CHAPTER II
HISTORY
Fatehgarh
Sahib District has a unique place in the history of
Pre-Historic and Ancient Period
The area of present Fatehgarh Sahib District
is very rich in ancient history. The main source of the history of this period
is archaeology which reveals many hidden facts about the past. Excavations and
explorations of the various objects buried in the ground help the scholars to
trace the history of the past. The excavations and explorations at some sites
in the district especially at Sanghol give an ample proof that the area of
present Fatehgarh Sahib District was a part of the Indus Valley Civilization,
whose important centres were on the bank of the
15
The
people of the Indus Valley Civilization had built grand cities and had a highly
developed cultural life. These people followed some organised religion. The
tradition of the sacred tree, pipal goes back to them. In historic
Buddhism, it can be venerated as the holy Bodhi tree. Many examples of linga,
male and female sexual symbols and yoni have been found in the
The
most striking feature of the Indus Valley Civilization is their
standardization. Some scholars are of the opinion that it was the most
standardised civilization in the ancient world. Cotton and woollen fabrics were
in common use, ornaments were worn by both men and women, beautiful pottery was
produced and the sculptor’s technique was well developed. The carpenter, the
mason, the blacksmith, the goldsmith, the jeweller, the stonecutter and the ivory
workers had a flourishing trade. A large number of terra-cotas represent
cattle, normally humped bulls, although the short-horn and the buffalo also
occur. Strangely, cows are never represented. A large number of seals and
tablets found from various sites have introduced examples of the pictographic
script which still constitutes one of the major mysteries of the Indus
Civilization. It was not as yet been
deciphered.
After
the Indus Valley Civilization, Rigvedic Culture was then a part of Sapt
Sindhu. The founder of this culture were the brave Aryans who might had
occupied the area after defeating the people belonging to the Indus Valley
Civilization. Vedas are the important books which reflect the life of
ancient Aryans. Rigveda is the oldest Veda and it is believed
that most of its hymns were written by Rishis on the banks of the rivers
in
Gita is also an
important religious look of the ancient Aryans. It clearly illustrates that the
ancient Aryans were found of war. This book is a powerful advocate of
war-philosophy of the ancient Punjabis.
After the famous battle of
Mahabharata fought at Kurukshetra;
1 B.N.Datar, Himalayan
Pilgramage (
chaos prevaled in
Patali-Putra
(
The
Gupta Dynasty (AD 320-490) established a very strong empire in
Well-dated
historical records are not available before the 6th Century BC. It
is here that the history in the proper sense may be said to have begun. The
period preceding to the beginning of the history is known as the pre-historic
period. Palaeolithic age is the earliest phase of human occupation in
In
the latter half of the 6th century arose the great
Sanghol
is the most ancient place of the State which exists in Fatehgarh Sahib District
. A brief description is as under :
Sanghol
is a village in Khamano Tehsil of Fatehgarh Sahib District of the
It was in February, 1985, that as
many as 117 beautifully carved stone slabs in the form of pillars, coping
stones and cross-bars, which remained burried underneath a pit in the vicinity
of the Stupa-complex, were discovered by the Directorate of Punjab Archaeology.
This discovery generated interest of the public in knowing and understanding
the past glory of Sanghol. In view of the fact that some of these sculptures
were immediately thereafter sent to the Festival of India Exhibitions abroad,
the men of the media expectedly gave wide publicity to the present discovery
from Sanghol. The
The site of Sanghol has a considerably long history. It was for the first time occupied by the people of the Harappan Civilization around 2000 BC. They were followed by the people using Painted Grey Ware in the first half of the first millennium BC. The next habitation at the site was that of the Black Slipped Ware using people who are bracketed at the site between circa 700 BC and 200 BC. During the period of Indo-Parthian king Gondopharnese, in the first century AD, Sanghol was probably an important out post of the kingdom. In the Kushana period, Ist to 3rd century A.D., the township was enlarged enormously and made a great centre of trade and traffic as well as religion and art. A large citadel with internal and external moats was established to protect the interests of the people from outside attack as well as to provide status and dignity to the settlement.3
A variety of coins, seals and sealings of the Kushana rulers bearing inscriptions in Kharoshtiand Brahmi scripts, have been discovered at this site in large numbers. This would clearly indicate that Sanghol was a most prosperous town during the Kushana period. The Stupa, along with a monastery was established during this period. In the Gupta times, i.e. the 4th and 5th centuries, Sanghol was definitely the seat of a Governor or Feudatory King as may be inferred from a large number of seals with the legend “Sri Maharaja Kapila Niyuktas- yadhikarnasya” written in Gupta script. A large number of seats and sealings bearing figures or symbols of various Hindu gods like Vishnu
and Siva, and some terracotta figurines of Mahishamardini have been
2 HISTRICO-ARCHAEOLOGICAL
LINKAGES OF PUNJABIAT by Department
of Cultural Affairs, Archaeology, Archives and Museums,
3
KUSHAN SCULPTURES FROM SANGHOL (Ist-2nd century AD), A RECENT, DISCUVRY published by
found at this site. The surface of the mound has also yielded a ‘standard type’ of gold coin of Samudra Gupta, one of the most illustrious Gupta kings. Two gold coins with legend Vasu in Brahmi were also discovered,. Vasu was one of the successors of the imperial Kushanas whose period falls in the middle of 3rd Century AD.4
According to the local tradition Sanghol
was formerly known as ‘Sangaladvipa’, and the folk tale of Rup Basant was
associated with it as also with Rupar ( now called Rupnagar).The name Sanghol
might have been derived from samghalaya, a ‘ home of Samgha’ or Samghapura
meaning the town of Samgha for the reason that there were located some Buddhist
monasteries. In all probability it may be the She-to-tu-lu of the Chinese pilgrim, Hieun Tsang,
who refers to the existence of ten
monasteries in and around it.
