Firozpur also holds a historic place in Indian history as it was there that British Raj established control over much of North-West India as well as what is now Pakistan through the Anglo-Sikh Wars that were fought in this region. Today it is the headquarters of a brigade of the Northern Corps of the Indian Army. Shaheed Bhagat Singh College of Engineering and Technology is located at Mogaroad in Firozpur. It is a government Engg. College and has an excellent reputation. Firozpur Cantonment is adjacent to and south of the city; during British times it was one of the largest cantonments in the country.
Firozpur has easy access by road and rail to other places such as Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Delhi, and Chandigarh; the city is a center of numerous holy shrines and historic places. At the nearby city of Zira, a Jain Swetambar Temple with ancient brass icons and wall murals is located.
In addition to cotton and grain cultivation and agriculture-related services, Firozpur has some light manufacturing. Commercial progress has been restricted by its vicinity to the border with Pakistan. Normalizing relations between the two nuclear nations promises to raise the city's profile as a potential trade hub. Firozpur is the oldest British district of the Punjab, established in 1833 as district headquarters even well before Ludhiana and Amritsar became districts. Firozpur district even after partition included many areas which were later reorganised to be a part of the Faridkot, Moga, Muktsar and Bathinda Fazilka Districts. The per hectare wheat yields of this district are comparable to the best in the world and they matched wheat yields per hectare of Ontario Province in Canada
