Phulkian dynasty | |
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![]() Portrait of Chaudhary Phul Sidhu-Brar, ancestor of the Phulkian dynasty | |
Country | Patiala State Nabha State Jind State Faridkot State |
Place of origin | Phulkian Misl, Punjab |
Founded | 1627 |
Founder | Phul Sidhu-Brar |
Titles | Maharaja of Patiala Maharaja of Nabha Maharaja of Jind Raja of Faridkot |
Dissolution | 1971 |
The Phulkian Dynasty (or Phoolkian) of Maharajas or sardars were Jat-Sikh rulers and aristocrats in the Punjab region of India. They governed the states of Faridkot, Jind, Nabha, Malaudh, Bhadaur, Badrukhan and Patiala, allying themselves with the British Raj as per the Cis-Sutlej treaty. [1] [2] Members of the Phulkian dynasty, who are the direct descendants of Rawal Jaisal, the founder of Jaisalmer, migrated to the present-day Malwa region in Punjab. [3] [4] [5]
The rulers of the Phulkian states shared a common ancestor, the 17th-century Chaudhary Phul Sidhu-Brar, also known as Baba Phul (1627–1689). [6] Phul was born in 1629, to Chaudhary Rup Chand and Mat Ambi. He lived through the times of Guru Hargobind, the sixth Guru of the Sikh religion as well as Guru Har Rai, the seventh Guru. [2] According to historical accounts, Phul had received blessings from both Guru Hargobind and Guru Har Rai. [7] [8] Through his eldest son, Tiloka, Phul is the ancestor of the rulers of Nabha, Jind and Badrukhan. [2] Through his second son, Rama, Phul is the ancestor of the rulers of Patiala, Malaudh and Bhadaur. [2]
In the early 19th century, the Phulkian states, concerned about the rising power of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, sought protection from the East India Company. [9] Although Ranjit Singh was generally moderate towards the Phulkian rulers and willing to address their issues, his growing influence led to suspicions about his intentions. Consequently, the Cis-Sutlej states, including the Phulkian states, convened and decided to send a deputation to the British Resident in Delhi. [9] The delegation pledged their loyalty to the British and sought their protection, leading to a treaty on April 25, 1809, where Ranjit Singh agreed not to extend his military campaigns into the Cis-Sutlej territories. [9]
As the Phulkian states were freed from the threat of Ranjit Singh, internal conflicts among them surfaced, prompting further British intervention. By August 22, 1811, the British issued another proclamation to protect these states from each other, thereby enhancing their power of interference and control. [9] Over time, these states transitioned from being independent rulers in treaty alliance with the British to becoming dependencies, significantly diminishing their autonomy and consolidating British dominance in the Punjab region. [9]
The Maharajas of the three largest Phulkian states (Patiala, Nabha and Jind) had supported the East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, both with military forces and supplies, as well as by offering protection for European people in affected areas. [10] In return, the three Maharajas were given additional territories, honours and titles by the British Raj. [10]
In 1858, the British Raj authorities rejected a petition to allow them to adopt heirs to ensure lines of succession. [11] They believed that such processes could be dealt with on an ad hoc basis if and when the situation arose, and that to accept the petition would be contrary to the Doctrine of Lapse. [11] The matter was eventually taken up by the government in Britain, who demanded that the Raj authorities should grant the petition in recognition of the considerable loyalty that had been demonstrated during the rebellion. [11] Later, on 19 January 1860 at a durbar in Ambala, Charles Canning, the Governor-General of India, acceded to the request. [11]
By 1948, all of the Phulkian states had acceded to the newly independent India. [12]
A dispute in the early 1920s between Bhupinder Singh, who had become Maharaja of Patiala in 1909, and his fellow Maharaja in Nabha, Ripudaman Singh, who became ruler in 1911, had significant ramifications both for relationships within the Sikh community and for British policy in the Punjab. According to historian Barbara Ramusack, the pair were "ambitious, arrogant, energetic, and jealous" and "shared the hypersensitivity on matters of izzat or honor and status common to most Indian princes".
