Coordinates	34°03′46″N84°40′12″N
name	Haryana
native name
type	State
image seal	Seal of Haryana.jpg
map caption	Location of Haryana in India
image map1	Haryana locator map.svg
map caption1	Map of Haryana
coor pinpoint	Chandigarh9352975898
coordinates type	region:IN-HR_type:adm1st
coordinates display	inline,title
coordinates region	IN-HR
subdivision type	Country
subdivision name
established title	Established
established date	1 November 1966
parts type	Districts
parts style	para
p1	21
seat type	Capital
seat	Chandigarh
seat1 type	Largest city
seat1	Faridabad
leader title	Governor
leader name	Jagannath Pahadia
leader title1	Chief Minister
leader name1	Bhupinder Singh Hooda
leader title2	Legislature
leader name2	Unicameral (90 seats)
leader title3	Parliamentary constituency
leader name3	10
leader title4	High Court
leader name4	Punjab and Haryana High Court
unit pref	Metric
area total km2	44212
area rank	20th
population total	25353081
population as of	2011
population rank	16th
population density km2	auto
timezone1	IST
utc offset1	+05:30
iso code	IN-HR
blank name sec1	HDI
blank info sec1	0.644 (medium)
blank1 name sec1	HDI rank
blank1 info sec1	11th (2005)
blank name sec2	Literacy
blank info sec2	71.4% (17th)
blank1 name sec2	Official languages
blank1 info sec2	Haryanavi, Punjabi, English
website	haryana.gov.in
footnotes	}}

Haryana (, ; is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar (VS 1189-1230). It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south. The river Yamuna defines its eastern border with Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Haryana also surrounds Delhi on three sides, forming the northern, western and southern borders of Delhi. Consequently, a large area of Haryana is included in the National Capital Region. The capital of the state is Chandigarh which is administered as a union territory and is also the capital of Punjab. The name ''Haryana'' means ''the Abode of God'' from Sanskrit ''Hari'' (the Hindu God Vishnu) and ''ayana'' (home), although it may also refer to the lush green landscape of the state (from Sanskrit ''harit'' meaning green).

Haryana was the cradle of the Indus Valley and Vedic Civilizations, both flourishing on the banks of the now lost Sarasvati River. Several decisive battles were fought in the area, which shaped much of the history of India. These include the epic battle of Mahabharata at Kurukshetra (including the recital of the Bhagavad Gita by Krishna), and the three battles of Panipat. Haryana was administered as part of the Punjab province of British India, and was carved out on linguistic lines as India's 17th state in 1966. Haryana is now a leading contributor to the country's production of foodgrain and milk. Agriculture is the leading occupation for the residents of the state, the flat arable land irrigated by submersible pumps and an extensive canal system. Haryana contributed heavily to the Green Revolution that made India self-sufficient in food production in the 1960s.

Haryana is one of the wealthiest states of India and has the third highest per capita income in the country at Rs. 67,891, including the largest number of rural crorepatis in India. Haryana is also one of the most economically developed regions in South Asia and its agricultural and manufacturing industry has experienced sustained growth since 1970s. Haryana is India's largest manufacturer of passenger cars, two-wheelers, and tractors. Since 2000, the state has emerged as the largest recipient of investment per capita in India. The city of Gurgaon has rapidly emerged as a major hub for the information technology and automobile industries. Gurgaon is home to Maruti Udyog Limited, India's largest automobile manufacturer, and Hero Honda Limited, the world's largest manufacturer of two-wheelers. Yamunanagar, Panipat, Panchkula and Faridabad are also industrial hubs, with the Panipat Refinery being the second largest refinery in South Asia. There are also long established steel, plywood, paper and textile industries in the state.

History

Ancient period

Haryana was the outermost location of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization with centers such as Banawali and Rakhigarhi. The most extensive center, Rakhigarhi, is now a village in Hisar District. The site is dated to be over 5,000 years old. Evidence of paved roads, drainage system, large rainwater collection, storage system, terracotta brick, statue production, and skilled metal working (in both bronze and precious metals) has been uncovered.

Also the Vedic Civilization flourished on the banks of the now lost Sarasvati River. Several decisive battles were fought in the area, which shaped much of the history of India. These include the epic Battle of Kurukshetra described in the Mahabharata (including the recital of the Bhagavad Gita by Krishna) and the three battles of Panipat.

History of name

Anthropologists came up with the view that Haryana was known by this name because in the post- Mahabharata period here lived the Abhiras, who developed special skills in the art of agriculture. According to Pran Nath Chopra Haryana got its name from Abhirayana=Ahirayana=Hirayana=Haryana.

Medieval period

After ousting the Huns, king Harshavardhana established his capital at Thanesar near Kurukshetra in the 7th century AD. After his death, the kingdom of his clansmen, the Pratiharas continued to rule over a vast region for quite a while from Harsha's adopted capital of Kannauj. The region remained strategically important for the rulers of North India even though Thanesar was no more central than Kannauj. Prithviraj Chauhan established forts at Tarori and Hansi in the 12th century. Muhammad Ghori conquered this area in the Second Battle of Tarain. Following his death, the Delhi Sultanate was established that ruled much of India for several centuries. The earliest reference to 'Hariana' occurs in a Sanskrit inscription dated 1328 AD kept in Delhi Museum, which refers to this region as ''The heaven on earth'', indicating that it was fertile and relatively peaceful at that time. Firoz Shah Tughlaq established a fort at Hisar in 1354 to further fortify the region, and also constructed canals or ''rajwahas'' as they were referred to in the Indo-Persian historical texts.

The three famous battles of Panipat took place near the modern town of Panipat in Haryana. The first battle took place in 1526, where Babur, the ruler of Kabul, defeated Ibrahim Lodi of the Delhi Sultanate, through the use of field artillery. In the second battle of Panipat (5 November 1556), Akbar's forces defeated Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya popularly called Hemu, who belonged to Rewari in Haryana and who had earlier won 22 battles, from Punjab to Bengal including two against Akbar's forces during 1553-1556 before acceeding to Delhi throne and establishing 'Hindu Raj' in North India on 7 October 1556. The Third Battle of Panipat was fought in 1761 between the Afghan warlord Ahmad Shah Abdali and the Marathas under Sadashivrao Bhau of Pune. Ahmad Shah won decisively, on 13 January 1761.

British period

During the Indian rebellion of 1857, several leaders from this region, including Rao Tula Ram, participated actively. People of Haryana took an active part in the Indian Independence movement.King Rao Tula Ram was one of the important leaders of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Many battles were fought by the rulers of the states and by the farmers also, sometimes defeating the British army. Some most important fights were at Sonipat, Bhiwani, Rohtak. Later, leaders like Sir Chhotu Ram played an important role in the politics of the Punjab province.

Formation of Haryana

Haryana state was formed on 1 November 1966, on the recommendation of the Sardar Hukam Singh Parliamentary Committee. The formation of this committee was announced in the Parliament on 23 September 1965. On 23 April 1966, acting on the recommendation of the Hukam Singh Committee, the Indian government set up the Shah Commission under the chairmanship of Justice J. C. Shah, to divide and set up the boundaries of Punjab and Haryana giving consideration to the language spoken by the people. The commission gave its report on 31 May 1966. According to this report the then districts of Hissar, Mahendragarh, Gurgaon, Rohtak, and Karnal were to be a part of the new state of Haryana. Further, the tehsils of Jind (district Sangrur), Narwana (district Sangrur), Naraingarh, Ambala and Jagadhri were also to be included. The commission recommended that Tehsil Kharar (including Chandigarh) should be a part of Haryana. Pt.Bhagwat Dayal Sharma, MLA from Yamunanagar became first Chief Minister of Haryana.

The city of Chandigarh, and a Punjabi-speaking area of Rupnagar district were made a Union Territory serving as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana. According to the Rajiv-Longowal Accord, Chandigarh was to be transferred to the state of Punjab in 1986, but the transfer was delayed and it has not been executed so far.

Geography

Haryana is a landlocked state in northern India. It is located between 27°37' to 30°35' N latitude and between 74°28' and 77°36' E longitude. The altitude of Haryana varies between 700 to 3600 ft (200 metres to 1200 metres) above sea level. An area of 1,553 km² is covered by forest. Haryana has four main geographical features.

The Yamuna-Ghaggar plain forming the largest part of the state

The Shivalik Hills to the northeast

Semi-desert sandy plain to the southwest

The Aravalli Range in the south

Rivers of Haryana

The river Yamuna flows along its eastern boundary. The ancient Sarasvati River is said to have flowed from Yamunanagar, but it has now disappeared.

The river Ghaggar is Haryana's main seasonal river. The Ghaggar rises in the outer Himalayas, between the Yamuna and the Sutlej and enters Haryana near Pinjore, Panchkula district. Passing through Ambala and Hissar, it reaches Bikaner in Rajasthan and runs a course of 290 miles before disappearing into the deserts of Rajasthan.

The Markanda river's ancient name was Aruna. A seasonal stream like the Ghaggar, it originates from the lower Sivalik Hills and enters Haryana near Ambala. During monsoons, this stream swells into a raging torrent notorious for its devastating power. The surplus water is carried on to the Sanisa lake where the Markanda joins the Sarasvati.

An important tributary is the Tangri. The Sahibi originates in the Mewat hills near Jitgarh and Manoharpur in Rajasthan. Gathering volume from about a hundred tributaries, it reaches voluminous proportions, forming a broad stream around Alwar and Patan. On reaching Rohtak it branches off into two smaller streams, finally reaching the outskirts of Delhi and flowing into the Yamuna. There are three other rivulets in and around the Mewat hills – Indori, Dohan and Kasavati and they all flow northwards from the south.

Climate

The climate of Haryana is similar to other states of India lying in the northern plains. It is very hot in summer (up to a high of 50 deg Celsius) and cold in winters (down to a low of 1 deg Celsius). The hottest months are May and June and the coldest being December and January. Rainfall is varied, with the Shivalik Hills region being the wettest and the Aravali Hills region being the driest. About 80% of the rainfall occurs in the monsoon season (July–September) and sometimes causes local flooding.

Flora and fauna

Thorny, dry, deciduous forest and thorny shrubs can be found all over the state. During the monsoon, a carpet of grass covers the hills. Mulberry, eucalyptus, pine, kikar, shisham and babul are some of the trees found here. The species of fauna found in the state of Haryana include black buck, nilgai, panther, fox, mongoose, jackal and wild dog. More than 300 species of birds are found here.

Demographics

{{bar box |title=Religion in Haryana |titlebar=#Fcd116 |left1=Religion |right1=Percent |float=right |bars= |caption=Distribution of religions }}

The population of Haryana, according to the 2011 census, is 25,353,081. The population density is 573.4 people/km². Haryana, along with neighboring Punjab, has a skewed sex ratio at 861, with many more men than women. Selective abortion of female fetuses has a very high provenance, reflecting a widespread preference for the male child.

Hindus are majority in Haryana and are about 90% of the population, Sikhs 6.2%, Muslims 4.05% (mainly Meos) and Christians 0.10%. Hindus make up about 18,655,925 of the population, Sikhs 1,170,662, Muslims 1,222,196, Jains 57,167, Christians 27,185, and Buddhists 7,140. Muslims are mainly in the Mewat district and Yamunanagar district, while Sikhs are mostly in the districts adjoining Punjab, Hisar, Sirsa, Jind, Fatehabad, Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Ambala, and Panchkula. Agriculture and related industries have been the backbone of the local economy. These days the state is seeing a massive influx of immigrants from across the nation, primarily from Bihar, Bengal, Uttrakhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal.

Government and politics

Like in all other states of India, Haryana is governed through a governor, a largely ceremonial position who is appointed by the President of India. The Chief Minister is the head of the Haryana state government and is vested with most of the executive and legislative powers. Haryana’s legislature is unicameral; its one house, the Haryana Legislative Assembly, consists of 90 members. Haryana has five seats in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's national parliament, and ten in the Lok Sabha, the lower house. The largest political parties in Haryana are the Indian National Lok Dal, Haryana Janhit Congress, Bhartiya Janata Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Indian National Congress. The present political scenario of the state is clear and it has a stable government under Bhupinder Singh Hooda who is presently the Chief Minister of the state. During his presidency American president Jimmy Carter visited Carterpuri village in Gurgaon.

