Fazilka: History and Cultural

Pre-British Era

Dr. Navdeep Asija

The area of present-day Fazilka, in the southwestern Punjab plains near the Sutlej River, was sparsely populated before the mid-19th century. After the Treaty of Amritsar in 1809 defined British and Sikh territories, this region remained a frontier under the Bahawalpur princely state until 1844[1]. Local lore holds that Guru Nanak (founder of Sikhism) visited the area during his westward Udasis (journeys) around 1517–1521[2], indicating some habitation or spiritual significance even before formal settlement. Early residents included pastoral communities such as the Wattu clan; one notable Wattu chieftain, Mian Fazil, had settled here prior to British arrival[3]. However, no sizeable village existed where Fazilka now stands until the mid-1800s[4].

British Period

In 1844, the Bahawalpur Nawab ceded a tract on the Sutlej to the British East India Company[4]. British officer Patrick Vans Agnew was the first to be stationed here – he constructed a bungalow that locals dubbed Bangla (meaning “bungalow”), a name still informally used for the town[1]. Two years later, in 1846, another officer, Mr. J. H. Oliver, set up a few shops and officially founded a new market town. He named it Fazilka after Mian Fazil Watoo, the original landowner from whom he had purchased the land (reportedly for ₹144 and 12 annas)[3][5]. Thanks to its favorable location near the Sutlej, the nascent town quickly became a thriving trading post, drawing commerce from the surrounding desert tract towards Sindh (in present-day Pakistan)[6]. Fazilka soon engrossed much of the export trade in wool and agricultural produce from the region, developing into a prosperous market center[6].

By the 1880s, Fazilka’s growth warranted administrative recognition. The town was added to Ferozepur District in 1884 and was designated a municipal committee in December 1885[7]. The late 19th century also brought modern infrastructure. Railways arrived in Fazilka in 1898, when a metre-gauge line of the Southern Punjab Railway (Rewari–Bhatinda–Fazilka–Samma Satta) opened, timed with Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations[8][9]. Fazilka’s railway junction linked it to Delhi and Karachi via Bhatinda and Bahawalpur, boosting trade connectivity. The town, however, faced setbacks as well – a devastating flood in 1908 virtually obliterated Fazilka, causing most buildings to collapse and necessitating a complete rebuilding of the bazaar and infrastructure[10].

In the early 20th century, Fazilka continued to modernize. Notably, electricity came to Fazilka in the colonial era – on July 23, 1934, a private enterprise named the Fazilka Electric Supply Company Ltd. began generating and supplying power locally[11]. This company, jointly owned by entrepreneurs Harbhagwan Nanda and Harcharan Dass, provided electricity to the town until 1949, when the service was taken over by public authorities after Independence[11]. Fazilka even finds a connection to India’s freedom movement: after the British police officer J.P. Saunders was assassinated in late 1928, revolutionary Bhagat Singh escaped arrest by hiding in a village (Danewala) in Fazilka tehsil for some time[12]. By the mid-1940s, Fazilka had firmly established itself as one of the main trading towns in Punjab. It was especially famous as a hub of the wool trade – in fact, by 1947 Fazilka was reputed to be the largest wool market in Asia, with its raw wool exported as far as Liverpool in the UK[13][14]. The British even named one of their steamships after the town: in 1890, a steamship called “SS Fazilka” (the world’s first single-cylinder steamship) was commissioned, reflecting the town’s prominence in imperial trade routes[15].

Post-1947

The independence and Partition of India in 1947 marked a turning point for Fazilka. Being a border town at the new India–Pakistan boundary, Fazilka experienced a massive demographic upheaval – virtually its entire Muslim population (roughly half the town before 1947) migrated to Pakistan[16]. In turn, many Hindu and Sikh refugees from West Punjab and Sindh moved into Fazilka, dramatically altering the town’s social fabric (this is detailed further in the Migration section). The Partition also disrupted Fazilka’s economy: the once-booming wool trade was severely hit as a major portion of its supply hinterland fell in Pakistan, and rival markets (like Bikaner in Rajasthan) captured much of the wool business[17]. In the decades after 1947, agriculture became the primary livelihood for the local population[13], as the region adjusted to new economic realities.

