Punjab is a state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region, the state is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast, Rajasthan to the southwest, and the Pakistan province of Punjab to the west. The state covers an area of 50,362 square kilometres or 1.53 percent of the total geographical area of India. It is the twentieth largest Indian state by area. With 27,704,236 inhabitants at the 2011 census, Punjab is the sixteenth largest state by population, comprising 22 districts. Punjabi, is the most widely spoken and official language of the state. The main ethnic group are the Punjabis. Punjab is the only state in India which has a Sikh majority population. Approximately 58% of the people follow Sikhism. The state capital is located in Chandigarh, a Union Territory and also the capital of the neighboring state of Haryana. The five rivers are Sutlej, Ravi, Beas, Chenab and Jhelum.

The Punjab region was home to the Indus Valley Civilization until 1900 BCE. In 1800 BCE the Aryan migration into northern India. The Punjab was conquered by Alexander the Great in 330 BCE and was captured by Chandragupta Maurya. The Punjab was home to the Gupta Empire, the enpire of the Alchon Huns, the empire of Harsha, and the Mongol Empire. Circa 1000, the Punjab was invaded by Muslims and was part of the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire. Sikhism originated in Punjab and resulted in the formation of the Sikh Confederacy after the fall of the Mughal Empire. The confederacy was united into the Sikh Empire by Ranjit Singh. The entire Punjab region was annexed by the British East India Company from the Sikh Empire in 1849. In 1947, the Punjab Province of British India was divided along religious lines into West Punjab and East Punjab. The western part was assimilated into new country of Pakistan while the east stayed in India. The Indian Punjab was divided on the basis of language in 1966. It was divided into 3 parts. Haryanvi speaking areas (dialect of Hindi) were carved out as Haryana, Hilly regions and Pahari speaking areas formed Himachal Pradesh alongside the current state of Punjab. The diverse cultures of the various rulers of Punjab have influenced Punjabi culture. The government of Punjab has three branches - executive, judiciary and legislative. Punjab follows the parliamentary system of government with the Chief Minister as the head of the state.

State is primarily agriculture-based due to the presence of abundant water sources and fertile soils.^[4] Other major industries include the manufacturing of scientific instruments, agricultural goods, electrical goods, financial services, machine tools, textiles, sewing machines, sports goods, starch, tourism, fertilisers, bicycles, garments, and the processing of pine oil and sugar. Minerals and energy resources also contribute to the Punjab economy although to a much lesser extent. Punjab has the largest number of steel rolling mill plants in India, which are located in "Steel Town"—Mandi Gobindgarh in the Fatehgarh Sahib district.