About Bathinda

 About Bathinda

Bathinda is one of the oldest cities in Punjab, India and the current administrative headquarters of Bathinda District. It is situated in north-western India in the Malwa Region, 225 km west of the capital city of Chandigarh.

Bathinda is home to two modern thermal power plants, Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant in the city and the other one, Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant at Lehra Mohabbat. It is also home to a fertilizer plant, a large oil refinery, a Zoo and the historic Qila Mubarak fort. Bathinda is one of the biggest food grain and cotton markets in northern India, and the area around Bathinda has become a large grape growing area. It also referred to as Lake City of India, it is famous for a number of historical monuments that are present here. It is one of the leading cities in Punjab for education.

This city is known for its historical and religious significance. This is the city where Guru Gobind Singhji fought against the Mughals. The people of Bhatinda had also stood up several times in the past against the princely rulers and the British.

History of Bathinda

There is evidence of human habitat and development of townships dating back to 7000 BC in and around Bhatinda. It is generally believed that Bathinda was built by Bhati Rajput kings, who were the rulers of Punjab in 6th century AD. They called the city Whatinda or Bitunda after their surname which finally become known as Bhatinda. Bhatinda was changed to Bathinda to conform to the phonetical expression as locally pronounced. According to Ibn Batuta it was known as Batrind. According to Henry George Raverty, Bathinda was known as Tabarhindh. The earliest mention of Tabarhindh occurs in the “Jami-Ul-Hakayat” written about 607 Hijri or 1211 AD.The city of Bhatinda was also visited by the tenth sikh guru Guru Gobind Singh.

However, modern Bathinda was established by Bala Rao Bhatti – a Bhati Rajput king in 965 AD. With the dawn of indendence and merger of Patiala and East Punjab States into a division styled at PEPSU, Bathinda become full fledged district which states has combined even after the merger of PEPSU with erstwhile Punjab State in 1956.