The long past of Sanghol may be
divided into six periods:
Period I.- The first period is that of late Harappan (Bara) Culture (C.1700 BC to 1300 BC) and this lies just over the natural soil. This entire deposit is, however, marked by total absence of any characteristic of mature Harappan traits. The pottery is unmistakably of Harappan lineage in technique, spirit and surface dressing (not in motifs) of course, in regard to typology there are noticeable additions and omissions. The shapes are represented by dishes-on-stand, dishes, bowl-dishes, beakers, vases of medium to small sizes, large storage jars with both globular and ovoid bodies and flat bases, water jars, cooking jars without carination, flat dishes with short sides and roughened bases and ring stands with openings at both ends, one being flatend the other one beaded and some times beaked. The cooking jars, exhibit sharp variance with those light and carinated ones of the Harappans. Some of the dishes bear soot marks at their bases, thereby indicating that they might have variously been used as dough plates land cooking discs. Mature Harappan shapes like S-shaped jars, perforated jars, beakers, bowls, carinated handis and handled cups are absent. Among other finds mention maybe made of two copper chisels of rectangular cross-section and slightly splayed edge, and a glazed bangle piece of red faience, whereas there are numerous pieces of bangles, ear-rings and beads of azure-green faience bearing shiny white glaze. It was also noted that in the lower half of this chalcolithic deposit there were found no clay-bins which are so common in the upper one.
This chalcolthic phase at Sanghol
may broadly by bracketed with the Harappan assemblage of Bara (District
Rupnagar) and the late Harappan
phase of Rupnagar.
There is a striking
similarity in their
4 Ibid., p-17
ceramic shapes, technique, surface treatment and decorative motifs (both painted and incised). Besides, the abundance of faience ornaments is also shared by all. It will be pertinent to recall that more or less similar pottery alongwith a variety of copper objects and faience ornaments has also been recovered at Chandigarh. Moreover, hole in the centre of some of the dishes-on-stand, is a feature commonly present in the ceramic repertories of Bara, Cemetery ‘H’ and late Harappan Ware of Sanghol. It is further notable that some of the shapes at Chandigarh find semblance in the Cemetery ‘H’ assemblage, although the surface dressing in the former has invariably gone off and thus pointing towards OCP-type firing.
A remote family-likeness may also be traced to Kalibangan-I in the prevalence of small to medium sized globular and ovoid vases with disc bases; in painting the sweeping curves, butterfly or double-axe motifs, single broad or recurrent bands round the rim, neck, shoulder and girth, especially, the broad band almost covering, rim, neck and sometimes some part of shoulder; and also in roughened lower body with raised bands, combing and netting. The distant genetic relationship warrants further study so as to understand as to how transmutative forces might have protractedly lingered on in the substratum of the society.
Period II.- In one of the few cutings the Painted Gray Ware occurs right upon the natural soil. At the latter site it seems to be interlocked with the Northern Black Polished Ware. It is only in one trench that the Painted Gray Ware (c. 1100 BC to 600 BC) makes its appearance in a deposit overlying the chalcolithic one. Since the strata of this period are heavily disturbed and promiscuously yield the Harappan material along-side, it is difficult to spell out any relationship between the two in point of time at this stage. Besides the typical Painted Gray Ware, it yielded black slipped and red wares, beads, bangles, copper pieces, glass bangles, beads of burnt clay and some precious stones.
Period III & IV.- There is nothing special to mention with regard to the period III Northern Black Polished Ware Culture(c. 600 BC to 200 BC). The sherds of this period have been found in a pit and it has yielded a few antiquities of metal pieces.
Period IV (2nd century BC to Ist half of the Ist century AD) reveals that it is well stratified with cardinally oriented structures of baked and unbaked bricks.
A large number of terracotta figurines, both human and animal and coins have been discovered. These include among other a yaksa and a female head. The early coins and coin-moulds bear inscriptions in Kharosthi script. The discovery of two coin moulds of Gondopharnes from the site bears testimony to the fact that Sanghol was included in the kingdom of the Indo-Parthian king Gondopharnes and he maintained a mint here. It was believed so far that the eastern Punjab did not fall under his sway.
Fort
There is an unmistakable indication of the existence of a quadrilateral/pentagonal fort with massive ramparts and corner towers. This defence complex turned out to be unique in character and very systematic in character and very systematic in nature which finds literary corroboration in Kautalyla’s Arthasastra and in the commentary to the Udaya Jataka. There are two distinct construction phases A and B of the rampart. Phase A marks the main building activity in which an enormous, rammed deposit of fine sticky clay of purplish pale hue was piled up with a taper from both sides front and back to terminate at the truncated top which was given to a thick layer of mode resistant Kankari yellow earth to save it from speedy erosion. Finally on the top there was laid a nearly 10 cm thick spread of pink lime oblique to the orientation of the defence wall and hence at the moment it is difficult to take it as a top vaneering. Its functional utility should still remain a matter of further study. Phase B marks the hurriedly done raising of random earth quarried from the mound, most probably, in the wake of some imminent attack.
The defence complex consists of a series of three moats, one outside the rampart and the other two inside it. The outer moat and the mud rampart measure approximately 30 metres and 23 metres in length and width respectively. The first inner ditch measures about 13 meters and further inwards the total width of intermediate space and the third ditch (second inner ditch) together is 15 metres. It seems that the earth obtained by digging the moats was utilized in raising the rampart and the intermediate space, the berm and the remaining was spread over the flanking road outside the defences ( as the contours suggest). The exposed width of the inner moat II is 3.5 metres. Another significant feature is the yield of a number of sealings, bun shaped iron ingots, a few weapons and iron slags, collected from the upper strata of the deposits in the inner moat II and from the sealing layers of the same moat and the flanking berm. The sealings bear human figurines and no inscription. It also produced a terracotta sealing which bears a legend reading ‘Devadasa’ written in Brahmi characters of the fifth century A.D.
