Punjab Province (British India)

This article is about a historical region in British India. For other uses of the name, see Punjab (disambiguation).

Punjab پنجاب पंजाब ਪੰਜਾਬ
Province
← 2 April 1849–1947 →   →
Flag Coat of arms
Map of British Punjab 1909
Capital		Lahore * Murree 1873-1875 (Summer) * Shimla 1876-1947 (Summer)
Historical era		New Imperialism
•	Established	2 April 1849
•	Partition of India	14–15 August 1947
Today part of		India Pakistan

Punjab, also spelled Panjab, was a province of British India. Most of the Punjab region was annexed by the East India Company in 1849, and was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British control. It comprised five administrative divisions — Delhi, Jullunder, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi — and a number of princely states.

The partition of India led to the province being divided into East Punjab and West Punjab, belonging to the newly created Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan respectively.

Etymology

The Punjab is named for the five rivers by which it is watered, from the Persian words "Punj" (Panch in Hindi) (five) and "Ab" (Aab means water in Arabic). The rivers are Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, all tributaries of the Indus.

Geography

Geographically, the province was a triangular tract of country of which the Indus River and its tributary the Sutlej formed the two sides up to their confluence, the base of the triangle in the north being the Lower Himalayan Range between those two rivers. Moreover, the province as constituted under British rule also included a large tract outside these boundaries. Along the northern border, Himalayan ranges divided it from Kashmir and Tibet. On the west it was separated from the North-West Frontier Province by the Indus, until it reached the border of Dera Ghazi Khan District, which was divided from Baluchistan by the Sulaiman Range. To the south lay Sindh and Rajputana, while on the east the rivers Jumna and Tons separated it from the United Provinces.

In present-day India, it included the regions of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Himachal Pradesh (but excluding the former princely states which were later combined into the Patiala and East Punjab States Union)

In present-day Pakistan, it included the regions of Punjab, Islamabad Capital Territory and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (until 1901)

History

The Punjab in 1880

On 21 February 1849, the Sikhs were defeated at the Battle of Gujrat by the British. Following the victory the British East India Company (EIC) annexed Punjab on 2 April 1849 when it became part of the British Raj, at that time administered by the EIC. Lord Dalhousie constituted the Board of Administration by inducting into it the most experienced and seasoned British officers. The members include Sir Henry Lawrence, who had previously worked as British Resident at the Lahore Durbar. Sir Colin Campbell, who had previously commanded the garrison at Lahore, was moved to Peshawar to guard the Khyber Pass. Henceforth the Punjab would provide Sikh and Punjabi sepoy regiments to the EIC's armies in India. These soldiers would later help the British to put down the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

Delhi was transferred from the North-Western Provinces (later the United Provinces) to Punjab in 1859. The British colonial government took this action partly to punish the city for the important role that the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah II and the city as a whole played in the 1857 Rebellion. Sir John Lawrence, then Chief Commissioner, was appointed the first Lieutenant-Governor on 1 January 1859. The territory under the Lieutenant consisted of 29 Districts, grouped under 5 Divisions, and 43 Princely States. Each District was under a Deputy-Commissioner, who reported to the Commissioner of the Division. Each District was subdivided into between three and seven tehsils, each under a tahsildar, assisted by a naib (deputy) tahsildar.

In 1866, the Judicial Commissioner was replaced by a Chief Court. The direct administrative functions of the Government were carried out through the Lieutinent-Governor through the Secretariat, comprising a Chief Secretary, a Secretary and two Under-Secretaries. They were usually members of the Indian Civil Service.

By the late 19th century, however, the Indian nationalist movement took hold in the province. One of the most significant events associated with the movement was the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in 1919, which resulted from an order given by British colonel Reginald Dyer to fire on a group of some 10,000 unarmed Indians who had convened to protest new anti-subversion regulations.

In 1901 the frontier districts beyond the Indus were separated from Punjab and made into a new province - the North-West Frontier Province.

The Durbar, or assembly of native princes and nobles, convened by Sir John Lawrence at Lahore

Administrative divisions

Punjab (British India): British Territory and Princely States

Division	Districts in British Territory / Princely States
Delhi Division	Ambala Delhi Gurgaon Hissar Karnal Rohtak Simla
Jullunder Division	Ferozepore Hoshiarpur Jullunder Kangra Ludhiana
Lahore Division	Amritsar Gujranwala Gurdaspur Lahore Montgomery Sialkot
Rawalpindi Division	Attock Gujrat Jhelum Rawalpindi Shahpur
Multan Division	Dera Ghazi Khan Jhang Mianwali Multan Muzaffargarh
Total area, British Territory	97,209 square miles
Native States	Patiala Jind Nabha Bahawalpur Sirmur Loharu Dujana Pataudi Kalsia Simla Hill States Kapurthala Mandi MalerKotla Suket Faridkot Chamba Kahlur (Bilaspur)
Total area, Native States	36,532 square miles
Total area, Punjab	133,741 square miles

Lyallpur and Sheikhupura districts.

Lieutenant-Governors

See also: List of Governors of Punjab (British India)

The following is a chronological list of Lieutenant-Governors of Punjab Province under British rule.

Incumbent	Date appointed
Sir John Lawrence	January 1, 1859
Sir Robert Montgomery	1859
Sir Donald McLeod	1865
Sir Henry Durand	1870
Sir Henry Davies	1871
Sir Robert Egerton	1877
Sir Charles Aitchison	1882
Sir James Lyall	1887
Sir Dennis Fitzpatrick	1892
Sir Macworth Young	1897
Sir Charles Rivaz	1902
Sir Denzil Ibbetson	1907
Sir Louis Dane	1908

Coat of arms

Crescat e Fluviis was the motto used in the Coat of arms for Punjab Province, British India. The language used is Latin.

Meaning

As per the book History of the Sikhs written by Khushwant Singh, it means Strength from the Rivers. As per the English translation from Google Translate, it means Grow out of the river.

See also

• History of Punjab
• Punjab region
• Sikh Empire
• Sikh Confederacy
• British Raj

External links

• Sikhs in British Empire
• Sikhs in British Empire