HARIANA  , a

tract of country in the Punjab, India, once the seat of a flourishing Hindu civilization . It consists of a level upland plain, interspersed with patches of sandy soil, and largely overgrown with brushwood . The Western Jumna canal irrigates the fields of a large number of its villages . Since the 14th century Hissar has been the local capital . During the troubled period which followed on the decline of the Mogul empire, Hariana formed the battlefield where the Mahrattas, Bhattis and Sikhs met to settle their territorial quarrels . The whole country was devastated by the famine of 1783 . In 1797—1798 Hariana was overrun by the famous Irish adventurer George Thomas, who established his capital at Hansi; in 18or he was dispossessed by Sindhia's French general Perron; in 1803 Hariana passed under British rule .