Avdisha, 8th Standard, Wisdom World School, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India - 136118

Area: 44,212 sq. km

Population: 2.54 crore (census 2011)

Capital: Chandigarh

Jurisdiction of High Court: Punjab and Haryana High Court

Principle language: Hindi

State flower: Kamal (Lotus)

State tree: Bodhi Tree

State animal: Blackbuck

State bird: Black francolin

Official website: http://www.haryana.gov.in

Haryana has a proud history dating back to the Vedic Age. The state was home to the legendary Bharata dynasty, after which the country was named Bharat. The land of Haryana has been the cradle of Indian culture and civilization. Archaeological findings by Guy E. Pilgrim in 1915 established that 15 million years ago, the early man lived in the Shivaliks. Vamana Purana states that King Kuru ploughed the field of Kurukshetra with a golden plough, drawn by the Nandi of Lord Shiva, and reclaimed an area of seven ‘kosas’.

Replete with myths, legends and Vedic references, Haryana’s past is steeped in glory. It was on the soil of Haryana that Saint Ved Vyas wrote Mahabharata. It was here that Lord Krishna preached the gospel of duty to Arjuna about 5,000 years ago. It was here that the epic battle of Mahabharata was fought. Being the gateway to north India, the region has been the battleground of many a war. The Huns, the Turks and the Tughlaqs invaded India and decisive battles were fought on this land. At the end of the 14th century, Taimur led an army through this area to Delhi. Later, the Mughals defeated the Lodhis in the historic battle of Panipat in 1526. Another decisive battle was fought in 1556 at this very site, establishing the supremacy of the Mughals up to the advent of the British rule, and the rise of Delhi as the imperial capital of India.

An adjunct to Delhi, Haryana practically remained anonymous until the uprising in 1857. After the British crushed the rebellion, they deprived the Nawabs of Jhajjar and Bahadurgarh, the Raja of Ballabharh and Rao Tula Ram of Rewari in Haryana region, of their territories. These were either merged with British territories or handed over to the rulers of Patiala, Nabha and Jind, making Haryana a part of the Punjab province. With the reorganization of Punjab in November 1956, Haryana was born as a full-fledged state.

Strategically located, Haryana is bounded by Uttar Pradesh in the east, Punjab in the west, Himachal Pradesh in the north, and Rajasthan in the south. The National Capital of Delhi juts into Haryana. With just 1.37 per cent of the total geographical area and less than two per cent of India’s population, Haryana has carved a place of distinction for itself. Whether it is agriculture or industry, canal irrigation or rural electrification, Haryana keeps marching towards modernity. The state enjoys the unique distinction of being among the first to provide electricity, metalled roads and potable drinking water to all its villages. Ranked among the most prosperous states in the country, Haryana has the second highest per capita income in India, after Goa.

Agriculture

Agriculture is the mainstay of more than 65 per cent population in Haryana with the second largest contribution to the food bowl of the country. The production of food grains which aggregated 25.92 lakh tonnes at the time of inception of the state, touched 162.25 lakh tones. This is mainly due to the holistic approach to the growth of agriculture, adopted by successive state governments in Haryana, and the slew of measures taken to boost both production and productivity. Under the diversification of crops, more and more area is being brought under cash crops like sugarcane, cotton and oilseeds, vegetable and fruits. Sustainable agriculture is being promoted through the propagation of resource conserving technologies and organic farming.

Irrigation

The 1,429-strong network of canals constitutes the bedrock of the irrigation system in Haryana with 6.83 lakh tubewells and pumpsets playing no mean role. 38.09 lakh hectare of land is under agriculture in the state. The major irrigation projects in the state are Western Yamuna Canal System, Bhakra Canal System and Gurgaon Canal System. Giving practical shape to the lift irrigation system for the first time in India, Haryana has raised water from lower levels to higher and drier slopes through the Jawaharlal Nehru Canal Project. Haryana is among the beneficiaries of the multipurpose Sutlej-Beas project, sharing benefits with Punjab and Rajasthan.

