# Patiala State

Patiala State was a kingdom and princely state in British India, and one of the Phulkian States, that acceded to the Union of India upon Indian independence and partition in 1947. The state was founded by Ala Singh in 1762. Patiala State was the largest and most important princely state in the Punjab Province. The state's ruler, the Maharaja of Patiala, was entitled to a 17-gun salute and held precedence over all other princes in the Punjab Province during the British Raj. The state was ruled by Jat Sikhs of the Sidhu clan.
The kingdom's imperial troops also fought in World War I and World War II as behalf of the British Indian Empire.

## Etymology

The state's name came from the name of its principal city and capital, Patiala, which itself comes from the roots patti and ala. The word patti means "strip of land" in Punjabi, and 'ala' comes from the name of the founder of the city and Patiala state, Ala Singh, thus meaning ‘the land of Ala Singh’.

## History
### Family background

The Patiala ruling family remotely claimed origins from Bhatti Rajputs of Jaisalmer in the 12th century, specifically the Jadon Bhatti chief Jaisal who was the founder and first ruler of Jaisalmer.$^{:89}$ Based on this, the Phulkian rulers claimed Rajput status up-to the 20th century. At some point, their ancestors moved from Jaisalmer in Rajasthan to Phul in Punjab. The ruling house claims descent from Rao Hem Hel of Jaisalmer, the third son of Jaisal, who settled in 1185 at Bhatinda. Other sources describe Hem Hel as being the grandson of Jaisal. Hem Hel would expand to Hisar, where he was pushed back to Bhatinda by Prithviraj Chauhaun. Hem Hel managed to take control of territory located south of Muktsar and expelled the previous Punwar rulers from the tract. Hem Hel died in 1214 and was succeeded by his son Jaidrath (Jundar).
Between 1526 and 1560, the ancestral family of the later Patiala rulers was headed by chaudhary Bariam, a Phulkian Jat. Bariam was awarded with a chaudhriyat grant by the Mughal emperor Babur in 1526 due to his actions in supporting the Mughal invader at the First Battle of Panipat. This grant allowed Bariam to collect revenue from the badlands located to the southwest of Delhi.
In 1560, custodianship over the family was then led by Mehraj, who was followed by Pukko. Pukko was followed by Mohan, who led the family until 1618. Mohan and his son Rup Chand were killed in circa 1618 during a skirmish with Bhattis.$^{:89}$
From 1618 onwards, the family was led by Kala, who was the second-son of Mohan.$^{:89}$ Kala was succeeded by Phul, a son of Rup Chand.$^{:89}$ According to lore, Phul met with Guru Hargobind, with the guru prophesying that Phul's descendants would spread-out and be successful. This was through the Sikh guru making a pun on Phul name, which means "flower", and that Phul's descendants would "bear many blossoms" and "satisfy the hunger of many". Phul had seven sons and two wives, with two prominent sons being Rama and Tiloka, with both being born to the same mother. Phul headed the family until 1652, being succeeded by Rama Chand.
In 1696, Guru Gobind Singh is believed to have blessed the family, having issued a hukamnama edict on 2 August 1696 (2 Bhadon 1753 Bk.) addressed to Rama Chand and Tiloka Chand of the family urging them to visit the guru's court and bring with them men and horses. The Sikh guru also gifted Rama and Tiloka a battle-standard and eleven weapons, which is seen as bestowing a special accord onto the family. In 1702, Rama and Tiloka underwent the pahul ceremony at Damdama Sahib, with their Khalsa baptism being conducted by Guru Gobind Singh himself. Thus-after, the family started appending the Singh title to their name. However, according to Barbara Ramusack, Ala Singh was the first member to adopt the Singh title. Out of the six sons of Rama, two of them also appended their name with Singh (with one of these two being Ala Singh). Rama Chand was succeeded as head of the family by Ala Singh in 1714. Whilst Rama's descendants formed the ruling house Patiala State, the descendants of Tiloka formed the ruling house of Nabha and Jind states.
Ala Singh, the founder of Patiala State, was a descendant of the Sidhu clan of Jats. He was born into the Phulkian dynasty, a confederacy established by Chaudhary Phul Sidhu-Brar. Ala was the third-son of his father Rama. Ala Singh’s leadership and military prowess enabled him to establish Patiala as a significant princely state in the Punjab region.

