Malerkotla State

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Malerkotla State
1454–1948
Coat of Arms of Malerkotla.gif
Coat of arms
Motto: Heaven's Light Our Guide [1]
Detail of Malerkotla State from a map of British and native states in the Cis-Sutlej Division between 1847-51, by Abdos Sobhan, 1858.jpg
Detail of Malerkotla State from a map of British and native states in the Cis-Sutlej Division between 1847–51, by Abdos Sobhan, 1858
Capital Malerkotla city
Common languages Urdu, English, Punjabi, Hindi, Pashto
Religion
Sunni Islam
Government Absolute Monarchy
Nawab of Malerkotla 
 1657 - 1659
Muhammad Bayazid Khan (First)
 1710 or 1712 - 1717
Ghulam Hussain Khan
 1717 - 1762
Jamal Khan
 1762 - 1763/64
Bhikan Khan
 23 August 1908 – 15 August 1947
Ahmad Ali Khan (Last)
History 
 Established
1454
15 August 1947 1948
Population
 
77,506
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Blank.png Mughal Empire
Dominion of India Flag of India.svg

The State of Malerkotla or Maler Kotla was a princely state in the Punjab region during the era of British India. The last Nawab of Maler Kotla signed the instrument of accession to join the Dominion of India on 20 August 1948. Its rulers belonged to a Sarwani and Lodi Pashtun dynasty from Afghanistan, and its capital was in Malerkotla. The state belonged to the Punjab States Agency.

Contents

History

Origins

The area, which was known as Maler, was received as a jagir in 1454 A.D. by Sheikh Sadruddin-i-Jahan, a pious man of the Sherwani tribe of Afghanistan area, and was ruled by his descendants. [2]

Local tradition says that Bahlul Lodi (1451–1489), the Afghan king who had most of western India under his control, desired to rule Delhi and on his way, he was caught in a sand drift. [3] In the darkness the King spotted a dim light of a lamp still burning in the wind. It was the hut of Sheikh Sadruddin and when the king found out he came to the hut to show his respect and asked the holy man to pray for him to bear a son and have victory. [3] During 1451 and 1452, the king married off his daughter Taj Murassa to Sheikh Sadruddin after being enthroned in Delhi, and also gave him the area of Maler as a jagir . [3]

The descendants of Sheikh Sadruddin branched into two groups. One started ruling the state and were given the title of Nawab when the Mughal Empire arose. [3] The other branch lived around the Shrine of Shaikh Sadruddin, controlling its revenue from pilgrims. [3]

17th century

The State of Malerkotla was established in 1657 by Bayazid Khan. After saving the life of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in a tiger attack, Bayazid Khan was granted the privilege to build a fort, which he named Malerkotla and eventually gave its name to the state.

18th century

Illustration of Nawab Sher Muhammad Khan Bahadur of Malerkotla State (b. 1640, d. 1712, r. 1672-1712) Illustration of Nawab Sher Muhammad Khan Bahadur of Malerkotla State (b. 1640, d. 1712, r. 1672-1712).jpg
Illustration of Nawab Sher Muhammad Khan Bahadur of Malerkotla State (b. 1640, d. 1712, r. 1672–1712)

The roots of communal harmony in the area date back to 1705, when Fateh Singh and Zorawar Singh, the 9- and 7-year-old sons of 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, were ordered to be bricked alive by the governor of Sirhind, Wazir Khan. His close relative, Sher Mohammed Khan, Nawab of Malerkotla, who was present in the court, lodged a vehement protest against this inhuman act and said it was against the teachings of Islam. Wazir Khan nevertheless had the boys bricked into a section of wall while still alive. At this, the Nawab of Malerkotla walked out of the court in protest. Guru Gobind Singh on learning this approach profusely thanked the Nawab of Malerkotla and blessed him with his hukamnama and kirpan. Banda Singh Bahadur's avoidance of attacking Malerkotla has been attributed to the actions of Sher Mohammed Khan, however J.S. Grewal notes that Banda's passivity towards the state was due to his prescribed route taking him elsewhere. Wars between Malerkotla state (originally siding with the Mughals, and later the forces of Ahmad Shah Abdali and the Rohilla Afghans, both of whom repeatedly raided Punjab during the eighteenth century) and the Sikh powers in Punjab resumed shortly after. Relations between the two oscillated during this period- involving events of intermittent warring as well as interventions of mutual defense against certain extra-local Sikh invaders.

