The Province of the Punjab comprising eight Administrative Divisions and 29 districts extends over an area of 2,05,346 square kilometers (97,192 square miles).

According to 1981 Census, the population of the province stood at 47.12 million compared with 37.61 million of 1972 population census figures. Population density in the province is 230 persons per square kilometer as compared to the national figure of 106.

Though not the largest area-wise, the Punjab is most populous of the four provinces and comparatively developed one. It is considered to be nerve centre of Pakistan besides being known as its “Cultural Capital”. Its people are hard-working, large-hearted and sincere as well as warm-hearted. The poet, Allama Iqbal who dreamt of Pakistan, was born in this province (Sialkot district) and lies burned in the capital city of Lahore.

Punjab is known for a great variety of arts and crafts — from the blue tiles of Multan to the woodwork of Chiniot —- as well as industrial units. It is land of manly games, of sturdy pehaiwans (wrestlers), of robust cattle and dairy farms, of folklore and love legends and
thousand industrial units, according to the latest survey conducted by Punjab Industries and Mineral Development Directorate. The major industry groups are: Food —-452 units (excluding beverages), textiles --- 855 units, ginning and pressing — 357 units and light engineering
1,274 units.

Punjab’s contribution to overall national industrial production has been substantial. In 1984-85, Punjab contributed 46.7 per cent cotton yarn, 38.2 per cent of cotton cloth, 53.3 per cent of vegetable ghee, 51.6 per cent of sugar, 34.0 per cent of cement, 66.5 per cent of fertilizers, 45.4 per cent of paper and paper-board, 27.5 per cent of cigarettes, 73.0 per cent of soda ash, 73.8 per cent of caustic soda and 83.1 percent of sulphuric acid.

The small and cottage industries are also in abundance. According to the latest relevant census, there were 39,033 small and cottage units with an employment level of 184,642 workers in the Punjab. The textile units dominated as their number was 11,820, followed by ginning industries (6,778), and 6,355 units for processing of agricultural raw materials including food and feed industries. Lahore and Gujranwala Divisions have, the largest concentration of small light engineering units, while district Sialkot excels in sports goods, surgical instruments and cutlery goods.

Minerals

At present, about a score of minerals are being commercially exploited in Punjab. Out of them, coal. limestone, gypsum, rock salt, silica sand, ordinary stone, sand gravel and argillaceous clay are produced on a fairly large scale. The production of bentonite, bauxite, china clay, iron ore, millstone, marble etc., is relatively low. The major mineral deposits in Punjab include: salt mines at Khewra (Jhelum). Warchha (Khushab) and Kalabagh

of about 2,592 million hectares of land covering about two-thirds of the entire Bahawalpur Division, divided into ‘smaller’ and ‘greater’ Cholistan, consisting of saline alluvial land with low sand dunes, ridges and depressions.

Places of historical, cultural, architectural and other interests such as Badshahi Masjid, Lahore Fort, Moghul Emperor Jahangir and Nur Jehan’s mausoleums, Attock and Rothas Forts, Fort Munro, Kallar Kahar Salt

A ulew of Shahrah-e-Quaid-i-Azam, Lahore. WAPDA House is in the background.

Lake, Lal Sunehra Park Bahawalpur, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, pictureqsue Shalimar Gardens, Minar-e-Pakistan, Chhanga Manga Forest, Ayub National Park, Hiran Minar, mazar of poet-philosopher Allama Mohainmad Iqbal, Mazars of well-known saints such as Hazrat Data Ganj Bakhsh, Hazrat Mianmir Sahib, Baba Bulley Shah, Hazrat Masood Ganj Shakkar and Hazrat Bahauddin Zakariya, are spread all over the Province.

Economy

Punjab’s economy is mainly agricultural, although industry makes a substantial contribution. The total geographic and reported areas are 20.66 and 16.30 million hectares respectively. 11.35 million hectares of the reported areas are under cultivation while 0.43 million hectares are under forests. Punjab commands one of the largest canal irrigation systems of the world; 41.3 per cent of total cultivable land is irrigated solely by canals, while another 41.1 per cent by canal tubewells.