Culture

Haryana has a rich cultural heritage that goes way back to the Vedic times. The state is rich in folklore with the oldest extant romance being that of Sorath and Dhaj, Ror Kumar. The people of Haryana have their own traditions. The age old customs of meditation, Yoga and chanting of Vedic Mantras, are still observed by the masses. Famous yoga guru Swami Ramdev is from Mahendragarh in Haryana. Seasonal and religious festivals glorify the culture of this region. Dance is said to be the mother of all arts. Music and poetry exist in tune, painting and architecture in space. Dance is not just a form of recreation but something needed to release physical and emotional energy. Haryana has a variety of folk dances, which like other creative art, help in sublimating the performer's worries and cares.

The people of Haryana have preserved their old religious and social traditions. They celebrate festivals with great enthusiasm and traditional fervor. Their culture and popular art are Saangs, dramas, ballads and songs in which they take great delight. Regarding eating habits, there is an idiom that says, ''Hara-Bhara Haryana, Jahan Doodh-Dahi ka Khana'' (meaning a lush-green state where milk and curd are the food).

Languages

Haryanavi has traditionally been the dominant language spoken by the martial people of Haryana. Post-1947, Punjabi is also spoken by a lot of people in Haryana especially by those Hindus and Sikhs who came over from Pakistan. Punjabi is second official language of Haryana. Sanskrit is also taught in most of the schools in Haryana. In towns and cities, English is still to be adopted as the household lingo, but is spoken in a hazy mixture of Haryanvi. Other language is Ahirwati, it is an Indo-Aryan language, classified as a Rajasthani language, and is spoken in the Mahendragarh, Rewari and Gurgaon districts of Haryana. According to famous historian Robert Vane Russell Ahirwati language is spoken in Rohtak and Gurgaon Districts of Punjab (now Haryana) and Delhi. This is akin to Mewati, one of the forms of Rajasthani or the language of Rajputana. The most striking feature of Haryana is its language itself; or rather, the manner in which it is spoken. Popularly known as ''Haryanavi'', with Bangaru being the most widely spoken dialect, it is perhaps a bit crude, but full of earthy humor and straightforwardness. With rapid urbanization, and due to Haryana's close proximity to Delhi, the cultural aspects are now taking a more modern hue.

Music

Raagni are very famous in Haryana and it is a part of folk music in Haryana.

Economy

The economy of Haryana relies on manufacturing, business process outsourcing, agriculture and retail.

Manufacturing

Yamunanagar district is the largest industrial town wholly within in Haryana. It has Asia's largest paper mill BILT and Asia's largest Sugar Mill. Yamunanagar has Asia's largest timber industry, an HPGCL thermal power plant, a hydro power plant and India's largest Railway workshop. It is also famous for its old steel and brass industry.

Faridabad is another big industrial part of Haryana. It is home to hundreds of large scale companies like Orient Paper & Industries, JCB India Limited, Nirigemes, Agri Machinery Group (Escorts Limited), India Yamaha Motor Pvt. Ltd., Whirlpool, ABB Group, Goodyear Tyres and Knorr Bremse India Pvt. Ltd. There are thousands of medium and small scale units as well, like Amrit Enterprises, McAma Industries.

Panipat is a city of textiles and carpets. It is the biggest centre for cheap blankets and carpets in India and has a handloom weaving industry. The pickle "Pachranga International" is also well known. Panipat also has heavy industry, including a refinery operated by the Indian Oil Corporation, and a National Thermal Power Corporation power plant, Hissar is another big city where Jindal company has established. Jindal Steel now increasing their business and open new factory in other state also.

Ambala is the largest manufacturer of Scientific Apparatuses.It is named as Science City of Haryana. Ambala is one of the biggest exporters of educational instruments in the country. Ambala has largest whole sale cloth market in India.

Service industries

Gurgaon, has seen emergence of an active information technology industry in the recent years. With organisations like Tata Consultancy Services, IBM, NIIT, Hewitt Associates, Dell, Convergys, United Healthcare and The Boston Consulting Group setting up back offices or contact centers in Gurgaon.

Agriculture

Despite recent industrial development, Haryana is primarily an agricultural state. About 70% of residents are engaged in agriculture Wheat and rice are the major crops. Haryana is self-sufficient in food production and the second largest contributor to India's central pool of food grains. The main crops of Haryana are wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton, oilseeds, pulses, barley, maize, millet etc. There are two main types of crops in Haryana: Rabi and Kharif. The major Kharif crops of Haryana are rice, jowar, bajra, maize, cotton, jute, sugarcane, sesame and groundnut. For these crops the ground is prepared in April and May and the seeds are sown at the commencement of rains in June. The crops are ready for harvesting by the beginning of November. The major Rabi crops are wheat, tobacco, pulses, linseed, rapeseed and mustard. The ground is prepared by the end of October or the beginning of November and the crops are harvested by March.

About 86% of the area is arable, and of that 96% is cultivated. About 75% of the area is irrigated, through tube wells and an extensive system of canals. Haryana contributed significantly to the Green Revolution in India in the 1970s that made the country self-sufficient in food production. The state has also significantly contributed to the field of agricultural education in the country. Asia's biggest agricultural University - Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University is located at Hisar and it has made a significant contribution in ushering in the 'Green Revolution' in the state.

Dairy farming is also an essential part of the rural economy. Haryana has a livestock population of 98.97 lakh. Milk and milk products form an essential part of the local diet. There is the saying ''Desaan main des Haryana, jit doodh dahi ka khaana'', which means "Best among all the countries in the world is Haryana, where the staple food is milk and yoghurt". Haryana, with 660 grams of availability of milk per capita per day, ranks at number two in the country as against the national average of 232 grams. There is a vast network of milk societies that support the dairy industry. The National Dairy Research Institute at Karnal is Asia's largest and oldest dairy, and the Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes at Hisar are instrumental in development of new breeds of cattle and propagation of these breeds through embryo transfer technology. The Murrah breed of water buffalo from Haryana is world-famous for its milk production.

Roads, aviation and infrastructure

It has a total road length of 23,684 kilometers. There are 29 national highways with total length of 1,461 km and many state highways with total length of 2,494 km. The most remote parts of the state are linked with metaled roads. Its modern bus fleet of 3,864 buses covers a distance of 1.15 million Kilometers per day. It was the first State in the country to introduce luxury video coaches. Grand Trunk Road, commonly abbreviated to GT Road, is one of South Asia's oldest and longest major roads. It passes through the districts of Sonipat, Panipat, Karnal, Kurukshetra and Ambala in north Haryana where it enters Delhi and subsequently the industrial town of Faridabad on its way. The state government proposes to construct Express highways and freeways for speedier vehicular traffic. The 135.6-km long Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway(KMP) will provide a high-speed link to northern Haryana with its southern districts such as Sonepat, Jhajjar, Gurgaon and Faridabad. The work on the project has already started and is scheduled to be completed by July 2009. Haryana is in close contact with the cosmopolitan world, being right next to Delhi. As a result, international and domestic airports, diplomatic and commercial complexes are located in close proximity to the state. Haryana and Delhi government has also constructed Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway which has the largest toll plaza in Asia and 3rd largest in the world. There is a proposal for a Badarpur Flyover and the widening of the Mathura Road passing through Faridabad from 6 lanes to 8 lanes. There is also a proposal to connect Chandigarh to Haryana without entering Punjab through a 4-lane highway via Yamunanagar and Panchkula. Haryana State has always given high priority to the expansion of electricity infrastructure, as it is one of the most important inputs for the development of the State. Haryana was the first State in the country to achieve 100% rural electrification in 1970, first in the country to link all villages with all-weather roads and first in the country to provide safe drinking water facilities throughout the state. Haryana is well connected on the railway network also.

Communication and media

Haryana has a state-wide network of telecommunication facilities. Haryana Government has its own state-wide area network by which all government offices of 20 districts and 127 blocks across the state are connected with each other thus making it the first SWAN of the country. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and most of the leading private sector players (such as Reliance Infocom, Tata Teleservices, Bharti Telecom, Idea Vodafone Essar, Aircel, Uninor and Videocon) have operations in the state. Important areas around Delhi are also an integral part of the local Delhi Mobile Telecommunication System. This network system would easily cover major towns like Faridabad, Gurgaon, Bahadurgarh and Kundli. The major newspapers of Haryana are ''New Bright Star'', ''Aaj Samaj, ''Dainik Tribune'', ''Punjab Kesari'', ''Jag Bani'', ''Dainik Jagran'', ''The Tribune'', ''Amar Ujala'', ''Hindustan Times'', ''Dainik Bhaskar'', ''The Times of India'' and ''Hari-Bhumi''.

Administrative divisions

The state is divided into four divisions for administrative purpose - Ambala Division, Rohtak Division, Gurgaon Division and Hisar Division. There are 21 districts, 47 sub-divisions, 67 tehsils, 45 sub-tehsils and 116 blocks. Haryana has a total of 81 cities and towns and 6,759 villages.

Districts

{| |- |valign="top"| Ambala Division

Ambala District

Kaithal District

Kurukshetra District

Panchkula District

Yamuna Nagar District

|valign="top"| Gurgaon Division

Faridabad District

Palwal District

Gurgaon District

Mahendragarh District

Mewat District

Rewari District

|valign="top"| Hisar Division

Bhiwani District

Fatehabad District

Hisar District

Jind District

Sirsa District

|valign="top"| Rohtak Division

Jhajjar District

Karnal District

Panipat District

Rohtak District

Sonipat District

|}

Education

The state of Haryana has made tremendous progress in the field of higher education since its inception. SCERT Haryana Gurgaon was established in April 1979. It was the conglomeration of State Institute of Education and State Institute of Science, to provide new dimensions to school education. It has been the endeavor of the government to make educational facilities available to the poorest of children. 32 primary schools, 69 middle schools and 101 high schools were upgraded to middle, high and senior secondary respectively during the year 2004-05. Now accessibility to schooling is available within the radius of 1.10 km, 1.38 km, 1.66 km and 2.79 km at the primary, middle, high and senior secondary levels respectively. During 2001-02, there were 11,013 primary schools, 1,918 middle schools, 3,023 high schools and 1,301 senior secondary schools in the state. Haryana Board of School Education, established in September 1969 and shifted to Bhiwani in 1981, conducts public examinations at middle, matriculation, and senior secondary levels twice a year. Over seven lac candidates attend annual examinations in February and March, and 150,000 attend supplementary examinations each November. The Board also conducts examinations for Haryana Open School at senior and senior secondary levels twice a year. The Haryana government provides free education to women up to the Bachelor's Degree level.

North Haryana is more developed in terms of education and agriculture because of more fertile land and water availability. People from South Haryana were mostly government employees, soldiers and politicians but agriculture has picked up a lot in recent years as a result of efforts from the Haryana Agricultural University, Hissar.

Leading institutes for Technical and Engineering Education in Haryana are NIT Kurukshetra, University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Kurukshetra University, Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, YMCA Institute of Engineering, Manav Rachna College Of Engineering and the Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences, Bhiwani. Earlier NIT Kurukshetra was known by the name of Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra. There are six universities in the state. Technical education and management studies are provided by Maharishi Dayanand University at Rohtak have a University Institute of Engineering & Technology, University Campus (UIET, Rohtak), Kurukshetra University at Kurukshetra, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology at Hisar and Chaudhary Devi Lal University at Sirsa. Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University at Hisar is one of the biggest agricultural universities in Asia. It is engaged in education, research and development related to agriculture. The Holy Land where the University stands was first transformed into a centre of learning in 1936 by Bhagat Phool Singh Ji when he started a Gurukul for girls. The Gurukul was opened after he opened a boys Gurukul in 1919 in Bhainswal Kalan which today is the South Campus of the University. The Gurukul, started with only three students grew in size, stature and reputation with time and in November 2006, the Haryana Legislative Assembly passed a Legislative Notification, vide no. 31/2006 making the Gurukul a full-fledged State University

The National Dairy Research Institute at Karnal provides education in the field of dairy science. It has been upgraded to the level of a Deemed University. There are medical colleges in Rohtak, Mullana and Agroha. Pt. B.D. Sharma PGIMS Rohtak is a premier post-graduate medical institute in North India offering courses in major specialties and super specialties of medicine. There is also a Management Development Institute in Gurgaon.The Technological Institute of Textile & Sciences came into existence in 1947.

Sports

Haryana has produced some of the best Indian players in a variety of sports. In 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games 22 out of 38 Gold Medals came from Haryana. During the 33rd National games held in Assam in 2007, Haryana stood 4th in the nation with a medal tally of 80, including 30 Gold, 22 Silver and 28 Bronze medals. In team sports, Haryana is the national champion in men's volleyball and women's hockey. Haryana is a traditional powerhouse in games like Kabbadi, Kho-kho, Judo, Boxing, Volleyball and Wrestling. Sports in the state are managed by the Department of Sports & Youth Affairs, Haryana. Nahar Singh Stadium for international cricket was built in Faridabad in the year 1981. This ground has the capacity to hold around 25,000 people as spectators. Tejli Sports Complex is an Ultra-Modern sports complex in Yamunanagar. The Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula is a multi-sport complex. It came into prominence because of the Indian Cricket League's inaugural Twenty20 tournament. Astroturf hockey grounds in Nehru Stadium, Gurgaon and Shahbad, Kurukshetra. Haryana even have a dedicated sports school MNSS at Rai, Sonepat which is affiliated to Sports Authority of India.

