Mandi Bahauddin, the capital of the district, is also the Tehsil headquarter. Mandi Bahauddin Tehsil has 27 Union Administrations / Union Councils.In 1506 C.E. Chief Bahauddin a Sufi Gondal Jat established a settlement namely Pindi Bahauddin in the north-eastern corner of the region known as "Gondal Bar", after his immigration from Pindi Shah Jahanian to this area. The settlement soon became a cen
ter of intense commercial activity, hence named afterwards by the merchants as "Mandi Bahauddin", the Market of Bahauddin. The proto-city was later on fortified with 9 main doorways to guard against foreign invasions. The wall intact today was completed in 1946. However, the recorded history of Mandi Bahauddin goes back to the era before Common Era, connecting the region with the historic figure of Alexander the Great. Some 8 km northwest of the modern-day Mandi Bahauddin town, village Mong on the southern bank of Jhelum River (Greek Hydaspes), the battle Battle of the Hydaspes River was fought between Raja Porus (Sanskrit Paurava) and Alexander. This historic battle of Hydaspes River, which Indian sources refer to as the "Battle of Jhelum", took place in 326 BCE. The kingdom of Raja Porus was situated in the northern Punjab of modern Pakistan. This battle proved the last major fight of Alexander's career, for the Macedonians, after being put up a fierce resistance by Porus' soldiery and having heard of a massive 4,000 elephant force mustered by eastern kingdoms, refused to march further east i.e. Ganges Plains.The predominantly Muslim population supported Muslim League and Pakistan Movement. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India while the Muslims refugees from India settled down in Mandi Bahauddin District. In 1963, the Rasul Barrage and Rasul-Qadirabad Link Canal project under the Indus Basin Irrigation Project started. The project was managed by Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), and a large colony for government employees and foreign contractors was constructed 2 kilometres north of Mandi Bahauddin city. This project was completed in 1968 by Engineer Riazur Rahman Shariff as the Project Director. This project brought Mandi Bahauddin into limelight and helped the city grow commercially. The Tehsil headquarters towns of Phalia and Malikwal are 22.5 and 28.5 kilometres from Mandi Bahauddin, respectively. The Mandi Bahauddin Tehsil has 27 Union Councils.