Ladwa State

Ladwa State
Ladwa State
1763–1846
	Detail of the main, continuous tract of territory of Ladwa State from a map created by the British East India Company, ca.1829–1835 (not including its exclaves viewable on the full-map)
Capital	Ladwa
History
• Established	1763
• Disestablished	1846
Today part of	Haryana, India

Last updated September 06, 2024

Ladwa State was a Sikh kingdom.^[1] It was one of the Cis-Sutlej states.^[1] The state is notable for being one of the few Sikh polities south of the Sutlej that actively sided with the Sikh Empire against the British.

History

Establishment and rule by Gurdit Singh

In the power-vacuum that formed in the aftermath of the fall of Sirhind and the downfall of the Marathas in the region due to the Third Battle of Panipat, the Sikhs were an ascending force in the area.^[2] In circa 1763, Gurdit Singh seized the localities of Ladwa and Shamgarh.^[2] Gurdit Singh would later wrest control of the territories of George Thomas.^[2] During the reign of Gurdit Singh, Ladwa State and its dependencies had an annual revenue of 204,700 rupees.^[3] Gurdit Singh of Ladwa joined forces with the other Sikh chiefs of the region, such as Sher Singh of Buria, Roy Singh of Jagadhri, Mehtab Singh of Thanesar, Jodh Singh of Kalsia, and Karam Singh Shahidi, to launch raids into British-controlled territory.^[4] In 1804, Colonel Burn routed the Sikh forces of Ladwa State and Thanesar State.^[2] In the following year in 1805, British forced marched upon the fortress of Karnal, capturing it from Gurdit Singh of Ladwa.^[2] Gurdit Singh of Ladwa and Bhanga Singh of Thanesar had supported the Marathas, thus the British took measures to punish them.^[4]

Under Ajit Singh and annexation

Ajit Singh of Ladwa was of an anti-British disposition and had cordial relations with Ranjit Singh.^[5]^[6] The Sikh Empire's court chronicler, Sohan Lal Suri, mentions in his Umdat-ut-Tawarikh that Ajit Singh of Ladwa had made plans to visit Lahore in November.^{[note 1]}^[7] By 1845, the British grew increasingly irritated by Ajit Singh and placed him under surveillance at Sahranpur, declaring him a "rebel".^[5] The British charged Ajit Singh of Ladwa with corruption and mismanagement, suggesting that he should be removed.^[5] Ajit Singh escaped his confinement and teamed-up with Ranjodh Singh Majithia during the First Anglo-Sikh War, with both crossing the Sutlej at Phillaur with a force of 8,000 men and 70 guns.^[5]^[8] Their joint-force took control over Fatehgarh, Dharamkot, Gangarana, and Baddowal.^[8] Ladwa State was one of the only Cis-Sutlej states that actively sided with the Lahore State against the British during the First Anglo-Sikh War.^[1] The joint forces of the states of Ladwa and Lahore burnt a portion of the Ludhiana cantonment.^[5] In the aftermath, the British marched upon Karnal and annexed the polity in 1846.^[9]^[5]^[2]^[10] The reason the British annexed the state was due to pro-Lahore activities during the war.^[6]

List of rulers

No.	Name (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Reign	Ref.
1.	Gurdit Singh		1763–?	^[3]
2.	Ajit Singh		?–1846	^[1]

Notes

↑ Umdat-ut-Tawarikh, part V, page 259

Related Research Articles

Ranjit Singh was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. He ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He survived smallpox in infancy but lost sight in his left eye. He fought his first battle alongside his father at age 10.

The first Anglo-Sikh war was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession of Jammu & Kashmir as a separate princely state under British suzerainty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nau Nihal Singh</span> Maharaja of Sikh Empire from 1839 to 1840

Kunwar Nau Nihal Singh was the third maharaja of the Sikh Empire, ruling from 1839 until his death in 1840. He was the only son of Maharaja Kharak Singh and his consort, Maharani Chand Kaur. He was known as Yuvraj Kunwar Nau Nihal Singh. He was also known as Kunwar Sa. His reign began with the dethronement of his father Maharaja Kharak Singh and ended with his death at the age of 19 on the day of his father's funeral.

