1 ( if )
2 CHAPTER II.
3 PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE COUNTRY, ITS AREA, POPULA-
4 TION, CLIMATE, PRODUCTS AND TRADE.
5 The Panj4b, with its feudatory states,* covers an area of 144,436 square
6 miles, and, according to the census of February, 1891, contains a population
7 of 25,061,956+ souls. The Province, which is under the administration of a
8 Lieutenant-Governor, lies between 27°39’ and 35°2’, N. latitude and 69°35’
9 and 78°35’, E. longitude. The shape, in outline, of the Panjab proper
10 approaches that of a sector of a circle, the centre being at the confluence of
11 the Panjnad and the Indus, the extreme radii being the Sulaiman range and
12 the River Sutlej, and the arc in the highest latitude close to the 35th
13 parallel. The capital of the Panjab is Lahore, situated about the centre of
14 the Province, which was itself called by that name during the Moghal
15 dynasty; but by far the most important city, as regards population, art and
16 trade, is Delhi, the ancient metropolis of Hindostaén.
17 The Panjab is an extensive, flat plain, hemmed in by high mountain walls
18 on the north and west, and open to the south and east. The physical
19 features of the country in the northern and southern parts are very marked.
20 The north-east angle comprises the Alpine region of Kéngra, and the
21 north-west angle the Eusafzai, Peshdwar, Kohat and Hazdré Valleys. The
22 fertilizing influence of the great rivers, the courses and characteristics of
23 which have just been described, contributes mainly to the charming
24 appearance of the sub-montane tract, intersected by green valleys and
25 encircled by snow-clad hills. The southern, or plain, part belongs natural-
26 ly to the same level table-land as the thirsty desert of Rajputdnd and
27 the wild and dry country of Sindh. This plain is divided into Dodbs,
28 or intra-fluvial tracts, which form the natural divisions of the country. The
29 Dodbs are still popularly known by the names which were given them in
30 the days of the Moghal ascendancy, and are called after the respective rivers
31 which enclose them, by combining the initial letters or syllables of each
32 name; a fact noticed by the historians of Alexander, furnishing proof of
33 the searching nature of their enquiries. “The greater part of the country,”
34 says Arrian, “is level and champaign, which is occasioned, as some suppose,
35 by the rivers working down mud during their inundations, so that some of
36 the countries have borrowed their names from the rivers which pass through
37 them.” Thus the tract between the Bids and Révi is called the Bari Dodb,
38 (land of two rivers), that between the Ravi and Chinaéb the Rechna Doab,
39 and that between the Chindb and Jhelum the Chaj Dodb. The space enclos-
40 ed between the Jhelum and Chindb, on one side, and the Indus, on the other,
41 takes its name from the latter river and is styled the “Sindh Sdgar”
42 Dodb or “Ocean of the Indus.” The tract enclosed between the two last of
43 the Panjab rivers, the Bids and Sutlej, is called the Bist Jalandar, this
44 *Késhmir, which is under the control of the Panjab Government, is excluded from
45 consideration. _
46 + British territory, 20,805,279; Native states, 4,256,677, excluding Pangi and Lahul, of which
47 the census has not yet been ascertained. According to the census of February 1881, the popu-
48 lation of the Panjab, including the feudatory States (but excluding Kashmir) was 22,712,120
49 souls, or one-tenth of the whole area, and one-eleventh of the total population of the Indian
50 Empire. Of the total population of the Province (according to the census of 1881) one-half
51 were Mussalmans, two-fifths Hindus and one-tenth Sikhs. The proportion of each sect to the
52 total population according to the last census, has not yet been ascertained ; but it is not likely
53 to have altered very much. It would appear from the figures given above, that the population
54 of the British territory in the Panjib has increased from nineteen millions in 1881, to twenty-one
55 millions in 189], while that of the native states exceeds the corresponding figures of 1881 by
56 about 9 per cent. As the result of most districts shows, the aggregate figures in nearly all
57 British India show an increase over the figures for 1881.
58 Extent of the
59 country,
60 Population.
61 Lahore,
62 Physical features of
63 the country.
64 The Dodbs of the
65 Panjab,
66 Sri Satguru J agjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@ gmail.com