Punjab

Map showing its districts and princely states

Punjab referred to the areas between the five rivers which were Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej and which were the territory of the Sikh Empire. The present Punjab region covers the area of the two modern states of the same name (one on each side of the India-Pakistan border) as well as the Indian state of Haryana.

History

Following the 2nd Sikh War the Punjab was annexed by the British in 1849 and became part of the Bengal Presidency. In 1901 Lord Curzon authorised the division of Punjab. The North West Frontier Province was created with five districts and five agencies. Delhi was separated to become the new capital. The remaining part of Punjab formed a separate province which was subsequently partitioned between India and Pakistan in 1947.

Government

• 1897-1920: Council of the Lieutenant Governor of the Punjab.
• 1921-1936: Punjab Legislative Council
• 1937-1947: Punjab Legislative Assembly
  

Legislators

Capital

• Lahore
• Murree (Winter capital until 1870s)

Divisions

At the turn of the 20th century there were five administrative divisions:

• Delhi
• Jullunder
• Lahore
• Multan
• Rawalpindi

Districts and other areas

To see divisions and districts in Punjab Province at the turn of the 20th century with their headquarter towns see Punjab Districts. Not all districts existed at the same time. Below is an attempt to list all districts that existed at one time or another under British rule.

In India

• Amritsar District
• Gurdaspur District
• Hissar District

In Pakistan

• Attock District
• Chenab Colony
• Dera Ghazi Khan District
• Gujranwala District
• Jhang District
• Jhelum District
• Lahore District
• Lyallpur District
• Mianwali District
• Montgomery District (now Sahiwal District)
• Multan District
• Muzaffargarh District
• Rawalpindi District
• Shahpur District
• Sheikhupura District
• Sialkot District

NWFP

These 5 districts were part of Punjab until 1901 when they were separated to form the new province.

• Bannu District
• Dera Ismail Khan District
• Hazara District
• Kohat District
• Peshawar District

Cities and Towns

In India

• Amritsar
• Batala
• Delhi
• Ferozepur
• Gurdaspur
• Hoshiarpur
• Ludhiana
• Simla

In Pakistan

• Attock
• Bhera
• Campbellpur
• Chillianwala
• Chiniot
• Dera Ghazi Khan
• Fort Munro
• Gujrat (also spelt Gujerat)
• Gujranwala
• Hasanabdal
• Jhang
• Jhelum
• Kasur
• Khewra
• Khushab
• Lahore
• Lyallpur (now Faisalabad)
• Montgomery (now Sahiwal)
• Multan
• Murree
• Muzaffargarh
• Nankana Sahib
• Pakpattan
• Rawalpindi
• Pind Dadan Khan
• Sakesar
• Shahdheri (now known as Taxila)
• Sialkot

Princely States

India

• Chamba State
• Faridkot State
• Kalsia State
• Patiala State

Pakistan

• Bahawalpur State

External Links

Wikipedia

• Punjab (British India)
• Punjab Region
• Punjab (India)
• Punjab (Pakistan)

Historical books on-line

• Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan, and the Panjab: including a Residence in Those Countries from 1826 to 1838 by Charles Masson 1842 Google Books Volume1, Volume 2, Volume 3
• Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan, the Panjab, and Kalât, During a Residence in Those Countries: To which is Added an Account of the Insurrection at Kalât, and a Memoir on Eastern Balochistan by Charles Masson 1844 Google Books Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, Volume 4
• "The Administration of the Punjab", page 225 The Calcutta Review, Volume 20, July-December 1853 Google Books
• "Life in the Punjab" The Calcutta Review Volume 26, January-June 1856 Google Books
• General Report of the Administration of the Punjab Proper for the years 1849-50 and 1850-51 being the first two years after annexation 1854 Google Books
• Selections from the records of the Government of India (Foreign Department), Issue 6: General Report on the Administration of the Punjab Territories for the years 1851-52 and 1852-53 1854 Google Books
• The Annals of Indian Administration, edited by Meredith Townsend and later George Smith. Selected extracts from the Records of the Indian, Bengal, Madras Bombay, NWP, and Punjab and perhaps other Governments. Google Books. Many additional volumes up to Volume 19 1873-74 may be viewed online on the Digital Library of India website.
  • Part I 1856, Part VI 1858, Volume 3, Part 2 June 1859, Volume 4, Part 1 March 1860, Volume 14 1868-69.
• Selections from the Public Correspondence of the Punjab Government Volume IV No 2: I Correspondence regarding Tea Plantations in the Punjab Provinces II Papers regarding the insalubrity of the Peshawur valley 1859 Google Books
• The Punjab Record or Reference Book for Civil Officers Volume 3 1868 Google Books
• The Punjab Record or Reference Book for Civil Officers Volume 4 1869 Contains circulars, with indexes, for 1869. Each section is numbered separately:Financial Circular Orders; Police Department Orders, commencing here; Account Department Orders; Jail Department Orders; Registration Circular Orders; Supreme Government Orders, commencing here; Punjab Government Orders, commencing here; Selections from the records of the Office of the Financial Commissioner, Punjab 1869 Google Books
• The Punjab Record or Reference Book for Civil Officers Archive.org

Volume IX 1874, Volume XIV 1879, Volume XVII 1882, Part II-Executive Volume XXXVII 1902, Part II-Executive Volume XLI 1906

• Commerce by river in the Punjab (1861-62 to 1871-72) or a Survey of the Marine Department of the Government of the Punjab by Faqir Chand Arrora 1930. GIPE Pune Digitised Books
• Report on the Administration of the Punjab and its Dependencies for 1881-82 1882 Archive.org
• Handbook of the Panjab, Western Rajputana, Kashmir, and Upper Sindh by Edward B. Eastwick, published by John Murray 1883 Archive.org (Volume 4 in a series of Handbooks)
• The Land of the Five Rivers and Sindh: Sketches Historical and Descriptive by David Ross 1883 Archive.org. Note that page 1 (at least) is missing, which may be obtained from this link
• Thirty-five years in the Punjab, 1858-1893 by G. R. Elsmie. "The last Haileybury Civilian who worked in that Province" 1908 Archive.org
• Imperial Gazetteer of India: Provincial Series Punjab Volume II The Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan Divisions and Native States 1908 Archive.org
• Punjab disturbances, April 1919; compiled from the Civil and military gazette 1919 Archive.org
• The Punjab And The War compiled by M S Leigh ICS 1922 Panjab Digital Library. This book may also be read online on the Digital Library of India website.
• Panjab Digital Library. It is necessary to register to read more than the first few pages of each book.
  • The collection includes a number of Punjab District Gazetteers (The spelling also includes Gazeteer/ Gazetter/ Gazeetter)
• Many Punjab District Gazetteers are available to read online on the Digital Library of India website, including
  • Punjab District Gazetteers, Volume XXVIIIA, Rawalpindi District 1907, published 1909."Table of Contents" commences computer page 8.
• European Adventurers Of Northern India 1785 to 1849 by C. Grey first published in 1929 may be read online on the Digital Library of India website. It is also available to download as a pdf file from Pahar-Mountains of Central Asia Digital Dataset. A description of the book says “This is a record of the adventurers, buccaneers, buffoons and entrepeneurs who cut a swathe through the heart of the Raj, before and during the golden age of British-ruled India.” Read more about the book in this link from  The Sikh Encyclopedia. It contains biographical sketches of over one hundred Europeans who came to or served in the Punjab during Sikh times.