Haryana
State
State of Haryana
From top, left to right: Cyber City in Gurgaon, Pinjore Gardens, bronze chariot of Krishna and Arjuna at Kurukshetra, Asigarh Fort, Ghaggar river, Lake in Surajkund.
Emblem of Haryana
Etymology: Abode of God or Green Forest
Motto(s):  Satyameva Jayate Truth alone triumphs
Location of Haryana in India
Coordinates: 30°44′N 76°47′E / 30.73°N 76.78°E / 30.73; 76.78
Country	India
Region	North India
Before was	Part of Punjab
Formation	1 November 1966
Capital	Chandigarh
Largest city	Faridabad
Districts	22 (6 divisions)
Government
• Body	Government of Haryana
• Governor	Bandaru Dattatreya
• Chief minister	Nayab Singh Saini[1] (BJP)
State Legislature	Unicameral
• Assembly	Haryana Legislative Assembly (90 seats)
National Parliament	Parliament of India
• Rajya Sabha	5 seats
• Lok Sabha	10 seats
High Court	Punjab and Haryana High Court
Area [2]
• Total	44,212 km2 (17,070 sq mi)
• Rank	21st
Elevation	200 m (700 ft)
Highest elevation (Karoh Peak)	1,499 m (4,918 ft)
Lowest elevation	169 m (554 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	25,351,462
• Rank	18th
• Density	573/km2 (1,480/sq mi)
• Urban	34.88%
• Rural	65.12%
Demonym	Haryanvi
Language
• Official	Hindi[3]
• Additional official	English Punjabi[4]
• Official script	Devanagari Gurmukhi
GDP [5]
• Total (2023–24)	₹12.25 trillion (US$150 billion)
• Rank	13th
• Per capita	₹403,980 (US$4,800) (6th)
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 code	IN-HR
Vehicle registration	HR
HDI (2019)	0.708 High[6] (12th)
Literacy (2011)	75.55% (22nd)
Sex ratio (2021)	926♀/1000 ♂[7] (29th)
Website	haryana.gov.in
Symbols of Haryana
Emblem of Haryana
Foundation day	Haryana Day
Bird	Black francolin
Flower	Lotus
Mammal	Blackbuck
Tree	Bodhi tree
State highway mark
State highway of Haryana HR SH1 – HR SH33
List of Indian state symbols
^† Joint Capital with Punjab †† Common for Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.

Haryana (/hʌriˈɑːnə/; Hindi: [ɦəɾɪˈjɑːɳɑː]; ISO: Hariyāṇā) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% (44,212 km² or 17,070 sq mi) of India's land area.^[2][8] The state capital is Chandigarh, which it shares with the neighbouring state of Punjab; and the most populous city is Faridabad, a part of the National Capital Region. The city of Gurgaon is among India's largest financial and technology hubs.^[9] Haryana has 6 administrative divisions, 22 districts, 72 sub-divisions, 93 revenue tehsils, 50 sub-tehsils, 140 community development blocks, 154 cities and towns, 7,356 villages, and 6,222 villages panchayats.^[8][10]

Haryana contains 32 special economic zones (SEZs), mainly located within the industrial corridor projects connecting the National Capital Region.^[8][11] Gurgaon is considered one of the major information technology and automobile hubs of India.^[12][13] Haryana ranks 11th among Indian states in human development index.^[6] The economy of Haryana is the 13th largest in India, with a gross state domestic product (GSDP) of ₹7.65 trillion (US$92 billion) and has the country's 5th-highest GSDP per capita of ₹240,000 (US$2,900).^[5]

The state is rich in history, monuments, heritage, flora and fauna and tourism, with a well-developed economy, national highways and state roads. It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, by Rajasthan to the west and south, while river Yamuna forms its eastern border with Uttar Pradesh. Haryana surrounds the country's capital territory of Delhi on three sides (north, west and south), consequently, a large area of Haryana state is included in the economically important National Capital Region of India for the purposes of planning and development.

Anthropologists came up with the view that Haryana was known by this name because in the post-Mahabharata period, the Ābhiras live here,^[14] who developed special skills in the art of agriculture.^[15] According to Pran Nath Chopra, Haryana evolved as a word from Ābhirāyana (from ābhira and ayana "path, way") to Ahirāyana to Hariyānā (Haryana).^[16]

A skeleton from an Indus Valley civilisation site near Rakhigarhi.^[17] The skeleton is on display in the National Museum.

Manuscript illustration of the Battle of Kurukshetra, which is a war described in the Indian epic poem Mahābhārata. The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura in an Indian kingdom called Kuru.

The villages of Rakhigarhi in Hisar district and Bhirrana in Fatehabad district are home to ancient sites of the Indus Valley Civilization, which contain evidence of paved roads, a drainage system, a large-scale rainwater collection storage system, terracotta brick and statue production, and skilled metalworking (in both bronze and precious metals).^[17]

During the Vedic era, Haryana was the site of the Kuru Kingdom, one of India's great Mahajanapadas. The south of Haryana is the claimed location of Manu's state of Brahmavarta.^{[18][better source needed]} The area surrounding Dhosi Hill, and districts of Rewari and Mahendragarh had Ashrams of several Rishis who made valuable contributions to important Hindu scriptures like Vedas, Upanishads, Manusmriti, Brahmanas and Puranas.^[19] As per Manusmriti,^[20] Manu was the king of Brahmavarta, the flood time state 10,000 years ago surrounded by oldest route of Sarasvati and Drishadwati rivers on the banks of which Sanatan-Vedic or present-day Hindu ethos evolved and scriptures were composed.

