Pariksha SaathiLesson 8 of 10 · Haryana General Knowledge
Agriculture, Dairy, Industries and Sport in Haryana
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The Green Revolution
Haryana was born in 1966, just as high-yielding dwarf wheats such as Kalyan Sona and Sonalika (bred from Norman Borlaug's Mexican varieties), chemical fertilisers, tubewells and canal water arrived. With Punjab and western Uttar Pradesh it became a core Green Revolution state, and its wheat and rice harvests rose many times over. Haryana electrified all its villages by 1970, the first state in India to do so, which powered the tubewells, and it became a major supplier of wheat and rice to the central pool. The costs came later: falling groundwater, waterlogging and salinity in some areas, heavy use of chemicals and the burning of paddy straw after the rice harvest.
Crops
In the rabi (winter) season wheat is the main crop almost everywhere, with mustard important in the dry south around Rewari, Mahendragarh and Bhiwani, and gram and barley in sandy areas. In the kharif (monsoon) season rice dominates the canal-irrigated north and east, with fine basmati around Karnal, Kurukshetra, Kaithal and Panipat; cotton is grown in the north-west in Sirsa, Fatehabad and Hisar; bajra (pearl millet) and guar in the dry south-west; and sugarcane in Yamunanagar, Karnal and the Yamuna belt. Sirsa is also known for kinnow orchards.
Dairy and animal husbandry
Livestock is part of almost every farming household, and Haryana is among India's leading states in milk available per person. Its pride is the Murrah buffalo, the 'black gold' of Haryana: a jet-black breed with tightly curled horns, famous for its high milk yield and native to the Rohtak, Jind, Hisar and Jhajjar area. Hariana cattle, a dual-purpose breed for milk and draught, also come from this region. The Haryana Dairy Development Cooperative Federation sells milk under the brand Vita. The old saying 'Desan mein des Haryana, jit doodh dahi ka khana' (the best of lands is Haryana, where milk and curd are the daily food) sums up the tradition.
Research institutions
Karnal and Hisar are the state's great centres of farm research. At Karnal are the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), founded in 1923 at Bangalore and moved to Karnal in 1955, whose scientists produced cloned buffalo calves from 2009; the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI); the Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR); and the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR). At Hisar are Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (1970), the Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB), the Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (LUVAS), the Central Sheep Breeding Farm and the large Government Livestock Farm.
Industrial towns
Industry is concentrated in the National Capital Region and along the Grand Trunk Road. Gurugram became India's car hub after Maruti Udyog began making the Maruti 800 there in 1983; it later grew into a centre of IT, outsourcing and corporate offices, with the Industrial Model Township at Manesar nearby, and two-wheelers are made around Gurugram and Dharuhera. Faridabad, planned after Partition to resettle refugees, grew into a major industrial city known for tractors, engineering goods and auto parts. Panipat, the 'City of Weavers', is famous for handloom goods, blankets, durries and home furnishings, and has Indian Oil's Panipat Refinery (1998) and a thermal power station.
Other industrial centres
Sonipat has engineering units and the Kundli industrial area; Bahadurgarh is a hub of footwear making; Yamunanagar and Jagadhri are known for plywood made from farm-grown poplar, for metal utensils and for the Saraswati Sugar Mills; Ambala Cantonment is the centre of the scientific instruments industry; Hisar is known for stainless steel and Rewari for brassware. Karnal is a centre of rice milling and basmati export, and Sirsa of cotton ginning.
Haryana in sport
With only about 2 per cent of India's population, Haryana wins a far larger share of the country's sporting medals, especially in wrestling, boxing, athletics and kabaddi. Village akharas, a diet rich in milk and ghee and a tradition of army service built this culture. Bhiwani, home of the Bhiwani Boxing Club, is called the 'Mini Cuba' of Indian boxing; Vijender Singh of Bhiwani won India's first Olympic boxing medal (bronze, Beijing 2008). Kapil Dev, the 'Haryana Hurricane', led India to the 1983 Cricket World Cup. Saina Nehwal, born in Hisar, won a badminton bronze at London 2012; Sakshi Malik became India's first woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal (bronze, Rio 2016); and Neeraj Chopra of Panipat won India's first Olympic gold in athletics, in the javelin at the Tokyo Games held in 2021.
Key facts
- Green Revolution (from 1966): high-yielding wheat (Kalyan Sona, Sonalika), fertilisers, tubewells; Haryana electrified all its villages by 1970, the first state to do so.
- Rabi: wheat, mustard (Rewari, Mahendragarh, Bhiwani), gram. Kharif: rice and basmati (Karnal, Kaithal, Kurukshetra), cotton (Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar), bajra (south-west), sugarcane (Yamunanagar).
- Murrah buffalo: the 'black gold' of Haryana, tightly curled horns, high milk yield (Rohtak, Jind, Hisar). Hariana cattle: dual-purpose. Cooperative milk brand: Vita.
- Karnal: NDRI (founded 1923 at Bangalore, at Karnal since 1955), CSSRI, IIWBR, NBAGR. Hisar: CCS HAU (1970), CIRB, LUVAS, Central Sheep Breeding Farm.
- Gurugram: Maruti 800 production from 1983, IMT Manesar, IT hub. Faridabad: planned after Partition to resettle refugees; a major industrial city for tractors and engineering goods.
- Panipat: 'City of Weavers' (handloom, blankets, durries); Indian Oil refinery (1998); thermal power station.
- Yamunanagar-Jagadhri: plywood, metal utensils, Saraswati Sugar Mills. Ambala Cantt: scientific instruments. Bahadurgarh: footwear. Hisar: stainless steel.
- Sport: Bhiwani 'Mini Cuba' (Vijender Singh, bronze 2008); Kapil Dev 'Haryana Hurricane' (1983 World Cup); Sakshi Malik bronze 2016; Neeraj Chopra javelin gold at the Tokyo Games (2021).
Quick revision
Green Revolution from 1966 (Kalyan Sona, Sonalika); all villages electrified 1970, first state; wheat and mustard (rabi), rice/basmati, cotton, bajra, sugarcane (kharif); Murrah buffalo, Hariana cattle, Vita; Karnal: NDRI (1955), CSSRI, IIWBR, NBAGR; Hisar: CCS HAU (1970), CIRB, LUVAS; Gurugram Maruti 1983; Faridabad engineering; Panipat weavers and refinery 1998; Yamunanagar plywood; Ambala instruments; Bhiwani Mini Cuba; Neeraj Chopra gold.