Punjab is a state in northern India. It is the home of more than 80 per cent of India's 14 million Sikhs . Punjab is one of the most prosperous state in India. The soil is fertile and well watered. At the time of India's independence in 1947, the Punjab region was divided between India and Pakistan.
Punjab is the leading wheat-growing region of India. Crop yields are consistently much higher than anywhere else in the country, giving India a regular surplus of wheat. Punjab is also a major rice-growing state.

Location and description. Punjab shares an international border with Pakistan to the west. Rajasthan and Haryana lie to the south, and Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are to the north.

Climate. Punjab has a continental climate. Between November and February, daytime minimum temperatures range between 5 °C and 9 °C. Nighttime temperatures occasionally drop to freezing point. Daily maximum winter temperatures range between 19 °C and 27 °C. Humidity in winter is very low.
The summers are very hot, with an average daily temperature in May and June of 40 °C. Temperatures occasionally reach 45°C. Annual rainfall ranges from about 125 centimetres in the Siwalik Hills to about 35 centimetres in the southwest of the Punjab. Amritsar receives about 65 centimetres of rain per year, of which 70 per cent falls during the monsoons of July to September (see MONSOON). About 15 per cent of annual rainfall is brought by cyclones between December and March.

Tourism. There is only a little tourism in the state. Punjab has comparatively few historical sites and its scenery is not spectacular. Political troubles in the state also deter visitors. However, tourists do visit Chandigarh, Jallianwalla Bagh, the Bhakra Dam, and the Golden Temple at Amritsar.

Tourist Centres: Following are brief descriptions of some of the interesting places to visit in Punjab:
Amritsar is the site of The Golden Temple, the holiest shrine of the Sikh religion. The site has been sacred to Sikhs since the time of the fourth Guru in 1577. Guru Ram Das heard that a cripple had been cured by a miracle at a small pool on the site. He enlarged the pool, which eventually became the focus for the new temple and town.
The Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh (1799-1839) had the temple rebuilt in marble with a gilded dome. The four doors of the temple are always open. The holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib, is kept on the ground floor.

Chandigarh was designed to be the new capital of Punjab after Lahore, the previous capital of the region, had been allocated to Pakistan in 1947. Notable public buildings include the Secretariat, the High Court, and the Legislative Assembly.

Ludhiana is a major market town and a rapidly growing centre for small industry. The tomb of the Muslim saint Pir i Dastgir is visited by Muslim pilgrims. Patiala has the Bahadurgarh, an impressive fort built in the 1700's. It has two huge, concentric walls, surrounded by a moat.