Haryana Culture :: Regional Culture :: Indian Culture

Haryana is a state in northwest India between 27 deg 37' to 30 deg 35' latitude and between 74 deg 28' to 77 deg 36' longitude and with an altitude between 700 to 3600 ft above sea level. Haryana was carved out of the Indian state of Punjab on 1st November 1966. It is bounded by Uttar Pradesh in the east, Punjab in the west, Himachal Pradesh in the north and Rajasthan in the south. The river Yamuna acts as the eastern boundary between Haryana and the states of Uttaranchal & Uttar Pradesh. The state is divided into four divisions for administrative purpose - Ambala, Rohtak, Gurgaon and Hissar. There are 19 districts, 47 sub-divisions, 67 tehsils, 45 sub-tehsils and 116 blocks. Haryana has a total of 81 cities and towns. It has 6,759 villages. An area of 1,553 sq.km is covered by forest. Haryana has a network of 43 tourist complexes, named after birds. These have been set up along the national / state highways and at districts, towns and at places around Delhi. Haryana has a network of educational institutions. There were 10399 Primary Schools, 1792 Middle Schools and 3838 High and Senior Secondary Schools functioning during 1998-99 in the State. Presently, there are four Universities and 214 Colleges with 161 Colleges of general education and 53 institutions exclusively for women in the State. As compared to All India Average of literacy rate of 52.21 per cent Haryana's literacy rate is 55.85 per cent. With just 1.37% of the total geographical area and less than 2% of India's population, Haryana has carved a place of distinction for itself during the past three decades.


People
Haryana is a State which astonishingly combines both-antiquity and plenty. It has been a cradle of Indian culture and civilization. The people of Haryana are simple, straight-forward, enterprising and hard-working. They are still conservative and continue to follow old practices as a matter of routine and custom. They celebrate festivals with great enthusiasm and traditional fervour. The region has its popular folklores, folksongs and musical instruments. The popular folklore of this area reflects the beliefs and piety of the people. Their culture and popular art are expressed through mimes, dramas, ballads and songs in which they take great delight. Harayan's population, are divided into a number of castes (jatis). The main classes of people in Haryana are the Brahmins, the Rajputs, the Jats, the Ahirs and the allied agricultural communities. The women are devoted and diligent and assist their men-folk on the farms. The dress of the people is generally simple. It consists of a dhoti, shirt, turban and a pair of shoes. A blanket or chaddar serves as wrapper. A duppata or overcloth, kamiz or skirt, pajamas, salwar or ghagra with differences in make and colour is generally the female dress. Among the educated classes in the villages women are taking to saris of different colours. The dresses worn by women display more variety than male attires. People are very fond of ornaments here. The ornaments are usually made of gold and silver. The main items include haar (necklace), hansli (heavy bangles) made of silver, jhalra (long hanging string of gold mohars or silver rupees) Karanphul and bujni of gold and dandle of silver for the ears. Some new types of ornaments are tops (balian) for the ears, churis for the wrists and pandels for the neck. The people have simple food habits. They are known for their love for cattle and the abudance of milk and curd in their diet. Haryana has always remained a rendezvous for diverse races, cultures and faiths.



Industry


Durri (carpet) manufacturing is a very important industry of the state. Manufacturing of scientific and surgical instruments is an old and important industry in the state and it is mainly located in Ambala district. Industrial units here are engaged in manufacturing of electric appliances like electric presses, electric ovens, electric motors of various sizes, electric grinders and mixies and electronic goods like voltage stabilizers, electric metres and accessories of refrigerators. Medium scale units are engaged in producing motor cycles, scooters, wheel rims, magnets, pistons, engines and break equipments, mobile cranes, hand tools, auto tyres, industrial tuggers and tubes, fans, printed cloth, A.C sheets and moulded pipes, tractor equipments, air compressors and pneumatic tools, rubber foot wears, diesel engines, yarn etc. The small scale units consist the manufacture of metal products and parts, rubber, plastic, petroleum products, wood and wood products, furniture and fixtures, cotton textiles, engineering goods, electronic goods and food products.