Besides the other small structures of this period there have been exposed, at the small apsidal mound situated just near the northern corner tower of the fort the “Wheel of the Law” or Dharma-chakra pattern plan of a Buddhist Stupa, a bodhi tree enclosure and a number of other structures, the exact nature of which is not yet known.
The spokes of the wheel are represented by brick walls radiating from the central column or hub of the structure which is represented by a void in diametre 3.24 metres. Of these radial walls are intersected by three successive circluar walls of the diametres of 5.04 metres, 13 metres and 16.30 metres, the last being the peripheral one. The radial walls which seem to be 24 in number in the last two interspaces bounded by the peripheral wall and the second one, on the one hand by the second and the third on the other, reduce to 12 only in the innermost interspace. The extent height of a spoke is 1.18 metres.
To the north-east of the stupa, there was unearthed an enclosure of bricks of a diametre of 6.24 metres, its thickness being 90 cm and height 15 cm. Its interior is plastered with a 3 cm thick lime. A circular void now filled in with extraneous matter indicates that it was meant for the sacred bodhi tree.
In view of the stratigraphical evidence, the size of the bricks, associated pottery and other antiquities and also the pattern of the structure itself, the stupa may be dated between the Ist and 3rd century AD and should stand contemporary to the defences to its south.
Sealings and Coins
Apart from those recovered from regular excavation at Sanghol, fifteen terracotta sealings have been collected from the site. One of them bears no legend and depicts four animals, instead. Two of them have got a longitudinal strip-hole in their thickness. One of the two bears the Sudarsana-chakra in the upper quarter and a three-lined legend below, reading Sri-ma ha ra ja-Ka-pi La sa (a) ni yu Kta sya di ka rana sya in late Brahmi characters, and the other, in the similar letters bears probably five lines which have been considerably peeled off. A lump of baked clay bear three seal impressions of one and the same seal reading sri pu sya mi tra sa. A broken half of a sealing depicts the hind part of a seated lion with a legend below, reading dra sya on the obverse, and da mi ka sya on the reverse. Restoration of the legend on the obverse may be made with the help of a complete one recovered from the excavation which reads ba la bha dra sya. Decipherable legends of the remaining sealings are given below:
Sri vi snu da sa sya; sri vvi snu da sa sya; Sri ra ti sva ra sya; Sri da mi (upper line) ru dra da (lower line), and pri ya sa rmasya. All the legends are in Brahmi characters of the Gupta age.
A fragment of an inscribed slab also lying in the Sanghol material reads ma ta sri ka pau tre na.
A part of a legend quern bears an incomplete inscription which reads na ga se. A part of the left lower stroke suggests that the next letter would probably be na. The characters are of the Brahmi of the Ist-2nd century AD Whether this Nagasena is identical with Bhiksu Nagasena, the author of the Milindapanha and a contemporary of the Indo-Greek king Menander, cannot be ascertained.
There is found yet another seal with pre-Gupta Brahmi characters bearing an inscription Nandipura sya which throws light on the evolution of the Gurmukhi Script in this region.
Besides a gold coin of king Vasudeva of Kusana dynasty, a large number of copper coins were collected from the excavation and exploration conducted at Sanghol. They belong to Wema Kadphises, Kaniska and Vasudeva, the Kusanas, and the later Kusanas to “Kota” and “Katapa” of “Ksa” types; to the Kunindas; and to Toramana and Mihirakula, the Hunas.
This period seems to have met its destruction at the hands of the Hunas in fifth or early sixth century AD
Period VI.- This phase of Sanghol (6th century AD onwards) in its early stages is represented by a thick but disturbed deposit yielding glazed ware sherds, associated red wares and other antiquities. A terracotta sealing most probably a translation in clay of the gold coin of Vasudevea, the Kusana, depicting the standing king on the obverse and Siva-Nandi on the reverse is an object torn out of its stratigraphical context. In its last stage there were recovered small Nanakshahi bricks joined together by pink kankar mortar, and also a massive wall of the Sikh period provided with a round bastion; small rooms enclosed by thick walls, a closed drain and a few potsherds, a jar and some pieces of iron and wood. The period also yielded some coins of Kashmir rulers and of Samantadeva of Kabul land those of the Muslim rulers.
Sirhind
is among the oldest historical places of the Punjab. But its antiquity is
buried in obscurity and its origin much disputed. Nuruddin Sirhindi in his Rauzat-ul-Qayum
says that “Sirhind was founded in the time of Ferozshah III. At the
suggestion of Sayyid Jalaluddin Bokhari, the King’s pir, by Rafiuddin, an
ancestor of Mujaddad Alf Sani.” According to him, this place was specially
established to receive the gift of Mujaddad Alf Sani whose birth was
prophesied. The new settlement being situated in a lions’ forest was called
Sihrind (Sih means lion, rind means forest). Waliullah Sidiqi,
author of Aina-I-Brarbans, offers the view that it was Sahir Rao or
Loman Rao, 116th in descent from Lord Krishna, and of the Yadva
Dynasty, ruling at Lahore about 531 Sambat, who was the founder of the
settlement. Then, there are a few legends referred to by Alexander Cunningham.
According to one, the foundation is attributed to a Chauthan Thakur or Raja
who, about 900 year ago; brought people from Boras and Nolas, two very old
towns said to have been built by Raja Bali and Raja Nala. Some other accounts
give other stories of how the city was founded during the time of Sikandar
Lodhi.
Medieval Period
It
is interesting to note that Sirhind ( Fatehgarh Sahib District) was the most
flourishing city during the medieval period in the whole of present day Punjab.
Accordingly the medieval history of Fatehgarh Sahib is mainly the history of
Sirhind because the most of the area of Fatehgarh Sahib district is roundabout
Sirhind. An attempt has been made to depict the history present of Fatehgarh
Sahib District in the following pages.
Satadru
at the time of Huen Tsang’s visit to India constituted an independent State
with Sirhind as its capital. Subsequently, however (we can not say exactly
when) this independence was lost and the State of Satadru became part and
parcel of a vast kingdom called Trigut, of which Jalandhar was the capital.