Power

The first state in the country to have achieved hundred per cent rural electrification way back in 1970, Haryana is well on way to becoming power surplus from a power deficit state. The total installed generation capacity available with Haryana is 5801.82 MW. Out of this, the Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited has an installed generation capacity of 3230.5 MW, comprising 1367.8 MW Panipat Thermal Power Station, Panipat; 1200MW Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Project, Hisar; 600 MW Deen Bandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Project, Hisar; and 62.7 MW WYC Hydro Electric Station, Yamuna Nagar. The balance comes from Haryana’s share in the central sector generating stations and from long-term power contracts.

Education

Haryana is emerging as an education hub and shaping into a modern-day Takshila and Nalanda. Making elementary education available at reachable distance to all children and opening a large number of institutes of higher learning, offering global standard education, the state is moving fast on the road to becoming a modern hub of education. According to 2011 census, the literacy rate in Haryana is 76.64 per cent against the all-India literacy rate of 74.04 per cent. Haryana’s female literacy rate is 66.77 per cent and male literacy rate is 85.38 per cent. The rural population is served by primary schools within a radius of 1.01 km, middle schools within a radius of 1.17 km, high schools within a radius of 1.45 km, and senior secondary schools within a radius of 2.10 km.

Industry

The investment and industry-friendly policies pursued by the state government have made Haryana the cynosure of all investing eyes and put the state on threshold of industrial revolution. Small wonder then, that there are more than 1,354 large and medium and 80,000 small-scale units dotting the industrial landscape of the State. Haryana today is the largest producer of passenger cars, tractors, motorcycles, bicycles, refrigerators, scientific instruments, etc. Besides, it is the largest exporter of basmati rice. Panipat handlooms and carpets are known all over the world besides its tasty panchranga pickle.

Health

Healthcare has been made both affordable and reachable by setting up a statewide network of district and sub-divisional hospitals. These are being beefed up with staff and equipment and deficiencies in referral services are being removed. The state-wide network of health centres includes 56 hospitals, 109 community health centres, 467 primary health centres, 2,630 sub-centres, 15 district TB centres, 639 ayurvedic, homeopathy and unani centres, 90 urban RCH centres are functioning.

Information Technology

Out of the 85 proposals for setting up IT/cyber parks in the state, recommended by the committee constituted for the purpose, 35 companies have been granted licences by the Town and Country Planning Department. The building plan of 13 proposals and zoning plan of eight proposals have been approved by the Department and the remaining are being processed. In addition, 28 SEZ proposals in IT and ITEs sectors have also been recommended and approved by the government. Out of these, four SEZs are functioning and the remaining are under process. These projects are expected to provide employment to about 13 lakh persons in the next five years in IT sector.

Transport

Road and rail transport are the main carriers of passenger traffic in Haryana with aviation too playing a small role. Haryana is one state where all villages are linked with metalled roads. The length of the roads in the state is more than 35,303 km.

Railways also play an important role in carrying both interstate and intra-state passengers. Kalka, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Rohtak, Jind, Hisar and Jakhal are important railway stations. There is a railway workshop at Jagadhari. Aviation too plays its role. There are civil aerodromes at Pinjore, Karnal, Hisar, Bhiwani and Narnaul.

Tourist Centres

A pioneer in highway tourism, Haryana has set up a vast network of 43 tourist complexes all over the state. Having 846-roomed accommodation in them, Haryana Tourism attracts 70 lakh tourists every year. The state government has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to promote tourism. Tourist complexes have been set at strategic points along the highways and tourist complexes have been developed around Delhi with the intent of promoting leisure tourism and conference tourism.

Besides, tourist facilities have been set up at the district headquarters, and in important towns, to cater to the needs of tourists and local people. Some of the important tourist complexes are Surajkund and Baddhkal Lake near Delhi; Sultanpur Birds Sanctuary (Sultanpur); Sohna and Damdama in Gurgaon; and the fascinating pocket of pines in the Morni Hills. The other important resorts are Ethnic India Rai, Blue Jay (Samalkha), Skylark (Panipat), Karna Lake and Oasis (Uchana), Parakeet (Pipli), Kingfisher (Ambala), Magpie (Faridabad), Dabchick (Hodal), Shama (Gurgaon), Jungle Babbler (Dharuhera), Gaurriyya (Bahadurgarh), Myna (Rohtak), Blue Bird (Hisar), Red Bishop (Panchkula), and Pinjore Gardens (Pinjore).