Batala is the second city of Gurdaspur district and has an old town with a history that stretches back well before Mughal rule. It is traditionally associated with the early life of Guru Nanak, who is said to have married here. The Gurdwara Kandh Sahib marks the site of the wedding, built around a section of wall from a house associated with the ceremony.
The city is also known in modern India as a centre for machine tool manufacturing — Batala-made hand tools and agricultural implements are sold across the subcontinent. The industrial character of the city is not particularly appealing to visitors, but the old town and its gurdwaras give a sense of the layered history that characterises all of Punjab.
Like most of northern Punjab, Batala saw massive displacement and violence during the 1947 Partition, when the region was divided between India and Pakistan. The stories of that period still run through the city's collective memory.