Haryana became a state of India on November 1, 1966.

The present day Haryana is the region where, along the banks of the River Saraswati, the Vedic Civilization began and matured. It was here that the Vedas were written, as the Aryans chanted their sacred Mantras. Replete with myths and legends, Haryana's 5000 year old history is steeped in glory. It was here that Lord Krishna preached Bhagvad-Gita at the start of the battle of Mahabharat. It was on this soil that saint Ved Vyas wrote Mahabharat in Sanskrit. Before the Mahabharat war, a battle of ten kings took place in the Kurukshetra region in the Saraswati valley. But it was the Mahabharat War, approximately in 900 BC, which gave to the region worldwide fame. Mahabharat knows Haryana as Bahudhhanyaka, land of plentiful grains and Bahudhana, the land of immense riches. The word Hariana, occurs in a 1328 AD Sanskrit inscription kept in the Delhi Museum, which refers to the Haryana region as The heaven on earth. Excavations of various archeological sites in Haryana, like Naurangabad and Mittathal in Bhiwani, Kunal in Fatehbad, Agroha near Hissar, Rakhi Garhi (Rakhigarhi) in Jind, Sites in Rukhi (Rohtak) and Banawali in Sirsa have evidence of pre-Harappan and Harappan culture. Findings of pottery, sculpture and jewellery in sites at Pehowa, Kurukshetra, Tilpat and Panipat have proved the historicity of the Mahabharat war. These places are mentioned in the Mahabharat as Prithudaka (Pehowa), Tilprastha (Tilput), Panprastha (Panipat) and Sonprastha (Sonipat. Haryana has been the scene of many wars because of it being "The Gateway of North India". As years rolled by, successive streams of Huns, Turks and the Afghans invaded India and decisive battles were fought on this land. After the downfall of the Gupta empire in the middle of 6th century AD north India was again split into several kingdoms. The Huns established their supremacy over the Punjab. It was after this period that one of the greatest King of ancient India, Harshvardhan began his rule. He became the King of Thanesar (Kurukshetra) in 606 AD, and later went on to rule the most of north India. In the 14th century, the Tomar kings led an army through this region to Delhi. Later the Mughal, Babur, defeated the Lodhis in the first battle of Panipat in the year 1526. Another decisive battle was fought in Panipat in 1556, establishing the reign of the Mughals for centuries to come. Taking advantage of Humayun's death, Hemu had marched to Agra and Delhi and occupied it without difficulty. In response, Bairam Khan (Akbar's guardian) marched towards Delhi. Both the armies clashed in the second battle of Panipat. Hemu was in a winning position when a stray arrow struck him in the eye. He fell unconscious causing panic among his troops. The tide of the battle turned and the Mughals won the battle. Towards the middle of the 18th century, the Marathas had control over Haryana. The intrusion of Ahmed Shah Durrani in India, culminated in the third battle of Panipat in 1761. Marathas' defeat in this battle marked the end of their ascendancy and the decline of the Mughal Empire, leading to the advent of the British rule. In 1857, the people of Haryana joined the Indian leaders in the 1857 Revolt against the British Government. By the end of June, 1857, most of the present Haryana region was liberated from the British. But the British managed to put down the rebellion in November, 1857 by bringing in additional forces from outside the area. Indian history is replete with tales of heroism of the highest order and in this context, the historic significance of the battles of Panipat and Kurukshetra in Haryana cannot be ignored by any means. The sacrifices of Haryana's brave soldiers have played a very important role in maintaining the territorial and sovereign integrity of our nation. The new state which emerged as a separate political entity of the Indian Union on November 1, 1966, is considered to be the cradle of rich Indian cultural heritage. In terms of economic development too, Haryana has come a long way during the few past years.

History of Haryana - Haryana Day: A new state is born!

Haryana was carved out of the Indian state of Punjab on 1st November 1966. This state was formed on the recommendation of the Sardar Hukam Singh Parliamentary Committee. The formation of this committee was announced in the Parliament on 23 September 1965. On 23 April, 1966, acting on the recommendation of the Hukam Singh Committee, the Indian government set up the Shah Commission under the chairmanship of Justice J. C. Shah, to divide and set up the boundaries of Panjab and Haryana. The commission gave its report on 31 May, 1966. According to this report the districts of Hissar, Mahendergarh, Gurgaon, Rohtak, and Karnal were to be a part of the new state of Haryana. Further the Tehsils of Jind (district Sangrur), Narwana (district Sangrur) Naraingarh, Ambala and Jagadhari were also included. The commission recommended that Tehsil Kharar (including Chandigarh) should also be a part of Haryana. After receiving the report of the

Shah Commission, the Indian government passed Panjab reorganization bill, 1966 on 18 September, 1966. According to this bill, the boundary of the Haryana was to be as follows: The districts of Hissar, Rohtak, Gurgaon, Karnal and Mahendergarh The Jind and Narwana tehsils of Sangrur district The Ambala, Jagadhari and Naraingarh tehsils of Ambala district The Pinjore circle of Kharar tehsil (district Ambala) Part of the Mani Majra circle of Kharar tehsil

It was also decided that the two states of Haryana and Punjab would have a common High Court called the 'Panjab & Haryana High Court'. The other parts of the bill dealt with issues like division of the Parliament seats in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Haryana's Area & Population in 1966

Districts Hissar Rohtak Gurgaon Karnal Ambala Area (sq. km)
13,891 6,040 6,086 7,964 3,702

Males
8,27,658

Females Population
7,12,850 15,40,508

Density (people/km)
111

7,51,225 6,59,432 8,04,769 4,85,110

6,69,166 14,20,391 5,81,274 12,40,760 6,85,661 14,90,430 4,00,675

235 204 187 231

8,85,785

Jind Mahendergarh Totals

2,712 3,474

2,50,653 2,83,950

2,14,220 2,63,900

4,64,873 5,47,850

164 158 173

43,689 40,62,797 35,27,746 75,90,543