North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority population, while Tibeto-Burmans (speaking Tibeto-Burman languages) form the significant minority population. It extends from the Himalayan mountain range in the north to the Indo-Gangetic Plain, the Thar Desert, till Central Highlands. It occupies nearly two-quarters of the area and population of India and includes one of the three mega cities of India: Delhi. In a more specific and administrative sense, North India can also be used to represent the northern Indo-Gangetic Plain within this broader expanse, to the Thar Desert.
Several major rivers flow through the region including the Indus, the Ganges, the Yamuna and the Narmada rivers. North India includes the states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and the union territories of Chandigarh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Occasionally, states of Western, Central and Eastern India are referred as "North Indian" in a broader term.
The majority of people in North India speak Indo-Aryan languages. The region was the historical centre of the ancient Vedic culture, the Mahajanapadas, the Gupta Empire; the medieval Pratihara dynasty and the Delhi Sultanate; and the modern Mughal India and Indian Empire, among many others. . It has a diverse culture, and includes the Hindu pilgrimage centres of Char Dham, Haridwar, Varanasi, Vindhyachal, Ayodhya, Mathura, Prayagraj, Vaishno Devi and Pushkar, the Buddhist pilgrimage centres of Sarnath and Kushinagar, the Sikh pilgrimage centre of Golden Temple, Amritsar, as well as world heritage sites such as the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, Khajuraho Temples, Hill Forts of Rajasthan, Jantar Mantar (Jaipur), Qutb Minar, Red Fort, Agra Fort, Fatehpur Sikri and the Taj Mahal. North India's culture developed as a result of interaction between Hindu and Muslim religious traditions.
Northern Region/Zone
The terms 'North Zone,' 'North Region,' or 'Northern Cultural Zone' are used by various ministries of the Government of India to refer to the northernmost administrative division of the country, whether one of four or six. These terms are distinct from 'North India,' which refers to a much larger geo-cultural region.
Government of India definitions The Northern Zonal Council is one of the advisory councils, created in 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act to foster interstate co-operation under the Ministry of Home Affairs, which included the states of Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab and Rajasthan.
The Ministry of Culture established the North Culture Zone in Patiala, Punjab on 23 March 1985. It differs from the North Zonal Council in its inclusion of Uttarakhand and the omission of Delhi.
The Geological Survey of India (part of the Ministry of Mines) in its Northern Region, included Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, but excluded Rajasthan and Chandigarh, with a regional headquarters in Lucknow.
Colloquial definitions of Northern Region/Zone
Indian press definition The Hindu newspaper puts Bihar, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh related articles on its North pages. Articles in the Indian press have included the states of Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal in North as well.
Latitude-based definition The Tropic of Cancer, which divides the temperate zone from the tropical zone in the Northern Hemisphere, runs through India, and could theoretically be regarded as a geographical dividing line in the country.Ram Nath Dubey, "Economic Geography of India", Kitab Mahal, 1961. ... The Tropic of Cancer divides India roughly into two equal parts: the Warm Temperate and Tropical ... Indian states that are entirely above the Tropic of Cancer are Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and most of North East Indian states. However that definition would also include major parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal and minor regions of Chhattisgarh and Gujarat.
Anecdotal usage In Maharashtra, the term "North Indian" is sometimes used to describe migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, often using the term bhaiya (which literally means 'elder brother') along with it in a derogatory sense. However within Uttar Pradesh (literally meaning "North Province" in Hindi) itself, "the cultural divide between the east and the west is considerable, with the purabiyas (easterners) often being clubbed with Biharis in the perception of the westerners."Susheela Raghavan, "Handbook of Spices, Seasonings, and Flavorings", CRC Press, 2007, . ... Maharashtra, in North India, has kala masala in many versions ... The Government of Bihar official site places the state in the eastern part of India. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are often considered as being a part of north India, however, within most modern definitions of North India, Bihar is not included.