Ancient bronze and stone idols of Jain Tirthankara were found in archaeological expeditions in Badli, Bhiwani (Ranila, Charkhi Dadri and Badhra), Dadri, Gurgaon (Gurugram), Hansi, Hisar, Kasan, Nahad, Narnaul, Pehowa, Rewari, Rohad, Rohtak (Asthal Bohar) and Sonepat in Haryana.^[21]

Pushyabhuti dynasty ruled parts of northern India in the 7th century with its capital at Thanesar. Harsha was a prominent king of the dynasty. Tomara dynasty ruled the south Haryana region in the 10th century. Anangpal Tomar was a prominent king among the Tomaras.^[22]

After the sack of Bhatner fort during the Timurid conquests of India in 1398, Timur attacked and sacked the cities of Sirsa, Fatehabad, Sunam, Kaithal and Panipat. When he reached the town of Sarsuti (Sirsa), the residents fled and were chased by a detachment of Timur's troops, with thousands of them being killed and looted by the troops. From there he travelled to Fatehabad, whose residents fled and a large number of those remaining in the town were massacred. The Ahirs resisted him at Ahruni but were defeated, with thousands being killed and many being taken prisoners while the town was burnt to ashes. From there he travelled to Tohana, whose Jat inhabitants were robbers according to Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi. They tried to resist but were defeated and fled. Timur's army pursued and killed 200 Jats, while taking many more as prisoners. He then sent a detachment to chase the fleeing Jats and killed 2,000 of them while their wives and children were enslaved and their property plundered. Timur proceeded to Kaithal whose residents were massacred and plundered, destroying all villages along the way. On the next day, he came to Assandh, whose residents were "fire-worshippers" according to Yazdi, and had fled to Delhi. Next, he travelled to and subdued Tughlaqpur fort and Salwan before reaching Panipat whose residents had already fled. He then marched on to Loni fort.^[23][24]

Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, also called Hemu, claimed royal status and the throne of Delhi after defeating Akbar's Mughal forces on 7 October 1556 in the Battle of Delhi, and assumed the ancient title of Vikramaditya. The area that is now Haryana has been ruled by some of the major empires of India. Panipat is known for three seminal battles in the history of India. In the First Battle of Panipat (1526), Babur defeated the Lodis. In the Second Battle of Panipat (1556), Akbar defeated the local Haryanvi Hindu Emperor of Delhi, who belonged to Rewari. Hem Chandra Vikramaditya had earlier won 22 battles across India from 1553 to 1556 from Punjab to Bengal, defeating the Mughals and Afghans. Hemu had defeated Akbar's forces twice at Agra and the Battle of Delhi in 1556 to become the last Hindu Emperor of India with a formal coronation at Purana Quila in Delhi on 7 October 1556. In the Third Battle of Panipat (1761), the Afghan king Ahmad Shah Abdali defeated the Marathas.^[26]

The state was part of the British Punjab province. The Delhi division of Punjab province formed the bulk of Haryana. Among the princely states that were located in the state were Jind, Kalsia, Loharu, Dujana and Pataudi, as well as parts of the Patiala State.

During the Partition of India, the Punjab province was one of two British Indian provinces, alongside Bengal, to be partitioned between India and Pakistan. Haryana, along with other Hindu and Sikh-dominated areas of Punjab province, became part of India as East Punjab state. As a result, a significant number of Muslims left for the newly formed country of Pakistan. Similarly, a huge number of Hindu and Sikh refugees poured into the state from West Punjab. Gopi Chand Bhargava, who hailed from Sirsa in present-day Haryana, became the first Chief Minister of East Punjab.

Haryana as a state came into existence on 1 November 1966 the Punjab Reorganisation Act (1966). The Indian government set up the Shah Commission under the chairmanship of Justice JC Shah on 23 April 1966 to divide the existing state of Punjab and determine the boundaries of the new state of Haryana after consideration of the languages spoken by the people. It encompassed the predominantly Hindi-speaking southern part of former Punjab, while the state of Punjab was reduced to the area where Punjabi speakers formed the majority population. The commission delivered its report on 31 May 1966 whereby the then-districts of Hisar, Mahendragarh, Gurgaon, Rohtak and Karnal were to be a part of the new state of Haryana. Further, the tehsils of Jind and Narwana in the Sangrur district – along with Naraingarh, Ambala and Jagadhri – were to be included.^[27]

The commission recommended that the tehsil of Kharar, which includes Chandigarh, the state capital of Punjab, should be a part of Haryana. However, Kharar was given to Punjab.^[28] The city of Chandigarh was made a union territory, serving as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana.^[29]

Bhagwat Dayal Sharma became the first Chief Minister of Haryana.^[30] Chaudhary Devi Lal is credited to be the individual who pushed for the creation of this commission. He was an instrumental figure in the separation of the Haryana state from Punjab in 1966.^[31]

According to the 2011 census, of the total population of 25,351,462 in Haryana, Hindus (87.46%) constitute the majority of the state's population with Muslims (7.03%) (mainly Meos) and Sikhs (4.91%) being the largest minorities.^[33]

Muslims are mainly found in the Nuh district. Haryana has the second largest Sikh population in India after Punjab, and they mostly live in the districts adjoining Punjab, such as Sirsa, Jind, Fatehabad, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Ambala and Panchkula.^[34][35]