The people of the plains of Punjab are prosperous. For Punjab, its plains were like a stage, where the drama of history was played. They are spread between the river Indus in the North-West and river Yamuna in the South-East.

These plains are counted among the most fertile plains in the world:

(A) The two regions of the Plains: The plains of Punjab are divided into two regions: The Eastern -plain and the Western Plain. The plains surrounded by Yamuna and Ravi rivers are called the Eastern plains. They are very fertile. They are also densely populated. The plains between Ravi and Indus rivers are called Western plains. They are less fertile as compared to the Eastern Plains.

(B) Five Doabs: The word ‘Doab’ is a Persian word which means two waters or two rivers. Hence, the territory between two rivers is called Doab. The plains of Punjab consist of five Doabs. It was during the reign of Akbar that Punjab was divided according to the boundaries of its Doabs for the first time and since then its administrative boundaries have been retained. The naming of each Doab is quite interesting and done on a very scientific basis. The name of a Doab is formed by joining the first letters of those two rivers between which the plain to be named is situated.

The description of these Doabs is as follows:

1. The Sindh Sagar Doab: The region situated between the rivers Indus and Jhelum is called the Sindh Sagar Doab. It is not a very fertile region. Jhelum and Rawalpindi are the important cities of this Doab.
2. Rachna Doab: This area situated between the rivers Ravi and Chenab is quite fertile. The important towns of this Doab are Gujranwala and Shekhupura.
3. Bist-Jalandhar Doab: This Doab consists of the plains situated between the rivers Beas and Satluj. It is a very fertile area. Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur are the leading cities of this Doab. It is also the most popular Doab. Its popularity can be judged from the fact that its local people mean to talk about Punjab whenever they use the single word Doab or Bist-Jalandhar Doab.
4. Bari Doab: The territory between the rivers Beas and Ravi is called the Bari Doab. It is also a fertile region. It is popular as Majha as it refers to central location of the area in the Punjab. The two most famous cities of Punjab, namely, Amritsar and Lahore, are situated in this Doab.
5. Chaj Doab: The territory between the Chenab and Jhelum is called Chaj Doab. The important cities of this Doab are Gujarat, Bhera and Shahpur.

(C) Malwa and Bangar: The wide plain situated between the rivers Satluj and Yamuna is a part of Punjab. The plain can be divided into two parts namely, Malwa and Bangar.

1. Malwa: The area extending from the banks of river Satluj to the banks of river Yamuna is called Malwa. Ludhiana, Patiala, Nabha, Sangrur, Faridkot, Bhatinda etc. are the prominent cities of Malwa. The area is known in Punjab as Malwa and the people belonging to this area are called Malwais. The area got its name from the name of a republican tribe called Malava, which lived here during the ancient period of Indian history.
2. Bangar or Haryana: This region extends from river Ghaghar to river Yamuna. Ambala, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Rohtak, Karnal, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Hissar are the prominent cities of this area. This area has. great historical importance because numerous battles which influenced the course of Indian history, were fought here.