Agriculture

Despite structural changes brought over in the economy of Punjab since last about four decades, agriculture still remains its most important sector. Agriculture not only meets the total food requirements of the entire population of the province, but also supplements the foreign exchange resources of the country sizably through export of farm products. Besides engaging 50 per cent of labor force, Punjab contributes significantly to domestic industries —- both large and small-scale. In gross domestic product terms, its share is 29.7 per cent at national level. Punjab produces over 60 per cent of Pakistan’s wheat output, sugarcane, cotton, fine rice and gram. The percentage share of the province in case of wheat is 73.2 while for cotton and sugarcane, it is 66 and 71 respectively. In case of fine basmati rice, the contribution of the province is as high as 98.5 per cent. In the allied sub-sector of fisheries, the contribution of the province was 37 per cent, while it had 75 per cent of buffaloes, 55 per cent of cattle, 43 per cent of poultry and 42 per cent of sheep.

Industry

In the manufacturing sector, there are about 42 thousand industrial units, according to the latest survey conducted by Punjab Industries and Mineral Development Directorate. The major industry groups are: Food —-452 units (excluding beverages), textiles --- 855 units, ginning and pressing — 357 units and light engineering 1,274 units.

Punjab’s contribution to overall national industrial production has been substantial. In 1984-85, Punjab contributed 46.7 per cent cotton yarn, 38.2 per cent of cotton cloth, 53.3 per cent of vegetable ghee, 51.6 per cent of sugar, 34.0 per cent of cement, 66.5 per cent of fertilizers, 45.4 per cent of paper and paper-board, 27.5 per cent of cigarettes, 73.0 per cent of soda ash, 73.8 per cent of caustic soda and 83.1 per cent of sulphuric acid.

The small and cottage industries are also in abundance. According to the latest relevant census, there were 39,033 small and cottage units with an employment level of 184,642 workers in the Punjab. The textile units dominated as their number was 11,820, followed by ginning industries (6,778), and 6,355 units for processing of agricultural raw materials including food and feed industries. Lahore and Gujranwala Divisions have, the largest concentration of small light engineering units, while district Sialkot excels in sports goods, surgical instruments and cutlery goods.

Minerals

At present, about a score of minerals are being commercially exploited in Punjab. Out of them, coal. limestone, gypsum, rock salt, silica sand, ordinary stone, sand gravel and argillaceous clay are produced on a fairly large scale. The production of bentonite, bauxite, china clay, iron ore, millstone, marble etc., is relatively low. The major mineral deposits in Punjab include: salt mines at Khewra (Jhelum). Warchha (Khushab) and Kalabagh (Mianwali); coal at Dandot (Jhelum) and in Sargodha and Mianwali districts; iron ore at Kalabagh, Rakhimun (D.G.
Khan) and Chak No. 11/SB (Sargodha) and Bauxite at Khushab and in Kala Chitta range. Large deposits of fuller earth are also known to occur in D.G. Khan district.

Education

According to the 1981 census, the percentage of literacy in the Punjab (10 years old and above) is 24.5 per cent. It is 43.1 per cent in urban areas and 17.3 per cent in rural areas. The literacy rate of males in urban areas is 51.5 per cent against 33.2 per cent of females.

There are three general universities in Punjab with a total enrolment of 9,169 students, one Engineering University at Lahore with an enrolment of 5,401 students and one Agricultural University at Faisalabad with 4,193 students (as in March, 1985). The province has 113 intermediate colleges and 128 degree colleges with 26,000 and 1,66,000 students respectively in the same year. There are 2,504 high schools with 1,477,000 students, 3,933 middle schools with 1,1015,000 students; and 44,574 primary schools with 3,753,000 students. Punjab has seven medical colleges with an enrolment of 9,880 students, one college of dentistry with 386 students, two law colleges with 2,714 students and four commerce colleges with 3,127 students. There are 14 polytechnic institutes/colleges; 39 commercial institutes and 39 girls vocational institutes with an enrolment of 7,550; 5,735; and 2,763 students respectively in 1985.

Communications and Transport

All divisions, districts, tehsil headquarters and major agricultural, industrial and commercial centers in the Punjab are connected with one other by metal led roads. According to the data available so far, the total road length under the Highway Department of the Provincial Government is 17,016 kilometers, of which 16,317 kilometers (95.9 p.c) are main roads. In addition to this, 3,657 kilometers of metal led roads are under the control of local bodies. The number of motor vehicles on road exceeds three hundred thousand.

In the postal sub-sector, there were 7,424 post offices in Punjab upto 1983-84, with a total of 17,000 letter boxes. There were 209 telegraph offices and 265,000 telephones in operation by 1984-85.

Health

There are 222 hospitals, 1,223 dispensaries, 193 rural health centers and 1,~41 basic health units in the province, with total bed capacity of 24,943 and doctors strength at 13,295. Besides, there are 53 T.B. clinics with ten beds each and 450 mother and child health (MCH) centers. The total number of available lady health visitors in the province is 2,823 and of qualified nurses 7,960. Availability of doctors per one lakh of population is 24 and that of beds 45.

