Doab - The Punjab Doabs

The Punjab Doabs

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. Recently it is the proposed name of the former Eastern Punjab for Land of two Rivers not five, because they are now situated in Pakistan.