Bathinda or
Bhatinda (
Punjabi: ਬਠਿੰਡਾ) (
Hindi: बठिंडा) (
Hindi: भटिंडा )(previously known as
Tabar-e-Hind or
Tabarhindh meaning the Gateway to India) is a city and Municipal Corporation in Southern part of
Punjab.The city, named after the
Bhati kings, is one of the oldest cities in
Punjab,
India and the current administrative headquarters of
Bathinda District. It is in northwestern
India in the
Malwa Region, 225 km west of the capital city of
Chandigarh and is the fifth largest city of
Punjab. Bathinda is nicknamed the 'City of Lakes', courtesy of the artificial lakes in the city.The first empress of India,
Razia Sultan was imprisoned in the
Qila Mubarak fort in Bathinda.