Nawab Bikhan Khan had assisted the Durranis and participated in Vadda Ghulaghara genocide of Sikhs on 5 February 1762. [4]

In 1795, Sahib Singh Bedi, a descendant of Guru Nanak, attacked Malerkotla, in part due to the issue of cow slaughter taking place in the city as well as other motivations influencing the expedition including the role of the nawab in the killing of a relative of Guru Gobind, as well as the contemporary nawab's ostensible role in the Vadda Ghallugura- a massacre in which twenty five thousand Sikhs were said to have been killed. His forces were stopped and repelled, with assistance coming from the rulers of Patiala.

The state was also under the suzeranity of Mahadaji Shinde.[ citation needed ]

19th century

Detail of the main, continuous tract of territory of Malerkotla State from a map created by the British East India Company, ca.1829-1835. Detail of the main, continuous tract of territory of Malerkotla State from a map created by the British East India Company of the Malwa region of Punjab showing the various polities, borders, and settlements of the area, ca.1829-1835.jpg
Detail of the main, continuous tract of territory of Malerkotla State from a map created by the British East India Company, ca.1829–1835.

In 1808, Ranjit Singh, arrived at the town and demanded an extortionate tribute of one million rupees from the state. Upon the nawab's inability to accumulate this wealth, Ranjit Singh attacked, forcing the nawab to take loans from wealthier Sikh neighbors to pay the due. The nawab subsequently appealed to the British and shortly after ceded to British suzerainty. [5] [6] On 3 May 1809 Maler Kotla became a British protectorate and was made part of the Cis-Sutlej states until 1862. Malerkotla ranked 12th in the Punjab Darbar in 1890.

Partition of India

1909 Malerkotla State Located in the Punjab Agency bordered by Patiala State and Ludhiana State Punjab 1909.jpg
1909 Malerkotla State Located in the Punjab Agency bordered by Patiala State and Ludhiana State

During the 1947 riots when Punjab was in flames, the State of Malerkotla did not witness a single incident of violence; through it all, it remained a lone island of peace. [2] [7] The State of Malerkotla experienced relatively insignificant communal violence due to the aforementioned objections of Sher Mohammed Khan to Wazir Khan's handling of Gobind Singh's sons. [2] Many local people attribute this peaceful strain to the presence of the shrine of 'Baba Haidar Sheikh', the Sufi saint, who founded the town of Malerkotla more than 500 years ago. [8] [9]

Post-independence

Following Indian independence and the signing of the instrument of accession to the Dominion of India in 1948, Maler Kotla joined the newly established state of Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) until its merger with Punjab in 1956.

Demographics

Religious groups in Malerkotla State (British Punjab province era)
Religious
group
1901 [10] 1911 [11] [12] 1921 [13] 1931 [14] 1941 [15]
Pop. %Pop.%Pop.%Pop.%Pop.%
Hinduism Om.svg [a] 38,40922,90229,45921,25223,482
Islam Star and Crescent.svg 27,22925,94228,41331,41733,881
Sikhism Khanda.svg 10,49521,01821,82828,98230,320
Jainism Jain Prateek Chihna.svg 1,3611,2685851,286310
Christianity Christian cross.svg 121437135116
Zoroastrianism Faravahar.svg 00000
Buddhism Dharma Wheel (2).svg 00000
Judaism Star of David.svg 00000
Others00000
Total population77,50671,14480,32283,07288,109
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.

List of rulers

Chiefs

The chiefs were the holders of the jagir of Maler.