What began mostly as a war of words from around 1912 had become physical by the 1920s, with Bhupinder Singh complaining that the law courts of Ripudaman Singh had been falsely convicting Patiala police officers, as well as kidnapping girls from Patiala for the royal harem. [13] On top of this, were frequent boundary disputes, which had been a feature of strife between the states for many years because of the way in which the territories intertwined. [13]
There were numerous attempts, with varying degrees of formality, to resolve the dispute. These included high-level court meetings, independent mediators and Sikh community groups such as the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). [13] The situation was eventually referred to the British authorities in 1923, who instituted a quasi-judicial inquiry the conclusions of which generally supported the grievances raised by Bhupinder Singh and were critical of how Ripudaman Singh was administering his state and attempting to undermine the position of Patiala. Ripudaman, who had gained support from some extremist Akalis, was told that the British would formally intervene unless he abdicated and that this would lead to him being officially deposed. [13]
The abdication on 8 July 1923, which was effectively forced upon him, saw the British take over the administration of Nabha and caused uproar in Punjab: people protested what they considered to be unwarranted political interference and lauded Ripudaman both as a Sikh leader and nationalist. Newspapers in the region, with the support of the SGPC, pointed to his past favouring of the views of nationalists such as Gopal Krishna Gokhale, noted that he had spurned some rituals at his coronation, and alleged he sympathised with the Akalis. They also erroneously claimed that Bhupinder Singh opposed the abdication, which he was quick to deny. [13]
That Bhupinder Singh chose to side with the British and instigate a counterpropaganda campaign at their request drove a wedge between Punjabi Sikhs. [13] Patiala was considered to be the most important of the Sikh states and his prime minister, Daya Kishan Kaul, attempted to mobilise its supporters among the SGPC as well as those citizens of Nabha who had been ill-treated by Ripudaman. He also attempted to feed the press with stories in support of both his state and the British. [13]
Patiala is a city in southeastern Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the Qila Mubarak constructed by a chieftain Ala Singh, who founded the royal dynasty of Patiala State in 1763, and after whom the city is named.
Jindo district is one of the 22 districts of Haryana state in northern India. Jind town is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is part of Hisar Division and was created in 1966.
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.
Jind is one of the largest and oldest city in Jind district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is administrative headquarter of Jind district. Rani Talab is the main destination for tourists while Pandu Pindara and Ramrai are the main religious spots, attracting devotees for the holy bath during Amavasya.
Patiala district is one of the twenty three districts in the state of Punjab in north-west India.
Sidhu is a Punjabi Jat clan found in Punjab.
The Maharaja of Patiala was the title of a Maharaja in India and the ruler of the princely state of Patiala, a state in British India. The first Maharaja of Patiala was Baba Ala Singh. By the time of the seventh Maharaja, Rajinder Singh, the Maharaja of Patiala was recognized as the leader of the Sikh community and the most foremost prince in Punjab. During the British Raj, the Patiala maharajas were entiled to a 17-gun salute and had precedence over all the other princes in Punjab.
Bhadaur is a town in Barnala district in the state of Punjab, India. It is part of the Bhadaur Assembly Constituency.
Rampura Phul is a city in the Bathinda district in the Indian state of Punjab. Phul Town serves as a Tehsil for villages in nearby area.
Malaudh was a Cis-Sutlej Phulkian princely state of India till 1846, after which it was merged into the Ludhiana District by the British when they annexed the territories around Ludhiana. The town of Malaudh, or Maloud, is situated at a distance of about 40 kilometres from Ludhiana on the Ludhiana-Malerkotla Road and is linked by approach road kup-payal road though village Rorian which is now part of it as Nagar Panchayat. It lies on 75°- 56' Longitude and 30° – 38' Latitude. Malaudh is a very ancient place which was known as Malla Udey or rise of the Mallas with whom Multan or Mallustan is associated and later got corrupted to Malaudh. There was a The Loharan about 1 kilometer on the southern side which has now disappeared. Malaudh has a government high school (co-educational), middle school for girls and a primary school for boys, a post office, primary health centre and a veterinary dispensary. Malaudh became a part of the Ludhiana District when it was formed out of the territories annexed by the British in 1846.
Nabha State, with its capital at Nabha, was one of the Phulkian princely states of Punjab during the British Raj in India. Nabha was ruled by Jat Sikhs of the Sidhu clan.
Sir Hira Singh GCSI GCIE was the ruler of Nabha State, one of the Phulkian states in the Punjab.
Faridkot State was a self-governing princely state of Punjab outside British India during the British Raj period in the Indian sub-continent until Indian independence.
Sardar Nanu Singh Saini was a Sikh army general and a well-known jagirdar in Phulkian riyasat. He was a close associate of Maharaja Ala Singh who founded the Patiala state in 1753 AD.
The Post Office of India of the British Raj entered into postal conventions with a few native states of India. As per the postal convention, existing adhesive stamps and postal stationery of British India were overprinted with the name of the state for use within each convention State, for mail from one convention state to another, and to destinations in British India. The state administrations, in turn, had to conform to a number of agreements covering the issuance of stamps, the rates of postage, and the exchange of mail.
Jind State was a princely state located in the Punjab region of north-western India. The state was 3,260 km2 (1,260 sq mi) in area and its annual income was Rs.3,000,000 in the 1940s. Jind was founded and ruled by Jat Sikh rulers of Sidhu clan.
Patiala State was a self-governing 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 Sidhu Jat Sikhs. 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.
Phulkian Misl was a Sikh misl named after Choudhary Phul Singh.
Rani Raj Kaur was the wife of Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia Misl and the mother of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire. She was affectionately known as Mai Malwain after her marriage. She is also referred to as Sardarni Raj Kaur and was daughter of Raja Gajpat Singh Sidhu of Jind.
The Phulkian clan traced their ancestry remotely to Jaisal, the Jadon Bhati Rajput founder of Jaisalmer State
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