[6] According to Henry George Raverty, Bathinda was known as Tabar-i-Hind (Labb-ut-Twarikh) or Tabarhindh, which roughly translates as ‘Gateway to India’.

[7] In 1004, Mahmud of Ghazni besieged and captured the local fort, which was located on the route from the northwest into the rich Ganges valley.

Prithviraj Chauhan, the ruler of this region, managed to recover possession of the fort thirteen months later in 1191 after the First Battle of Tarain.

However, Prithviraj Chauhan was killed in the Second Battle of Tarain and the fort of Bathinda once again came under the control of Muhammad Ghori.

In the 3rd century, Rao Bhatti is credited with establishing the modern town of Bathinda in the Lakhi jungle area.

1488, Bathinda was conquered by Rao Bika, son of Jodha of Mandore (founder of Jodhpur) and became part of Bikaner princely state.

With the dawn of independence and merger of Patiala and East Punjab States into a division called Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU), Bathinda became a full-fledged district with headquarters at Bathinda city.

It is attributed to the presence of polluting industries and the indiscriminate use of modern pesticides and other toxic materials in farming.

Unscientific farming practices, that emerged after the introduction of Green Revolution, are also alleged to be a reason for growing incidence of not just cancer but also, high rates of spontaneous abortions, reproductive ailments, genetic deformities, anaemia, diarrhoea, vomiting, fluorosis and a host of skin ailments including rashes and boils.