Other important territories included in it were Hoshiarpur, Mandi, and Chamba.
In the beginning of the ninth century Jai Chandra was ruling over this kingdom.
After about a century, a serious conflict appeared between this State and the
kingdom of Kashmir, Shankarvarman, the king of Kashmir, was ambitious of
expanding his territory in the Punjab and becoming a powerful Samrat (Emperor).
This involved him in a formidable political struggle with his rivals,
particularly Prithvi Chandra of Jalandhar and Lallya, the Hindushahi King of
Udbhand. Prithvi Chandra of Jalandhar was defeated by Shankarvarman and his kingdom
including Sirhind was annexed to the Utpala Kingdom of Kashmir. The next target
of the Kashmir ruler was the Takki Kingdom of Alkhan, but there he failed to
achieve his object on account of the timely support of the Hindushahi ruler to
Alkhan. The death of Shankarvarman soon after and the weakness of his
successors cleared the field for the emergence of the Hindushahis as a great
power in the Punjab. Another helping factor was the decadence of the Gurjara
Prathiharas of Kanauj. During the invasion of Sultan Mohmud of Gazni (AD
1000-1030) the area Sirhind (now forming Fatehgarh Sahib District) alongwith
adjoining areas was under the Hindushahi Dynesty. The Hindushahi Raja Jaipal
was successful in building up an empire extending from Sirhind to Lampaka (modern
Lamghan) with Bathinda its capital. After establishing its firm sway over Afghanistan the new Turkish regime
entered into armed clashes with the Hindushahi Jaipal of the Punjab. The struggle between the two powers
lasted for several decades and in that Sirhind figured more than once, being an
important post on the eastern frontier of the Hindushahi Empire.
Under Triochanpal (AD1012-1021), son
and successor of Anandpal, Sirhind acquired the honour of being the capital and
first city of the Hindushahis. In AD1013, Bathinda, which was at that time the
capital of the Hindushahis, was conquered by Mahmud of Ghazni in the teeth of
stiff resistance from Bhimpal, the valiant son of Trilochanpal, and his Kashmir
ally, Tung. Thereafter, the Hindushahis decided to fix their headquarters at
Sirhind.
It
was from Sirhind that Trilochanpal and his son Bhimpal waged their last bid to
meet the challenge of the Ghaznavis. The fortifications of the town were
strengthened and new levies were raised to build up a powerful army to fight
with the Turks. The ruler of the neighbouring kingdom of Sharva, named Chand
Rai, did not take kindly to the shifting of the Hindushahis to Sirhind.
Trilochanpal proposed a matrimonial alliance between his son Bhimpal and a
daughter of a Raja Chand Rai. However, this alliance failed to materialize
because Chand Rai acted treacherously and put under arrest the Hindushahi
Prince when his marriage procession reached the bride’s house.
It was about this time, AD 1018, that Mahmud of Ghazna led one of his numerous expeditions into India. Trilochanpal felt too weak to offer resistance to the invaders and prudently left Sirhind and sought shelter with the Parmar Raja Bhoj of Malwa. Consequently, Mahmud was able to cross into the Ganga-Yamuna Doab almost unopposed. Even farther on, Mahmud had no difficulty in defeating the Rajput Chiefs of the area and plundering and demolishing some of the famous temples of Mathura. His return to Ghazni soon after presented a new opportunity to Trilochanpal of Sirhind. He entered into an alliance with Raja Ganda of Kalinjar and Raja Trilochanpal of Kanauj, with a view to offering united resistance to the Ghaznavis. When Mahmud learnt of this confederacy, he was infuriated and the very next year he decided to lead another expedition into the country. Trilochanpal left Sirhind once again and hastened towards Kanauj with the object of affecting a junction between his army and the Kanauj forces before putting up a fight against the enemy. But he was defeated by Mahmud. Trilochanpal, however did not lost courage and though of proceeding towards Kalinjar to get help from Raja Ganda. While he was on his way to that place, he met his end in AD 1021 at the hands of some of his own people who nourished secret grudge against him. With his death the Hindushahis of Sirhind passed into oblivion,. Trilochanpal’s son, Bhimpal, was still alive but he possessed no territory5.
In AD 1021, after the death of Trilochanpal, the Punjab was annexed to the Ghaznavi Empire. But it is doubtful whether Sirhind was included in it. When later on the Ghorid Turks of Shihabuddin carried out their invasions against the Ghaznavis and Rajputs of the area. Sirhind did not form part of Ghanavi dominions and was under the control of Chauhan Rajputs. This shows that the Ghaznavi rule in the Punjab did not perhaps extend beyond the river Satluj on the eastern side.
The
Chauhans first ruled in Ajmer but it appears that by AD 1164, they had occupied
Delhi as well as the entire tract of territory laying between it and the
Satluj. Sirhind and Bhatinda constituted the two most important military
stations on the north-western frontier of the Rajput Kingdon. Sirhind continued
to retain its special significance as a strategic post.
This view also
receives support from
the fact that
5 Fauja Singh, Dr, Sirhind Through Ages p 9
Shihabuddin’s first target, after the
occupation of Lahore, was to capture the military post of Sirhind and Bathinda.
This was naturally interpreted by the Delhi ruler, Prithviraj Chauhan, as a
serious challenge to the security of his
kingdom. Therefore, when Shihabuddin captured Sirhind and garrisoned it
with his own troops, the Rajput Chief immediately thought it necessary to take
the bull by its horns. This led to the first battle of Tarain in AD 1191. It is
significant to remember that before the Ghorid Commander proceeded to Tarain,
he was encamped at Sirhind. It thus, served, for him, the purpose of a base for
his impending encounter with the Chauhan Rajputs of Delhi.6
The
battle of AD 1191 resulted in the defeat and flight of the Turkish invader.