Shelter for Shelterless

The Provincial Government is implementing two ambitious schemes for providing seven marlas in the rural areas and three marlas in urban areas to the homeless people for construction of houses.

Labor colonies are being set up in the industrially congested cities for the industrial workers.

During the financial year 1986-87, some fifty thousand plots are to be given to the people.

Rural Development

The Government attaches great importance to the development of rural areas of the province where over 70 per cent of population resides and is involved directly or indirectly in agriculture, cottage industries and agro-based industries.

The percentage share of development schemes specific to the rural areas has risen from 44.65 in 1978-79 to 68.13 during current financial year 1986-87.

So far, 6,500 kilometers of farm to market roads have been constructed all over the province at an estimated cost of over Rs. 400 million and another 1,600 kilometers of these roads are being constructed during 1986-8 7 at a cost of Rs. 570 million.

Rural Electrification

Out of 24,882 villages, 10,626 villages have been provided with electricity by June, 1986, and this works out to 42.70 percent.

During 1986-87, 2,455 villages will be provided with this facility under different programs.

Places of Historical Interest

Lahore — The capital of Punjab, Lahore, has been the seat of learning and power for centuries. Situated on the left bank of the river Ravi, the city has the largest number of well-preserved monuments of architectural and historical value. It was in this city that the famous Pakistan Resolution was passed on March 23, 1940. To perpetuate the memory of the occasion, a tall and impressive tower, Minar-i-Pakistan, has been built in the city. Lahore has the distinction of playing host to world’s largest gathering of Muslim rulers — the Second Islamic Summit — in the February of 1974 and to commemorate the event, a modern obelisk and a museum have been built.

Lahore is known as the city of gardens. It is an ancient town, rich in historical monuments, including some of the finest Muslim architecture the Badshahi Mosque of Emperor Aurangzeb, the Shalimar Gardens of Emperor Shah Jehan, Emperor Jehangir’s Mausoleum, and the Royal Fort of Emperor Akbar with its fabulous Hall of Mirrors. The other historical places in the city worth seeing are: the Mosque and Baradari of Wazir Khan built in 1634 AD by a Minister/Viceroy in Emperor Shah Jehan’s time bearing the title of Wazir Khan; the tomb of Anarkali, the Hazuri Bagh (walled garden); the Mosque of Dai Anga, the Chauburjee, Kamran’s Baradari and the Museum which houses, among other antiques, the world famous statue of fasting Buddha.

Rawalpindi -- Lying 275 kilometres north of Lahore, Rawalpindi is fast developing into a large city. It has an army museum, a number of good hotels and restaurants and the sprawling Ayub National Park. Chakiala near Rawalpindi is an international airport. Rawalpindi is the staging post for numerous holiday spots and hill resorts of the north such as Murree, Nathiagali, Ayubia, Abbottabad, Swat, Kaghan, Gilgit, Hunza, Skardu, Chitral and the Khunjrab, (16,000-ft above sea level), Pass that marks the Pak-Chinese border on the famous historic Silk Route.

Taxila —- Some 35 kilometres north-west of Rawalpindi, on the way to Peshawar, lies Taxila, famous for its archaeological sites dating back to the 7th century B.C. The city flourished for a thousand years and was renowned as a centre of Gandhara art, architecture and sculpture, learning and religion in the Buddhist period.

Murree and Gallis — About 64 kilometres from Rawalpindi, at an altitude of 2,286 metres, is Murree where lofty peaks tower above green pine-covered slopes. It is one of the most popular summer resorts in Pakistan.

The various Galls such as Nathiagali are quiet little hill resorts north-west of Murree and there is a motorable road running through all of them. Murree and Gallis offer horse riding, golf, chair lifts and pine-shecled walks galore alongside magnificent vistas of the plains and snowcapped peaks.

Harappa — A major centre of the Indus Valley Civilization was Harappa whose ruins lie 27,35 kilometers south-west of Sahiwal. Several cemeteries, have been excavated which confirm that the Indus Valley people buried their dead, many of them wearing finger-rings, necklaces of steatite beads, anklets of paste beads, ear-rings and shell bangles. Copper mirrors, antimony rods, shell spoons and vessels and urns of various shapes and sizes lay in the graves. Some of the female skeletons had anklets of tiny beads and girdles studded with semi-precious stones. Excavations show evidence of pre-Harappa materials having strong affinity with Kot DIJI culture (in upper Sindh province).