At the 2008 Olympics, Vijender Singh Beniwal won a middleweight (75 kg) bronze medal and Vikas Krishan Yadav boxer from Bhiwani district won a gold medal in the 2010 Asian Games in the Lightweight category. Manoj Kumar of village Rajound, Kaithal district won a gold medal in light welterweight ctegory at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Haryana Sports Policy, 2009

Haryana has adopted a new sports policy on 21 August 2009, when Haryana Cabinet which met under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, approved the Sports Policy, 2009.

In the 2010 Commonwealth Games, most of India's male wrestlers were from Haryana.

Health

Haryana Civil Medical Services (HCMS)

NRHM, National Rural Health Mission

See also

ROR

Jat

Ahirwal

Gurgaon

Haryanvi

List of people from Haryana

References

External links

Haryana Government Website

Haryana News

Category:States and territories of India Category:States and territories established in 1966

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Coordinates	34°03′46″N84°40′12″N
playername	Harbhajan Singh
imagealt	Black bearded man wearing a white turban stares directly at the camera. He is wearing a grey-blue and white shirt with the colours of the flag of India and the word "SAHARA" on the shirt's chest area.
country	India
fullname	Harbhajan Singh Plaha
nickname	''bhajji'', The Turbanator (English language media)
living	true
dayofbirth	3
monthofbirth	7
yearofbirth	1980
placeofbirth	Jalandhar, Punjab
countryofbirth	India
heightft	5
heightinch	11
batting	Right-hand
bowling	Right-arm off break
role	Bowler
international	true
testdebutdate	25 March
testdebutyear	1998
testdebutagainst	Australia
testcap	215
lasttestdate	21 July
lasttestyear	2011
lasttestagainst	England
odidebutdate	17 April
odidebutyear	1998
odidebutagainst	New Zealand
odicap	113
lastodidate	11 June
lastodiyear	2011
lastodifor	–
lastodiagainst	West Indies
odishirt	3
club1	Punjab
year1	1997–present
club2	Surrey
year2	2005
club3	Mumbai Indians
year3	2008–present
columns	4
column1	Test
matches1	97
runs1	2,118
bat avg1	18.57
100s/50s1	2/9
top score1	115
deliveries1	27,569
wickets1	405
bowl avg1	32.13
fivefor1	25
tenfor1	5
best bowling1	8/84
catches/stumpings1	42/–
column2	ODIs
matches2	229
runs2	1,190
bat avg2	13.22
100s/50s2	0/0
top score2	49
deliveries2	12,059
wickets2	259
bowl avg2	33.40
fivefor2	3
tenfor2	0
best bowling2	5/31
catches/stumpings2	69/–
column3	FC
matches3	161
runs3	3,526
bat avg3	19.80
100s/50s3	2/13
top score3	115
deliveries3	41,508
wickets3	682
bowl avg3	28.64
fivefor3	39
tenfor3	7
best bowling3	8/84
catches/stumpings3	75/–
column4	List A
matches4	279
runs4	1,532
bat avg4	13.67
100s/50s4	0/0
top score4	49
deliveries4	14,551
wickets4	327
bowl avg4	31.69
fivefor4	3
tenfor4	0
best bowling4	5/31
catches/stumpings4	88/–
date	26 July
year	2011
source	http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-india-2011/content/player/29264.html ESPNCricinfo }}

Harbhajan Singh Plaha ( , born 3 July 1980 in Jalandhar, Punjab, India), commonly known as Harbhajan Singh, is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan.

Harbhajan made his Test and One Day International (ODI) debuts in early 1998. His career was initially affected by investigations into the legality of his bowling action, as well as several disciplinary incidents. However in 2001, with leading leg spinner Anil Kumble injured, Harbhajan's career was resuscitated after Indian captain Sourav Ganguly called for his inclusion in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy team. In that series victory over Australia, Harbhajan established himself as the team's leading spinner by taking 32 wickets, becoming the first Indian bowler to take a hat trick in Test cricket.

A finger injury in mid-2003 sidelined him for much of the following year, allowing Kumble to regain his position as the first choice spinner. Harbhajan reclaimed a regular position in the team upon his return in late 2004, but often found himself watching from the sidelines in Test matches outside the Indian subcontinent with typically only one spinner, Kumble, being used. Throughout 2006 and into early 2007, Harbhajan's accumulation of wickets fell and his bowling average increased, and he was increasingly criticised for bowling defensively with less loop. Following India's first-round elimination from the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Harbhajan was replaced by other spinners in the national squad for both formats. He regained a regular position in the team in late 2007, but became the subject of more controversy. In early 2008, he was given a ban by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for racially vilifying Andrew Symonds. The ban was revoked upon appeal, but in April, Harbhajan was banned from the 2008 Indian Premier League and suspended from the ODI team by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for slapping Sreesanth after a match.

He was conferred the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 2009.

Early years and personal life

Harbhajan was born into a middle class Punjabi Ramgarhia Sikh family. He is the only son of Sardar Sardev Singh, a businessman who owned a ball bearing and valve factory. Growing up with five sisters, Harbhajan was in line to inherit the family business, but his father insisted that he concentrate on his cricket career and represent India.

Harbhajan was trained as a batsman by his first coach Charanjit Singh Bhullar, but converted to spin bowling after his coach's untimely death saw him turn to the tutelage of Davinder Arora. Arora credits Harbhajan's success to a work ethic that included a three hour training session in the morning, followed by an afternoon session lasting from 3 pm until after sunset.

Following the death of his father in 2000, Harbhajan became the family head, and as of 2001, had organised marriages for three of his sisters. In 2002, he ruled out his own marriage until at least 2008. In 2005, he again fended off marriage rumours linking him to a Bangalore based bride, stating that he would only make a decision "after a couple of years", and that he would be seeking a Punjabi bride selected by his family.

In a country where cricketers are idolised, Harbhajan's performances have brought him government accolades and lucrative sponsorships. Following his performance against Australia in 2001, the Government of Punjab awarded him Rs. 5 lakhs, a plot of land, and an offer to become a Deputy Superintendent of Police in Punjab Police, which he accepted.

Despite having a job with the constabulary, Harbhajan sustained minor injuries in March 2002 in an altercation with police outside the team hotel in Guwahati. The scuffle broke out when Harbhajan remonstrated with officers after they refused to allow a photographer into the hotel. Harbhajan cut his bowling arm and injured his elbow when he was struck by the police. Extensive negotiations from local officials and organisers were required to dissuade Harbhajan and captain Sourav Ganguly from leaving the area after Ganguly said that the Indian team would abandon the scheduled match against Zimbabwe.

One of his common nicknames, outside India, is ''The Turbanator'', deriving from his skill as a bowler in terminating the innings of the opposing team, and the fact that, as a Sikh, he wears a black turban whenever he plays. Among Indians, Harbhajan is more commonly known as ''bhajji''. It was estimated in 2005 that Harbhajan was the most recognised and commercially viable Indian cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar, in part due to his colourful personality and iconic turban, as well as his reputation for enjoying the celebrity social scene. His signing for English county team Surrey in 2005, based at The Oval in London, was partly attributed to his marketability. Harbhajan had generated a large personal following in the western London suburb of Southall, which boasts a majority Punjabi Sikh population, when he lived there in 1998 whilst training under Fred Titmus.

In 2006, Harbhajan's endorsements generated controversy when he appeared without his turban in an advertisement for Royal Stag whisky. This angered many orthodox Sikhs, leading to anti-Harbhajan protests in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, with effigies of Harbhajan being burnt. The Sikh clergy and Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee demanded an apology from him and asked Seagram's to withdraw the advert, on the basis that it had "hurt the feelings of Sikhs". Harbhajan quickly issued an apology, but he was also unhappy at the clergy's interference, stating "If they were unhappy, they should have called me and talked to me like a son".

Early career

Harbhajan broke into the Punjab Under-16s at the age of 15 years and 4 months in November of the 1995–96 season, and took 7/46 and 5/138 on debut against Haryana, setting up a nine-wicket win. He scored 56 in his next match against Delhi and then took 11/79 in his third match against Himachal Pradesh, orchestrating an innings win. He ended with 32 wickets at 15.15 and 96 runs at 48.00 in four matches. He was rewarded with selection for North Zone Under-16s, a team that represents all of northern India for a one-day series, in which he took two wickets at 43.50 in four matches and scored 18 runs. At the end of the season, he was called into the national Under-19 team at the age of 15 years and 9 months for a youth One Day International against South Africa. He took 1/19 from seven overs in an Indian win.

In 1996–97, Harbhajan was promoted to the Punjab Under-19s and he took 15 wickets at 20.20 in three matches, although he managed only two runs with the bat. This included match figures of 8/54 in an innings win over Jammu and Kashmir.

Harbhajan made his first-class cricket debut in late 1997 against Services, during the 1997–98 Ranji Trophy season. He took a total of 3/35 in an innings win but was dropped back to the Under-19s the following week. He then took 5/75 and 7/44 in two matches to earn a recall to the senior team. He then took a total of 7/123 in the next two matches for Punjab to earn selection for North Zone in the Duleep Trophy.

Harbhajan's season was interrupted when he represented India at the Under-19 World Cup in January 1998. He played in six mathces, taking eight wickets at 24.75 with a best of 3/5 against Kenya.

Returning to India he played in three more Ranji Trophy matches, and from a total of six matches, he took 18 wickets at an average of 22.50, ranking outside the top 20 in wicket taking. He took a total of 5/131 as North lost to East Zone by five wickets.

Despite the superior statistics of other bowlers in domestic cricket, Harbhajan was the selected for the Indian Board President's XI to play the touring Australian cricket team ahead of the Tests. He managed only 1/127, and was ignored for the first two Tests before being selected to make his Test debut in the Third Test against Australia in Bangalore, where he scored 4 not out and a duck, and recorded the modest match figures of 2/136 as Australia won the match by eight wickets. He was subsequently overlooked for the triangular ODI tournament in India that followed the Tests, involving Zimbabwe in addition to Australia, but was selected for all group matches in the triangular tournament that followed soon after in Sharjah, where he made his ODI debut against New Zealand. He took 1/32 from ten overs on debut as India narrowly won by 15 runs. He then took 3/41 in the next match, a defeat against Australia, but then struggled in the second qualifying match against the same team, taking 1/63 in eight overs. He was subsequently dropped for the final against Australia, which India won, and ended the series with five wickets at 33.20 at an economy rate of 4.36.

Harbhajan was fined and given a suspended ban for one ODI by the match referee in his first international series, when his on-field behaviour was adjudged to breach the ICC Code of Conduct. The incident in question was his altercation with Ricky Ponting after dismissing him.

Harbhajan was then omitted from the team during a home triangular ODI tournament against Bangladesh and Kenya, after taking 0/18 from four overs in his only match of the tournament against the former opponent, but was recalled for the Singer Trophy in Sri Lanka and also involving New Zealand. Playing in all five matches, Harbhajan claimed eight wickets at an average of 24.12 and economy of 4.38 in this tournament, taking at least one scalp in each match. Harbhajan was retained for the final and took 1/57, his worst return for the series, in an Indian win. After being omitted for the Sahara Cup series against Pakistan in Toronto, Harbhajan played in a weakened Indian team at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The matches were not given ODI status by the ICC, and India chose to send their better players to the Sahara Cup instead. India won their first two matches against Antigua and Canada, but Harbhajan managed only a total of 1/48 from 11 overs. The Indians then needed to beat a full-strength Australian outfit to win their group and progress to the semi-finals. Harbhajan was punished and went wicketless, conceding 50 runs in eight overs as Australia won by 146 runs, knocking India out of contention.

Harbhajan was then recalled to the first-choice team and took five wickets at an average of 22.60 at 3.89 runs an over from three matches on a tour to Zimbabwe, in what would prove to be his last ODI appearances for India for more than two years. In all, he took 18 ODI wickets at an average of 27.2 during the 1998.

After taking 2/38 and 3/60 in an innings win in a tour match, Harbhajan was retained in the Test team, taking 2/42 and 3/63 in the only Test on the Zimbabwe tour. He was unbeaten on 15 in the second innings as the final wicket fell and India succumbed to a 51-run defeat.

