gurukul in 1919 in Bhainswal Kalan which today is the South Campus of the University. The Gurukul, started with only three students grew in size, stature and reputation with time and in November 2006, the Haryana Legislative Assembly passed a Legislative Notification, vide no. 31/2006 making the Gurukul a full-fledged State University
The National Dairy Research Institute at Karnal provides education in the field of dairy science. It has been upgraded to the level of a Deemed University. There are medical colleges in Rohtak, Mullana and Agroha. Pt. B.D. Sharma PGIMS Rohtak is a premier post-graduate medical institute in North India offering courses in major specialties and super specialties of medicine. There is also the Management Development Institute in Gurgaon, which is amongst the premier management institutes of India. The Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences came into existence in 1947.
Sports
Haryana is one of the leading states in sports and has produced some of the best Indian players in a variety of games. During the 33rd National games held in Assam in 2007, Haryana stood 4th in the with a medal tally of 80, including 30 Gold, 22 Silver and 28 Bronze medals. In team sports, Haryana is the national champion in men's volleyball and women's hockey. Haryana is a traditional powerhouse in games like Kabbadi, Kho-kho, Judo, Boxing, Volleyball and Wrestling. Sports in the state are managed by the Department of Sports & Youth Affairs, Haryana. Nahar Singh Stadium for international cricket was built in Faridabad in the year 1981. This ground has the capacity to hold around 25,000 people as spectators. The Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula is a multi-sport complex. It came into prominence because of the Indian Cricket League's inaugural Twenty20 tournament. Astroturf hockey grounds in Nehru Stadium, Gurgaon and Shahbad, Kurukshetra.
At the 2008 Olympics, Vijender Singh Beniwal won a middleweight (75 kg) bronze medal.
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