### Founding and territorial evolution

According to Giani Gian Singh's Twarikh Guru Khalsa, Ala Singh was bestowed the title of raja by emperor Muhammad Shah of the Mughal Empire in 1725 C.E. (1781 Bk.) at the Delhi Durbar to recognize Ala Singh's efforts toward fighting insurgents.$^{:73}$ Ala Singh was awarded the title by Wasiyar Khan of Sirhind.$^{:73}$ Afterwards, Ala Singh would expand and consolidate his power.$^{:73}$
The locality of Patiala was founded by sardar Ala Singh in 1752. In 1761, the Afghans defeated the forces of Ala Singh at Barnala. Ala Singh was captured by the Afghans and taken to Ahmad Shah Abdali. The Afghans demanded a four lakh rupee ransom to secure Ala Singh's release. Ala Singh was a vassal of the Afghans. Patiala State was founded by Ala Singh as a chiefship slightly later in March 1762 after Ahmad Shah Abdali bestowed Ala Singh with the raja title, gifting him with a robe-of-honour, nagadas (war drums), the right to coin money, and an embrace. Yet Ala Singh was expected to bestow an annual tribute on the Afghan ruler. Ramusack dates this bestowal several years later in 1765. In 1763, after the Battle of Sirhind, the Sikh Confederation partitioned the Sirhind area and gave the territory to Ala Singh. The areas in Sirhind, along with Ala Singh's other conquered territories, formed the initial territories of the Patiala state. Also in 1763, Ala Singh constructed a mud-fortress around a mound, known as the Qila Mubarak (meaning "blessed fort"). Ala Singh established the rules for the right of succession based on primogeniture.
Ala Singh's successor, Amar Singh, took-on the Raja-i-Rajagan Bahadur title in 1767. Patiala State became a British protectorate in 1809. Patiala State continued to expand during the rule of Ala Singh's two successors, Raja-Rajgan Amar Singh and Maharaja Sahib Singh (the first ruler to hold the title of Maharaja); however, the next major expansion of Patiala State's territory occurred during and after 1814, under Karam Singh. For Karam Singh's support during the Anglo-Nepalese War, which took place between 1814 and 1816, the British Empire awarded him territory in the hill states, extending Patiala State's territory to areas in what is now Himachal Pradesh, including Shimla and Chail. After the First Anglo-Sikh war, which took place between 1845 and 1846, the state expanded again when, in return for its support during the war, the British Empire confiscated land from Nabha State and rewarded it to Patiala State.
After 1857 and during the rule of Narinder Singh, Patiala State's territory was expanded for the final time. Narinder Singh's services and the support to the British Empire resulted in Patiala State gaining sovereign rights in the Narunal division of Jhajjar, in modern Haryana, and he purchased the taluka of Khamanu. Narinder Singh was also granted administrative jurisdiction over Bhadaur and the annual revenue from the area.

### British suzerainty

In 1809, Patiala State entered into an alliance with the British Empire, whereby the state was given internal autonomy with certain restrictions, and the rulers of Patiala state recognised the British Empire as their suzerains. During the British Raj, the rulers of Patiala State were entitled to a 17-gun salute and held precedence over every other princely state in the Punjab Province.

### Independence and abolition

In 1947, Yadavindra Singh, the last Maharaja of Patiala, agreed to the accession of Patiala State into the independent Dominion of India. Members and descendants of the Patiala royal family maintained their princely titles until they were abolished in India in 1971 through the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of India. Patiala State's historical territory is in the Indian states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

## Rulers and titles
### Raja

* 29 March 1762 – 22 August 1765: Ala Singh (b. 1691 – d. 1765)
* 22 August 1765 – 1767: Amar Singh (b. 1748 – d. 1781)

### Raja-e-Rajgan

* 1767 – 5 February 1781: Amar Singh (s.a.)
** 1771 – 1774: Himmat Singh (Pretender; died 1774)
* February 1781 – 1813: Sahib Singh (b. 1774 – d. 1813)
** 1781 – 1790: Dewan Nandu Mal (Regent)