Returning to India, Harbhajan started the 1998–99 domestic season well, taking 3/54 and 5/39 in an innings win over Services, before following up with 6/69 and 1/93 in the next match against Delhi, claiming his first five-wicket innings haul. He then took 6/63 and scored 31 in the first innings of a match for the Board PResident's XI against a touring West Indies A, and was taken on the tour of New Zealand in December. In a tour match against Central Districts, Harbhajan struggled, aggregating 2/112. He only played in one Test during the tour, and went wicketless, conceding 72 runs. Upon returning to India, he took a total of 3/158 for India A in a match against the touring Pakistanis ahead of the Tests. After being omitted for the First Test lost in Chennai, he was recalled for the latter two matches against Pakistan, and took five wickets at 34.60 as the matches were split. He then took 3/127 in a high-scoring draw against Sri Lanka. In all, he claimed 13 wickets at an average of 36.8 in five Tests for the season. When he was free of international fixtures for the season, he played in the Ranji Trophy matches, claiming 27 wickets at an average of 24.59 in five matches, including his first five-wicket haul at first-class level. He also registered his maiden first-class fifty, scoring an unbeaten 67 against Tamil Nadu cricket team.

Harbhajan took four wickets at 33.00 during the one-dayers during the season and was overlooked for the ODI team for the whole season and missed selection for the 1999 Cricket World Cup. In September 2003, he played for India A in a one-day series against their Australian counterparts in Los Angeles. Harbhajan took eight wickets at 17.00 at 3.77 runs an over in the five matches, with a best of 3/38.

After taking 4/91 against the touring team for the Board President's XI at the start of the season, Harbhajan managed to retain his Test position for the late 1999 home series against New Zealand, as India fielded a three-pronged spin attack on dusty tracks, taking six wickets at an average of 32.66 as the hosts prevailed 1–0 in the two Tests.

International exile

After taking eight wickets in his next two Ranji matches, Harbhajan was selected to tour Australia in 1999–2000, as the second spinner. He did not play in the Tests, with India opting to field only Anil Kumble in the team. Australia whitewashed India 3–0, and Harbhajan struggled in his only first-class outing against Tasmania, taking 0/141, a portent of future unsuccessful tours to Australia.

Harbhajan was not part of the ODI squad for the Australian tour and upon returning to India in early-2000 needed strong first-class results to maintain his Test position. He went wicketless against Hyderabad, and was selected for the Board President's XI match against the touring South Africans. He took 2/88 and 2/59 and scored 38 and 39 to prevent the hosts being bowled out and defeated, but was dropped as the second slow bowler, as Murali Kartik became Kumble's spinning partner. Harbhajan returned to domestic action, taking 24 wickets in Punjab's remaining four first-class matches. He ended the Indian season with 46 first-class wickets at 26.23.

In mid-2000, an opportunity arose when Harbhajan was selected in the first group of trainees sent to the National Cricket Academy to study under Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkataraghavan, two off spin bowlers from the Indian spin quartet of the 1970s. However, his behaviour did not conform to requirements, and he was expelled on disciplinary grounds. His sponsorship job with Indian Airlines was also reviewed as a result of his indiscipline. Harbhajan later admitted that he had been at fault earlier in his career.

Following his run-ins with Indian cricket administrators, there was nothing to indicate that Harbhajan's chances of national selection had improved at the start of 2000–01. Despite Kumble being injured, Harbhajan was again overlooked as Kartik, Sunil Joshi, and debutant Sarandeep Singh were entrusted with the spin bowling duties in Test matches against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe on the subcontinent. Having made little success in this phase of his international career, averaging 37.75 per Test wicket to date, and overlooked by selectors, Harbhajan faced a difficult decision. His father had recently died; as the family's only son, Harbhajan was now obliged to support his mother and unmarried sisters. He contemplated quitting cricket and moving to the United States to drive trucks for a living. After being out of the team for more than 12 months, there was little overt indication of the sudden rise that would occur in his cricketing career only a few months later.

During the first half of the season, still in international exile, Harbhajan continued to pick up wickets on the domestic circuit. In five Ranji Trophy matches, he claimed 28 wickets at 13.96. He claimed 3/29 and 3/39 against Himachal PRadesh, 2/53 and 5/88 against Jammu and Kashmir, 4/77 and 2/33 against Haryana and 5/40 against Services in the first four matches, all of which ended in innings wins for Punjab. He then took a total of 4/32 in a 199-run win over Delhi. Harbhajan's batting, which had rarely been productive up to this point in his career, also improved. He scored a career-best 84 against Haryana and added 52 against Services, aggregating 207 runs at 51.75. After taking eight wickets at 21.12 in six one-dayers, Harbhajan was selected for North in the Duleep Trophy, but his early-season form deserted him. He took five wickets at 39.00 in two matches, although he did continue his productive run with the bat, scoring 130 runs at 32.50 with three scores above 35.

2001 Border-Gavaskar Trophy

With Kumble injured before the home series in March 2001 against the visiting Australians, Harbhajan, whose previous best Test figures were only 3/30, was the only capped spinner in the Indian team for the First Test. He had been recalled after captain Sourav Ganguly publicly called for his inclusion in the team. He was to lead the spin attack against an Australian team which had set a world record with 15 consecutive Test victories, and was searching for its first ever series victory on Indian soil since 1969. In a warm-up match for India A, Harbhajan had taken 2/63 and 3/81 against the tourists. Harbhajan started well in the First Test in Mumbai, taking three quick wickets in a spell of 3/8, to reduce Australia to 99/5 in response to India's first innings of 176. However, a counter-attacking 197-run partnership between Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist in just 32 overs, saw Harbhajan concede 103 runs from his last 17 overs, to end with 4/121. Despite being struck for many sixes into the crowd, it was still Harbhajan's best statistical analysis at Test level, as Australia proceeded to a crushing 10-wicket victory, their sixteenth consecutive Test victory in succession.

With leading paceman Javagal Srinath ruled out of the series with a finger injury during the First Test, the teams met for the Second Test in Kolkata, with an even bigger burden on Harbhajan. Public opinion was sceptical about India's chances of stopping Australia's winning streak, with former captain Bishan Bedi lamenting the demise of Indian cricket. Australia were again in control on the first day, having scored 193/1, with Hayden having struck Harbhajan out of the attack. Harbhajan fought back to reduce Australia to 252/7, taking five wickets in the final session, including Ricky Ponting, Gilchrist and Shane Warne in successive balls to become the first Indian to claim a Test hat-trick. After a prolonged wait for the third umpire to adjudicate whether Sadagoppan Ramesh had managed to catch Warne before the ball hit the ground, the near-capacity crowd at Eden Gardens erupted when he was given out. Harbhajan eventually finished with 7/123 as Australia were bowled out for 445. India batted poorly and were forced to follow-on, but a 376-run partnership between V. V. S. Laxman and Rahul Dravid, who batted together for an entire day, allowed India to set Australia an imposing target of 384 to win on the final day. Australia appeared to be safely batting out the match for a draw, until losing 7/56 in the final session, collapsing from 166/3 to be bowled out for 212. Harbhajan claimed four of the wickets, to finish with 6/73 for the innings and a match tally of 13/196. India ended Australia's 16-match world record winning streak, and became only the third team to win a Test after being forced to follow on (Australia having lost all three of those matches).

The teams arrived in Chennai for the deciding Third Test, and Australia's batsmen again seized control after winning the toss, reaching 340/3 on the second morning. Then, Australian captain Steve Waugh padded away a delivery from Harbhajan. The ball spun back into Waugh's stumps, who pushed the ball away with his glove, becoming only the sixth batsman in Tests to be given out "handled the ball". Waugh's dismissal instigated another Australian batting collapse, losing 6 wickets for 51 runs to be bowled out for 391, with Harbhajan taking all six in a spell of 6/26, to finish with 7/133. After India's batsmen gained a first-innings lead of 110, the Australian batsmen were again unable to cope with Harbhajan in the second innings, who took 8/84 to end with match figures of 15/217. India appeared to be heading for an easy victory at 101/2 chasing 155, before losing 6/50 to be 151/8. Harbhajan walked to the crease, and struck the winning runs.

He was named man of the match and man of the series, having taken 32 wickets at 17.03 for the series, when none of his team-mates managed more than three. The Wisden 100 study conducted by Wisden in 2002 rated all four of Harbhajan's efforts in the Second and Third Tests in the top 100 bowling performances of all time, the most for any bowler. He paid tribute to his father, who had died just six months earlier. His performance led to him usurping Anil Kumble's position as India's first-choice spinner.

Later career

Harbhajan's Test success saw him recalled to the ODI team after more than two years. He was unable to reproduce his Test form against Australia, managing only four wickets at an average of 59.25 and economy rate of 5.04. His best performance was a 3/37 in a 118-run win in the third match, and a cameo batting performance of 46 runs from 34 balls, including three sixes, in a losing run chase in the fourth fixture. He was dropped from the ODI team during a subsequent triangular tournament in Zimbabwe in 2001 after only managing two wickets at 69.00 in four matches although he had been economical at 3.63 runs an over. Harbhajan was also unable to maintain his form in the Test series against Zimbabwe. Harbhajan began the tour well with 13 wickets in two warm-up matches, including a match haul of 10/80 against the CFX Academy, but could not repeate such performances in the Tests. He took eight wickets at 29.12 in the two-Test series, which was drawn 1–1, but did manage to post his first Test half-century, reaching 66 in the First Test in Bulawayo, before scoring 31 in the first innings of the Second Test as the Indian batsmen struggled and ceded their series lead. The Indians subsequently toured Sri Lanka in mid-2001, enjoying spinning wickets similar to those in India. Harbhajan managed to establish himself in the ODI team with eleven wickets at 21.18 at the low economy rate of 3.42 in seven matches in the ODI tournament with the hosts and New Zealand. Ironically however, his best performances, in which he conceded less than 30 runs in his ten overs three times, all ended in Indian defeats. In contrast to his ODI improvement, Harbhajan's Test form deteriorated further, yielding only four wickets at 73.00 in three Tests, while Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan was named man of the series with 23 wickets, in what was billed as a contest between the world's two leading off-spinners. With the Tests locked at 1–1 Harbhajan managed only 2/185 in the Third Test as the hosts accumulated 6/610 declared and won by an innings. He scored 79 runs at 15.80 for the series.

Harbhajan was omitted from the Indian team in favour of Kumble as the first-choice spinner on the following tour of South Africa, only playing in the later matches when India fielded two spinners. Nevertheless, Harbhajan continued to do well in the ODIs, taking nine wickets at 20.44 in six matches at an economy rate of 3.53, winning his first man of the match award in the ODI form in an ODI against South Africa in Bloemfontein after taking 3/27 from his ten overs. He scored 62 runs at 15.50, including a rearguard 37 that was not enough to prevent an embarrassing 70-run loss to Kenya. After being omitted for the First Test, which India lost, his disciplinary problems continued when he was one of four Indian players fined and given a suspended one match suspension for dissent and attempting to intimidate the umpire by over-appealing in the Second Test. India managed to draw the match, but Harbhajan struggled and took 1/89 and 2/79. The off spinner continued his poor overseas Test form in what would have been the Third Test. However, India defied the ICC by playing banned batsman Virender Sehwag, while Mike Denness, the match referee who handed down the penalties, was locked out of the stadium, so the match was stripped of Test status. Harbhajan continued to be ineffective, taking only 1/104, although he showed resistance with the bat, scoring 29 and 30 when many specialist batsmen failed, as India slumped to an innings defeat.

Harbhajan's Test fortunes improved immediately upon the start of the 2001–02 international season in India. Playing in his first international match at his home ground in Mohali, Punjab, Harbhajan took match figures of 7/110, including 5/51 in the first innings, to help India win the First Test by ten wickets against the touring English team. He continued his steady form throughout the series with another five wicket haul in the Second Test in Ahmedabad, to end with thirteen wickets at 24.53 for the series, although he went wicketless in 27.1 overs in the Third and final Test. Harbhajan's good home form persisted in the Test matches against Zimbabwe, taking twelve wickets at 19.66 in two games. In the First Test, he took 4/46 in the second innings to seal an innings victory after going wicketless in the second innings. His 2/70 and 6/62 in the Second Test in Delhi saw him named man of the match in a Test for the second time in his career. As in the first instance, he hit the winning runs, a straight-driven six, after India had lost six wickets and threatened to collapse in pursuit of a modest 122 for victory. He also performed strongly in the ODIs during the Indian season, taking twenty wickets at 19.75 in ten matches and taking his first five wicket haul in ODIs. In the five matches against England, he took ten wickets at 20.10 at an economy rate of 4.27. His best result was a 5/43 in the last of these matches, but a late collapse handed the tourists a five-run win. He did better against the Zimbabweans, taking 10 wickets in five matches at an average of 19.40 and an economy rate of 4.06. This included a 4/33 in the final match. He also scored 39 runs without defeat for the series, including a 24 not out as India were skittled for 191 in one match. As Harbhajan was ensconced in the Indian team for the first team, he only played in two RAnji Trophy matches for Punjab, taking 13 wickets at 20.01 and scoring 71 runs at 17.75.

