Moga district

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. As a result, very few sites dating back to antiquity have been uncovered in the local area of Moga. This effect is more pronounced in the western parts of the district.

The location of ancient villages and towns can be inferred to the present of mounds of earth, brick, and pottery that have been excavated called thehs. These mounds are evidence that the banks of the river were inhabited in ancient times. A number of coins have been discovered at the site of these mounds.[3]

Sites identified as belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization have been discovered in the area. Scholars have linked these finds to other sites uncovered in the Rupnagar area of Punjab.[3][4][5]

The composition of the Rigveda is proposed to have occurred in the Punjab circa 1500 and 1200 BCE.[6]

The region of Moga belongs to the Malwai cultural zone, named after the ancient Malava tribe whom inhabited the area in ancient times.[7] During the reign of Porus in the 4th century BCE, the southern area of Punjab was ruled by both the Kshudrakas and Malavas. Some scholars believe they were pushed southwards due to martial and social pressures occurring in the north.[8] Alexander of Macedon warred with the Malavas for control of the region. This wrestle for power is recorded as being fierce and bitter in Greek historical accounts.[7] After the withdrawal of Macedonian forces in the area, the Malavas joined with anti-Greek forces to usurp Hellenistic power and control of the region, leading to the formation of the Mauryan dynasty.

The decline of the Mauryan dynasty coincided with an invasion of Bactrian Greeks, whom successfully took control of the region in the second century BCE. 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.

Folio of a historical Guru Granth Sahib manuscript containing the official Gurmukhi seal of Guru Gobind Singh within the margin of the page. It is kept in the private familial collection of the relatives of Mata Damodari (wife of Guru Hargobind) in Gurdwara Daroli Bhai at the village of Daroli Bhai Ki, Moga district, Punjab, India

The area is believed to have been under the writ of the Punwar clan of Rajputs during the early-mediaeval period.[9] They were headquartered in Janer, at the old riverbed location of the Sutlej river, over six kilometres north of the present-day city of Moga. Later on, the Bhati clan of Rajputs, originating from Jaisalmer, established themselves in the area, superseding the previous Punwars for authority of the region.

Jat tribes, whom had been practicing migratory, nomadic-pastoralism for much of their recorded history, began to permanently settle the Moga area during this time and take up a sedentary lifestyle of settled agriculture.[10][11][12] First of them being the Dhaliwal clan, who firmly established themselves southeast of Moga at Kangar. 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.[13] The Gill clan of Jats, originally based in Bathinda, dispersed to the western parts of Moga district around this time. At the end of the 16th century, the Sidhu clan of Jats migrated northwards to the area from Rajasthan. 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.

During the Early Mughal-Sikh Wars, in 1634 Guru Hargobind left Amritsar to avoid Mughal persecution and arrived near Moga with fresh recruits enlisted en-route to stage a counter-attack against the Mughal government.[14] When near Moga, he sent his family to safety in Kartarpur and whilst he remained in the Malwa region with his army.[14]

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.[15] Gurdwara Tambu Sahib was later constructed to commemorate his stay in the area.[15]

According to Sikh tradition, the village of Dina located near the district's border with the neighbouring Bathinda district is where Guru Gobind Singh rested for a few days after the Second Battle of Chamkaur.[16] Furthermore, it is said he wrote and dispatched the Zafarnama letter to Aurangzeb from here.[16] Scholar Louis E. Fenech states the Guru rested at Dina at the house (specifically an upper story room called a chubārā) of a local Sikh named Bhai Desu Tarkhan after sending the Zafarnama from Kangar village, entrusted in the hands of Bhai Dharam Singh and Bhai Daya Singh.[17] A gurdwara, Zafarnama Gurdwara Lohgarh Sahib Pind Dina Patishahi Dasvin, commemorates his stay at Dina, Moga, and a sign there claims the Guru stayed at the location for 3 months and 13 days.[17] Harbans Singh in The Encyclopedia of Sikhism states the Guru only stayed at Dina for a few days conversely to the claims of the Gurdwara.[16] He further states that he stayed with two local Sikhs named Chaudhry Shamir and Lakhmir, the grandsons of a local cheiftain named Rai Jodh, whom had served the sixth Sikh guru, Hargobind, and fought and died at the Battle of Mehraj.[16] Guru Gobind Singh gathered an army of hundreds of locals from Dina and the surrounding area and continued on his journey.[16]

In 1715 CE, Nawab Ise Khan, the Manj governor, stirred a rebellion against the Mughal hegemony but was defeated and killed. In 1760 CE, the ascendency of Sikh power became grounded after the defeat of Adina Beg, who was the last Mughal governor of Lahore.

