Know Your State Haryana Pdf- Haryana GK Notes 2021 (Part 1) – Download Free PDF

The state that we’ll be discussing has a rich cultural heritage from the Vedic times. The state follows the old age customs of meditation, chanting of Vedic Mantras and Yoga. The religious and seasonal customs show the culture of this region. The state is none other than HARYANA.

Do you know which state Manushi Chillar (Miss World 2017) hails from? Which state is called the “Land of Historic Battles”?

Haryana is also known as “The Home of Gods”. Hari means god (Vishnu) and Ayana means home. Haryana’s contribution to mainstream Indian history and culture has been remarkable. So let’s delve into the state.

State Symbols

Now, we’ll proceed towards the culture, geography, and polity of Haryana. Moreover, we will discuss some very fascinating facts about this state.

Haryana Culture Notes

The vibrant and mystical state of Haryana has a bountiful culture, heritage, festivals, folklores and a vibrant landscape.

FAIRS –

The state has gained a lot of fame for the lively fairs organized there. The most acclaimed ones are:

1. Surajkund International Fair – This fair is held in the suburbs of Faridabad every year. The fair beautifully portrays the rural part of their culture and is a super success every year. It is adorned with multi-cuisine food courts. Different adventure and amusement rides are also there. The mela is attended by thousands of people from nearby places.
2. Mango Mela – The Mango Mela is organized in the months of June and July at ‘Yadavindra Gardens’ of Pinjore, this mela is a great treat for the mango leavers. This mela supports the farmers to sell their mangoes and teach them about the latest technology to raise their mango production.
3. Baisakhi Mela – This fair commemorates the festival of Baisakhi. It is hosted on 13-14 April at Pinjore Gardens every year.
4. Pinjore Heritage Festival – This festival is celebrated every year in the month of December. This is a great annual event that focuses on the history and heritage of old Pinjore town and its magnificent gardens.
5. Kapal-Mochan Fair – This fair is held in Ambala at Gopal-Mochan near Bilaspur in Jagadhari Tehsil.

Festivals

1. A number of vibrant festivals take place in Haryana. These festivals include Teej, Guga Navmi, Gita Jayanti, Kaartik Cultural Festival, and a unique celebration known as Sohna Car Rally.
2. The most famous festival of all time is Teej. The third day of ‘Sharwana’ month is celebrated as Teej. Swings are set up in the gardens. Girls apply henna to their hands.

Culture

1. Their staple food is Wheat or Bajra so it is a Land of roti, vegetables and plenty of milk and ghee.
2. ‘Pethe ki sabzi’ is made on special occasions.
3. The most relished dishes are Rabri and Bajre ki khichri with lassi.
4. Pickle made of Kair tree is known as Teet ka Achar.
5. Saag (a veggie preparation) is common as is milk, curd and buttermilk.

Dance

• There are many dances performed in the state such as Ragini, Dhamal and Saang. Saang is a popular folk dance – theatre form in Rajasthan, UP, Haryana, Malwa region of MP.
• The Dhamal dance reminds of the Bhangra of Punjab.
• Some of the other forms of folk dances of Haryana are Khoria dance, Ghoomar dance, Rasleela, Thumar dance and Loor dance.

Handicraft and Language

1. Most popularly weaved handlooms are the shawls and durries. Haryana shawls are very well-known because of the Phulkari, which has a great demand for its rich embroidery all over the globe. Panipat is a major textile town in Haryana which is noted for its rugs and upholstery fabric.  
2. The most striking feature of Haryana is its language itself. The dialect of Haryana popularly known as Haryanvi, Bangaru, Jatu. It is known to be a bit rude but is full of earthy humour and straightforwardness. However, almost all of them have their base in Hindi with Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu and English forming the main languages.
3. Haryana has the second-largest Sikh population in India after Punjab.

The upcoming aspect that talks about the climate, soil type, physiographic divisions, area, population, etc. is –

Haryana Geography Notes

Haryana is located in the North-Western part of India and it is a landlocked state.

