Haryana

History
The name of Haryana instantly conjures up the image of a State which astonishingly combines both-antiquity and plenty. The Vedic land of Haryana has been a cradle of Indian culture and civilization. Indian traditions regard this region as the matrix of creation of northern altar’ where Brahma performed the pristine sacrifice and created the universe. This theory of creation has been confirmed to a large extent by archaeological investigations carried out by Guy E. Pilgrim in 1915, who has established that 15 million years ago, early man lived in the Haryana Shivaliks. The Vamana Purana states that King Kuru ploughed the field of Kurukshetra with a golden ploughshare drawn by the Nandi of Lord Shiva and reclaimed an area of seven Kosas.

Replete with myths, legends and vedic references, Haryana’s past is steeped in glory. It was on this soil that saint Ved Vyas wrote Mahabharata. It was here, 5,000 long years ago that Lord Krishna preached the gospel of duty to Arjuna at the on set of the great battle of Mahabharata:”Your right is to do your duty and not to bother about the fruits (Outcome) thereof !” Since then, this philosophy of the supremacy of duty has become a beacon to succeeding generations. The Mahabharata knows Haryana as the land of plentiful grains (Bahudhanyaka) and immense riches (Bahudhana). Before the Mahabharata war, a battle of ten kings took place in the Kurukshetra region. But it was the Mahabharata fought for the highest values of righteousness which gave to the region world-wide fame because of the profound and sophisticated thought expounded in the holy Bhagavadgita by Lord Krishna recited to the quivering Arjuna Haryana emerged as a separate State in the federal galaxy of the Indian Republic on November 1,1966..

Geography
Haryana has four main geographical features.

• The Yamuna-Ghaggar plain forming the largest part of the state
• The Shivalik Hills to the northeast
• Semi-desert sandy plain to the southwest
• The Aravalli Range in the south

Economy
The economy of Haryana relies on manufacturing, business process outsourcing, agriculture and retail. In 2006-07 Haryana received a foreign direct investment projects of over Rs 11,000 crore in the state and corporate sector and had a fiscal deficit of 0.6 per cent in financial year 2006-07. Haryana also toped the list in terms of per capita investment in the fiscal year 2007 with an investment of Rs 1,86,045 crore. Haryana is also considered one of the most industrilised states in India with many SEZs. New plans for Sezs are of Reliance Industries which has plans to set up amulti-product special economic zone in Haryana. At an investment of Rs 40,000 crore, the project will be India’s largest SEZ spread over 25,000 acres. The state has a developed banking system with over 4500 bank branches. The two financial hubs of Haryana, Gurgaon and Faridabad lie on the south west of the state.

Climate
The climate of Haryana is similar to other states of India lying in the northern plains. It is very hot in summer (up to a high of 50 deg Celsius) and cold in winters (down to a low of 1 deg Celsius). The hottest months are May and June and the coldest being December and January. Rainfall is varied, with the Shivalik Hills region being the wettest and the Aravali Hills region being the driest. About 80% of the rainfall occurs in the monsoon season (July–September) and sometimes causes local flooding.

Roads and Infrastructure
Haryana is a trend setter in the field of passenger transport. It has a total road length of 23,684 kilometers. The remotest parts of the state are linked with metaled roads. Its modern bus fleet of 3,864 buses covers a distance of 1.15 million kms per day. It was the first State in the country to introduce luxury video coaches. Grand Trunk Road, commonly abbreviated to GT Road, is one of South Asia’s oldest and longest major roads. It passes through the districts of Sonipat, Panipat, Karnal, Kurukshetra and Ambala in north Haryana where it enters Delhi and subsequently the industrial town of Faridabad on its way. The state government proposes to construct Express highways and free ways for speedier vehicular traffic. The 135.6-km long Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway(KMP) will provide high-speed link to northern Haryana with its southern districts such as Sonepat, Jhajjar, Gurgaon and Faridabad. The 32 lane toll gate at National Highway 8 in Gurgaon is the largest in Asia and third largest in the world.

Source: Wikipedia