Punjab

Partitioned in 1947 between the two nation-states of India and Pakistan, the Punjab has played a strategic role in the evolution of South Asia. As the site of the ancient Indus civilization, it is a land of enormous archaeological interest. From the fifteenth century, the Sikhs, a new religious community, expanded in the central districts. This eventually led to the establishment of a powerful Sikh empire. British rule put an end to Sikh sovereignty. When the colonial power departed, the British Punjab was partitioned into two, the East and West Punjab.