Immediately after this, Prithviraj proceed to Sirhind and laid siege to it.
Before his departure from the area Shihabuddin had greatly strengthened the
garrison force of this town, so that it took the Rajputs 13 months to defeat
the Turks and to reoccupy Sirhind. In AD 1192, Shihabuddin returned to India to
have another trial of strength with the Rajputs Prithviraj’s army fought
valiantly as usual but the superior Generalship of the Ghorid leader proved too
much for the Rajput Chief who was defeated and killed. As a result of this, not
only Sirhind but also the entire territory up to Delhi passed under the control
of the Turks. Sirhind now ceased to be a frontier defence post, which position
it had occupied ever since
the beginning of
the eleventh century. Sultan
Qutubuddin Aibak who had purchased Iltutmish and another Turk, Aibak by name,
by paying one lac jitals, appointed the latter as the Amir (Governor)
of Sirhind. The same man who was renamed Tangaz died in a battle between Sultan
Qutubuddin and Malik Tajuddin Yalduz. After Qutubuddin’s death in AD 1210,
Sirhind alongwith Kuhram and Sarswati was captured by Nasiruddin Qubacha, the
Govenor of Multan and Sind. The Qubacha’s hold on Sirhind did not go
unchallenged for long. As soon as Iltutmish (AD 1211-1236) consolidated his
position sufficiently well, he took up cudgels against the Qubacha. The dispute
was finally decided when in AD 1217-18 Iltutmish gave a crushing defeat to the
Qubacha and annexed Sirhind to his kingdom.7
During
Sultan Iltutmish’s reign Sirhind remained khalsa land and was
administered by Malik Iktiyaruddin as its Shahana (administrator). The
same person also held Sirhind during the reign of Sultana Razia.
During the period of Sultan Nasiruddin Mahmud (AD 1246-
6 Ibid p 10
7 Ibid. pp. 11-12
1266), except for the short tenure of Imaduddin Rihan when Arslan khan held the control of Sirhind alongwith Lahore, Bhatinda, Multan, Kuhram, Sunam and Samana. Sirhind was under the authority of Malik Sher Khan, a cousin of Balban. Sher Khan was the most eminent personality of his time and naturally was assigned the all important responsibility of looking after the defence of the entire north-west frontier region. He held this position upto AD 1267 when he lost the confidence of the Sultan. It is said that he had all the qualities of a great ruler and was famous for his gallantary and wise counsel. After Sher Khan’s death, Balban appointed his own son as the warden of the marches. With great ability and to the entire satisfaction of his father, the Prince administered the frontier divisions and held his own against the Mongol invasions till he died in AD 1285, while engaged in a fight against the Mongols8. Balban strengthened all important defence posts of the area with troops and fortifications, Sirhind was included in the list of such places. Here a big cantonment was built up and arrangments were also made to send reinforcement in case of necessity.
During
the period of the later Mamluk Sultans the north-wetern region was divided into
about eight military divisions, namely Lahore, Multan, Dipalpur, Sunam, Samana,
Kuhram, Sirhind and Jalandhar and each of them was placed under the custody of
a trustworthy military-cum-administrative
officer. All these officers
were placed under the
control of one Chief Officer like Sher khan or
Prince Mahmud who enjoyed the Sultan’s confidence in the fullest measure.
Under
the Khalji Sultans who succeeded the Mamluk’s, Sirhind was attached to the
viceroyalty of Samana, in which situation it continued to be right up to AD
1360 when Firuzshah Tughlaq conferred upon it an independent status.
Under the Tuglaq Sultans, Sirhind gained a far more prominent position in the political and administrative affairs of the Sultanate, and it continued to increase in wealth and importance until the time of Akbar when the rival cities of Sunam and Samana were both made subordinate
to it and included in the Sirhind Sarkar of the Subah of Delhi..
Firuz
Tuglaq separated the Pargana of Sirhind from the Shiq of Samana
for administrative reasons and put it under the governorship of Malik
Zia-ul-Mulak Shamsuddin Aburija. He also built a fort there on the bank of a
small streen known as Sirhind or Mansurpur cho, which was named
Firuzpur. Firuzshah Tughlaq is rightly famour for his canals, one new canals
dug out by him passed through Sirhind.
When Firuzshah
8 Ibid. p 12
marched upon Kangra in AD 1351, he passed
through Sirhind.He liked the place so much that forthwith he determined to
raised its status. Sirhind from now onwards shot up in importance, next only to
that of Lahore.
The
invasion of Timur in AD 1399 gave a rude shock to the Tughlaq administration
which had already fallen on evil days on account of sharp dissensions among the
descendants of Firuzshah. Khizar Khan
who claimed to be the Deputy of Timaur in India soon occupied the areas of Multan
and Dipalpur and established an independent State. His efforts to bring Samana,
Sirhind, etc. under his sway brought him into direct conflict with the Delhi
authorities. With a view to subduing him, Iqbal Khan, the ruler of Delhi led a large expedition in 1405 and
after inflicting a defeat on Bahram Khan, Khizar’s Governor of Samana, proceed
towards Pakpatttan where on 12 November 1405 his army was routed in a bloody
battle with the army of Khizar Khan and he himself was killed. But the struggle
for the mastery of Delhi was not over yet. Sultan Mehmud Shah who came over to
Delhi from Kanauj after Iqbal Khan’s death continued to contest with Khizar
Khan for the control of southern and south-eastern Punjab. On his behalf Daulat
Khan Lodhi attacked Samana and expelled from there the Governor of Khizar Khan,
Bahram Khan by name. This led to an immediate reaction by Khizar Khan who lost
no time in attaching Daulat Khan Lodhi and recapturing Samana. Bahram Khan was
not transferred to Sirhind. Since he was not happy with this tranfer, he
revolted against his master, Khizar Khan. But the revolt failed. Out of the
kindness Khizar Khan forgave him and restored him to his office of Govenorship
of Sirhind. The incident is significant in as much as it reveals that at this
time Samana carried great prestige than
Sirhind.9
On
4 June 1414 Khizar Khan captured Delhi from Daulat Khan Lodhi and
laid the foundation of the Sayyid dynasty. He ruled up to 20 May 1421. During
the short period of his reign, a number of revolts occurred in the Punjab, in
which Sirhind figured prominently. When Bahram Khan, the Governor of Sirhind
died, Khizar Khan appointed his son, Prince Mubarak Shah, the Governor of
Sirhind, Samana and Firuzpur. But the Prince stayed there only for a few years and after appointing Malik Sadho
Nadira, his Deputy, the Governor of Sirhind and Zirak Khan the Govenor of
Samana, returned to Delhi in AD 1416. Soon after, Tughan Khan, the Governor of
Jalandhar, who was a relative
of the deceased
Bahram Khan, made
an attack upon
Sirhind and laid
9.
