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Malwa is a geographical region in the south of Punjab state in India.[1][2][3] It is located between south of the Sutlej river, north of the Ghaggar river, east of Pakistan, and west of the Sivalik Hills.[4][5][6]
Regions of Punjab: The much-truncated India's portion of present Punjab is divided into three natural regions: The Maiha, The Doaba, The Malwa. Majha: Majha starts northward from the right bank of river Beas and stretches up to the Wagha village, which marks the boundary between India and Pakistan. Majha in Punjabi means the heartland. The region is divided into three districts: 1. Amritsar, 2. Gurdaspur, 3. Tarn Taran. Doaba: The rivers Sutlei in the south and Beas in the North bound the Doaba of Puniab. The Doaba region is divided into four districts: 1. Jalandhar, 2. Nawanshahr, 3. Kapurthala, 4. Hoshiarpur. Malwa: The area south of the river Sutlej is called Malwa. The name has stuck because a clan called Molois (sometimes written as Malawis in ancient works) once ruled this area, which must have spread up to present State of Gujrat which was known as the Subah of Malwa as late as the Mughul times. Malwa the largest part of the Punjab is divided into the following 12 districts after the names of their headquarters: 1. Bathinda, 2. Barnala, 3. Faridkot, 4. Fatehgarh Sahib, 5. Ferozepur, 6. Ludhiana, 7. Mansa, 8. Moga, 9. Sangrur, 10. Muktsar, 11. Patiala, 12. Rup Nagar, 13. SAS Nagar - Mohali.
The people of the region speak the Malwa dialect, which is similar to Punjabi. Malwa is surrounded by the river Sutlej in the north, the river Ghaggar in the south, the Shivalik Hills in the east and Pakistan in the west.
Historically, the city was founded by Firoz Shah Tughlaq III (1351-1388 A.D). It was earlier an important centre between Delhi and Lahore (Sharma, 1983: 17). Firoz Shah III constructed the Ferozepore fort around 1370 (GoP, 2000: 13). The Ain-i-Akbari also refers to 'Ferozepore' as the capital of Multan province. After a series of successions by Sidhu Jatts and the Bhangi Misl, the district became 'the advanced outpost of British India in the direction of the Sikh power' in 1839 (Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1908a, b: 440-441). Finally, in 1846, it formally became part of the British Empire. ... Ferozepur is southwest of 'Malwa region of Punjab. On the basis of culture, Punjab is distinguished into three areas- Majha, Doaba and Malwa. Rivers mark these folk regions with unique physical milieu, economic organization and cultural practices. Majha is in upper Bari Doab comprising districts of Amritsar and Gurdaspur. Doaba or Bist. Doaba comprises districts of Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahar, Kapurthala and certain sections of Fazilka. Malwa region is south of river Sutlej. It includes eleven districts of Punjab and so is the largest region of Punjab. In contrast to Majha and Doaba, Malwa is thinly populated and is bound by rivers Sutlej in the North, Ghaggar in the south, Shivalik hills in the east and Pakistan in the west (GoP, 2004: 26-29).