Short answers, pulled from the story.
North India includes the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, along with the union territories of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Together they elect 150 members to the Lok Sabha and hold 66 seats in the Rajya Sabha.
Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb is the term for the composite culture of North India that developed from centuries of interaction between Hindu and Muslim traditions. It reflects a shared cultural heritage across music, poetry, craft, and daily life in the region.
The Delhi Sultanate was established in 1206 by the general Qutub-ud-din Aibak, who declared independence and founded it after the defeat of rival powers in the north-western plains. The sultanate went on to control much of North India and launched repeated forays into South India.
Dras, located in Ladakh, is claimed to be the second-coldest inhabited place on earth after Siberia. It has recorded a low temperature of -60 degrees Celsius.
The Indus Valley Civilisation flourished across the north-western part of the subcontinent between 2500 and 1900 BC. Prominent urban centres within present-day North India included Kalibangan in Rajasthan and Rakhigarhi in Haryana, both known for complex urban planning and long-distance trade.
North India holds sacred sites for Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Sufi Islam. Hindu centres include Varanasi, Haridwar, Prayagraj, and Ayodhya; Buddhist sites include Sarnath and Kushinagar; the Golden Temple in Amritsar is the foremost Sikh shrine; and Ajmer and Delhi are among the most revered Sufi destinations.