Harbhajan's overseas difficulties returned during the tour of the West Indies in mid-2002. He injured his shoulder while fielding in a tour match in which he started well with a total of 5/70, and was forced to miss the First Test in Guyana. After taking only six wickets at 38 upon his return to the team for the Second and Third Tests, he was dropped for the Fourth Test, but was recalled again for the Fifth Test at Sabina Park, after Kumble was injured. Despite taking improved match figures figures of 8/180, including 5/138 in the first innings, Harbhajan was unable to prevent an Indian defeat after the batting collapsed in the first innings. He claimed three wickets in the three match ODI series at 33.00, conceding 4.71 runs per over.

Despite his performance at Sabina Park, Harbhajan was dropped again when Kumble returned for the First Test on the tour to England at Lord's, where the hosts prevailed. India's coach John Wright later admitted that Harbhajan's omission had been a mistake. Harbhajan returned for the final three Tests with moderate success, taking 12 wickets at 34.16, improving as the English summer wore on. After claiming 3/175 in the drawn Second Test, he struck form in the tour match against Essex, taking 7/83 and 1/23. He then took 3/40 and 1/56 as India levelled the series in the Third Test at Headingley, before taking 5/115 in the first innings of the Fourth Test at The Oval, as well as managing his second Test half-century of 54 at Trent Bridge in the Second Test. He ended the series with 90 runs at 22.50. for the entire tour, Harbhajan aggregated 28 wickets at 27.60. Harbhajan had modest results in the Natwest Trophy. After being dropped after one wicketless match, he was dropped and then took 4/46 against Sri Lanka in the last match before the final to ensure his retention, but went wicketless in the decider, which India won. He played in three ODIs and took four wickets at 37.25 at 4.96.

The 2002 ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka at the end of the tour brought moderate results with six wickets at 30.66 at an economy rate of only 3.68, and a best of 3/27 from ten overs in the firstwashed out final against the host nation. Harbhajan helped restrict Sri Lanka to 5/244, but rain ended proceedings with India at 0/14. He then took 1/34 the next day during a replay of the final. This time the hosts made 7/222 and a downpour again thwarted the players, with India at 1/38 when play was called off and the trophy shared.

As was the case in the previous season, Harbhajan's return to Indian soil coincided with an improvement in results. He took 1/37 and 7/48 in an innings victory at Mumbai in the First Test against the West Indies, and then contributed match figures of 3/56, 4/79 and 37 in an eight-wicket victory in Chennai which saw him named man of the match. A haul of 5/115 in the Third Test at Calcutta was the best in a high scoring match, and with 20 wickets at 16.75 and 69 runs at 17.25, Harbhajan was named as the man of the series. He was unable to transfer his performances to the ODI format, taking only five wickets at 49.00 against the same team at an economy rate of 5.44. Harbhajan took only five wickets at 18.80 in the subsequent Test tour to New Zealand, in a series where five pace bowlers averaged less than 20 on green, seaming tracks. India lost the series 2–0 and Harbhajan's 20 and 18 in the Second Test amounted for more than 15% of India's match total. The off spinner then took 1/56 in one ODI before heading for his World Cup debut in South Africa.

Harbhajan had a mixed tournament at the 2003 Cricket World Cup, taking 11 wickets at 30.45 with an economy rate of 3.92 in ten matches. He was the first-choice spinner and played in all matches but one, being dropped for the victory against arch-rivals Pakistan in the group phase. His counterpart, Kumble, played in only three matches. Harbhajan was steady throughout the tournament, never taking more than two wickets in a match, and never conceding more than 42 runs from his quota of ten overs, except in the two matches against Australia, who went through the tournament without defeat. In the group match, Harbhajan was the second highest score, with a counterattacking 28 as India collapsed for 125, but when it was his turn to bowl, the Australians attacked him and scored 49 runs from his 44 balls without losing a wicket in a decisive nine-wicket win. In the final, Ganguly elected to field and Harbhajan was the only Indian bowler to take a wicket, taking 2/49 from eight overs. In contrast, the Australians scored at 7.38 runs per over from the other bowlers to reach 2/359, the highest total in a World Cup final, and win by 125 runs. He was the fourth leading wicket taker for India overall and his tournament bowling average was worse than those of Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Javagal Srinath. He finished the season with six wickets at 14.00 at 3.65 runs per over in three matches in an ODI tournament in Bangladesh, where he was fined for abusing an umpire.

Finger injury

After experiencing pains in his spinning finger during the World Cup, Harbhajan was scheduled to undergo surgery in mid-2003 in Australia, but the surgery was delayed as he sought to play through the pain. He underwent physiotherapy in lieu of surgery and was declared fit for a two-match Test series at home against New Zealand in late-2003. His performance was substantially worse than his previous displays on Indian soil, taking only six wickets at an average of 50.00 as both matches ended in high-scoring draws. Aside from his debut series, it was his worst series bowling average on Indian soil. Despite a triangular ODI series against New Zealand and Australia in which he managed only four wickets at 40.50 in four matches and spent time in the sidelines, the Indian team attempted to manage his injury rather than have his finger operated on, and took him on the 2003–04 tour of Australia. As with his previous visit four years earlier, Harbhajan had an unhappy time, taking 2/159 in a tour match against Victoria. After an ineffective 1/169 in the First Test at Brisbane, his injury deteriorated and he underwent major finger surgery, sidelining him for a predicted five months. Kumble replaced him and took 24 wickets in the remaining three Tests in strak contrast of Harbhajan's struggles in Australia. Kumble bowled India to victory in the following Test against Pakistan in Multan, taking 6/71 to reclaim his position as the No. 1 spinner.

After a seven-month layoff, Harbhajan returned to represent India in ODIs in the Asia Cup in July 2004, where he took four wickets at 39.75 in four matches at 3.97 runs per over. His performance improved on the tour to England for an ODI series against England and the 2004 ICC Champions Trophy, taking eight wickets at 14.00, conceding only 2.80 runs an over, including 3/28 against England and 3/33 against Kenya and hitting as an unbeaten 41 against England at The Oval as India's batting collapsed to a substantial defeat.

Harbhajan made his Test return against Australia, who were again seeking their first series win on Indian soil since 1969 in the late 2004 home series. Harbhajan took 5/146 in the first innings and 6/78 in the second innings in addition to making a run out to reduce Australia from 103/3 to 228 all out. Despite this, India required 457 in their second innings to win, slumping to 125/8 before Harbhajan (42) and Irfan Pathan helped India to reach 239 after a rearguard counterattack, still a 217-run loss. Harbhajan was less effective in the drawn Second Test in Chennai, with match figures of 5/198, which was washed out with India still needing 210 more runs on the last day with all ten wickets in hand. Harbhajan then withdrew from the Third Test in Nagpur due to illness. Australia won the match easily, clinching the series. Harbhajan returned for the final Test in Mumbai. After failing to take a wicket in the first innings, he claimed 5/29 in the second to help India bowl Australia out for 93 and claim a dramatic 14-run victory. Harbhajan ended the series with 21 wickets at 24.00 and 69 runs at 13.80.

A Test series in India against South Africa followed, with Harbhajan taking match figures of 4/166 in the drawn First Test in Kanpur, before producing a man of the match performance in the Second Test in Calcutta to lead India to a 1–0 series win. After taking 2/54 in the first innings, he took 6/78 in the second, including South Africa's first five batsman to help dismiss the tourists for 222. This set up a run-chase of 117, which India reached with eight wickets in hand. Harbhajan was the leading wicket-taker for the series, with 13 victims at an average of 23.61. He ended 2004 with a quiet tour of Bangladesh, scoring a 47 in the Second Test and taking four wickets at 41.75 in two Tests and one wicket at 94 at an economy rate of 5.22 in two ODIs. He had a relatively light workload, bowling only 47.4 overs in the Tests, as Irfan Pathan frequently scythed through the Bangladeshi batsmen with the new ball, taking three five wicket hauls. He then returned to India and took a total of 6/172 in North Zone's seven-wicket win over South.

His performance in Bangladesh saw him dropped for the First Test in the early 2005 series against Pakistan on his home ground in Mohali, with Kumble being the only spinner selected on the pace-friendly surface. India were in control of the match for four days, and needed only four wickets on day five, but were unable to break the Pakistani lower-order until play was almost over and the tourists had taken a lead, and the match ended in a draw. Harbhajan was recalled for the Second Test in Calcutta and took match figures of 4/145 in an Indian victory. Despite taking 6/152 in a marathon 51-over spell in the first innings of the Third Test in Bangalore, Pakistan won the match to level the series after India collapsed on the final day. Harbhajan finished the series with 10 wickets at 33.20. His performance in the subsequent ODI series was even worse, managing only three wickets at 73.66 in five matches at an economy rate of 4.80. In spite of the poor end to the season, his performance in the year since finger surgery in the long form of the game saw him nominated for the 2005 ICC Test Player of the Year. Harbhajan spent the international off-season playing for Surrey in English county cricket, citing the improvement that other international players had gained from such an experience. It was his first stint in county cricket, after a planned season at Lancashire in 2003 was cancelled due to injury. After taking six wickets in his opening two first-class fixtures, he struck form against Hampshire, taking 6/36 and 2/47 in an innings triumph. In is fourth and final first-class match, against Gloucestershire, Harbhajan took a total of 6/193 and equalled his previous first-class best of 84. He ended with 20 wickets at 25.85 and 124 runs at 31.00. In the Twenty20 competition, he had less success in the new format, taking four wickets at 38.00 at an economy rate of 6.60 in eight matches. In all he spent six weeks with the county.

Chappell era

Harbhajan's first outings under newly appointed coach Greg Chappell came at the Indian Oil Cup in Sri Lanka in August 2005. He took five wickets at 31.40, conceding 4.02 runs per over in four matches, but was wicketless in the final, which was won by the host nation. This was followed by a tour of Zimbabwe, which was marred by tension between the new coach and Indian captain Ganguly. This broke into the public arena when Ganguly claimed that he was asked to resign as captain. Harbhajan played in all five matches in the Videocon Tri-Series involving Zimbabwe and New Zealand with little success, managing only two wickets at 99.00 at an economy rate of 4.77, both of them against an inexperienced Zimbabwe team crippled by a mass exodus of white players from the Mugabe regime. Harbhajan had a quiet Test series against Zimbabwe, taking six wickets at 31.00. He was only required to bowl 58 overs, as the majority of the Zimbabwean batsmen were removed after being unable to cope with Pathan's swing which was likened to "Frisbees at high speed", leaving little work for the spinners. He managed to claim his 200th Test wicket in the First Test, and in doing so became the second youngest player to reach the mark after Kapil Dev. Harbhajan's batting was notable for an exceptionally aggressive 18-ball innings in the First Test in Bulawayo, where he struck four fours and three sixes in a cameo innings of 37.

Harbhajan's difficulties were compounded when he earned the ire of cricket authorities by publicly attacking Chappell and defending Ganguly after the team returned to India. He claimed that Chappell had used "double standards" and instilled "fear and insecurity" into the team. The Punjab Cricket Association called him to explain his actions, but he was not punished after offering an apology. In early 2006, Harbhajan changed his stance publicly, praising Chappell for the team's improved form, stating "He has great knowledge about the game and it has been a very successful year for us under him. He has lifted our team to great heights".

Harbhajan was under pressure to perform when Sri Lanka toured India in late 2005 following his attack on Chappell and the replacement of Ganguly, who had frequently supported him during previous career difficulties, with new captain Rahul Dravid. In addition, his home ODI form had been poor in the previous three years, managing only 12 wickets at 56 in 16 matches, with an economy rate of 4.8. In the three Challenger Trophy matches at the start of the season, he took five wickets at 24.20 at an eeconomy rate of 4.25. He responded by claiming 3/35 in the first ODI in Nagpur after Sri Lanka had raced to 50 in just 6.3 overs. The Sri Lankan batsmen hit the Indian fast bowlers out of the attack, scoring 74 runs in the first 10 overs and forcing Dravid to delay the Power Play and introduce Harbhajan. This sparked a collapse, with 4 wickets taken for 14 runs, resulting in a 152-run Indian victory. Harbhajan took 2/19 in the next match, and aggregated six wickets at 26 in the first four matches, at a low economy rate of 3.43, with a series of performances noted for skilful variations in pace and flight, helping India gain an unassailable 4–0 series lead. He was subsequently rested for the fifth ODI, and ended the series as the most economical bowler, conceding only 3.62 runs per over.

