FARIDKOT

town, southwestern Punjab state, northwestern India, 70 miles (116 km) southwest of Ludhiana town. It was founded by Bhallan of the Burai Jat (a warrior community of northern India) during the 16th-century reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar. It later came under British rule. Seized in 1803 by Ranjit Singh, the Sikh ruler of the historic Punjab, it was subsequently restored to the British by the Treaty of Amritsar in 1809. Situated in a cotton-producing area, the town's industries include cotton ginning and baling, powerloom weaving, steel rolling, and metal founding; agricultural implements, machine tools, bicycles, and sewing machines are manufactured. Pop. (1981) town, 42,423.