The Nishanwalia Misl was based in Singhanwala village of Moga district.[18][19] 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.[20] 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.[21] Fortresses (ਕਿਲਾ Kilā in Punjabi) were constructed at both of these places by the Sikh misl.[21] The local nawab of Kot Ise Khan in modern-day Moga district became a protectorate of the Ahluwalia Misl. In 1763-64, Gujar Singh, his brother Nusbaha Singh, and his two nephews, Gurbaksh Singh and Mastan Singh, of the Bhangi Misl, crossed the Sutlej river after a sacking of Kasur and gained control of the Firozepur area (including Moga) whilst Jai Singh Gharia, another band from the same quarters, seized Khai, Wan, and Bazidpur, and subordinated them.[3] Sada Kaur owned estates in Wadni, near modern-day Moga city.[22] The area of Moga was one of the 45 taluqas (subdistrict) south of the Sutlej River that was claimed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh as belonging to or claimed by him through Sada Kaur as per a list by Captain William Murray on 17 March 1828.[23]

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. The Sikh forces were defeated by the British and retreated back beyond the Sutlej. After the war, the British acquired all former territory of the Lahore Darbar south and east of the Sutlej. When the Sutlej campaign drew to a close at the end of 1846, the territories of Khai, Baghuwala, Ambarhar, Zira, and Mudki, with portions of Kot Kapura, Guru Har Sahai, Jhumba, Kot Bhai, Bhuchcho, and Mahraj were added to the Firozepur district. Other acquisitions by the British were divided between the Badhni and Ludhiana districts. In 1847, the Badhni district was dissolved and the following areas were incorporated into the Firozepur district: Mallanwala, Makhu, Dharmkot, Kot Ise Khan, Badhni, Chuhar Chak, Mari, and Sadasinghwala.[3]

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.[24]

During the late 19th century, the Kuka movement was prevalent in the areas of Moga, with many of its followers drawing from the laypersons of the district.[25][26] The Kukas are believed to be one of the first resistance movement of the subcontinent towards Indian independence from European powers.[27]

12th Shahidi Jatha ('Band of Martyrs') involved in the Jaito Morcha (agitation) takes its blessings at Akal Takht under the leadership of Jathedars Sucha Singh of Moga and Kanwar Singh, ca.1924

During the Indian Independence Movement, many revolutionaries came from Moga district. Many of them were tried and executed as a result of their activities against the colonial government.[28]

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.[29][30] The areas of Moga district were heavily effected by Communist insurgencies in the latter half of the 20th century, being one of the worst affected areas of the state of Punjab.[31] In 1972, two students in Moga district were killed in a police firing, leading to an incident known as the Moga agitation, which was led by leftist groups where protestors set afire government buildings and public transport for two months.[32][33][34] On 26 June 1989, during the Punjab insurgency, an event known as the Moga massacre occurred, when suspected Khalistani militants opened fire on RSS workers undergoing a morning exercise and indoctrination session in Nehru Park in Moga city.[35] The attack led to the deaths of 24 people and was suspected of being carried out by the Khalistan Commando Force.[35] In March 2013, around over 150 farmers were arrested during an agitation in the state.[36] During the 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest, many of the participants of the movement against the three farm bills hailed from Moga district.[37][38]

Originally, Moga used to be part of the Ferozepur district, but it was bifurcated and the then tehsils of Moga and Muktsar were transferred to the then-newly created Faridkot district on 7 August 1972.[39] From that point onwards, Moga was a subdivision of Faridkot district until the then Chief Minister of Punjab, Harcharan Singh Brar, agreed to the public request to make Moga a district on 24 November 1995.[1]

The district currently has a low amount of its area under forest cover, partly due to past deforestation during the Green Revolution,[60] but afforestation and reforestation drives have led to the planting of saplings in the district.[61] 9 million tree saplings are planned to be planted in the district before 2026 by NITI Aayog to meet the demands of a World Economic Forum initiative, with hopes of increasing Moga district's percentage of land under forest cover from the current 1.25% (2,575 hectares) to over 5% (11, 575 hectares).[61] In September 2021, a garden, named 'Guru Granth Sahib Bagh', was set-up in the historical village of Patto Hira Singh in the district. The garden is notable as it contains flora species mentioned in the Guru Granth Sahib, the primary Sikh canonical scripture and is intended on highlighting the connection between the Sikh Gurus and the natural world.[62]