The Punjab of this book is a metaphor for the geographical regionsurrounded by
the Himalayas, the Great Indian Desert, the AravaliHills and the river Jamuna.
During a period of about 4000 years upto AD 1000, the cultural boundaries of
this region did not coincidewith its geographical boundaries and there were
sub-regionaldifferences as well. There was a great deal of interaction with
theoutside world and between sub-regions. The socio-cultural dynamicsof the
region are well reflected in the different periods of itshistory. Seen from the
regional angle, the Harappan civilizationreveals sub-regional diversities and
continuation in a ruralsetting. The Rigvedic culture appears to be a regional
rather thanan ethnic articulation. The