Agriculture


About 80% population of the State is engaged in agriculture, directly or indirectly. Mainly the crops of Haryana are divided into Kharif and Rabi crops. The main Kharif crops are Sugarcane, ground nut, paddy and maize. Minor Kharif crops are chillies, bajra, jowar, pulses and vegetables. The Main Rabi crops are gram, wheat, barley and oil seeds. Minor Rabi crops are massar, barseen, methi, onion and winter vegetables. The western Yamuna canal and the Bhakra canal system brings benefits to the cultivators of Haryana in a big way. The state has extensive tube well system. This irrigation net work has made Haryana into one of the front line states of India interms of good grains production. The state is not only surplus in food grains but also makes large quantities available to the central pool to serve the needs of the deficit states and provides some for export. High yielding varieties of wheat, paddy, sugarcane, barley, gram and a variety of other crops as well as vegetables and fruits are produced. Against the all-India average 31.6% of net irrigated area to the next sown area Haryana has a high average of 79.8%. The state is noted in respect of cultivation of as much of the land as is available. In Haryana, out of 100 hectares as much as 3/4 is cultivated and nearly 30% of the area under crop is irrigated. The out put of food grains per hectare is much higher in Haryana than the rest of the country and the state is a kind of granary. The Basmati rice produced in Haryana finds an easy market abroad. The State has Asia's biggest agricultural University known as Chaudhry Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University at Hisar, which has already made a significant contribution in ushering 'Green Revolution'. Electricity is supplied on subsidised rates to the agriculture sector. As a result of the various incentives being provided to the farmers, floriculture and horticulture are fast picking up. An ultra-modern fruit and vegetable market and food processing complex of international standard is being developed at Rai near Delhi to provide marketing and food processing facilities to the farmers and entrepreneurs of the northern region.


Animal Husbandry


Animal husbandry has been taken up as an integral component of diversified agriculture. Haryana has a livestock population of 98.97 lakh. Its 'Hariana' breed of cows and 'Murrah' breed of buffaloes are known throughout the world. Buffaloes constitute 45 % of the total livestock population and they contribute 80.5 % of the total milk production. About one lakh 'Murrah' buffaloes are exported every year to other States and abroad. The National Dairy Research Institute set up at Karnal and Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes at Hisar are constantly developing the breed of 'Hariana' cow and 'Murrah' buffaloe. There is a network of veterinary institutions to maintain the health of livestock. The State is regularly supplying eggs, layer-chicks and broilers to the neighbouring States of Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. However, it also has its markets in the far away States of Assam and Bihar.



Weather



Geographically Haryana has four main features:


- Shivalik Hills in the north


- Yamuna in the east and Ghaggar (Saraswati) plain in the west


- Semi-desert sandy plain


- Aravalli Range in the south western part which run through southern Delhi and the Gurgaon district upto Alwar. There are some high ridges running from the north-west to south-east with numerous spurs branching out in all directions. These hills are known as the Morni and Tipra ranges. They belong to the outer ranges of the Himalayas.
Haryana has no perennial rivers. The important rivers are Yamuna, the Saraswati and the Ghaggar. Several small streams flows through the state they are the Markanda, the Sahibi and Indori. Yamuna is the most important river in the state. It has its source in the hills at Kalesar and is the source of irrigation for large tracts in the districts of Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Hissar and Rohtak through the western Yamuna canals. The river Saraswati begins in the large depression at Kalawar in the north of the Mustafabad Pargana of Jagadhri. The Ghaggar rises in the outer Himalayan ranges between the Yamuna and the Sutlej. The climate of Haryana over most of the year is of a pronounced continental character. It is very hot in summer and markedly cold in winter. The rainfall in the region is low and erratic except in parts of the Karnal and Ambala districts. The rainfall is unevenly distributed during the year except for two well marked seasons. One is the monsoon period lasting from the middle of June to the end of September on which autumn crop and spring sowing depend and the other is the winter rains which occur from December to February, benefiting rabi crop. Rainfall is meager, particularly in the districts of Mahendragarh and Hissar. The hottest months are May and June and the coldest being December and January. Best time to visit is October to March.