Doab

 

(dō'ăb) , term applied in India to a tract of land between two converging rivers. The Doab, unqualified by the names of any rivers, designates the tract in Uttar Pradesh state between the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, extending from the Shiwalik Range to the rivers' confluence at Allahabad. This well-irrigated region is the greatest wheat growing area of the state.

A Doab, meaning "two waters" or "two rivers" in Persian, is a term used in India and Pakistan for a "tongue" or tract of land lying between two confluent rivers.^[1]

In Pakistan and Northern India

The Punjab region

Each of the tracts of land lying between the confluent rivers of the Punjab region of Pakistan and India (the Indus basin) has a distinct name, said to have been coined by Raja Todar Mal, a minister of the Mughal emperor Akbar. The names (except for 'Sindh Sagar') are a combination of the first letters, in the Persian alphabet, of the names of the rivers that bound the Doab. For example, Jech = 'Je'(Jhelum) + 'Ch'(Chenab). The names are (from west to east):

• Sind Sagar Doab - lies between the Indus and Jhelum River rivers.
• Jech Doab (also Chaj) Doab - between the Jhelum and the Chenab River.
• Rechna Doab - between the Chenab and the Ravi River.
• Bari Doab or Majha - between the Ravi and the Beas River.
• Bist Doab (also Jullundur Doab or Doaba) - between the Beas and the Sutlej River.

In addition, the tract of land lying between the Sutlej and the Yamuna river is sometimes called the Delhi doab, although, strictly speaking, it is not a doab, since its two bounding rivers, the Yamuna and Sutlej, are not confluent.

Uttar Pradesh

The Doab, unqualified by the names of any rivers, designates the flat alluvial tract between the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in western and southwestern Uttar Pradesh state, extending from the Shiwalik Range to the rivers' confluence at Allahabad. This well-irrigated region is the greatest wheat growing area of the state.

The Doab has an area of about 23,360 square miles (60,500 square km). It lies between the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. The doab is about 500 miles (800 km) in length and 60 miles (100 km) in width.

The Doab can be described as the cradle of the Indian civilisation. It figures strongly in Vedic history and myth. When the Aryans advanced from Punjab, they first settled in the Doab along the Ganga river till Prayag. The Doab is the home of many of the earliest Vedic cities and states; the epic Mahabharata is set in the Doab, revolving around the city of Hastinapur. And the holy city of Prayag is also situated here at the confluence of the holiest rivers for Hindus, the Ganga and Yamuna.

The following districts form part of the Doab:

Dehradun, Rishikesh, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Delhi, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Bulandshahar, Mathura, Aligarh, Etah, Agra, Mainpuri, Etawah, Farrukhabad, Kanpur, Fatehpur, Kaushambi and Allahabad.

In Southern India

The Raichur Doab is the triangular region of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states which lies between the Krishna River and its tributary the Tungabhadra River, named for the town of Raichur.

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