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Punjab: An Overview
The state of Punjab is located in the north-western region of the country. Punjab in its current form came into existence in 1966, when the Hindi-speaking regions were separated to form a new state, Haryana. Punjab and Haryana both share a joint capital Chandigarh, which is a Union Territory. The word Punjab is derived from two Persian words, ‘Panj’ (five) and ‘ab’ (water), which synonymously mean ‘five rivers’, as five rivers- the Jhelum, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Chenab passed through the region prior to the country’s partition in 1947. Post-partition, only the Beas and the Sutlej rivers, along with a part of the Ravi River towards the western side flow through the Indian state of Punjab. The official language of the state is Punjabi and the official script of the language is Gurmukhi. It is the only state in India with a Sikh religious majority.
With a population of 2.7 crores according to the 2011 census, Punjab is the country’s 15th most populated state. However, according to the Economic Survey of the year 2019, Punjab would witness a decline in the state population within the next two decades, in case the high rates of migration do not slow down.
How to determine the population of a region?
A population of a region is defined as the number of inhabitants of that particular area. Population always plays a major role in determining any country’s rate of growth and progress in any field. Punjab is an important state of the subcontinent owing to its significant contribution in terms of being a major producer of food grains such as wheat and rice, of which a part of the produce is kept as a buffer stock in the central granaries as well.
Percentage of total population & Actual population:
Punjab has a percentage population of 2.29% of the total population of India. The percentage of total population is determined by dividing the population of any particular region with the entire population of the targeted demography. This is different from the actual population of a region. It is determined by the actual number of inhabitants currently present in an area with respect to any census date.
Punjab: Census 2001 vs. Census 2011
DESCRIPTION | CENSUS 2001 | CENSUS 2011 |
|---|---|---|
Population | 24,358,999 | 27,743,338 |
Male population | 12,985,045 | 14,639,465 |
Female population | 11,373,954 | 13,103,873 |
Sex ratio | 876 | 895 |
Sex ratio (0-6 years) | 798 | 846 |
Population density | 484 | 551 |
Total literacy rate (%) | 69.65 | 75.84 |
Male literacy (%) | 75.23 | 80.44 |
Female literacy (%) | 63.36 | 70.73 |
Total urban literates | 7,709,480 | 5,748,539 |
Total rural literates | 9,008,431 | 10,997,657 |
Conclusion
In this article, we saw an overview about the state of Punjab and its importance in the country’s economy. Punjab in its current form came into existence in 1966, when the Hindi-speaking regions were separated to form a new state, Haryana. Punjab and Haryana both share a joint capital Chandigarh, which is a Union Territory. The official language of the state is Punjabi and the official script of the language is Gurmukhi. It is the only state in India with a Sikh majority. We also discussed the aspects of population, percentage of total population and actual population of a region. A population of a region is defined as the number of inhabitants of that particular area. The percentage of total population is determined by dividing the population of any particular region with the entire population of the targeted demography. The actual population of a region is determined by the actual number of inhabitants currently present in an area with respect to any census date. Lastly, we compared the 2001 and 2011 figures of Punjab, which included factors like population size, population density, literacy rate, etc.
