ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>DO&#256B&#256 REGION</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="DOB,REGION"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279DO&#256B&#256 REGION of the Punjab lying between 30º-57' to 32º-7' North latitudes and 75º-4' to 76º-30' East longitudes, and bounded by the Himalayas on the east, and by the Be&#257s on the north and the west, and the Sutlej on the south, embracing the present districts of Jalandhar, Hoshi&#257rpur and Kap&#363rthal&#257, is a distinct geographical region by virtue of its interfluvial character, its distinctive cultural identity and its recognition as such in geographical and historical literature. It is also known as Bist Do&#257b (from <i>bist</i> which is an abbreviation for the twin rivers Be&#257s and Sutlej, and <i>do&#257b</i>, a Persian term meaning a land mass lying between two rivers) or Jalandhar Do&#257b (after the name of its principal town). With an area of 8, 915 square kilometres, Do&#257b&#257 has 24 towns and 3, 580 villages. With a population of well over four million, it is one of the densely populated regions of the Punjab. The upland plain covering about two-thirds of the total area and ranging in elevation from 270 to 300 metres above sea level, is by virtue of its alluvial soil the most fertile and thickly populated. It has therefore been the focus of main historical events, political acitivity and economic development. The low lying flood plains along the two rivers, locally called <i>be&#7789</i>, with profusion of wild grasses and scrubs are not suitable for regular and intensive cultivation and are therefore sparsely populated. The foothill plain ranging in elevation from 300 to 470 metres and lying along the &#346iv&#257lik foothills is dissected by numerous seasonal streams called <i>chos</i>. This zone lies between the upland plain in the west and the economically backward and sparsely populated hilly tract known as ka&#7751&#7693&#299 in the east.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Broadly speaking, the Do&#257b&#257 region is characterized by a continental sub-humid climate, with sharply varying winter and summer temperatures. Like the rest of the northwest India, it receives 80 per cent of its rainfall from the monsoons during July-September and the balance from cyclones during December-January. Natural vegetation of the region is of a dry-deciduous type. However, intensive cultivation necessitated by population pressure and paucity of arable land has resulted in clearance of entire upland plain for agriculture. Still <i>kikkar (Acacia arabica), ber&#299 (Zizyphus jujuba), sh&#299sham (dabergia), &#7693hak (Butea trondosa) </i> and mango trees are found scattered or in small groves. Grasses and scrubs like <i>sar (saccharum) </i> and <i>kans (Sacharum spontaneoum</i>) abound in <i>be&#7789</i> areas. Commercial planting of eucalyptus is a recent development. The region hardly produces any minerals.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Do&#257b&#257 with its sturdy, hardworking population holds a place of pride in Sikh history. Gur&#363 N&#257nak's connection with one of its ancient towns, Sult&#257npur Lodh&#299, the founding of Kart&#257rpur by Gur&#363 Arjan and the travels of the fifth, sixth, seventh and the ninth Gur&#363s through the length and breadth of the region resulted in the early spread of Sikhism in the area. Being on the old route from the northwest to Delhi, it had to bear the brunt of successive invasions. At the same time it, along with the districts of the central Punjab collectively known as M&#257jh&#257, was a recruiting and training ground for the Sikh warriors during the eighteenth century. At the close of the nineteenth century and at the beginning of the twentieth, Sikhs of the Do&#257b&#257 were among the first to migrate to Canada and the United States of America, where they were in the forefront of the <u>Gh</u>adr movement. The Babar Ak&#257l&#299 movement of the 1920's was almost exclusively sustained by Do&#257b&#257 Sikhs. Land holdings being very small, emigration to countries of the western world still remains an attraction for the people.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Si&#7749gh, G. B. , "Changing Patterns of Cropland Use in Bist Doab, " unpublished Ph. D. thesis submitted to the University of Edinburgh.<BR> <li class="C1"> Mehta, Swarnjit, "Patterns of Migration in the Bist Doab 1951-61, " in <i>Panjab University Research Bulletin </i> (Arts), vol. IV, No. I. Chandigarh, 1973<BR> <li class="C1"> Latif, Syad Muhammad, <i>History of the Panjab</i>. Delhi, 1964<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Swarnj&#299t Meht&#257<br></p><BR> </font> <img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""> </HTML></BODY>