He put on another strong personal performance in the first ODI of the following series against South Africa in Hyderabad, where he struck an aggressive unbeaten 37 from 17 balls, including two sixes, to help India recover to 249/9, before taking 1/35 from his 10 overs. He was unable to prevent an Indian loss, and was fined after pointing Ashwell Prince to the pavilion after dismissing him. Harbhajan ended the series with five wickets at 27.40, and was again India's most economical bowler, conceding 3.92 runs per over.

The year ended with a three Test series against Sri Lanka. After the first match in Chennai was washed out by monsoonal rains, Harbhajan took match figures of 4/137 in as India took a 1–0 series lead in Delhi. He finished the calendar year with a man of the match performance in Ahmedabad, which saw India seal a 2–0 series victory with a 259 run victory. He took 7/62 in the first innings, including six of Sri Lanka's top eight batsmen. He precipitated a middle-order batting collapse, with 6 wickets falling for 82 runs, which allowed India to take a 193-run first innings lead. Harbhajan later contributed an aggressive innings of 40 not out from 51 balls, in an unbroken 49-run final-wicket partnership with Kumble in the second innings, their display of unorthodox hitting stretching India's lead to 508 runs. His prospects of a half century were cut short by a declaration from acting captain Virender Sehwag, but he was compensated with opening the bowling, as Sehwag employed a novel tactic of assigning the new ball to a spinner. He took 3/79 to finish with match figures of 10/141, ending the year on a high note after he had been embroiled in the leadership struggle only three months earlier.

Test decline

2006 began with Harbhajan's first tour to arch-rivals Pakistan. The First Test was a high scoring draw held in Lahore, where Harbhajan recorded his worst ever Test figures of 0/176, conceding more than five runs an over in a match where 1,089 runs were scored for loss of just eight wickets. In a match in which many batting records fell, Harbhajan was hit for 27 runs in one over by Shahid Afridi, just one short of the world record. The second Test in Faisalabad was another high scoring draw, with the aggregate runs being the fourth highest in Test history. Harbhajan took 0/101 and 0/78. His 81 overs in the series were the fourth highest amount of overs in any Test series without taking a wicket. When he was given the opportunity to make use of the batting surface in India's only innings in Faisalabad, he managed a brisk 38, including two sixes. Harbhajan was dropped for the Third Test in Karachi, where a green pitch promised to favour seam bowling, and Kumble was the only spinner used. After sustaining an injury, Harbhajan was sent home during the subsequent ODI series without playing a match, ending his tour without taking a wicket.

A return to Indian soil for the Test series against England failed to ease Harbhajan's wicket-taking difficulties. He managed match figures of 2/172 in the drawn First Test in Nagpur, and 1/83 in the Second Test in Mohali, where his main contribution was to hit 36 runs, helping India to a first innings lead. Despite taking 3/89 and 2/40 in the Third Test in Mumbai, Harbhajan ended the series with eight wickets at an average of 48.00, nearly twice his career average on Indian soil. Despite his difficulties in Test cricket, Harbhajan's ODI form remained strong, as he top-scored with a rearguard 37 out of 203 and then took 5/31 in a man of the match performance in the first ODI against England in Delhi, sparking a collapse of 7/47 which secured a 39-run victory. He ended the series with 12 wickets at 15.58 at an economy rate of 3.74 from five matches, and topped the wicket-taking list despite being rested for the last match, as well as having the best bowling average and economy rate. India took the series 5–1, Harbhajan taking 3/30 in their only loss.

Harbhajan was unable to maintain his ODI form on the tour to the West Indies, where he managed three wickets at 64 in five matches, although he continued to be economical, conceding 3.91 runs per over. He was omitted from the Test team for opening two Tests as India opted to use three pace bowlers and Anil Kumble, scrapping the five bowler strategy used since early-2006. The reasons for the return to the four-man attack were unclear, with performance, fatigue and injury variously offered as explanations. Harbhajan was recalled for the Third Test in St Kitts after the pace attack was unable to dismiss the West Indian batsmen, with local captain Brian Lara stating that his team, who had three wickets in hand at the end of play, would have been lucky to draw the Second Test had Harbhajan been playing. In a drawn match, Harbhajan claimed the leading match figures of 6/186, as well as contributing an unbeaten 38 in the first innings. Harbhajan's 5/13 in 27 balls in the first innings in the Fourth Test saw the hosts lose their last six wickets for 23, to give India a 97 run first innings lead. India went on secure a victory in a low scoring match in three days and win the series 1–0, although Harbhajan was punished in the second innings, conceding 65 runs in 16 overs without taking a wicket. It was India's first series victory in the Caribbean in 35 years, with Harbhajan contributing 11 wickets at 24.00.

The 2006–07 season began with the DLF Cup in Malaysia, where Harbhajan made a good start to the season, taking six wickets at 19.16 at an economy rate of 3.59 in four matches. He was man of the match against the West Indies, scoring 37 in a 78-run partnership to push India to 162, before taking 3/35 to secure a 16-run victory. India failed to reach the final, contested by Australia and the West Indies. Harbhajan was unable to maintain his form in the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy held in India, managing only two wickets at 51.50 and saving his worst performance of 0/49 in the final group match against Australia on his home ground in Punjab. India won only one of their three matches and were eliminated, although Harbhajan continued to be tidy, conceding 3.67 runs per over. The tour of South Africa in late 2006 saw even less success, taking only one wicket in three ODI matches while conceding 161 runs at the expensive economy rate of 5.75. He finished the year watching from the sidelines as India fielded Kumble as the only spinner in the three Test series, which India lost 2–1. Apart from the injury hit 2003, it was Harbhajan's least productive year in Test cricket since he became a regular team member in 2001, managing only 19 wickets at 52.78.

Harbhajan returned for the early 2007 ODI series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka in India, taking seven wickets at 36.00 in seven matches at an economy rate of 4.27. Despite criticism that he was afraid to toss the ball up, and was concentrating on bowling flat in a defensive run-saving style, Harbhajan was selected as the off spin bowler in the Indian squad for the 2007 Cricket World Cup, while Ramesh Powar, who had been more expensive but had taken more wickets in recent times, was omitted. A statistical study showed that since the start of 2006, Harbhajan has been the second most economical bowler in the final 10 overs of ODIs.

During the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Harbhajan started as India's first-choice spinner and played in their first match against Bangladesh. He took 0/30 from his ten overs, but India lost the match as their batsmen had collapsed and Bangladesh had no need to take risks against the bowling. Harbhajan was dropped in favour of Kumble for the second match against Bermuda, which India won easily. Harbhajan was recalled for the final group match against Sri Lanka, and had little effect, taking 0/53 from his ten overs as India were set 255 for victory. Harbhajan made an unbeaten 17 as India collapsed to 185 to lose the match and be eliminated in the group phase. Following the failed campaign, the Indian selectors made multiple changes to the national team and Harbhajan was dropped for the tours of Bangladesh and England. Rajesh Pawar, Piyush Chawla and Powar were the spinners selected to partner Kumble. Harbhajan's waning wicket-taking and his lack of flight were again perceived to be the cause of his problems.

In the meantime, Harbhajan played in two ODIs for the Asian Cricket Council against a combined African team, taking 1/53 and 3/48 as the Asians won both matches. He then returned to Surrey for a second season of county cricket in an attempt to rediscover his form while his compatriots were touring England, staying throughout July and August. After easing into the season with six wickets in the first two first-class matches, Harbhajan a rich vein of form, taking 4/64 and 5/64 against Worcestershire, before following up with 5/34 and 6/57 against Kent, finishing off by scoring 29 to help guide Surrey home by four wickets after they had stumbled in pursuit of 107. He ended the first-class campaign with five and six wickets against Durham and Hampshire respectively and totalled 37 wickets at 18.54 in only six outings. He was not so successful in the one-dayers, taking six wickets at 29.50 and an economy rate of 4.65 in five matches.

Recall

Harbhajan returned to international cricket as part of India's squad for the ICC World Twenty20 tournament in South Africa in September 2007, which India won, having been rank outsiders at the start of the tournament with many senior players opting out of the competition. He played in all six of India's matches and totalled seven wickets at 26.00 and an economy rate of 7.91. In the opening pool match against Pakistan, Harbhajan hit the stumps in a bowl-out after scores were tied; India won 3–0 after three rounds. In the semi-final against Australia, Harbhajan bowled Michael Clarke and conceded only three runs in his final over, the 18th of the match, to turn the match towards India. The final against Pakistan was the only match in which Harbhajan did not bowl his full quota of four overs, after being struck for three sixes in his third over by Misbah-Ul-Haq, who led a late charge towards the target. India prevailed by five runs in the final over, Misbah being the last man to fall.

Harbhajan was recalled to the ODI squad during India's home season in 2006–07, which comprised series against Australia and Pakistan. In ten ODIs, he took seven wickets at 61.71 and an economy rate of 4.59, much higher than his career average. He scored 101 runs at 33.66 in these matches, including an unbeaten 38 in one match against Pakistan. He was then recalled to the Test squad, and with India fielding two spinners in its home series against Pakistan, Harbhajan accompanied Kumble in all three Tests. Playing in Tests for the first time in 16 months, he took 10 wickets at 44.10, much higher than his career average in India. His best result was 5/122 in the first innings of the Second Test at Eden Gardens. He toured Australia and played in three of the four Tests—India persisted with two spinners in all venues except for the Third Test at the pace-friendly WACA Ground. As he was during his previous visits to Australia, Harbhajan was ineffective with the ball. In the First Test in Melbourne, he took match figures of 3/162, before taking 4/200 in the Second Test in Sydney. Upon his recall in Adelaide, he took 1/128 in Australia's only innings on a placid surface, ending the series with eight wickets at 61.25. However, he did manage to take Ponting's wicket for three consecutive innings in the first two Tests, leading to much speculation about the Australian captain's difficulties against the off spinner. After the third dismissal in the Sydney Test, Harbhajan celebrated by running a distance before twice rolling over on the ground. Harbhajan's most noted contribution with the bat came in the Second Test when he came to the crease with India at 345/7, still 118 runs behind Australia, after a middle-order collapse of 4/52. He made 63 runs in a 129-run partnership with Tendulkar, which enabled India to gain a first-innings lead. In the Fourth Test, he came to the crease at 7/359 and scored 63 in a 107-run rearguard partnership with captain Kumble, allowing India to reach 529. He failed to reach double figures in his four other innings and ended with 142 runs at 23.66.

Altercations with Andrew Symonds and Sreesanth

While Harbhajan was batting during his 63 on the third day of the Second Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, he became involved in an altercation with Australia's Andrew Symonds. As a result of this, he was charged with a Level 3 offence of racially abusing Symonds by calling the Australian—of African descent—a "monkey". Harbhajan and Tendulkar, his batting partner at the time of the incident, denied this. At a hearing after the conclusion of the Test, match referee Mike Procter found Harbhajan guilty and banned him for three Tests. This decision generated controversy because no audio or video evidence was available, and the conviction relied on the testimony of the Australian players. The Indian team initially threatened to withdraw from the series pending an appeal against Harbhajan's suspension, however BCCI president Sharad Pawar later claimed that the tour would proceed even if the second hearing was unsuccessful.

On 29 January, following the Fourth Test, the appeal hearing was conducted in Adelaide by ICC Appeals Commissioner Justice John Hansen. The result was that the racism charge was not proved, resulting in the revocation of the three-Test ban imposed by Procter. However, Harbhajan was found guilty of using abusive language and fined 50% of his match fee. Hansen later admitted he "could have imposed a more serious penalty if he was made aware by the ICC of the bowler's previous transgressions"—including a suspended one-Test ban. It was reported that senior players from both sides had written a letter to Hansen requesting that the charge be downgraded. According to this report, the letter was signed by Tendulkar and Ponting and counter-signed by Michael Clarke, Hayden and Symonds.

In the aftermath of the hearing, Hayden called Harbhajan an "obnoxious weed" during a radio interview, which earned him a code of conduct violation charge from Cricket Australia.

