Punjab is a state in northwest India. Punjab borders the West Punjab to the west, Jammu and Kashmir to the north, Himachal Pradesh to the northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, Chandigarh to the southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest. The total area of the state is 50,362 square kilometers ( 19,445 square miles ). The population is 24,289,296 (2000). Punjab's capital is Chandigarh, which is administered separately as a Union Territory since it is also the capital of neighbouring Haryana. Other major cities of Punjab include Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala. The Indus Valley Civilization was one of the worlds first and oldest civilizations. It centered around the ancient cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro located in the Pakistani province of Punjab and the Pakistani province of Sind, respectively.After the partition of India in 1947, the Punjab province of British India was divided between India and Pakistan; the Indian Punjab was further trifurcated in the year 1966 leading to the formation of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.