As a border district, Fazilka bore the brunt of subsequent Indo-Pak wars. During the 1965 war and especially the 1971 war, the Fazilka sector saw intense fighting[18]. Pakistani forces advancing through the nearby Sulemanki sector in December 1971 nearly reached Fazilka town before being halted by the Indian Army. In the 13-day war, 226 Indian soldiers sacrificed their lives defending Fazilka from capture[19][20]. Their valor is commemorated at the Asafwala War Memorial (Shaheedon ki Samadhi) in a village just outside the town, where the mortal remains of 82 soldiers are enshrined in a collective memorial[21][22]. After the 1971 war, the border crossing at Sadiq/Sulemanki near Fazilka was closed and remains so, despite local demands to reopen it for fostering cross-border ties.

In recent years, Fazilka has gained administrative and strategic significance. On 27 July 2011, the Punjab government carved out a new Fazilka District, with Fazilka town as its headquarters, separating it from Ferozepur district[23]. This administrative upgrade ended a long association with Ferozepur and aimed to spur local development. Fazilka is also poised to play a role in international energy trade – it is designated to host the last Indian station of the proposed TAPI (Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline), a multinational natural gas pipeline originating in Turkmenistan[24]. These developments underscore Fazilka’s continued importance in the 21st century as both a historical border town and a site of future economic connectivity.

Culture & Cuisine

Fazilka’s culture is a vibrant blend of Punjabi traditions enriched by its unique geographic and historical context. The town lies at the crossroads of the Malwa region of Punjab and the neighboring states of Haryana and Rajasthan, which is reflected in the local language and customs. Punjabi is the main language, and dialects like Malwai (the local Malwa dialect) and Bagri (influenced by nearby Rajasthan) are commonly spoken in Fazilka and its villages[25]. Fazilka has even contributed to Punjabi folk arts – the energetic dance Jhummar (or Jhumar) is believed to have been invented in Fazilka by Baba Pokhar Singh (1916–2002)[26]. This dance form, now popular across Punjab, originated as a way to celebrate community and harvest in the Fazilka area.

The town has a proud literary and musical heritage as well. Fazilka was home to renowned Urdu poet Kunwar Mohinder Singh Bedi “Sahar”, whose poetry is celebrated in Punjabi and Urdu literature. The legendary ghazal maestro Mehdi Hassan of Pakistan spent part of his youth in Fazilka – in 1935, he gave one of his first public performances (a dhrupad and kheyal concert with his elder brother) at Fazilka Bangla, near what is now the DC House by Badha Lake[27]. The town’s cultural links span both sides of the border; it nurtured talent that later gained fame in Pakistan and India alike. Fazilka is also the ancestral home of some Indian film celebrities. Notably, actress Mandira Bedi is a granddaughter of Fazilka’s poet laureate Sahar Bedi, and actress Malaika Arora’s father Anil Arora was born and raised in Fazilka before India’s Partition[28]. These connections highlight the town’s contribution to the broader cultural tapestry of the region.

When it comes to cuisine, Fazilka is especially famous for its traditional sweet, “Tosha.” Fazilka’s tosha is a deep-fried sweetmeat made from a mixture of flour and milk solids, somewhat akin to a gulab jamun. This delicacy actually has cross-border roots – it was originally popular in West Punjab (now Pakistan) and was brought to Fazilka by families who migrated here during Partition[29]. Local confectioners refined the recipe by adding ingredients like khoya (dried milk) and paneer (cottage cheese), giving Fazilka’s tosha a softer texture, golden-brown color, and rich flavor[30]. Over the decades, Fazilka Tosha has become a hallmark of the city’s cuisine. It is customary for visitors to take boxes of tosha as a gift or souvenir, and it is often exchanged between families across the India–Pakistan border as a symbol of shared heritage and goodwill[31]. The sweet’s enduring popularity among both Indians and Pakistanis attests to its taste and the cultural link it represents. Aside from tosha, Fazilka is part of the Malwa region known for robust Punjabi culinary traditions, including staples like makki di roti and sarson da saag in season, though these are common to wider Punjab.