Hiran Minar — Hiran Minar is an interesting and popular tourist resort, located some 10 kilometers northeast of Sheikhupura city. The spot where today stands the 103 feet high Hiran Minar was a favorite hunting ground of Emperor Jehangir. Here in memory of his favorite antelope named ‘Hansraj’ he constructed a huge water tank fed from distant river Ravi through an intricate but scientific feeding system.

A few kilometers beyond Hiran Minar is the historical village of Jandiala Sher Khan —- the birth place of poet Waris Shah, the author of the Punjabi classic ‘Hir’. Besides the newly constructed mausoleum of the poet, there are a few historical buildings worth seeing in the village.

In the city of Sheikhupura itself stands the imposing fort constructed by Emperor Jehangir after founding the city of Sheikhupura. In the fort, there are numerous beautiful fresco paintings belonging to the Sikh period of history (1799-1849).

Arts and Crafts

The local Muslim traditions of Punjab were greatly influenced by the works of Central Asian and Persian artists of the early Mughal period. Persian miniatures were the model of some of the well-known artists like Abdur Rehman Chughtai, with a style of his own, and Haji Mohammad Sharif. Both the masters have left behind a large treasure. Among the modern artists, Shakir Mi’s name stands out. A museum has been built in his memory.

In calligraphy, a great heritage of Muslim art, Lahore’s Agha Mirza Imam Verdy, gave new dimensions to this art. He was followed by equally renowned Sufi Abdul Majid (Perveen Raqqm) who changed the round form of letters to elegant ovals. Calligraphy is being revived and is getting popular.

In the Graphic Arts, a considerable amount of work has been done by the Punjab artists. Representational paintings and landscapes continue to be produced side by side with more complex modern trends. The main art centers in the province are; the National College of Art, Fine Arts Department of the Punjab University and the Art Gallery, all located at Lahore.

Lahore is also the centre of hand-made carpets —a happy blend from Iran and Turkistan. Since ancient times the weavers of the region have produced colourful fabrics of silk and cotton. In spite of the existence of modern textile mills, the hand-woven cottons like Khaddar of Kamalia, are still popular. The cloth woven on handlooms is either block printed or beautifully embroidered. In the Northern Areas, even woolen cloth is hand-woven. Multan is famous for beautiful hand-woven bed covers.

The potter at his wheel is a common sight in every village, uninfluenced by modern glamour. Bahawal. pur, Rawalpindi, Gujrat and places around also produce colourful pottery, painted after firing. The blue glazed pottery of Multan dates back to the 13th century with obvious traces for wood work. Chiniot is also known for brass and iron inlay. Copper and brass work is done within the walled city of Lahore.

Cultural Heritage

The magnificent edifices dotting this land of ancient civilizations, in the form of forts, palaces, gardens, mosques and mausoleums, are eloquent reminders of the great tradition in Muslim architecture. The inscriptions on the mausoleum of Shah Rukn-i-Alam (Multan) on bricks and tiles are outstanding specimens of architectural calligraphy which shows a deep Seijuk influence. The earliest existing building in South Asia which is replete with enameled tile work, is the tomb of Shah Yusuf Gardezi at Multan.

Classical music forms an important part of the cultural wealth of the Punjab. The Muslim musicians have contributed a vast number of ragas to the repertory of classical music and in compositions of classical ragas, there are such masters as Malika-i-Museequi (the queen of music) Roshan Ara Begum, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan, Ustad Salamat Au Khan and Ustad Fateh All Khan. For the popular taste, however, light music particularly ghazals and folk songs which have an appeal of their own, the names of Nur Jehan and Malika Pukhraj are wellknown.

Folk songs and dances reflect a wide range of moods: the rains, sowing and harvesting seasons, ‘Luddi’, ‘Jhoomer’, ‘Bhangrah’ and ‘Sammin’ depict the joy of living. Love legends of Hir Ranjha, Mirza Sahiban, Sohni Mahenwal and Saiful Maluk are sung in different styles. Some of the folk singers have performed in many parts of the world and received acclaim and appreciation. Among the Punjab poets, the names of Sultan Bahu, Bulleh Shah and Mian Mohammad from yester years and folk singers like Sam Mania and Tufail Niazi are well-known.

Sports

There is a distinction between the country sports and town games. The villagers excel in wrestling, ‘Kabaddi’ and horse racing which are organized regularly in villages. Tent-pegging is also a fascinating sport.