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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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 WikiPeopleReformers and politicians
Giani Zail Singh
Unknown · Wikimedia
Leader

Giani Zail Singh

ਗਿਆਨੀ ਜ਼ੈਲ ਸਿੰਘذیل سنگھ

Ramgarhia Sikh from Faridkot who rose from the Praja Mandal to Chief Minister of Punjab and President of India, 1982–1987.

Zail Singh was born in 1916 at Sandhwan in the Faridkot state, into a family of carpenters, and studied Sikh scripture, earning the title Giani. He joined the Praja Mandal against princely rule and was jailed by the Raja of Faridkot.

He became Chief Minister of Punjab in 1972 and President of India in 1982, the first Sikh in the office. His presidency spanned Operation Blue Star and the killings of November 1984, which put him under great pressure from his own community.

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