Bathinda or Bhatinda (known by Invaders as Tabar-e-Hind or Tabarhindh meaning the Gateway to India) is a city and municipal corporation in the southern part of Punjab. The earliest mention of Tabarhindh occurs in the Jami-Ul-Hakayat written about 607 Hijri or 1211 AD.

The city, named after the Bhati kings, is one of the oldest cities in Punjab. Bhatinda was changed to Bathinda to conform to the phonetical expression as locally pronounced.

In 1004, Mahmud of Ghazni besieged the local fort, which was located on the route from the northwest into the rich Ganges valley.

In 1189, Muhammad Ghori attacked and occupied the fort of Bathinda. Prithvi Raj Chauhan, the ruler of this region, managed to recover possession of the fort thirteen months later in 1191 after the first battle of Tarain.

After the death of Muhammad Ghori, Delhi Sultanate was established. The fourth Emperor - Iltutmish, on his death-bed nominated his daughter Raziya as his heiress. Raziya became the next and the first Empress of India and was known as Razia Sultan.

Her childhood friend named Malik Altunia, the governor of Bathinda, joined a rebellion by other provincial governors who refused to accept Razia's rule. She was imprisoned at the Bathinda fort in April 1240. She was released in August and later died in October 1240.

The city later came under the control of the Sidhu-Brars, who were thrown out of Bathinda during Lodhi's rule but were restored to the area by Babur. A few years later, Chaudhary Roop Chand Brar, a Jatt Sikh, came into the scene. Chaudhary Phul Brar, the second son of Chaudhary Roop Chand, started the practice of langar (community kitchen) for the people in the Lakhi jungle area.

In circa 1754, the town was conquered by Maharaja Ala Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala and since then it followed the history of erstwhile princely state of Patiala.

There are 2 Historic Sikh Gurdwaras in Bathinda.