Punjab means “land of five waters.” Its five rivers also cut the plain into five strips of fertile land.
Each strip has its own name. Together they explain much of the region’s farming, cities and history.
This lesson names the five strips, places the main cities, and shows how Partition split them.
What is a doab?
What does the word doab mean?
Doab joins two Persian words. *Do* means two, and *ab* means water.
A doab is the area of land between two rivers.
The rivers shape the land, so each doab gets its own name.
Sources: Careers360: doab regions of Punjab.
How is Punjab named in the same way?
*Panj* means five, and *ab* means water. So Punjab means “land of five waters.”
The five rivers are the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The Indus bounds the westernmost doab.
Between each pair of neighbouring rivers lies one doab.
Sources: Careers360: the five rivers of Punjab.
Check 1
A doab is a tract of land lying between two rivers.
Which are the five doabs of Punjab?
What are the five doabs, from west to east?
The Sind Sagar Doab lies between the Indus and the Jhelum.
The Chaj Doab lies between the Jhelum and the Chenab. It is also called the Jech Doab.
The Rechna Doab lies between the Chenab and the Ravi.
The Bari Doab lies between the Ravi and the Beas.
The Bist Doab lies between the Beas and the Sutlej.
How did the doabs get their names?
Each doab is named after the rivers it lies between.
The Jech name joins the names of the Jhelum and the Chenab. The Sind Sagar name joins those of the Indus and the Jhelum.
So a doab’s name tells you its two rivers.
Sources: Careers360: how the doabs are named.
| Doab | Rivers on its sides | Other name |
|---|---|---|
| Sind Sagar | Indus and Jhelum | Sind Sagar |
| Chaj | Jhelum and Chenab | Jech |
| Rechna | Chenab and Ravi | Part of Majha |
| Bari | Ravi and Beas | Part of Majha |
| Bist | Beas and Sutlej | Jullundhar Doab, Doaba |
Check 2
The Chaj Doab lies between the Ravi and the Beas.
What is special about each doab?
Why is the Bist Doab also called Doaba?
The area between the Beas and the Sutlej is the Bist Doab. It is also called the Jullundhar Doab, after the city of Jalandhar.
People speak Punjabi here, so they also say Doaba or Doabi.
Punjab divides into three cultural regions by language and culture. They are Malwa, Doaba and Majha.
Sources: Careers360: Bist Doab and Doaba.
Where do the Bari and Rechna doabs fit?
The Bari Doab is the area between the Beas and the Ravi. It is a part of the Majha region of Punjab.
The Rechna Doab lies between the Ravi and the Chenab. It is also part of Majha, but it now lies in Pakistan.
The Jech Doab is also counted in Majha.
Sources: Careers360: the five doabs and their rivers · Careers360: Rechna Doab and Majha.
Which famous city is called the Manchester of Pakistan?
Faisalabad is called the “Manchester of Pakistan.” Its textile industry earns the name.
The city was first called Lyallpur. It was later renamed in honour of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia.
The city lies in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Textile exports make it important to the economy.
Sources: GCWUF: the city of Faisalabad · GCWUF: Faisalabad and its textile trade.
Check 3
Faisalabad was earlier called Lyallpur.
How did Partition split the doabs?
How many doabs are in India today?
Only the Bist Doab and part of the Bari Doab lie in India. After 1947, the Sind Sagar, Chaj and Rechna doabs went to Pakistan.
The Bari Doab was divided. Amritsar stayed in India. Lahore went to Pakistan.
So the full five-doab system is a historical idea. It is bigger than today’s Indian Punjab.
Sources: Careers360: Bist Doab and Doaba · Careers360: Rechna Doab and Majha.
Check 4
All five Punjab doabs lie fully within India today.
Where did Alexander stop in Punjab?
Which river did Alexander reach?
Alexander’s army reached the Hyphasis, which is the modern Beas. The country beyond was said to be rich, with strong fighters and great elephants.
His troops were tired and homesick. Their leader Coenus urged him to turn back.
Alexander gave in and ended the march.
What did Alexander build at the river?
Alexander had twelve great altars built to the Olympian gods. They marked the end of his march.
He left King Porus in charge of this easternmost territory.
The Beas is the western edge of the Bist Doab. So his army never entered the Bist Doab.
Check 5
Alexander’s army turned back at the Beas, then called the Hyphasis.
What is the Bist Doab Canal?
Why was the Bist Doab Canal weak?
The Bist Doab Canal was built in 1954. It could carry 1,450 cusecs of water.
Silting and erosion cut its capacity to 950 cusecs. So it watered only about 35,000 acres, against a command area of 2 lakh acres.
The canal is 801 km long, with two branches, 14 distributaries and 39 minors.
Sources: Tribune (2016): the canal’s capacity loss · Tribune (2016): districts on the canal.
What was done to fix it?
The canal runs through Nawanshahr, Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur. All four lie in the Bist Doab.
A December 2016 report said the repair would finish in a record 10 months. Water was to flow from 15 January 2017.
It would then irrigate more than 2 lakh hectares.
Sources: Tribune (2016): districts on the canal · Tribune (2016): restart of irrigation.
What should you remember?
What are the key exam pointers?
Doab means “two waters,” land between two rivers.
The five doabs from west to east are Sind Sagar, Chaj, Rechna, Bari and Bist.
Only Bist and part of Bari are in India today.
Alexander’s army stopped at the Beas, the old Hyphasis.
Sources: Careers360: doab regions of Punjab · Careers360: the five doabs and their rivers · World History Encyclopedia: the Hyphasis Mutiny.
Practice MCQ
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