Following the appeal, Harbhajan played in all eight of India's round-robin matches in the Commonwealth Bank series, which also involved Sri Lanka, taking five wickets at 39.00. In the two finals matches, Australia suffered a top-order collapse and lost their first three wickets with only 24 and 32 runs on the board respectively. Symonds and Hayden—with whom Harbhajan clashed during the summer—led a recovery with stands of 100 and 89 respectively. In both matches, Harbhajan had a hand in removing both of his bitter opponents. In the first final in Sydney, he removed both in the space of four overs, caught from his bowling. In the second final in Brisbane, he completed the run out of Hayden after a mix-up, and then trapped Symonds leg before wicket in the same over. Australia lost the momentum and their run-rate slowed, and India went on to win the series 2–0. Harbhajan ended with 2/38 and 1/44 from his 10 overs in the respective matches.

Following the tour of Australia, India hosted South Africa in a three-Test series. The First Test in Chennai was a high-scoring draw in which 1,498 runs were scored for the loss of 25 wickets. Harbhajan was the top wicket-taker for the match, with figures of 5/161 and 3/101. In the Second Test in Ahmedabad, he was India's leading wicket-taker for the third consecutive innings, taking 4/135 as the home team lost by an innings. With India needing a win in the Third Test in Kanpur to avoid series defeat, Harbhajan again took the leading bowling figures in both innings, with 3/52 and 4/44. His second innings effort helped bowl out the tourists for 121 and set up an eight-wicket win. As a result of his efforts, Harbhajan was named man-of-the-series, having taken 19 wickets at 25.94. In contrast to his efforts in Australia, he struggled with the bat, scoring 11 runs at 2.75. He was troubled by South African paceman Dale Steyn, who dismissed him all four times by breaking through his defences, bowling him once and trapping him lbw the other three times.

Harbhajan was involved in further controversy after an 2008 Indian Premier League (IPL) match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab at Mohali in April 2008. While the teams were shaking hands, he slapped Punjab paceman and Indian team-mate Sreesanth in the face. Harbhajan, who had stood in as the Mumbai captain for the first three matches of the tournament to that point, all of which were lost, had apparently been angered by Sreesanth's aggressive sending-off of his batsmen as Punjab coasted to a decisive victory. The Kings XI Punjab lodged an official compliant to the IPL. The match referee Farokh Engineer found Harbhajan guilty of a level 4.2 offence, banning him from the remainder of the IPL and preventing him from claiming his entire season's salary. Harbhajan made up with Sreesanth, and said that "I have been punished for the wrong I did". Harbhajan had taken five wickets at 16.40 at a economy rate of 8.20 and scored 30 runs at 15.00 in the three matches before his ban. On 14 May, the BCCI disciplinary committee found Harbhajan guilty under Rule 3.2.1 of their regulations and handed down the maximum punishment of five-match ban from ODIs. Harbhajan faces the prospect of a life ban if he commits significant disciplinary breaches in the future. As a result, Harbhajan missed the tri-series in Bangladesh and the 2008 Asia Cup in Pakistan, and India went down in the final of both tournaments after qualifying first on both occasions. He would have been eligible for selection after the first two matches of the Asia Cup, but the selectors omitted him entirely.

International revival

Harbhajan returned to international cricket for the tour of Sri Lanka in July and August. In the First Test at Colombo, he took 2/149 as Sri Lanka amassed 600/6 declared and won by an innings. In the Second Test in Galle, he took 6/102 to help India take a first innings lead of 37 and then took 4/51 in the second innings to help India level the series with a 170-run win. It was his fifth ten-wicket match haul and his first outside India. He was again India's leading wicket-taker in the Third Test defeat, with 3/104 and 1/44. He was India's leading wicket-taker with 16 scalps at 28.12, twice as many the second most-prolific Indian. In the subsequent ODI series, he played in the first four matches, taking six wickets at 18.83 at an economy rate of 3.80, including 3/40 in the win in the fourth match, which sealed the series. He was rested from the final dead rubber.

At the start of the Indian season, Harbhajan took 2/32 and 4/31 as the Rest of India defeated Delhi in the Irani Trophy. This was followed by the First Test against Australia in Bangalore. Harbhajan took Ponting's wicket in taking 1/103 in the first innings, but not before the Australian captain had scored 123. In reply to Australia's 430, India were in trouble at 195/6 when Harbhajan came in to bat. He scored a rearguard 54, putting on 80 with fellow bowler Zaheer Khan, to reduce India's deficit to 70. He then took 2/76 in the second innings as the match ended in a draw. Ponting later cited Harbhajan and Zaheer's partnership as the passage of play that prevented an Australian win. In the Second Test at his home ground in Mohali, Harbhajan took 2/60 in the first innings as India took a 201-run first innings lead. In the second innings Australia were chasing 516 for victory and had started aggressively, reaching 49/0 after seven overs. Harbhajan was introduced into the attack and removed Hayden and Simon Katich in his first over and then Mike Hussey in his next. This triggered Australia's collapse to 58/5 and their eventual defeat by 320 runs. Harbhajan was unable to find a fourth wicket, which would have seen him reach 300 Test wickets on his home ground, and ended with 3/36. He was then ruled out of the drawn Third Test because of a toe injury. Harbhajan returned for the Fourth Test in Nagpur and dismissed Ponting for the tenth time in Tests in the first innings to register his 300th wicket. He ended with 3/94 as India took an 86-run lead. However, a batting collapse meant that India were 6/166 at tea on day four, only 252 runs ahead and facing possible defeat if Australia could clean up the tail quickly. Harbhajan then scored 52, combining in a 107-run partnership with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to guide India out of trouble. India then successfully defended the target of 380 to win by 172 runs, with Harbhajan taking 4/64 including top-scorer Hayden and the final wicket. Harbhajan was the equal-leading wicket-taker for the series along with Ishant Sharma, taking 15 wickets at 28.86. He also scored 125 runs at 41.66, helping to prevent two defeats. The series also saw the end of Harbhajan's partnership with Kumble, who missed the Second Test due to injury and then retired after suffering another wound in the next match. As a result, Harbhajan started a new pairing with leg spinner Amit Mishra.

In the five-match home ODI series against England, Harbhajan took seven wickets at 30.29 and an economy rate of 5.04 as India won 5–0. He took one wicket in each of the matches, except the third match in Kanpur. In that match, he took 3/31, registered his 200th ODI wicket and was named man-of-the match. During the two Tests, Harbhajan was the equal-leading wicket-taker with eight wickets at 35.00 and he also scored 69 runs at 34.50. This included a 40 in the first innings of the First Test to help India reach 241 after a top-order collapse, keeping India's deficit to 75; they went on to win the match. Harbhajan ended the year as the third-highest wicket-taker in the world, and the highest among Indian players. He was named by ''Wisden'' in their selection of the Test team of the year.

Harbhajan then missed the ODI tour of Sri Lanka at the beginning of the year with a hamstring injury. He recovered in time to be recalled for the tour of New Zealand. Harbhajan was the leading wicket-taker from both sides in both ODIs and Tests. Harbhajan was India's most economical bowler in the two T20 internationals at the start of the tour, taking a total of 2/34 from eight overs and scoring 21 in the first match; the hosts prevailed in both games. In series that saw four of the five ODIs truncated by rain, Harbhajan took five wickets at 29.60 at an economy rate of 5.69. He took 3/27 in the opening match, and then took 2/56 from ten overs in the third game, in which both teams passed 330, helping India to wins in both matches. In the First Test, Harbhajan took 1/57 and 6/63 to help set up a ten-wicket win. It was only the second time that he had taken five wickets in an innings outside the subcontinent. However, he was disappointing in a high-scoring draw in the Second Test, taking 2/120 as the hosts amassed 9/619 declared. In the Third Test, India suffered a middle-order collapse on the first afternoon, and a counterattacking 60 by Harbhajan helped them to 379. He then took 3/43 and 4/59; New Zealand had only two wickets in hand when rain caused the match to end in a draw with more than a day's playing time lost. Harbhajan ended with 16 wickets at 21.37 and 94 runs at 23.50.

India won both series, their first series win in New Zealand since 1981 and 1968 for ODIs and Tests respectively.

Harbhajan then played the full 2009 Indian Premier League season in South Africa, taking 12 wickets at 21.33 and an economy rate of 5.81 in 13 matches. He was one of the most economical bowlers in the competition, and took 1/9 in four overs against Punjab to win the man of the match award. He ended the season with 4/17 against Delhi, but it was not enough to prevent a four-wicket defeat.

Harbhajan was part of the Indian team that attempted to defend their crown at the 2009 World Twenty20. However they lost all three of their matches in the Super 8s round and were eliminated. Harbhajan took 3/30 in one of those matches against England, and ended the tournament with five wickets at 26.20 and an economy rate of 6.55. During the tour of the West Indies that followed, Harbhajan took three wickets at 45.33, conceding almost a run a ball in three ODIs as India prevailed 2–1.

In September, Harbhajan took 5/56 in the final of the Compaq Cup to help secure a 46-run Indian win over the hosts Sri Lanka. It was his first five-wicket haul in three years and capped off a tournament in which he took six wickets at 22.00 in three matches. He then struggled at the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa, taking 1/71 from ten overs against Pakistan and 0/54 from nine overs against Australia. India lost to Pakistan and the latter match was washed out. He then took 2/14 from eight overs against the West Indies, but it was not enough to prevent India from being eliminated in the first round, despite winning the match.

After his travails in South Africa, Harbhajan started the Indian season with eight wickets at 12.87 in three Challenger Trophy one-dayers for India Blue. He then played in a home ODI series against Australia taking eight wickets at 33.87 at an economy rate of 4.51 in six games. This included a best of 2/23 in the sixth match, but he made a more influential contribution in the first match with the bat, striking 49 at the death as India came within striking distance of their target before he fell in the last over and the hosts ended five runs adrift of the target. He scored a similarly rapid 31 in the fourth match, but India fell 24 runs short. Harbhajan ended the series with 81 runs at 20.25.

In the three home Tests against Sri Lanka, Harbhajan was the highest wicket-taker with 13 scalps, but these came at an average cost of 41.00. After taking 2/189 in the drawn First Test, he aggregated 5/152 and 6/192 as India took the next two fixtures by an innings. In the subsequent ODI series, he took six wickets at 35.00 at an economy rate of 4.88 as India won 3–1. He took 2/58 from his ten overs in th first match, which proved to be tidy in the context of a match in which both teams passed 410 and India prevailed by three runs.

During the tri-series in Bangladesh in January 2010, Harbhajan took six wickets at 24.00 in three matches. He missed the First Test due to neck pain but returned to take a total of 2/123 as India completed a clean sweep with a ten-wicket win in the Second Test.

During New Zealand's tour of India in November 2010, Harbhajan scored his maiden Test century during the First Test in Ahmedabad. This was the 100th century by an Indian in the second innings and he reached triple figures with a six. His 115, along with Laxman's 91 saved the game for India after they had collapsed to 5/15. Harbhajan was named man of the match. He followed on in the next test with 111* in India's 1st innings, becoming the first no. 8 batsman to score back-to-back test centuries.

After an ordinary performance with the ball in the 5-match ODI series in West Indies in June 2011 (where he was the vice captain to skipper Suresh Raina) (took 4 wickets from 3 matches, best of 3/32), he helped his team revive from dire straits in the 1st Test in Sabina Park at Kingston, Jamaica. With India struggling at 85/6, he along with Suresh Raina initiated a counter-attack to string an aggressive 146-run partnership with Suresh Raina(82 of 115 balls, 15 fours) to help India reach 246. Harbhajan scored 70 from 74 balls (10 fours, 1 six).

Playing style

Harbhajan is an attacking-minded bowler who is regarded for his ball control and ability to vary his length and pace, although he is often criticised for his flat trajectory. His main wicket-taking ball climbs wickedly on the unsuspecting batsman from a good length, forcing him to alter his stroke at the last second. With a whippy bowling action, he was reported for throwing in November 1998. Although forced to travel to England for tests, his action was cleared by former English player Fred Titmus.

He has developed an ability to bowl the doosra, which was the subject of an official report by match referee Chris Broad, on-field umpires Aleem Dar and Mark Benson, and TV umpire Mahbubur Rahman after the Second Test between India and Bangladesh at Chittagong, Bangladesh in December 2004. The ICC cleared his action in May 2005, saying that the straightening of his elbow fell within the permitted limits.