Ibid., pp. 14-15
siege to it. Malik Nadira was killed in one of
the actions fought with Tughan’s men. Under orders from the Sultan of Delhi the
Governor of Samana, Zirak Khan, marched to the rescue of the besieged and put
the enemy to flight10.
The Governorship of Sirhind was offered by the Sultan to Sultan Shah Lodhi in AD 1419. The new Governor won a notable success over Sarang Khan by inflicting a severe defeat upon in a battle waged near Sirhind. But Sarang Khan escaped into the Shivalik hills from where he repeatedly threatened the areas of Rupnagar and Sirhind till he was finally dispatched in a treacherous manner by Tughan Khan of Jalandhar.
Tughan
Khan was not the man who would remain quiet for long. Soon after, he raised another rebellion and after
capturing Manurpur laid siege to Sirhind. But he got no further success and was
driven back upon Ludhiana and afterwards defeated by the forces of Zirak Khan.
Taking advantage of the death of Khaizar Khan on 20 May 1421, they led an
expedition against Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Rupnagar and Sirhind. The first two places were conquered, the
third was ravaged, whereas the fourth was besieged. The siege of Sirhind
continued for sometime but before the town could be taken, the new Sayyid
Sultan, Mubarak Shah, arrived at the head of a powerful army and forced the
enemy to stage a retreat. Mubarak Shah was murdered in AD1434. He was succeeded
by Mohammad Shah who ruled upto AD 1443. After him Allauddin Alam Shah sat on
the throne but in AD 1448 he voluntarily retired to Badayan leaving the charge
of Delhi in the hands
of his minister, Hamid Khan. Under Mubarak Shah and
his two successors Sirhind remained under the control of Afgan Governors. Islam
Khan was later on succeeded by his nephew and son-in-law, Bahlol Lodhi, son of
Malik Kala. Sirhind was the birth place
of Bahlol also the place where he had his up bringing and won his early
prominence.
He
made successive assaults on Delhi but was repeatedly forced to retreat to
Sirhind. Ultimately in AD 1451, he succeeded in dislodging the Sayyids from
their control of Delhi.With Bahlol ascending the throne of Delhi, Sirhind
ceased to be his principal seat of authority, but the administrative and
military importance of the place remained unchanged. After he left Sirhind, he
made his son and heir apparent Nizam Khan its Governor who took deep interest
in its welfare and development. During the
period of his
reign, Bahlol got
a large stone-tomb
constructed commemorating the death of his son-in-law, Mir-I-Miran, a
great saint of the place. The saint had
received a Jagir in
10 Ibid,. pp. 15-16
the dowry in the neighbourhood of Sirhind and
at this place a tank, Bibisar, was constructed by the princess or by her
brother,Sikandar Lodhi.
In
AD 1489 Nizam Khan succeeded his father Bahlol under the title of Sikahndar
Lodhi as the Sultan of Delhi, he maintained the importance of the city of Sirhind. After he moved his capital from
Delhi to Agra, Sirhind assumed special significance in view of its being the
strongest Afgan fortification between Delhi and Lahore. Its administration was
placed under the control of one of his most trusted grandees, Daulat Khan
Lodhi, who was simultaneously required to look after the territories of
Jalandhar and Sultanpur. Daulat Khan proved an efficient administrator and was
so successful in maintaining peace in his areas that he was soon elevated to
the supreme position of the Governor of Punjab11.
Sirhind (Now covers the Area Of Fatehgarh Sahib District) Under the Mughals (1526-1707)
Babur,
the son of Omer Sheikh Mirza laid the foundation of the Mughal Empire in India
in 1526 when he defected Ibrahim Lodhi in the first battle of Panipat In the
next years Babur, no doubt defeated the Afgans as well as the Raj[puts, and
brought the whole of northern India under his sway, but during his short
period, consolidation could not keep pace with conquests. In Punjab, the
Baluchis and the Mundahir Rajputs in the neighbourhood of Sirhind did not reconcile themselves to the turn and
political events had taken place,the first who revolted were the Baluchis.
At the time of invasion of Babur, the social and religious conditions were deplorable in Panjab. Many saints and reformers were
11 Ibid, pp 18-19
doing their utmost to
eliminate the evils of the time. They were doing their best to patch up the
differences between the Hindus and the Muslims
and thereby to bring
the two communities closer and closer.
They are collectively known as
the Bhakti reformers. In the Punjab, the Bhakti movement was led
by Guru Nanak Dev, the first Guru of the Sikhs, and after his death, by his nine successors. The belief common
among the Sikhs is that the spirit of Guru Nanak Dev is inherited by each
successive Guru. Guru Nanak Dev lived in the time of the Lodhis and the first
two Mughal Emperors. It is interesting to note that the Sikhism was founded in
Punjab by Guru Nanak Dev simultaneously when Babur laid the foundation of
Mughal Empire in India. It is believed that Guru Nanak Dev also travelled
through the present area of Fatehgarh Sahib District and influenced the people
with his lofty teachings. Hence, whereas in the political sphere, the present
area of Fatehgarh Sahib District fell under the Mughal Rule, in the spiritual
sphere, it came under the benign influence of the philosophy of Sikhism as
preached by the Sikh Gurus. In due course, the Sikhs became also politically
strong as they were able to give a fatal blow to the torrering Mughal Empire.
