Punjab
/pʌnˈdʒɑːb
/ /ˈpʌndʒɑːb/(also the Punjab)
1A region of NW India and Pakistan, a wide, fertile plain traversed by the Indus and the five tributaries which gave the region its name.
1.1A province of Pakistan; capital, Lahore.
1.2A state of India; capital, Chandigarh. Until 1966 the Punjab also encompassed what is now the state of Haryana.
The region became a centre of Sikhism in the 15th century and, after the capture of Lahore in 1799 by Ranjit Singh, a powerful Sikh kingdom. It was annexed by the British in 1849 and became a part of British India. In the partition of 1947 it was divided between Pakistan and India
Origin
Hindi Panjāb, from Persian panj 'five' + āb 'water'.