Among off spinners, Harbhajan is the second highest wicket-taker in Test history, behind Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka. He is the third-highest Test wicket-taker among all Indians. Harbhajan average with the ball in home Test matches hovers in the mid-20s. All five of his man of the match awards and both of his man of the series awards have been obtained in India. Outside India, his bowling average climbs to around 40. Statistically, his bowling in Test matches is most effective against the West Indies and Australia. As of May 2008, his most productive hunting grounds have been Eden Gardens in Calcutta, where he has taken 38 wickets at 23.10 in six Tests, while the Chepauk in Chennai, where he has claimed two man of the match awards, has yield 34 wickets at 24.25 in five Tests. Harbhajan has claimed his wickets most cheaply at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, where he has taken 22 wickets at 19.45. Compared to Muralitharan, Harbhajan is less reliant on targeting the stumps for his dismissals; he captures more than 60% of his wickets via catches and less than 25% by bowling or trapping batsmen leg before wicket, whereas the corresponding figures for Muralitharan are in the 40s. Harbhajan's off spin complements Kumble's leg spin. While Harbhajan is known for his emotional and extroverted celebrations, which are part of a deliberate strategy of aggression, Kumble is known for his undemonstrative and composed approach. Both spinners have opined that they bowl more effectively in tandem via persistent application of pressure to batsmen, but statistics have shown that while Kumble has performed better when paired with Harbhajan, Harbhajan has been more effective in Kumble's absence.

Harbhajan has been particularly successful against Australian batsman Ricky Ponting, taking his wicket on ten occasions in Test cricket.

In an interview in 2001, Harbhajan stated his ambition to become an all-rounder. Although he has recorded a few half-centuries at Test level, his batting average hovers around 15 in both Tests and ODIs. However, in the span of four years starting from 2003, he has shown improved performance, averaging around 20 with the bat. His style is frequently described as unorthodox, with pundits agreeing with his self-assessment attributing his batting achievements to his hand-eye coordination, rather than his footwork or technique. The aggression in Harbhajan's bowling also extends to his batting, with a Test strike rate in the 60s, placing him in the ten highest strike rates among players who have scored more than 1000 runs in Test cricket. Harbhajan Singh Is also a useful lower-down the order batsman. For mumbai Indians he had made valuable 49 runs of 18 balls to guide the MI to a seemingly impossible win over the DC. In the 2011 test, he also scored quickfire 70 of 72 balls to stabilise India's batting

Awards

Test cricket

Man of the Series awards

:{| class="wikitable" border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=1 width=75% |- style="background:#00f; color:#fff;" ! # ! Series ! Season ! Series performance |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 1 | Australia in India Test series | 2000–01 | 34 runs (3 matches, 6 innings); 178.3–44–545–32 (2×10 WM; 4×5 WI) |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 2 | West Indies in India Test series | 2002–03 | 69 runs (3 matches, 4 innings); 166–54–335–20 (2×5 WI); 5 catches |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 3 | South Africa in India Test series | 2007–08 | 11 runs (3 matches, 4 innings); 172.5–26–496–19 (1×5 WI); 1 catch |}

Man of the Match awards

:{| class="wikitable" border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=1 width=90% |- style="background:#00f; color:#fff;" ! S No ! Opponent ! Venue ! Season ! Match performance |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 1 | Australia | Chepauk, Chennai | 2000–01 | 1st innings: 2 runs; 38.2–6–133–7 2nd innings: 3* runs; 41.5–20–84–8 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 2 | Zimbabwe | Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi | 2001–02 | 1st innings: 9 runs (2×4); 27.5–5–70–2 2nd innings: 14 runs (2×4, 1×6); 31–5–62–6; 2 catches |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 3 | West Indies | Chepauk, Chennai | 2002–03 | 1st innings: 37 runs (5×4, 1×6); 29–13–56–3 2nd innings 30–6–79–4; 1 catch |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 4 | South Africa | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | 2004–05 | 1st innings: 14 runs (2×4); 21.3–6–54–2; 1 catch 2nd innings: 30–3–87–7; 1 catch |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 5 | Sri Lanka | Motera, Ahmedabad | 2005–06 | 1st innings: 8* runs (1×4); 22.2–3–62–7; 1 catch 2nd innings: 40 runs (4×6; 1×6); 31–7–79–3 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 6 | New Zealand | Motera, Ahmedabad | 2010–11 | 1st innings: 69 runs (5×4 3×6 ); 43–7–112–1; 2nd innings: 115 runs (11×4; 3×6); |}

ODI cricket

Man of the match awards

:{| class="wikitable" border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=1 width=90% |- style="background:#00f; color:#fff;" ! S No ! Opponent ! Venue ! Season ! Match performance |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 1 | South Africa | Centurion, Pretoria | 2001–02 | 15 (14b, 2×4); 10–0–27–3 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 2 | England | Feroz Shah Kotla, New Delhi | 2005–06 | 37 (46b, 3×4, 1×6); 10–2–31–5 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 3 | West Indies | Kinrara, Kuala Lumpur | 2006–07 | 37 (60b, 1×4, 2×6); 8–0–35–3; 1 catch |}

Match performance of Last Seven Matches

:{| class="wikitable" border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=1 width=90% |- style="background:#00f; color:#fff;" ! S No ! Opponent ! Venue ! Match Date ! Match Version ! Match performance |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 1 | England | St John's Wood, London | 21 July 2011 | Test Match | 1st Inning: 0 runs; 35–3–152–0
2nd Inning: 12 runs; 21–1–66–1 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 2 | West Indies | Bridgetown, Barbados | 28 June 2011 | Test Match | 1st Inning: 5 runs; 14–3–31–1
2nd Inning: 6* runs; 19–2–42–1 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 3 | West Indies | Kingston, Jamaica | 20 June 2011 | Test Match | 1st Inning: 70 runs; 19–5–51–2
2nd Inning: 5 runs; 16–3–54–1 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 4 | West Indies | North Sound, Antigua | 11 Jun 2011 | One Day International Match | 41 (64b, 1x4, 1x6); 10–2–24–1 |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 5 | West Indies | Port of Spain, Trinidad | 8 Jun 2011 | One Day International Match | 10–1–51–0; 1 catch |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 6 | West Indies | Port of Spain, Trinidad | 6 Jun 2011 | One Day International Match | 6* (4b, 1x6); 10–0–32–3; 1 catch |- style="background:#87cefa;" | 7 | West Indies | Port of Spain, Trinidad | 4 Jun 2011 | T20 Match | 15* (7b, 1x4, 1x6); 4–0–25–2 |}

Test wicket milestones

1st: Greg Blewett (Australia)

50th: Ricky Ponting (Australia)

100th: Wavell Hinds (West Indies)

150th: Nathan Astle (New Zealand)

200th: Charles Coventry (Zimbabwe)

250th: Ricky Ponting (Australia)

300th: Ricky Ponting (Australia)

350th: JP Duminy (South Africa)

400th: Carlton Baugh (West Indies)

External links

Harbhajan Singh Official Website

Harbhajan Singh's Official Blog on BIGADDA

Harbhajan Singh takes 400th Test wicket

References

{{navboxes|title=Harbhajan Singh at the Cricket World Cup |list1= }}

Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:India One Day International cricketers Category:India Test cricketers Category:India Twenty20 International cricketers Category:Punjab (India) cricketers Category:Surrey cricketers Category:Test cricket hat-trick takers Category:ACC Asian XI One Day International cricketers Category:Indian Sikhs Category:Cricketers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Category:Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup Category:World Cup cricketers of India Category:People from Jalandhar Category:Mumbai (Indian Premier League) cricketers Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:Recipients of the Arjuna Award

bn:হরভজন সিং fr:Harbhajan Singh ml:ഹർഭജൻ സിങ് mr:हरभजनसिंग no:Harbhajan Singh pnb:ہربھجن سنگھ pl:Harbhajan Singh sco:Harbhajan Singh ta:ஹர்பஜன் சிங் te:హర్భజన్ సింగ్

Coordinates	34°03′46″N84°40′12″N
Name	Babbu Maan
Background	solo_singer
Born	March 18, 1976
Origin	Khant, Fatehgarh Sahib Punjab
Record label	Point Zero Production
Genre	Punjabi, Bhangra, Romantic, Hindi Pop Punjabi Rap
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, Actor, Producer
Years active	1998–present
Website	}}

Babbu Maan (born Tejinder Singh Maan on Mar 18) is a Punjabi singer-songwriter, actor, and producer. Born in the village of Khant Maanpur in the Fatehgarh Sahib District of Punjab, India. Babbu Maan has been very fond of playing music since his childhood, singing on stage for the first time during a school function in his village school at the age of seven. He would see everything through the eyes of a musician, even turning cooking pans into musical instruments as he created rhythmic sounds. He learned how to write lyrics, while at school (Punjab University, Chandigarh) when he was about 16. After college, he started singing and composing music. He is one of the few singers who writes his own lyrics for all of his songs. He sang for Mavi music recording studio and recorded his first album when he was only 23.

Babbu Maan is the only Punjabi singer who sings his own lyrics in his own great music. Babbu Maan is famous for his distinctive music and lyrics, at present he is one of the great Punjabi singers who has given a new trend to Bhangra Music. His sad songs are urbane with the synchronized Punjabi music, as that no one else could create. Now he is entrenched Punjabi pop singer, composer, lyricist, playback singer and actor as well.

Career

Babbu Maan debuted in 1998 with his album Sajjan Rumal De Giya. Unhappy with the album he went back to the drawing board and re-wrote many of the songs, many of which were re-released in his following albums. Tu Meri Miss India, his second album was released in 1999 was a smash hit.

His third album Saaun Di Jhadi released in 2001 was a highly successful album; It sold over ten million copies in India alone and many more overseas. In 2003 Maan was selected as actor and Music Director for the movie Hawayein in which he worked alongside his favourite singer, Sukhwinder Singh. The movie was highly successful. It was followed by his album, Ohi Chann Ohi Rataan. This album also fared well, in both critical acclaim and sales. Pyass was he's next album.

In 2006 Maan started on his first playback movie called Rabb Ne Banayien Jodeian, with its songs scoring another success for Maan. Mera Gham was a highly successful Hindi album. It focused more on slow romantic and sad songs with a few up-beat songs. The song "Ek Raat/One Night Stand" shocked many listeners, but nevertheless, the song has a very catchy beat.

Maan starred in a New Year's special called Aao Saare Nachiye which was also highly successful. Part 1 was released in 2008 and Part 2 in 2009. Maan's Film Hashar... A love Story, was the biggest film success yet in his career; the songs were also a hit. Recently Babbu released a religious album,Singh Better Than King. A song from this album "Ik Baba Nanak Si" was banned by the government. This was followed by a tv survey in which 80% of people supported Babbu Maan, 6% people supported the censorship of the song and 14% people did not participate. Nevertheless, it was successful album and it sold more than 25 million copies in (INDIA). On March 25, 2010, Maan came out with his new Film Ekam - Son of Soil. The film faired well at the box office.

Discography

! Year	! Album	! Record label
2007	''Mera Gham''	Point Zero
2005	''Pyass''	T-Series
2004	''Ohi Chann Ohi Rataan''	T-Series
2001	''Saaun Di Jhadi''	T-Series
1999	''Tu Meri Miss India''	Catrack
1998	''Sajjan Rumal De Giya''	Catrack

Religious

! Year	! Album	! Record label
2009	''Singh Better Than King''	Point Zero

Soundtrack

! Year	! Album	! Record label
2010	''Ekam: Son of Soil''	Point Zero
2008	''Hashar: A Love Story...''	Eros
2006	''Rabb Ne Banaiyan Jodiean''	T-Series
2003	''Hawayein''	T-Series

Compilation

! Year	! Album	! Record label
2011	''Aao Saare Nachiye Vol. 4''	Point Zero
2010	''Aao Saare Nachiye Vol. 2''	Point Zero
2009	''Aao Saare Nachiye''	Point Zero

Filmography

! Year	! Film	! Character
2011	''Hero Hiter in Love''
2010	''Crook''	Playback singer
2010	''Ekam: Son of Soil''	Ekam
2009	''Vaada Raha...I Promise''	Playback singer
2008	''Hashar: A Love Story...''	Maninder
2006	''Rabb Ne Banaiyan Jodiean''	Jelly
2003	''Hawayein''	Kanpuria

References

External links

BabbuMaanOnline.com Babbu Mann's official website

Cine Punjab - Information

mannfilms.com/ekam Ekam: Son of Soil official website

pointzeroentertainers.com Point Zero official website

mannfilms.com Mann Films official website

Hashar a Love Story official website

Listen Babbu Mann Songs

http://www.herohitlerinlove.com/

Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:Indian Sikhs Category:Panjab University alumni Category:Punjabi-language singers

hi:बब्बू मान te:బబ్బూ మన్