History
Ancient era By 55,000 years ago, the first modern humans, or Homo sapiens, had arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa, where they had earlier evolved., "Y-Chromosome and Mt-DNA data support the colonization of South Asia by modern humans originating in Africa. ... Coalescence dates for most non-European populations average to between 73–55 ka.", "Modern human beings—Homo sapiens—originated in Africa. Then, intermittently, sometime between 60,000 and 80,000 years ago, tiny groups of them began to enter the north-west of the Indian subcontinent. It seems likely that initially they came by way of the coast. ... it is virtually certain that there were Homo sapiens in the subcontinent 55,000 years ago, even though the earliest fossils that have been found of them date to only about 30,000 years before the present.", "Scholars estimate that the first successful expansion of the Homo sapiens range beyond Africa and across the Arabian Peninsula occurred from as early as 80,000 years ago to as late as 40,000 years ago, although there may have been prior unsuccessful emigrations. Some of their descendants extended the human range ever further in each generation, spreading into each habitable land they encountered. One human channel was along the warm and productive coastal lands of the Persian Gulf and northern Indian Ocean. Eventually, various bands entered India between 75,000 years ago and 35,000 years ago." The earliest known modern human remains in South Asia date to about 30,000 years ago. After 6500 BC, evidence for domestication of food crops and animals, construction of permanent structures, and storage of agricultural surplus appeared in Mehrgarh and other sites in Balochistan, Pakistan. These gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation, the first urban culture in South Asia, which flourished during 2500–1900 BC northwestern Indian subcontinent. Among its urban centres, Kalibangan (in Rajasthan) and Rakhigarhi (in Haryana) were prominent. These cities participated in a complex system of urban planning, long-distance trade, and craft production, sustained through a variety of subsistence strategies.
Between 2000 BC and 1500 BC, several waves of Indo-Aryan migrations from Central Asia occurred and these migrants settled in the Indo-Gangetic Plain. The Vedas, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism, were composed during this period, and historians have analysed these to posit a Vedic culture in the Punjab region and the upper Gangetic Plain. During the period , many regions of the subcontinent transitioned from the Chalcolithic cultures to the Iron Age ones. The caste system, which created a hierarchy of priests (Brahmins), warriors Kshatriyas, and commoners and peasants (Vaishyas and Shudras), and but which excluded certain peoples whose occupations were considered impure, arose during this period.
In the late Vedic period, around the 6th century BCE, the small states and chiefdoms of the Ganges Plain and the north-western regions had consolidated into 16 major oligarchies and monarchies that were known as the mahajanapadas. Among these, Kuru, Panchala, Kosala, and Kashi, all located in present-day Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, figured prominently. The emerging urbanisation gave rise to non-Vedic religious movements, two of which became independent religions. Jainism came into prominence during the life of its exemplar, Mahavira. Buddhism, based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, attracted followers from all social classes excepting the middle class; chronicling the life of the Buddha was central to the beginnings of recorded history in India. In an age of increasing urban wealth, both religions held up renunciation as an ideal, and both established long-lasting monastic traditions. Notably, cities like Sarnath, Shravasti, and Kushinagar, became closely associated with the life of the Buddha and the early Buddhist sangha.
Although the Mauryan capital was located in Pataliputra, cities such as Kaushambi and Prayag in Uttar Pradesh gained prominence as administrative and religious centres. The Magadhan Mauryan emperors are known as much for their empire-building and determined management of public life as for Ashoka's renunciation of militarism and far-flung advocacy of the Buddhist dhamma. Under Ashoka, the spread of Buddhism was institutionalised, and pillar inscriptions appeared across northern India, including sites in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
By the 4th and 5th centuries, the Gupta Empire had created a complex system of administration and taxation in the greater Ganges Plain; this system became a model for later Indian kingdoms. Under the Guptas, a renewed Hinduism based on devotion, rather than the management of ritual, began to assert itself. This renewal was reflected in a flowering of sculpture and architecture, which found patrons among an urban elite. Classical Sanskrit literature flowered as well, and Indian science, astronomy, medicine, and mathematics made significant advances.
Following the decline of the Guptas, the Indian early medieval age, from 600 to 1200 AD, is defined by regional kingdoms and cultural diversity. When Harsha of Kannauj, who ruled much of the Indo-Gangetic Plain from , attempted to expand southwards, he was defeated by the Chalukya ruler of the Deccan. When his successor attempted to expand eastwards, he was defeated by the Pala king of Bengal. In Rajasthan, a constellation of Rajput clans rose to power, forging new dynasties and asserting martial values through courtly traditions and fortified architecture.
At the same time, the hill regions of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand remained under smaller principalities, shaped by geographic isolation and local cultural traditions. In the plains, cities such as Ajmer, Kannauj, and Varanasi emerged as religious and commercial centres, supported by an expanding temple economy and patronage networks. During this time, pastoral peoples, whose land had been cleared to make way for the growing agricultural economy, were accommodated within caste society, as were new non-traditional ruling classes. The caste system consequently began to show regional differences.
Indo-Muslim era