NameReign BeganReign Ended
1 Sheikh Sadruddin (b. 1434 - d. 1515)14541508
2 Sheikh Muhammad Isa (d. 1538)15081538
3Khan Muhammad Shah (d. 1545)15381545
4Khan Muhammad Ishaq Khan (d. 1556)15451556
5Khan Fateh Muhammad Khan (d. 1600)15561600
6Muhammad Bayazid Khan Bahadur (b. 1593 - d. 1659)16001657

Rulers

The rulers were titled 'Nawab'. They had the right to an 14 gun salute.

NameReign BeganReign Ended
1Muhammad Bayazid Khan Bahadur (b. 1593 - d. 1659)16571659
2Feroz Khan (b. 1616 - d. 1672)16591672
3Sher Muhammad Khan Bahadur (b. 1640 - d. 1710 or 1712)16721710 or 1712 [16]
4Ghulam Hussain Khan (d. 1734)1710 or 17121717
5Jamal Khan (d. 1762)17171762
6Bhikan Khan (d. 1763/64)17621763/64
Khan Sahib Khan Bahadur Khan (d. 1766) - Regent17641766
7Khan Sahib Umar Khan (d. 1780)17661 November 1780
8Khan Sahib Asadullah Khan (d. 1784)1 November 1780Apr 1784
9Khan Sahib Ataullah Khan (d. 1809)Apr 178414 August 1809
10Muhammad Wazir Ali Khan (b. 17.. - d. 1821)14 August 18094 September 1821
11 Amir Ali Khan Bahadur (d. 1846)4 September 18218 April 1846
12Mahbub Ali Khan Bahadur (d. 1857) "Sube Khan"8 April 184625 November 1857
13Sikandar Ali Khan Bahadur (d. 1871)25 November 185716 July 1871
14Muhammad Ibrahim Ali Khan (b. 1857 - d. 1908)16 July 187123 August 1908
Sir Ahmad Ali Khan Regent1 February 190523 August 1908
15 Ahmad Ali Khan (b. 1881 - d. 1947) – Acceded to the Dominion of India23 August 190815 August 1947

Titular Rulers

NameReign BeganReign EndedNotes
Iftikhar Ali Khan (d. 1982)15 August 194720 November 1982Retained official recognition until 1971 under the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of India by Indira Gandhi's government.

See also

Notes

  1. 1931-1941: Including Ad-Dharmis

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References

  1. The motto of the Order of the Star of India
  2. 1 2 3 Goyal, Sushil (19 August 2006). "'Malerkotla has Guru's blessings'". The Tribune . Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Study of the Pathan Communities in four States of India". Khyber. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. Singh, Harbans. The Encyclopedia of Sikhism. Vol. 4: S–Z. Punjabi University, Patiala. pp. 395–397.
  5. Wellman, James K. Jr.; Lombardi, Clark (16 August 2012). Religion and Human Security: A Global Perspective. Oxford University Press. p. 97. ISBN   978-0-19-982773-2.
  6. Bigelow, Anna (4 February 2010). Sharing the Sacred: Practicing Pluralism in Muslim North India. Oxford University Press. pp. 68–72. ISBN   978-0-19-536823-9.
  7. A people's gratitude Archived 14 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine The Sikh Review, Issue No. 14, November 2003
  8. The Legend of Malerkotla: A Tale from the Punjab (2004) Archived 19 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine 48 min, DVD, ISBN   978-0-8026-0761-4.
  9. Bigelow, Anna B (2 December 2000). "Malerkotla: A heritage going to seed". The Tribune . Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  10. "Census of India 1901. [Vol. 17A]. Imperial tables, I-VIII, X-XV, XVII and XVIII for the Punjab, with the native states under the political control of the Punjab Government, and for the North-west Frontier Province". 1901. p. 34. JSTOR   saoa.crl.25363739 . Retrieved 30 March 2024.
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Wikisource-logo.svg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Maler Kotla". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 487.


30°32′N75°59′E / 30.533°N 75.983°E / 30.533; 75.983