PSEB SS History flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Harappa

A major Indus Valley Civilisation city in the Sahiwal district of present-day Pakistan, known for its grid streets, granaries, and drainage system; it gives the civilisation its alternative name.

Ropar (Rupnagar)

An excavated Indus Valley Civilisation site on the Sutlej in Indian Punjab, notable for evidence of a Harappan settlement and later cultural layers, including Buddhist remains.

Sapta Sindhu

The Rigvedic name meaning 'seven rivers', referring to the river system of the Punjab region; the area is also the setting of much early Vedic literature.

Battle of the Hydaspes

Alexander's 326 BCE battle on the Jhelum against King Porus, a hard-fought Macedonian victory; Alexander's army later mutinied at the Beas, halting his advance.

Panini

Ancient Sanskrit grammarian associated with the Gandhara region near Taxila; his work the Ashtadhyayi is a foundational text of Sanskrit grammar and linguistic analysis.

Guru Nanak

Founder of Sikhism, born in 1469 at Nankana Sahib; he taught the oneness of God and rejected caste and ritual, and his compositions open the Guru Granth Sahib.

Guru Angad

The second Sikh Guru, credited with standardising and popularising the Gurmukhi script, which became the script for Punjabi and Sikh scripture.

Guru Arjan

The fifth Sikh Guru, who compiled the Adi Granth in 1604 and oversaw construction of Harmandir Sahib; he was executed in Mughal custody in 1606.

Akal Takht

The seat of temporal authority established by Guru Hargobind in 1609 facing Harmandir Sahib at Amritsar; it symbolises the union of spiritual and temporal concerns.

Khalsa

The community of initiated Sikhs founded by Guru Gobind Singh at Anandpur Sahib in 1699, marked by the Amrit initiation and the five Ks.

Guru Granth Sahib

The Sikh scripture, declared the eternal Guru by Guru Gobind Singh in 1708; it contains hymns by Sikh Gurus and by saints such as Baba Farid and Kabir.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh

Ruler of the Sikh Empire from 1799 to 1839 with his capital at Lahore; he unified the Misls and extended control from the Sutlej to Peshawar.

Misls

Twelve Sikh confederacies of the eighteenth century, each with its own leader and territory; they were later consolidated by Ranjit Singh into a single empire.

Treaty of Amritsar, 1809

Agreement between Ranjit Singh and the British that made the Sutlej the boundary of his territories; it curtailed his expansion eastward and shaped later Anglo-Sikh relations.

Annexation of Punjab

Following the Second Anglo-Sikh War of 1848–49, the British annexed Punjab in 1849, ending Sikh sovereignty and placing the region under a Board of Administration.

Baisakhi

A mid-April festival marking the Punjabi harvest and commemorating the founding of the Khalsa in 1699; it is celebrated with processions, the Bhangra dance and gurdwara visits.

Bhangra and Giddha

Punjab's best-known folk dances: Bhangra is performed by men to the dhol, especially at harvest, while Giddha is a women's circle dance with clapping and boliyan.

Waris Shah

Punjabi Sufi poet of the eighteenth century best known for his version of the romance Heer Ranjha, a landmark of Punjabi literary and oral tradition.

Bulleh Shah

Punjabi Sufi poet of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries whose kafis criticise ritual and caste and express mystical love; a major figure in Punjabi literature.

Gurmukhi script

The script used to write Punjabi, developed from the Sharada family and standardised through the Sikh tradition; it is the official script for Punjabi in Indian Punjab.

Langar

The community kitchen attached to a gurdwara where free meals are served to all visitors regardless of caste or religion, expressing the Sikh principle of equality.

Jallianwala Bagh

A walled garden in Amritsar where British troops under General Dyer fired on an unarmed gathering on 13 April 1919, killing hundreds and galvanising the freedom movement.

Punjabi Suba, 1966

The reorganisation of Punjab on linguistic lines after the Punjabi Suba movement, creating the present Punjab state and carving out Haryana; Chandigarh became a shared capital.

Partition of 1947

The division of Punjab between India and Pakistan at independence, accompanied by massive migration and communal violence; Lahore went to Pakistan and Amritsar to India.

Chali Mukte

The 'forty liberated ones', Sikhs who returned to Guru Gobind Singh after deserting and were forgiven; their memory is observed at Maghi in Muktsar.

Sanghol

An archaeological site in Fatehgarh Sahib district with Kushana-period stupa remains and sculptures, illustrating Punjab's Buddhist and Silk Route connections.

Shahmukhi script

The Perso-Arabic script used to write Punjabi, chiefly in Pakistan; it contrasts with Gurmukhi, the script used in Indian Punjab.

Dhol

A double-headed barrel drum central to Punjabi folk music and Bhangra; its rhythms accompany weddings, harvest celebrations and festive processions.

Makki di roti and sarson da saag

A signature Punjabi winter dish of maize flatbread with mustard greens, typically eaten with butter and lassi; it symbolises rural Punjab's seasonal cuisine.

Lohri

A mid-January Punjabi festival celebrated with bonfires, songs and sweets, marking the end of the winter solstice period and associated with the harvest and family celebrations.

Guru Tegh Bahadur

The ninth Sikh Guru, executed in Delhi in 1675 under Aurangzeb for defending religious freedom; his martyrdom is commemorated at Sis Ganj Sahib.

Battle of Sobraon

The decisive 1846 battle of the First Anglo-Sikh War, where British forces defeated the Sikh army; it led to the Treaty of Lahore and British control of Punjab.

Folk music of Punjab

Includes Tappe, Boliyan and Jugni sung at weddings and festivals, often with dhol and tumbi; these forms carry oral history and social commentary.