Punjab Geography — PPSC previous year questions

At the time of this exam Punjab bordered four states: Jammu & Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the north-east, Haryana to the south-east and Rajasthan to the south-west, besides the Union Territory of Chandigarh and the international border with Pakistan on the west. Since 31 October 2019 Jammu & Kashmir has been a Union Territory, so today Punjab borders three states (Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan) and two Union Territories (Jammu & Kashmir, Chandigarh). Choose '4' when the question is set in the pre-2019 frame, as here.

Ludhiana was the most populous district of Punjab in the 2011 Census. It had about 34.9 lakh people. Amritsar had about 24.9 lakh and Jalandhar about 21.9 lakh. Ludhiana is also the state's largest city and its industrial capital. Barnala was the least populous district. Fazilka and Pathankot had just been created.

In the 2011 Census Hoshiarpur had the highest female literacy in Punjab (about 80%) and also the highest overall literacy (84.6%). Mansa had the lowest.

Faridkot's old name was 'Mokalhar', founded in the 13th century by Raja Mokalsi. After Baba Sheikh Farid stayed here the town was renamed Faridkot in his honour. Gurdwara Tilla Baba Farid stands here; Faridkot became a district in 1972.

Only Michelangelo's clues fit a single district: the Mai Bhago Armed Forces Preparatory Institute for Girls and the Siswan reserve forest are both in Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (Mohali). Vinci cannot live in Fazilka, which is in the south-west but shares a border with Pakistan. Raphael's Jang-e-Azadi Memorial stands at Kartarpur in Jalandhar, a district of the Bist Doab (the tract between the Beas and the Sutlej), not Amritsar. Sanghol, Gurdwara Jyoti Sarup and Rauza Sharif all lie in Fatehgarh Sahib, not Malerkotla.

Every clue points to Fazilka. The Asafwala War Memorial honours the soldiers who held the Fazilka sector in the 1971 war. The Abohar Wildlife Sanctuary in this district protects the blackbuck. The Sadqi (Sadiqi) border post holds a retreat ceremony like Wagah's. Fazilka lies in the far south-west of Punjab. It is known for its 'Tosha' sweet and for Abohar's kinnow orchards. Fazilka was carved out of Ferozepur district in 2011, so Ferozepur is the tempting distractor.

Khatkar Kalan is in SBS Nagar (Nawanshahr) district and Udham Singh was born at Sunam in Sangrur district. The shortest route crosses the Sutlej into Ludhiana district and then passes through Malerkotla district (created in 2021) before entering Sangrur, so at least 4 districts are touched, counting the start and end.

Ferozepur lies on the western border while Mansa is in the south-east, with Faridkot, Moga and Bathinda in between, so the two never touch. The other pairs share a border: Sangrur–Barnala, Gurdaspur–Hoshiarpur and Fazilka–Sri Muktsar Sahib.

The Kandi belt runs along the Shivalik foothills in Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Ropar. It is a sub-mountainous zone of coarse, gravelly, poor soil, cut by seasonal torrents called choes. So statement (a) is correct. The Ghaggar floodplain is not the state's sand source. Cactus is not a native xerophyte of the south-western dunes. The Bari Doab (the tract between the Beas and the Ravi) grows wheat, rice and sugarcane on its alluvium, not mahogany or ebony.

Six districts of Punjab touch the international border with Pakistan: Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Fazilka. Punjab's border with Pakistan is about 553 km long. Fazilka (2011) was carved out of Ferozepur and Pathankot (2011) out of Gurdaspur. That is why older books quote four.