Sher Singh was the fourth Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. Elder of the twins of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire and Maharani Mehtab Kaur. His reign began on 18 January 1840 following his assault on Lahore which ended the brief regency of Maharani Chand Kaur. He was assassinated on 15 September 1843 by Ajit Singh Sandhawalia.

The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the British East India Company in the Second Anglo-Sikh War. It was forged on the foundations of the Khalsa from a collection of autonomous misls. At its peak in the 19th century, the empire extended from Gilgit and Tibet in the north to the deserts of Sindh in the south and from the Khyber Pass in the west to the Sutlej in the east as far as Oudh. It was divided into four provinces: Lahore, which became the Sikh capital; Multan; Peshawar; and Kashmir from 1799 to 1849. Religiously diverse, with an estimated population of 4.5 million in 1831, it was the last major region of the Indian subcontinent to be annexed by the British Empire.

The Cis-Sutlej states were a group of states in the contemporary Punjab and Haryana states of northern India during the 19th century, lying between the Sutlej River on the north, the Himalayas on the east, the Yamuna River and Delhi District on the south, and Sirsa District on the west. The small Punjabi kingdoms of the Cis-Sutlej states paid tributes to the Marathas, until the Second Anglo-Maratha War of 1803–1805, after which the Marathas lost this territory to the British.

Bhadaur is a town in Barnala district in the state of Punjab, India. It is part of the Bhadaur Assembly Constituency.

Khem Kaur Dhillon was a Sikh queen and the second wife of Maharaja Kharak Singh, the second Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.

The Battle of Jamrud was fought between the Emirate of Afghanistan under Emir Dost Mohammad Khan and the Sikh Empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh on 30 April 1837. Afghan forces confronted the Sikh forces at Jamrud. The garrisoned army was able to hold off the Afghans till Sikh reinforcements arrived to relieve them.

Kharak Singh was the second maharaja of the Sikh Empire, ruling from June 1839 until his dethronement and imprisonment in October 1839. He was the eldest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire and his consort, Maharani Datar Kaur. Kharak was succeeded by his only son Nau Nihal Singh.

Sardar Charat Singh, also romanised as Charhat Singh, was the founder of Sukerchakia Misl, father of Mahan Singh, and the grandfather of Ranjit Singh, the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He distinguished himself at an early age in campaigns against Ahmad Shah Abdali and along with 150 horsemen split from the Singhpuria Misl to establish the Sukerchakia Misl, a separate grouping with its distinct guerilla militia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sham Singh Attariwala</span> Sikh Warrior who fought during First Anglo Sikh War

Sham Singh Attariwala was a general of the Sikh Empire.

Nanaki Kaur Atariwala (1823-1856) was the queen consort of Maharaja Nau Nihal Singh, the third Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. She was the daughter of the legendary general Sham Singh Atariwala.

Sahib Kaur (d.1841) was the second wife of Nau Nihal Singh, the third Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, and the mother of his son, Jawahar Singh.

Sultan Mahmud Khan was a commander of the Sikh Khalsa Army, the army of Sarkar e Khalsa. His derah of artillery was designated as Topkhana Sultan Mahmud. He is regarded as one of the best commanding officers of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Diwan Bhawani Das was a high-ranking Hindu official under Durrani emperors, Zaman Shah and Shah Shujah. He later became the revenue minister of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, ruler of the powerful Sikh Empire.

The Battle of Ramkani was fought on 4 May 1835 by the Sikh forces led by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and some Barakzai and Ghazi forces.

Sohan Lal Suri was a Punjabi historiographer, who specialized in the period of the Sikh Empire. Sohan was the son of Lala Ganpat Rai, the waqai navis or court chronicler of the Sukerchakia Misl and later Sikh Empire. Sohan Lal inherited the position from his father in 1811 and served at the court of Lahore till after the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839. The period covered by him as a court chronicler begins in 1812 and includes the Anglo-Sikh War. His magnum opus was the Umdat-ut-Tawarikh.

Amar Singh (1748–1781) was the second ruler and the Raja-e-Rajgan of the princely state of Patiala. Singh succeeded his grandfather, Ala Singh, as the Raja of Patiala in 1765. In 1767, Ahmed Shah Abdali, the founder and king of the Afghan Durrani Empire, bestowed upon Singh the title of Raja-e-Rajgan, a superior royal title compared to the titles of other Sikh rulers and leaders.