• Latitudinal Extension –  27⁰ 39’ to 30⁰ 35’ N

• Longitudinal Extension – 74⁰ 28’ to 77⁰ 36’ E
• Area – 44,212 km²

Rank in India – 21^st (less than 1.4% of India’s land area)

• Population (According to the 2011 census) – 25,353,081 (or more than 2 crore)

Rank in India – 18^th

• Number of Districts – 22
• Literacy Rate in Haryana has seen an upward trend and is 76.64% as per 2011 population census. Male Literacy stands at 85.38%, while female literacy is at 66.67%.
• Boundaries – It is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the north-east, by river Yamuna along its eastern border with UP, by Rajasthan to the west and south and Ghaggar-Hakra River flows along its northern border with Punjab.
• Karoh Peak, a 1467 metre (4813 feet) tall mountain peak in the Shivalik Hills range of the greater Himalayas range located near Morni Hills area of Panchkula district, is the highest point in Haryana.
• The Yamuna-Ghaggar Plain forming the largest part of the state is also called Delhi Doab consisting of Sutlej-Ghaggar Doab, Ghaggar-Hakra Doab and Hakra-Yamuna Doab.
• Climate – The climate of Haryana is similar to other states of India lying in the northern plains. It is extremely hot in summer, around 40⁰ C and mild in winters. May and June are the hottest months and the coldest being December and January. Rainfall is varied, with the Shivalik region being the wettest and the Aravali Hills being the driest. About 80% of the rainfall occurs in the monsoon season (July-September) and sometimes causes local flooding.
• Faridabad in NCR (National Capital Region) is the largest and the most populous city of the state.
• The Altitude varies between 200 m to 1200 m above sea level.
• Physiographical division –

1. Hills
2. Plains
3. Aravali Range
4. Semi-arid region.

Soil

Soil is formed almost entirely of Alluvium. The state is situated towards the depressions of the river Ganges and Indus.

1. Mountain Soil – in the hilly tracts which are rocky in structure.
2. Alluvial Soil – in the doab region.
3. Red Soil – in the southern parts.

Haryana’s main seasonal rivers

1. Ghaggar-Hakra – It is also known as Ghaggar before the Ottu barrage and as the Hakra downstream of the barrage, rises in the outer Himalayas, between the Yamuna and the Sutlej and enters the state near Pinjore in the Panchkula district, passes through Ambala and Sirsa, it reaches Bikaner in Rajasthan and runs for 460 km before disappearing into the deserts of Rajasthan.
2. The seasonal Markanda River – It is also known as the Aruna in ancient times, originates from the lower Shivalik Hills and enters Haryana west of Ambala and swells into a raging torrent during monsoon is notorious for its devastating power, carries its surplus water on to the Sanisa Lake where the Markanda River joins the Saraswati and later the Ghaggar.

Now the third and last aspect is –

Haryana Polity Notes

The state has a Unicameral Legislature with only 90 seats.

• The state is divided into 6 revenue divisions, 5 Police Ranges and 3 Police Commissionerates.
• Haryana has 10 municipal corporations, 18 municipal councils and 52 municipalities.
• The state was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 November 1966 on a linguistic basis.
• Representation in Parliament –

Rajya Sabha – 5

Lok Sabha – 10

• Present CM and 10^th CM of the state is Manohar Lal Khattar (BJP). He was sworn in as CM of Haryana after BJP’s win in the 2014 Haryana Legislative Assembly election. He was sworn in a second time as the CM on 21 October 2019.
• The BJP emerged as the single largest party and formed the government in a post-poll alliance with the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) and seven Independent MLAs.
• Present Governor is Bandaru Dattatreya. He was the Member of Lok Sabha for Secunderabad from 2014 to 2019. He belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and serving as the current Governor of the State of Haryana since 2021.
• The first CM of Haryana was Bhagwat Dayal Sharma from Indian National Congress. His term of office was from 1 November 1966 to 23 March 1967.
• The first Governor of the state was Dharma Vira from 1 November 1966 to 14 September 1967.

Here are Some of the Gloriously Interesting Facts of Haryana–

• Manushi Chillar is an Indian model from Sonipat. She is a beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss World 2017.
• Baba Ramdev from Patanjali Ayurveda ltd. born in Mahendragarh.
• ‘Kingdom of Dreams’ is India’s first live entertainment, theatre and leisure destination.
• The city of Panipat finds mention in Mahabharata as one of the five cities founded by the Five Pandava Brothers.
• Haryana surrounds the country’s capital Delhi on three sides. Consequently a large area of Haryana is included in the economically important National Capital Region (NCR) for the purposes of planning and development.
• Haryana shares its capital city with Punjab – Chandigarh. This is because the state was carved out from Punjab.

Do you know what the GDP of Haryana is? Which state has Sultanpur National Park?

We will cover these questions in the next blog. If you don’t want to miss it, click here – Know your State ‘Haryana’ – Part 2. We hope you found the blog helpful. It would help you in attempting related questions in SSC, RRB, CDS and many more exams.

Also Check Punjab History Notes