Haryana is an important state in Northern India carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 November 1966 on linguistic basis. Chandigarh is the capital city, Faridabad is the most populous and largest city of the state and Gurugram is the financial hub of National Capital Region and Haryana with major Fortune 500 companies located in it. Haryana shares its boundaries with Rajasthan in the south and west, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab in the north, and the territory of Delhi in the east. Haryanvi and Hindi is the major language spoken in Haryana. There are 22 districts present in Haryana in divisions of Gurgaon, Ambala, Rohtak and Hisar.
| Established | 01 November 1966 |
| Area | 44,212 km2 |
| Density | 573/km2 |
| Total Population (2011) | 25,353,081 |
| Districts | 22 |
| Capital | Chandigarh |
| Largest City | Faridabad |
| High Court | Punjab and Haryana High Court |
| Rivers | Yamuna, Ghaggar-Hakra River, Markanda River, Sahibi River, Indira Gandhi Canal, Agra Canal and Chautang |
| National Parks | Sultanpur National Park, Kalesar National Park |
| Languages | Haryanvi, Hindi and Punjabi |
| State Animal | Black buck |
| State Bird | Black francolin |
| State Tree | Peepal |
| State Flower | Lotus |
| Literacy Rate (2011) | 67.91% |
| Females per 1000 males | 877 |
| Lok Sabha constituencies | 10 |
| Assembly constituency | 90 |
| Official Website | haryana.gov.in |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
History
The history of Haryana dates back to ancient Indus Valley Civilization and it is proved that Rakhigarhi village in Hisar district and Bhirrana in Fatehabad district are the abode to the largest and one of the world’s oldest Indus Valley Civilization sites which is over 9,000 years old. There are evidences of covered roads, drainage system, a huge rainwater collection storage system, terracotta brick and statues and both bronze and precious metal works have been discovered. As per archaeologists, Rakhigarhi might be the origin of Harappan civilization which have arisen in the Ghaggar basin in Haryana and gradually and slowly moved to the Indus valley. Haryana was also a part of the Vedic Civilization and it has been claimed that South Haryana was the very location which was known as Brahmavarta of the Vedic State where the first Vedic scriptures were composed after the great floods some 10,000 years ago. During medieval times Jainism was rampant in Haryana since idols of Jain Tirtankhara were found in Bhiwani, Rohtak, Sonepat, Gurgaon, etc. The region also saw conquest of Timur and Mughals in medieval times especially the three battles of Panipat.
Geography
Haryana is surrounded by land in Northern India bearing between 27°39′ to 30°35′ N latitude and between 74°28′ and 77°36′ E longitude. Its total geographical area of the state is 4.42 m ha, which is 1.4% of the geographical area of the country. Only 4% areas are under forest cover. The geographical divisions of Haryana are: The Shivalik mountain range in the northeast, The Yamuna-Ghaggar basin- the largest portion of the state, The Aravalli mountain range to the south and Semi-arid sandy plateaus in the southwest. The major rivers of Haryana are – Yamuna, Saraswati, Ghaggar, Markanda and the Tangri River.
Demographics
The literacy rate of the state is 76.4% and the state occupies the 17th position in India in terms of literacy. According to the 2011 Census of India, Haryana has 25,351,462 populations out of which male and female are 13,494,734 and 11,856,728 respectively. Haryana has the lowest sex ratio in India with 879 females per 1000 males. About 90% of the population of the state are Hindus, 6.2% are Sikhs, 0.10% Christians, and 4.05% are Muslims. In addition, there are a small number of Jains living in the state.
Economy
The economy of Haryana is estimated US$95 billion in 2017-18 GSDP and this is split into 52% in service sector, 30% in industrial sector and 18% in agricultural sector. Haryana is traditionally an agricultural economy with significant production in food grains, fruits, vegetables and spices. Moreover, Haryana is also known for its livestock production. Moreover, Industries like business process outsourcing (BPO), Software, manufacturing and retail are also the backbone of the state’s economy. Service industries also make a significant contribution to the economic development of the state. Big MNC’s like Google, Hero Motocorp, United Breweries, Accenture, Maruti, Baxter, TCS, Samsung, Micromax, etc has their haven in various industrial and corporate zones of Haryana.
Tourism
Haryana has many tourism hubs which are located in Kurukshetra, Hisar, Faridabad, Chandigarh, Sultanpur National Park, Panchkula, Dumdama Lake, Taliyar, Surajkund and Morni Hills. Haryana is also authoritatively part of Mahabharata and Krishna tourism development circuit plans of government of India and government of Haryana since Kurukshetra was the very place where the celestial ”Bhagavad Gita” was said to be delivered by Lord Krishna to Arjun.
Sports
Haryana has always excelled in sports. In the 2010 Commonwealth Games at Delhi, Haryana has won 22 gold medals. Prominent sportspersons like Kapil Dev (Cricketer), Vijender Singh (Boxer) and Geeta Phogat (Wrestler) belongs to Haryana. Haryana also has famous sports venues like Nahar Singh Stadium (Faridabad), Teji Sports Complex (Yamunanagar) and Tau Devi Lal Stadium (Gurgaon). Moreover, Haryana is home to Haryana Gold, one of India’s eight professional basketball teams which compete in the country’s UBA Pro Basketball League.
Transportation
Haryana has total road length of 26,062 kilometers which consists of 29 national highways, state highways and major district roads. A fleet of 3,864 Haryana Roadways buses covers a distance of 1.15 million km per day and it was the first state in the country to introduce luxury video coaches. The Ancient Delhi Multan Road, Grand Trunk Road, GT Road, KMP and NH-2 passes through Haryana. Haryana also has extensive rail network which is covered by rail divisions of North-Western Railway zone, Northern railway and North- Central. Delhi Metro and Rapid Metro rail also covers NCR locations of Faridabad and Gurgaon. The nearest airport of Haryana is Delhi IGI Airport.
Culture
The culture of Haryana is rich and flourished. The main festivals celebrated here are Gugga Naumi, Lohri, Basant Panchmi, Diwali and many more other local festivals. Sarangi/Ras Leela, Phag Dance is the main dance forms of Haryana. Art and crafts like Phulkari and Sheesa works of Haryana are quite famous all over India.
Education
Well-known educational institutes of Haryana are Haryana Agricultural University, Hissar, YMCA University of Science and Technology, NIT Kurukshetra, University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Kurukshetra University, Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, Manav Rachna College of Engineering, The Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences, Bhiwani, Maharishi Dayanand University at Rohtak University Institute of Engineering & Technology, University Campus (UIET, Rohtak), ITM University at Gurgaon, Manav Rachna International University at Faridabad, Kurukshetra University at Kurukshetra, Chaudhary Devi Lal University at Sirsa, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology at Hisar, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Mullana, National Dairy Research Institute, Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma PGIMS (Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences) Rohtak, and Management Development Institute (MDI) in Gurgaon.
Hospitals and Health Care
Haryana has a good network of health care services and renowned and best hospitals like Artemis, Fortis, Medanta medcity, Haryana Ayurvedic and Panchakarma Centre, Max Health Care, Columbia Asia, Gangaram Hospital and many more on the list.