It was at Sirhind in Fatehgarh Sahib District that the severest blow was given
to the Mughal power in Panjab. Wazir Khan, the Governor of Sirhind was badly
defeated and killed by the Sikhs as he was responsible for many sufferings of
Guru Gobind Singh.
During the short period of Babur
(1526-1530) consolidation of empire could not keep pace with his conquests. The
Mundahir Rajputs in the neighbourhood of Sirhind were not prepared to reconcile
themselves to this political change. In March 1530, towards the end of Babur’s
reign, the Mundahir Rajputs raised their head against the local Mughal
officials. Annoyed apparently at some outrageous conduct of the Qazi of Sirhind
the Mundahir Rajputs, under the courageous lead of Mohan Mundahir, attacked the
Qazi’s estate at Sihind burning and plundering the place and also killing his
son. Upon the Qazi’s complaint against this outrage against his property and
son, Babur sent Ali Quli of Hamadan with 3000 horse to avenge the Qazi’s
wrongs. Early in the morning of the 4 March 1530, he reached Mohan’s village situated
in the Kaithal Pargana, but unluckily for the Mughals, the invaders were twice
repelled by Mohan’s men12.
On hearing of their ignominous failure, which must have sent a wave of dismay among the victorious Mughal forces, Babur again despatched from Sirhind, Tarsam Bahadur and Naurang Beg with 6,000 horse and several elephants. The Mundahir Rajputs had nearly defeated
12 Ibid., p 22
this taskforce too, when by a clever ruse, played by the invaders, the brave villagers were put to rout. One thousand of them were pierced to death in the battle-field, while all their women and children were enslaved. A pillar of heads was raised; Mohan Mundahir was captured and later on buried to the waist and shot to death with arrows13.
Babur has also referred to the obvious attraction
Sirhind had for the Mughal officials. Sultan Muhammad Duldai abandoned Qanauj
in favour of Sirhind and refused to go back. On Humayun’s accession to the
throne in 1530, Humayun had more pressing problems to face and Sirhind,
therefore, receded to the background. He waged wars against the Hindu Rajas of
Bundelkhand. He also reduced Chunar and marched against Bahadur Shah of Gujrat
and reached as far as Ahmednagar. He also fought bloody engagements with Sher
Khan, the Pathan Chief. However, his stars were not in the ascendance. In 1540,
he was discomfited by Sher Khan and was soon compelled to abandon the capital.
Thereafter Sirhind once again springs into prominence. Humayun tried to reach
Lahore via Sirhind he found that Sher Khan had deputed his most trusted general
against him, he marched post-haste to Lahore. On the 23 June 1540 he was at Sirhind but on the 5 July he was holding consultations with the
Principal Mughal leaders in India at Lahore. Haider Mirza who then enjoyed the
confidence of Humayun, sought permission to repair to Kashmir and so arrange
the matters that the slopes from the hills of
Sirhind to Sarang were secured and the Mirzas were firmly settled
there. The Mughals had no alternative but to quit Lahore. However, before
leaving Lahore, Humayun made desperate attempts to arrive at some sort of
settlement with the cunning Afgan, Sher Khan. Keeping in view the historical
impotance of Sirhind, Humayun tried to come to some sort of political
settlement with Sher Khan by suggesting to him that the Indian Empire be
divided between the Afgans and the Mughals. Sher Khan was too shrewd to let
Humayun remain beyond Sirhind. He knew that Delhi could be considered safe only
if the hinterland of Sirhind was securely in his hands14.
Sher
Shah’s death in 1545 brought his son Jalal Khan, entitled Islam Shah and
nicknamed Salim Shah, to the throne. His courageous conduct brought him into
sharp conflict with his powerful nobles. Khawas
Khan joined hands with the second son of Sher Shah called Adil Khan and
both marched upon Agra against Islam Shah but were not in a position to achieve
much. Adil Khan fled to Patna while Khawas Khan retied to his fief at Sirhind.
Islam Shah’s death in 1554
13
Ibid., pp.,22-23
14 Ibid
pp., 23-25
plunged the Sur Empire into a welter of chaos
and confusion. When Adil Khan ascended the throne, he alienated the Afgan
nobles all the more by entrusting the administration to a Hindu, Hemu. Ibrahim
Khan Suri, a second cousin of Adil Shah, apprehended danger to his life and,
therefore, fled to Delhi where he was joined by the Governor of Sirhind15.
Now Ibrahim Khan assumed royal titles and annexed many districts of the Punjab. In the meantime, another cousin of Sultan assumed royal titles under the name of Sikandar Shah. There were now three Suri kings in India at the times when Humayun was making hectic preparations to return to India. During the rule of Sikander Suri, the weak successor of Sher Shah Suri, Humayun was able to regain his position in India, through the famous battle of Sirhind fought on 22 June 1555. A brief description of this battle is given below :
The Battle of Sirhind, 1555.- When Sikandar Suri was the emperor of India, Hamayun entered Lahore on 24 February without encountering any opposition. In this struggle for supermacy in India, Sirhind once again plays a very important role. Soon his advance guards reached Sirhind. Sikandar Suri despatched 30,000 horses towards Sirhind. By this time, Humayun’s general Bairam Khan had captured Sirhind and had fortified the town. He inflicted a crushing defeat on the Afghan troops of Sikandar Suri. Sikandar Suri was upset by his defeat, but he again sent 80,000 horses and elephants to Sirhind and took the
field in
person. On reaching Sirhind, he entrenched himself before the
city. Humayun himself arrived in Sirhind to encounter the enemy. Sirhind was
thoroughly fortified. Now ensured a serious struggle for supremacy, which is
known in history as the battle of Sirhind. Humayun reached Sirhind on the 28
May 1555. On 22 June 1555 was fought his decisive battle of Sirhind. The entire
force of Sikandar Suri was dispersed and he himself was forced to flee for safety
to the Shivalik Hills. The battle of Sirhind, like the other decisive battles
of Indian history, seriously altered the political situation. The Afghans were
beaten disastrously and were very near being expelled from the Punjab16.
