History
Haryana has
been derived from its ancient inhabitants Abhirayana that
got changed to Ahirayana over a period and to present day
Haryana. Similarly The name 'Abhira' stemed from Abhira or
the fearless, the honour they earned after the Battle of the
Mahabharata. In the 1st AD, invading Scythians and Kushans
forced Ahirs out of their land to lower Rajasthan in the
Aravali Region. Near East of Inderparast.
Ancient Period
Haryana was
the outermost location of the ancient Indus Valley
Civilization with centers such as Banawali and Rakhigarhi.
The most extensive center, Rakhigarhi, is now a village in
Hisar District. The site is dated to be over 5,000 years
old. Evidence of paved roads, drainage system, large
rainwater collection, storage system, terracotta brick,
statue production, and skilled metal working (in both bronze
and precious metals) has been uncovered.
Also the Vedic Civilization flourished on the banks of the
now lost Saraswati river. Several decisive battles were
fought in the area, which shaped much of the history of
India. These include the epic Battle of Kurukshetra
described in the Mahabharata (including the recital of the
Bhagavad Gita by Krishna) and the three battles of Panipat.
Medieval Period
After
ousting the Huns, king Harshavardhana established his
capital at Thanesar near Kurukshetra in the 7th century AD.
After his death, the kingdom of his clansmen, the Pratiharas
continued to rule over a vast region for quite a while from
Harsha's adopted capital of Kannauj. The region remained
strategically important for the rulers of North India even
though Thanesar was no more as central as Kannauj.
Prithviraj Chauhan established forts at Tarori and Hansi in
the 12th century. Muhammad Ghori conquered this area in the
Second Battle of Tarain. Following his death, the Delhi
Sultanate was established that ruled much of India for
several centuries. The earliest reference to 'Hariana'
occurs in a Sanskrit inscription dated 1328 AD kept in Delhi
Museum, which refers to this region as The heaven on earth,
indicating that it was fertile and relatively peaceful at
that time. Firoz Shah Tughlaq established a fort at Hisar in
1354 to further fortify the region, and also constructed
canals or rajwahas as they were referred to in the
Indo-Persian historical texts.
The three
famous battles of Panipat took place near the modern town of
Panipat. The first battle took place in 1526, where Babur,
the ruler of Kabul defeated Ibrahim Lodi of the Delhi
Sultanate, through the use of field artillery. In the second
battle of Panipat (November 5, 1556), Akbar's forces
defeated the Hindu king Hem Chandra Vikramaditya also called
Hemu, who belonged to Rewari in Haryana and who had won 22
battles during 1553-1556 before acceeding to Delhi throne.
The Third Battle of Panipat was fought in 1761 between the
Afghan warlord Ahmad Shah Abdali and the Marathas under
Sadashivrao Bhau of Pune. Ahmad Shah won decisively, on
January 13, 1761.
British Period
The Second
Anglo-Sikh War of 1848 to 1849 resulted in the Battle of
Gujrat on 21 February 1849, at which the British defeated
the Sikhs. As a result of this, on 2 April 1849 they annexed
the Punjab as a new province of British India. This included
most of Haryana, while the rest were ruled by the princely
states of Loharu, Nabha, Jind and Patiala. During the Indian
rebellion of 1857, several leaders from this region,
including Rao Tula Ram, participated actively. People of
Haryana took an active part in the Indian Independence
movement. Many battles were fought by the rulers of the
states and by the farmers also, sometimes defeating the
British army. Some most important fights were at Sonipat,
Rohtak, Sirsa and Hissar. In Sirsa the famous battle of
Chormar was fought. Later, leaders like Sir Chhotu Ram
played an important role in the politics of the Punjab
province. Rao Tula Ram was one of the important leaders of
the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
Formation of Haryana
Haryana
state was formed on 1 November, 1966, 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 Punjab and Haryana giving consideration to the language
spoken by the people. The commission gave its report on 31
May, 1966. According to this report the then districts of
Hissar, Mahendragarh, 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 to be included.
The commission recommended that Tehsil Kharar (including
Chandigarh) should be a part of Haryana.
The city of
Chandigarh, and a Punjabi speaking area of district Rupnagar
were made a union territory serving as the capital of both
Punjab and Haryana. According to the Rajiv-Longowal Accord,
Chandigarh was to be transferred to the state of Punjab in
1986, but the transfer was delayed and it has not been
executed so far.