Doab figures prominently in history and myths of Vedic period; the epic Mahabharata, for example, is set in the Doab, around the city of Hastinapur.
The British divided the Doab into three administrative districts or zones, viz., Upper Doab (Meerut), Middle Doab (Agra) and Lower Doab (Allahabad). These districts are now divided into several other districts as enumerated below.
The following districts/states form part of the Doab:
[edit]Upper Doab
Dehradun, Rishikesh, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Bagpat and Bulandshahr[2]
[edit]Central or Middle Doab
Etah, Aligarh, Agra, Mahamaya Nagar, Firozabad, Mathura and Agra (Mathura are in trans-Yamuna region of Braj).[2]
[edit]Lower Doab
Farrukhabad, Mainpuri, Etawah, Kannauj, Auraiya, Kanpur, Ramabai Nagar, Fatehpur, Kaushambi and Allahabad.[2]
[edit]The Punjab Doabs
Further information: Doaba
A map of the Punjab region ca. 1947 showing the different doabs.
Each of the tracts of land lying between the confluent rivers of the Punjab region of Pakistan and India (the Indus basin) has a distinct name, said to have been coined by Raja Todar Mal, a minister of the Mughal emperor Akbar. The names (except for 'Sindh Sagar') are a combination of the first letters, in the Persian alphabet, of the names of the rivers that bound the Doab. For example, Jech = 'Je'(Jhelum) + 'Ch'(Chenab). The names are (from west to east):
Sind Sagar Doab - lies between the Indus and Jhelum River rivers.
Jech Doab (also Chaj) Doab - between the Jhelum and the Chenab River.