CHAPTER VIII.
THE PUNJAB AND THE ARYA SAMAJ.
The Punjab, the Land of the Five Rivers, differs as widely both from the Deccan and from Bengal as these two differ the one from the other.

It has been more than any other part of India the battlefield of warring races and creeds and the seat of power of mighty dynasties.

Among its cities it includes Imperial Delhi and Runjit Singh's Lahore.

It is a country of many peoples and of many dialects.

It is the home of the Sikhs, but the Mahomedans, ever since the days of the Moghul Empire, form the majority of the population, and the proportion of Hindus is smaller than in any other province of India, except Eastern Bengal.
Owing to the very small rainfall, its climate is intensely dry--fiercely hot during the greater part of the year, and cold even to freezing during the short winter months.