Haryana, also called “the Madhyama Dis” (middle region) of the Later Vedic Period (c. 800-500 BC) was the birthplace of the Hindu religion. The first hymns of the Aryans were sung and the most ancient manuscripts were written here. Urban settlements in Ghaggar Valley date back to 3000 BC. From about 1500 BC, Aryan tribes were the first (of many groups) to invade the region. The area was the home to the legendary Bharata dynasty, which gave India its Hindi name, Bharat.
The demand for Haryana as a separate state, however, was raised even before India's independence in 1947. Lala Lajpat Rai and Asaf Ali, prominent figures in the national movement, advocated a separate state ofHaryana. Sri Ram Sharma, a veteran freedom fighter, headed a Haryana Development Committee to focus attention on the concept of an autonomous state. The demand for unilingual states by Sikhs and Hindus gained momentum in the early 1960s. With the passage of the Punjab Reorganization Act (and in accordance with the earlier recommendations of the States Reorganization Commission), Haryana became India's 17th state on 1st November 1966.
Haryana was carved out of the mostly Hindi-speaking eastern portion of Punjab, while the mostly Punjabi-speaking western portion remained as current day Punjab. The city of Chandigarh, on the linguistic and physical border, was made a union territory to serve as capital of both these states. Chandigarh was due to transfer to state of Punjab in 1986, according to the Rajiv-Longowal Accord, but the transfer has been delayed pending an agreement on which parts of the Hindi speaking areas of Abohar and Fazilka, currently part of Firozpur District of Punjab, that should be transferred to Haryana in exchange.
The epic battle between the Kauravas and Pandavas, recorded in the Indian epic poem, the Mahabharata, took place at Kurukshetra. In the 3rd century BC, the area was incorporated into the Mauryan Empire. It later became an important power base for the Mughals; the battle of Panipat in 1526 established Mughal rule in India. The area was ceded to British in 1803. In 1832 it was transferred to the then North-Western Provinces and in 1858Haryana became a part of Punjab, remaining as such after the partition of India in 1947.
The demand for Haryana as a separate state, however, was raised even before India's independence in 1947. Lala Lajpat Rai and Asaf Ali, prominent figures in the national movement, advocated a separate state ofHaryana. Sri Ram Sharma, a veteran freedom fighter, headed a Haryana Development Committee to focus attention on the concept of an autonomous state. The demand for unilingual states by Sikhs and Hindus gained momentum in the early 1960s. With the passage of the Punjab Reorganization Act (and in accordance with the earlier recommendations of the States Reorganization Commission), Haryana became India's 17th state on 1st November 1966.
Haryana was carved out of the mostly Hindi-speaking eastern portion of Punjab, while the mostly Punjabi-speaking western portion remained as current day Punjab. The city of Chandigarh, on the linguistic and physical border, was made a union territory to serve as capital of both these states. Chandigarh was due to transfer to state of Punjab in 1986, according to the Rajiv-Longowal Accord, but the transfer has been delayed pending an agreement on which parts of the Hindi speaking areas of Abohar and Fazilka, currently part of Firozpur District of Punjab, that should be transferred to Haryana in exchange.
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