The land of five waters gave the world its first cities, its saints and its songs. Broken by every empire that crossed it, it is still ours to remember, and to make whole again.

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PUNJAB WIKIਪੰਜਾਬپنجابPeople
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Land & Ages

The LandRivers, doabs, Harappa and the first cities, seasons, numbersAgesEight ages of the Punjab, from the Soan to todayTimelineEvery dated event on one lineAtlasEvery place on one map, age by agePlacesCities, ancient sites, temples, mosques and gurdwaras, battlefieldsLanguage & scriptsPunjabi, its dialects, Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi

People & Faiths

PeopleSaints and teachers, poets and singers, rulers, rebels, the people of both PunjabsPeople of the landJats, Rajputs, Arains, Khatris, Dalit communities and more, across every faithFaithsHindu traditions, Islam and the Sufis, Sikhi, and the Punjab's other faiths

Kingdoms & Struggles

Kingdoms & WarsWho ruled the Punjab, the Kingdom of Lahore, and the battles fought over itWho ruled the PunjabEvery ruling power, 518 BCE to todayWars & BattlesFrom the Hydaspes to BasantarStruggles & Partitions1849, 1919, 1947, 1966, 1984, 2020

Culture & Museum

CulturePoets, qisse, songs, music, dance, festivals, foodMuseumSculpture, coins, manuscripts, painting, arms, buildings, and where to see themChronicles & ProphecyThe poetry of the old chroniclesAboutWhat this atlas is, its sources, and every word explainedHelp maintain this siteCorrections, pictures, sources and new entries
Punjab WikiPeoplePoets and writers
Ashfaq Ahmed
Unknown · Wikimedia
Poet & writer

Ashfaq Ahmed

ਅਸ਼ਫ਼ਾਕ ਅਹਿਮਦاشفاق احمد

Writer and broadcaster from Muktsar, whose short story Gadariya and Sufi-tinged television talks made him a household voice in Pakistan.

Ashfaq Ahmed tells the story of his mother, from Zavia · Watch on YouTube

Ashfaq Ahmed was born in Muktsar in the east Punjab and moved to Lahore in 1947. His short story Gadariya, 'The Shepherd', is a classic of Urdu fiction.

On radio he played Talqeen Shah for decades, and his late television talks, Zavia, gave plain moral and Sufi wisdom to a huge audience.

Places linked to Ashfaq Ahmed, numbered in order
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