Fazilka, 11 km from the international border, was the biggest wool market in undivided Punjab

Background

The Fazilka district administration traces the town's origin to AD 1844.
It was founded by Mr Oliver and named after Mian Fazil Watoo, an early landowner of the area.
The town lies 11 km off the international border with Pakistan, about 325 km west of Chandigarh and 200 km south of Amritsar.
The Sutlej is the key river near the town.
Before 1947 Fazilka was the biggest wool market in undivided Punjab, and it remains a rice and cotton centre.
The district record notes a destructive flood in 1908 and the impact of the Indo-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971.