Fazilka is also known for its handicrafts and artisan products. The Fazilka “Tilla Jutti” – a style of hand-crafted Punjabi leather footwear with intricate gold/silver thread embroidery – is a famous product of the town. In fact, Fazilka’s embroidered jutti has been registered under the Indian Patent Act as a Geographical Indication (GI) unique to this locale[32]. This recognition protects the authenticity of the traditional design and technique associated with Fazilka’s shoemakers. Other notable craft products of Fazilka include baan and moorha furnishings, and sirkis. Baan and moorhas refer to woven reed or bamboo stools and chairs (moodha), while sirkis are mats or screens made from arrowroot reeds – these were historically among the town’s well-known products[17]. Such items, along with the local wool (in the past), formed the backbone of Fazilka’s artisanal economy. Today, one can still find shops in Fazilka’s markets selling traditional juttis and woven furniture, keeping these heritage crafts alive.

Migration

The partition of India in 1947 led to one of the largest forced migrations in history, and Fazilka, lying right on the new border, was deeply impacted. In the months around Partition, virtually the entire Muslim population of Fazilka – which constituted about 50% of the town’s residents – left for Pakistan[16]. Many migrated just across the border to towns in Pakistani Punjab (such as Montgomery, now Sahiwal, and Bahawalnagar) or further to cities like Lahore and Multan. This exodus was accompanied by an influx of refugees into Fazilka. Hindu and Sikh families from West Punjab and Sindh – who found themselves on the “wrong” side of the Radcliffe Line – arrived in large numbers, seeking new homes in and around Fazilka. Train stations and refugee camps in the area saw thousands of displaced people during late 1947, as special trains and caravans brought people fleeing communal violence in what had become Pakistan. These incoming communities from cities like Lahore, Lyallpur (Faisalabad), and Karachi, as well as rural areas of West Punjab, gradually resettled and rebuilt their lives in Fazilka and its villages.

This massive population exchange irrevocably changed Fazilka’s demographic profile and cultural landscape. Where once mosques and Islamic schools had been central to community life, after 1947 new gurudwaras and temples were established by the Sikh and Hindu refugees. The Urdu language, which had been prevalent, gave way to Punjabi written in Gurmukhi and Hindi in Devanagari, reflecting the change in populace (though many elder residents retained knowledge of Urdu). Despite the trauma of displacement, the migrants brought with them their own heritage and skills that enriched Fazilka. For example, some of the confectioners who settled in Fazilka from West Punjab introduced the tosha sweet recipe that has since become synonymous with the town[29]. Likewise, traders from Sindh and west Punjab revived commerce in the local markets, and agriculturalists among them took up farming in the fertile tracts around the Sutlej. Over time, the descendants of these refugees have become an integral part of Fazilka’s identity. The town today is a mosaic of memories – with many Hindu and Sikh families maintaining anecdotes of villages across the border, and a few Muslim shrines and old graves in Fazilka standing as reminders of the people who departed. The collective resilience of these migrants shaped the post-Partition destiny of Fazilka, turning it from a divided border outpost into a community knit together by shared hopes of peace and prosperity.

Sources: [1][2][33][5][34][8][10][11][12][13][14][19][20][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][31][32][17][16]

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[9] Delhi–Fazilka line - Wikipedia

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[19] [20] [21] [22] Valour of 226 martyrs etched in concrete at ‘Shaheedon ki Samadhi’ | Chandigarh News - Times of India

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