Punjab suffered the most destruction and damage at the time of partition of India. Prior to partition the Punjab extended across both sides of what is now the India-Pakistan border, and its capital Lahore is now the capital of the Pakistani state of Punjab. The major city in the Punjab is Amritsar, the holy city of the Sikhs.

Chandigarh, a new planned city, was conceived and built in the 1950s to serve as the capital of the new Punjab. In 1966, Punjab underwent another split. It was divided into the predominantly Sikh and Punjabi- speaking state of Punjab and the state of Haryana. At the same time some of the northern parts of the Punjab were hived off to Himachal Pradesh. Chandigarh on the border of Punjab and Haryana, remains the capital of the two states, yet is administered as a union territory from Delhi. The Punjab's per capita income is nearly double the all-India average (in second place is Haryana). Although Punjabi's comprise less than 2.5% of India's population, they provide 22% of India's Wheat and 10% of its rice. The Punjab provides a third of all the milk production in India. From the travellers point of view, the area has just one attraction -the beautiful Golden Temple in Amritsar. Apart from this the states are mainly places of transit for travellers on their way to the Himachal hill stations, Pakistan, and Kashmir.

The Golden temple - The sacred Sikh sanctuary, marbled, bronzed & covered with gold leaf is at Amritsar. The historic Jallianwala Bagh where Gen. Dyer's bullets killed scores of innocent Indians and the beautiful Ram Bagh Gardens are other places of interest. Chandigarh was designed by Le Corbusier, is the state capital of Punjab and Harayana states. Covering an area of 56 square Kms, it is the first `planned' city of India.