Malwa is a region of Punjab and parts of Haryana between the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers. This Malwa should not be confused with the Malwa Plateau region of Madhya Pradesh, Central India. People of Malwa are known for being great fighters, and warriors. The Malwa area makes up the majority of the Punjab region consisting 11 districts, and has the most fertile land. Cities such as Ludhiana, and Mohali located in the Malwa region are the richest cities, and are the most expensive places to live in the Punjab State. Ludhiana is the business centre of Punjab and is also referred to as the Manchester of Punjab. The city is also home to Punjab Agricultural University. Malwa is home to many NRI residents mostly from the Ludhiana, Sangrur, Moga, Barnala, and Bathinda districts. Ferozepur, which was the largest district and a metro city before the division of India and Pakistan, is part of the Malwa region which is famous for its patriotism as well as martyrdom and for the yield of best quality of wheat and paddy in the world. Sikh Jats and Khatri Sikhs are found in the Malwa region comprising 92% of the population, with the rest of the population distributed between Tarkans, and Chamars. The Aroras are in minority in the area. The Malwa region has been controlling the political power in Punjab for decades and the current Chief Minister of Punjab, also hailing from the Malwa region is Parkash Singh Badal who belongs to a Dhillon Jat family, and is the president of Shiromani Akali Dal.
Historical figures of Malwa Punjab
Hari Singh Dhillon- most powerful Sikh warrior of the 17th century spreading his empire into Afghanistan
Jhanda Singh Dhillon
Banda Singh Bahadur - martyr of Sikh faith
Bhuma Singh Dhillon
Baghel Singh Dhaliwal-18th century misldar king of karora singhia misl.
Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon
Sarabjit Singh Dhillon
Kartar Singh Sarabha:First Sikh freedom fighter during British time who was hanged at age 18 in Lahore. He was also the mentor of Bhagat Singh
Bhuma Singh Dhillon:Famous Sikh warrior of the 18th century
Bibi Sahib Kaur:Sikh Princess
Bibi Rajindar Kaur:Sikh princess
Maharaja Yadavindra Singh
Maharaja Rajinder Singh
Bhupinder Singh of Patiala:Prince of Patiala
Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon:Param Vir Chakra India highest military decoration
Baba Gurmukh Singh:Freedom Fighter
Sukhdev Thapar:Hanged alongside with Bhagat Singh on March 23, 1931
Udham Singh:Assassinated Michael O'Dwyer
Saint Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale:Sikh Soldier
Beant Singh:Who assassinated Indira Gandhi
Kehar Singh:Planned the assassination of Indira Gandhi
Beant Singh:Chief Minster of Punjab assassinated by khalistani terrorists in Chandigarh, 1995
Mohinder Singh Randhawa:Played a major role in the Green Revolution of India
The people of the region are known as Malwais.
The dialect of Punjabi spoken in Malwa is called Malwi.
Compared to Majha (comprising of Amritsar and Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran districts), Doaba(comprising of Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Nawan Shahr districts) and Powadh (comprising Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Mohali, parts of Patiala), Malwa comprises 10(parts of some) of the twenty districts of Punjab. Districts in Malwa include:
parts of Fatehgarh Sahib
During the Mughal era, Malwa was known as Sirhind, since it consisted of the city by that name. Sirhind was the headquarters or the Mughal administration in Eastern Punjab. The city was also the headquarters of the Mujaddidiya branch of the Naqshbandiyya Order of Sufism. The Order was named after Mujaddid Alif Thani also known as Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi.
Malwa, like the rest of the province, was also the scene of many clashes between the Mughals, the Sikhs, the Afghans, the Marathas and the British.
Pj Pari & gallery team work