Kaithal State was a Jat Sikh state based out of Kaithal. It was one of the Cis-Sutlej states. The Sikh chieftains of Kaithal ruled from 1767 until the state's fall in 1843. At the state's height, it was the second-largest cis-Sutlej state, after Patiala State.

References

1 2 3 4 Shah, Muhammad (2001). The First Punjab War: Shah Mohammed's Jangnamah. Translated by Nijhawan, P. K. Singh Brothers. p. 266. ISBN 9788172052287.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Sharma, Suresh K. (2006). "History of Karnal: The Sikh Rule". Haryana: Past and Present. Mittal Publications. pp. 132–33. ISBN 9788183240468.
1 2 Hasrat, Bikrama Jit (1977). Life and Times of Ranjit Singh: A Saga of Benevolent Despotism. V.V. Research Institute Book Agency. p. 88.
1 2 Hasrat, Bikrama Jit (1968). Anglo-Sikh Relations, 1799-1849: A Reappraisal of the Rise and Fall of the Sikhs. V. V. Research Institute Book Agency. pp. 43–47.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Mittal, Satish Chandra (1986). "Revolt of Ajit Singh of Ladwa 1845–46". Haryana: A Historical Perspective. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 41.
1 2 Proceedings - Punjab History Conference. Vol. 1. Patiala: Publication Bureau, Punjab University. 1966. pp. 112–14.
↑ Atwal, Priya (15 January 2021). Royals and Rebels: The Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire. Oxford University Press. p. 236. ISBN 9780197566947.
1 2 Singh, Khushwant (1966). A History of the Sikhs: 1839-1964. A History of the Sikhs. Vol. 2. Princeton University Press. p. 51.
↑ Bal, Sarjit Singh (1974). A Brief History of the Modern Punjab. Lyall Book Depot. p. 3.
↑ Pasha, Mustapha Kamal (1998). Colonial Political Economy: Recruitment and Underdevelopment in the Punjab. Oxford University Press. p. 158. ISBN 9780195777628.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[7] Umdat-ut-Tawarikh, part V, page 259

[:0-1] 1 2 3 4 Shah, Muhammad (2001). The First Punjab War: Shah Mohammed's Jangnamah. Translated by Nijhawan, P. K. Singh Brothers. p. 266. ISBN 9788172052287.

[:1-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sharma, Suresh K. (2006). "History of Karnal: The Sikh Rule". Haryana: Past and Present. Mittal Publications. pp. 132–33. ISBN 9788183240468.

[:2-3] 1 2 Hasrat, Bikrama Jit (1977). Life and Times of Ranjit Singh: A Saga of Benevolent Despotism. V.V. Research Institute Book Agency. p. 88.

[:3-4] 1 2 Hasrat, Bikrama Jit (1968). Anglo-Sikh Relations, 1799-1849: A Reappraisal of the Rise and Fall of the Sikhs. V. V. Research Institute Book Agency. pp. 43–47.

[:4-5] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mittal, Satish Chandra (1986). "Revolt of Ajit Singh of Ladwa 1845–46". Haryana: A Historical Perspective. Atlantic Publishers & Distributors. p. 41.

[:5-6] 1 2 Proceedings - Punjab History Conference. Vol. 1. Patiala: Publication Bureau, Punjab University. 1966. pp. 112–14.

[8] Atwal, Priya (15 January 2021). Royals and Rebels: The Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire. Oxford University Press. p. 236. ISBN 9780197566947.

[:6-9] 1 2 Singh, Khushwant (1966). A History of the Sikhs: 1839-1964. A History of the Sikhs. Vol. 2. Princeton University Press. p. 51.

[10] Bal, Sarjit Singh (1974). A Brief History of the Modern Punjab. Lyall Book Depot. p. 3.

[11] Pasha, Mustapha Kamal (1998). Colonial Political Economy: Recruitment and Underdevelopment in the Punjab. Oxford University Press. p. 158. ISBN 9780195777628.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[note 1]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]