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Haryana
Haryana is an Indian state located in the northern-part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 November 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% (44,212 km2 or 17,070 sq mi) of India's land area. The state capital is Chandigarh, which it shares with the neighboring state of Punjab, and the most populous city is Faridabad, which is a part of the National Capital Region. The city of Gurgaon is among India's largest financial and technology hubs. Haryana has 6 administrative divisions, 22 districts, 72 sub-divisions, 93 revenue tehsils, 50 sub-tehsils, 140 community development blocks, 154 cities and towns, 7,356 villages, and 6,222 villages panchayats.
Haryana contains 32 special economic zones (SEZs), mainly located within the industrial corridor projects connecting the National Capital Region. Gurgaon is considered one of the major information technology and automobile hubs of India. Haryana is the 11th-highest ranking among Indian states in human development index. The economy of Haryana is the 13th largest in India, with a gross state domestic product (GSDP) of ₹7.65 trillion (US$100 billion) and has the country's 5th-highest GSDP per capita of ₹240,000 (US$3,200). Haryana has the highest unemployment rate among Indian states.
The state is rich in history, monuments, heritage, flora and fauna and tourism, with a well developed economy, national highways and state roads. It is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the north-east, by river Yamuna along its eastern border with Uttar Pradesh, by Rajasthan to the west and south, and Ghaggar-Hakra River flows along its northern border with Punjab. Since Haryana surrounds the country's capital New Delhi on three sides (north, west and south), consequently a large area of Haryana state is included in the economically important National Capital Region of India for the purposes of planning and development.
Geography
Haryana is a landlocked state in northern India. It is between 27°39' to 30°35' N latitude and between 74°28' and 77°36' E longitude. The total geographical area of the state is 4.42 m ha, which is 1.4% of the geographical area of the country. The altitude of Haryana varies between 700 and 3600 ft (200 metres to 1200 metres) above sea level. Haryana has only 4% (compared with national 21.85%) area under forests. Karoh Peak, a 1,467-metre (4,813 ft) tall mountain peak in the Sivalik Hills range of the greater Himalayas range located near Morni Hills area of Panchkula district, is highest point in Haryana. Haryana has 4 states and 2 union territories on its border - Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, and Chandigarh.
Languages
The official language of Haryana is Hindi. Several regional languages or dialects, often subsumed under Hindi, are spoken in the state. Predominant among them is Haryanvi (also known as Bangru), whose territory encompasses the central and eastern portions of Haryana. Hindustani is spoken in the northeast, Bagri in the west, and Ahirwati, Mewati and Braj Bhasha in the south.
There are also significant numbers of speakers of Urdu and Punjabi, the latter of which was recognised in 2010 as a second official language of Haryana for government and administrative purposes. After the state's formation, Telugu was made the state's "second language" – to be taught in schools – but it was not the "second official language" for official communication. Due to a lack of students, the language ultimately stopped being taught. Tamil was made the second language in 1969 by Bansi Lal to show the state's differences with Punjab although there were no Tamil speakers in Haryana at the time. In 2010, due to the lack of Tamil speakers, the language was removed from its status.
There are also some speakers of several major regional languages of neighbouring states or other parts of the subcontinent, like Bengali, Bhojpuri, Marwari, Mewari, Nepali and Saraiki, as well as smaller communities of speakers of languages that are dispersed across larger regions, like Bauria, Bazigar, Gujari, Gade Lohar, Oadki, and Sansi.