### Maharaja

* 26 March 1813 – 23 December 1845: Karam Singh (b. 1797 – d. 1845)
** 26 March 1813 – 1823: Maharani Aus Kaur (f) – Regent (b. 1772 – d. af.1823)
* 23 Dec 1845 – 13 November 1862: Narinder Singh (b. 1823 – d. 1862) (from 25 June 1861 Sir Narendra Singh)
* 13 November 1862 – 14 April 1876: Mahendra Singh (b. 1852 – d. 1876) (from 28 May 1870 Sir Mahendra Singh)
** 13 Nov 1862 – 26 February 1870: Jagdish Singh (Regent, chairman of regency council)
* 14 Apr 1876 – 9 November 1900: Rajinder Singh (b. 1872 – d. 1900) (from 21 May 1898 Sir Rajendra Singh)
** 14 April 1876 – October 1890: Sir Deva Singh (Regent) (b. 1834 – d. 1890) (chairman of regency council)
* 9 November 1900 – 23 March 1938: Bhupinder Singh (b. 1891 – d. 1938) (from 12 December 1911 Sir BhupindraSingh)
** 9 November 1900 – 3 November 1910: Sardar Gurmukh Singh – (Regent, chairman of regency council)
* 23 Mar 1938 – 15 August 1947: Yadavindra Singh (b. 1913 – d. 1974) (from 1 January 1942 Sir Yadavindra Singh)

## Demographics

Religious groups in Patiala State (British Punjab province era) :
| Religious group | 1881 | 1881 | 1891 | 1891 | 1901 | 1901 | 1911 | 1911 | 1921 | 1921 | 1931 | 1931 | 1941 | 1941 |
| Religious group | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % |
| Hinduism | 734,902 | 50.08% | 942,739 | 59.53% | 880,490 | 55.14% | 563,940 | 40.06% | 642,055 | 42.81% | 623,597 | 38.36% | 597,488 | 30.86% |
| Sikhism | 408,141 | 27.81% | 285,348 | 18.02% | 355,649 | 22.27% | 532,292 | 37.81% | 522,675 | 34.85% | 632,972 | 38.94% | 896,021 | 46.28% |
| Islam | 321,354 | 21.9% | 352,046 | 22.23% | 357,334 | 22.38% | 307,384 | 21.84% | 330,341 | 22.03% | 363,920 | 22.39% | 436,539 | 22.55% |
| Jainism | 2,997 | 0.2% | 3,228 | 0.2% | 2,877 | 0.18% | 3,282 | 0.23% | 3,249 | 0.22% | 3,578 | 0.22% | 3,101 | 0.16% |
| Christianity | 39 | 0% | 105 | 0.01% | 316 | 0.02% | 739 | 0.05% | 1,395 | 0.09% | 1,449 | 0.09% | 1,592 | 0.08% |
| Zoroastrianism | 0 | 0% | 55 | 0% | 26 | 0% | 22 | 0% | 21 | 0% | 2 | 0% | 21 | 0% |
| Buddhism | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 3 | 0% | 2 | 0% | 3 | 0% |
| Judaism | — | — | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 12 | 0% |
| Others | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 1,482 | 0.08% |
| Total population | 1,467,433 | 100% | 1,583,521 | 100% | 1,596,692 | 100% | 1,407,659 | 100% | 1,499,739 | 100% | 1,625,520 | 100% | 1,936,259 | 100% |
| Note: British Punjab province era district borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to district borders — which since created new districts — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases. |||||||||||||||

## Gallery

* Ala Singh, the founder and first ruler of Patiala
* Miniature painting of Raja-e Rajgan Amar Singh of Patiala, ca.1830
* Sardar Jassa Singh Ramgarhia on left and Amar Singh of Patiala on right, late 18th century
* Moti Bagh Palace, Patiala.
* The main gate of the Qila Mubarak
* Maharaja Narinder Singh of Patiala
* Maharaja Mahendra Singh of Patiala
* Maharaja Rajinder Singh of Patiala
* Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala
* A panel of seven portraits of rulers of Patiala State
* Detail of an informal visit at Moti Bagh Palace from an album of photographs compiled by the wife of Dr. H.R. Hunter during his time as dental surgeon at Moti Bagh Palace during the reign of Maharajah Bhupinder Singh, circa 1922–23
* Yadavindra Singh, the last Maharaja of Patiala