भारत (Bhārat)--part: ਪੰਜਾਬ (Panjāb), हिमाचल परदॆश (Himāchal Pradesh), हरियाणा (Hariyāna or Hariyana), चंडीगढ़ (Chanḍīgarh), डिलली (Dillī), Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh

How is the land laid out?

This part of northern भारत (Bhārat)¹ comprises nearly 750 thousand square kilometers and can be divided into three geopmorphic zones: the Himalayas in हिमाचल परदॆश² (Himāchal Pradesh)³ and Uttarakhand (formerly Uttaranchal);⁴ the Indo-Gangetic plain of ਪੰਜਾਬ (Panjāb)⁵ and Uttar⁴ Pradesh;³ and the plateaus and low mountains of Madhya Pradesh.³

The Himalayas are divided into three parallel ranges in Himachal Pradesh, two of which continue into Uttarakhand. A peak in the Zaskars of the more northerly state reaches above 7,000 meters. The Great Himalayas top out in Uttarakhand's Nand Devi at above 7,800 meters. The Siwaliks reach above 4,000 meters in हिमाचल परदॆश (Himāchal Pradesh) but are lower than that in Uttarakhand.

The Indo-Gangetic plain is dominated by the two river systems it is named after: the Indus and the Ganga (or Ganges). In between some waters end as they approach the Thar (or Great Indian) Desert, which staddles the ਪੰਜਾਬ- (Panjāb-) Rajasthan border.

The Indus system here consists of four of the "five waters" of Panjāb. Three of them being in हिमाचल परदॆश (Himāchal Pradesh) and the fourth enters from China and cuts through the Himalayas. Two are dammed to form reservoirs.

The Ganga and its chief tributary, the Yamuna,⁶ arise in Uttarakhand's Great Himalayas and flow into Uttar Pradesh. The Ganga is joined by the Yamuna in that state, and continues east.

The plateaus in the west center on the Narmada River, with the Vindhya Range north of it, and the Satpura Range south of it.

Who lives there?

The overwhelming majority of the nearly 325 million people living here (2007) speak Hindi-Urdu-Eastern Panjabi.⁷ In eastern Uttar Pradesh, most speak Bhojpuri.⁸ In western Uttar Pradesh, most speak Rajasthani languages.⁹

The overwhelming majority are Hindus, but there are substantial numbers of Moslems in Uttar Pradesh, and Sikhs in ਪੰਜਾਬ (Panjāb).

There are 15 cities with more than a million people, most notably the national capital, डिलली¹⁰ (Dillī)¹¹ whose metropolitan area includes two suburbs with over a million people, फरीदाबाद (Pharīdābād or Farīdābād) and गाजियाबाद (Gājiyābād or Ghāziābād). The state capitals of Lakhnau,¹² चंडीगढ़ Chanḍīgarh)¹³ and Bhopal make the list, as does the Sikh religion's center at ਅੰਮਿਰਤਸਰ (Amritsar). Others are ਲੁਧਿਆਣਾ (Ludhiāna), ਪੰਜਾਬ (Panjāb); Kanpur,¹⁴ Agra, Mirat,¹⁵ Varanasi¹⁶ and Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh; and Indore and Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.

Within the Area

ਪੰਜਾਬ, हिमाचल परदॆश, हरियाणा, चंडीगढ़ and डिलली (Panjāb, Himāchal Pradesh, Hariyāna, Chanḍīgarh and Dillī)
Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand
Madhya Pradesh

Footnotes

1. India in English.
2. Proper rendering of the 'PR' in Pradesh in the Devanāgarī script is a conjunct with a downward left stroke attached to the bottom left of प.
3. The च is an unaspirated 'ch.' Some transliterations map this to just 'c.' Pradesh means state.
4. Uttar means northern.
5. Panjā (Punjab in English) means Five Waters.
6. Or Jumna.
7. Hindi and Eastern Panjabi are usually considered separate languages. They do not share a script, nor a majority religion. Urdu is often considered a separate language for the same reason. At a greater extreme, some would consider Braj and Awadhi to be languages, rather than Hindi dialects.
8. The Indian government considers Bhojpuri a Hindi dialect, partly because it does not have a separate long literary history. Others count Bhojpuri as a Bihari dialect, but most consider Bihari a group instead.
9. The Indian government considers these to be Hindi dialects. Others count the group as a language.
10. Proper rendering creates a composite letter out of the two ल letters, with a single vertical line on the right. Technically the national capital is a portion of the city.
11. Delhi in English.
12. Also spelled Lucknow in English.
13. The च is an unaspirated 'ch.' Some transliterations map this to just 'c.'
14. Formerly Cawnpore in English.
15. Also spelled Meerut in English.
16. Formerly spelled Benares in English.