[4] The name of Moga may be ultimately derived from the Indo-Scythian king, Maues, who invaded and ruled the area in the 1st century BCE after conquering the Indo-Greek polities of the region.

[7] Structures and sites dating before the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar are exceedingly rare due to the changing course of the Sutlej river throughout the centuries.

This seizure of power in the Punjab by the Bactrians led to the migration of the Malavas from the area to Rajasthan, and from there to the now-called Malwa plateau of Central India.

They appear to have possibly obtained high repute, seeing as a woman of the clan, Dharm, who was the daughter of Chaudhary Mihr Mitha Dhaliwal, was wedded to the Mughal emperor Akbar.

A branch of the Sidhus, the Brars, established themselves in the south of Gill territory, pushing its former inhabitants northwards whilst taking control of their key places in the process.

The Brars founded a chieftainship at Kot Kapura, 40 kilometres west of present-day Moga, and rebelled against the overlordship of Nawab Ise Khan, the Manj governor.

[21] Most of the Jat tribes of the local area were converted to Sikhism by the missionary works of the seventh Guru of the Sikhs, Har Rai.

At Dagru village in Moga district, it is believed Guru Har Rai stayed there for some time whilst on a tour of the Malwa region.

[25][26] Bhuma Singh Dhillon, who succeeded as the second leader of the Bhangi Misl, was born in Hung village located in the Wadni parganah of Moga district.

[27] The forces of Tara Singh, the misldar of the Dallewalia Misl of the Sikh Confederacy, led incursions into modern-day Moga district, conquering all the way to Ramuwala and Mari.

[32] During the First Anglo-Sikh War, the forces of the Sikh Empire crossed the river Sutlej on 16 December 1845, and fought battles at Mudki, Firozshah, Aliwal, and Sabraon.

[8] During the Mutiny of 1857, there were reports of a Roman Catholic church being burnt down amongst other buildings of the colonial establishment in Firozepur district during sparks of tension.

[46] The Moga School became renowned internationally for its approach to rural reconstruction by combining principles of self-help, character-building, and "practical agricultural demonstration", and it published its own periodical titled Village Teachers' Journal.

[note 1][7] Moga locality was the headquarters of eye-surgeon Mathra Das Pahwa, who established a hospital there in 1927, where he operated on cataract patients free-of-charge.

[49][7][50][51] A large amount of cataract patients were treated over the years by Mathra Das Pahwa, with an operation of his being witnessed by Mahatma Gandhi.

[57] At the end of June in 1939, another agriculturalist movement arose in Chuhar Chak village over farmers wanting to stop paying the chowkidara tax, which had long been a demand.

[56]: 182  With news spreading of the arrests, jathas arrived in Moga from Chuhar Chak village and over a period of a few days, around 350 people (incl.

[61] A local Muslim League leader named Sukh Annyat hired trucks and left the city with property and family.

[61] News of these two incidents created further communal tensions in the region, especially amongst the rural villages, with Sikhs and Hindus being pitted against Muslims and vice versa.

[4] In the early 1960s, the Moga area was poor and undeveloped, with there being a dearth of infrastructure (such as electricity, transportation, telephones, or medical-care) and the typical agricultural family owned less than five acres of poorly-irrigated land that had low fertility.

[4] Thus, Moon argues that with the coming of Nestlé into the local area, the company brought-in experts (including veterinarians, nutritionists, agronomists, etc.

[4] With the quality of milk in the area being improved, Nestlé started paying local producers higher amounts for their products than what was set by the Indian government, with the company purchasing at biweekly intervals and this income for farmers helping them get bank credit.

[4] An event called the All-India Workers' Conference was held in Moga in September 1968, establishing the Bharatiya Khet Mazdoor Union with a membership of 251,000 at the time.

[70] In 1972, PSU president Iqbal Khan and general secretary Pirthipal Singh Randhawa led protests against the price rise and the black marketing of cinema tickets.

[76] During the time period of Dharam Yudh Morcha, Sikh militants (and allegedly foreign personnel) were sheltering in gurdwaras in Moga town, thus an order was given on 30 May that the temples should be sieged by BSF paramilitary forces until the militants inside them surrendered, however the Sikh priests of Amritsar protested the siege and threatened to lead a march toward Moga.

[90] The garden was inaugurated in September 2021 and contains all fifty-eight plant species that find mention by name within the hymns of the Guru Granth Sahib.

[citation needed] Bagha Purana lies on the main road connecting Moga and Faridkot and thus is a major hub for buses to all across Punjab.

[94] A dhuna dedicated to Sri Chand can be found in Korewal village in Daroli Baike in Moga district, which as per oral tradition was established by a roaming sadhu.

The table below shows the child sex ratio of children below the age of 6 years in the rural and urban areas of Moga district.

[108] Moga city is also known for its advanced number of educational institutes, such as middle, high, and senior secondary schools, colleges, and libraries.