After the death of Humayun, Hemu
conquered Delhi from the Mughals. Tardi Beg, the Mughal General left Delhi
without engaging his rival in any
fight and returned
to Sirhind. Hearing
this news at Jalandhar, Akbar alongwith Bairam
Khan, his guardian and comander,
15 Ibid., pp. 26-27
16 Ibid ., p 28
marched to Sirhind on 13 October 1556. Akbar expressed his displeasure at the cowardice of Tardi Beg and he was put to death. Thereafter, Hemu was defeated in the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556 and Sirhind again came under the Mughals.
Under
Akbar Sirhind continued to play a prominent role in the social, political and
cultural history of the pople. Soon after Akbar’s accession to the throne,
Mirza Muhammad Hakim the governor of Kabul began to show his hostility to the
Emperor. On hearing of his hostile intention, Akbar marched from Agra and
reached Sirhind in December 1556. On the receipt of news that time Hafiz Sultan
Rakhana of Heart was the Shiqdar of Sirhind. He was an excellent person,
and Akbar, on being pleased with the bazaars of the town, entrusted to him the Sarkardari
of that place. He was responsible for raising numerious buildings.
The Uzbegs were creating a seious distraction for the Mughals in Badakhshan. Within a decade of Akbar’s accesstion to the throne, they had risen up in arms against the Mughals. Raja Man Singh was deputed to proceed against them. He came to Sirhind. Nasiri Sirhindi a contemporary historian, has given a graphic account of how Raja Man Singh, succeeded in galvanizing the entire Sud population of Sirhind into action against the rebellious Mirges. According to a historian, no less than 5,000 well-built and sturdy Suds of Sirhind assembled round Raja Man Singh with Rajput like martial pomp and glow and volunteers to fight for the Emperor against his pathan enemies. According to Nasiri, the Suds were the most conspicuous section of the population of Sirhind. They were valorous people as compared with the other sections of the Hindus who were silent and mute type of people. According to him Sirhind at that time possessed buildings which had no parrallel in the whole of India, and it enjoyed such commercial importance that the property in Sirhind fetched twice as much price as the property at Delhi fatched at that time17.
Under Akbar its prosperity continued still further. Akbar made it into a mint town for minting copper coins. The other town, selected for this purpose was Sialkot. In the whole of India there were only twenty-eight mint towns for minting copper coins and Sirhind had the distinction of being one of the two earmarked for the Punjab. The Hindu money-lenders were quite a prosperous class and they owned some beautiful gardens. A fort built in the centre of the town was linked with the Shahi Bagh through a mine. There Mughal Emperor stayed in
the Shahi Bagh, whenever he visited the
town. The town was also famous for producing delicious mangoes.
17
Ibid., pp. 31-32
Sirhind
had become a great centre for trade. Because of its proximity to the hills. Chinese
goods were pouring in large quantitites for commercial purposes. This
increasing amount of trade had anabled its inhabitants to acquire immense
riches. Under such circumstances population was bound to increase and extension
took place towards the north-western direction and the boundary wall towards
that side had to be dismantled for facilitating further development18.
On
the north-western side of the fort, there were two chowks and twenty mohallas.
Suds formed the bulk of the population. Although some Khatri families were very
rich, yet the Suds excelled them in riches. They excelled them not only in
riches but also in bravery and martial spirit. It is significant to note that
the leading members of the various Sud families were given high military ranks
in the Mughal army. Since they never indulged in trade and commerce like the
Khatris and the Banias, and readily agreed to offer themselves for active
service on the battle field.
During
Akbar’s times, Sirhind was a great centre of education. There were 360 mosques
and in those days a maktab (school) was generally attached to a mosque.
After Akbar, Sirhind continued to develop under Jahangir and Shah Jahan who
visited this place many times being attracted by its magnificet gardens. Shah Jahan
laid the foundations of a
few more buildings.
The Emperor had
another
important interest in Sirhind. This place
abounded in birds which could be utilised for the purposes of hunting. That is
why Shah Jahan sent one Shah Nawaz Qash Begi in the month of Ramzan in
the same year to collect such hunting birds from this place.
On the 8th Jamadi-ul-Awwal, 1030 (AD 1630) Shahjhan paid another visit to the place. During this visit the Emperor took another very important decision. In the previous visit he had ordered a bifurcation of the administrative responsibilities in Sirhind. Perhaps, these divided responsibilities did not work well. He, therefore, annulled the previous decision and combined all the three functions in one individual who was no other than the celebrated Seth Todar Mal. This responsible official was now entrusted with the duties of Amin, Diwan and Faujdar. Todar Mal had, perhaps, earned this distinction by virtue of his rich and varied experience in different administrative spheres. This celebrated official discharged his functions so efficiently that the Imperial favour continued to piur in on him in quick and repaid
succession. When Shahjhan visited Sirhind in
the fourth year of his succession,
he became the
recipient of a
distiniction which added
18.
Ibid., p 33
considerably
to the material
as well as
official prestige of this tried
official. The Faujdari of the Lakhi
Jungle was also added to his existing charge. Soon after, Todar Mal was
rewarded with a Khillat (robe of honour) a horse and caprisoned
elephant. Under this able and versatile administrator Sirhind made such a
spectacular progress that in 1634 when Shahjahan again visited the place, Todar
Mal was elevated to the Mansab of one thousand zat and one
thousand, Swar, Doaspa and Sihaspa. In 1635 still another
honour awaited Seth Todar Mal. The Emperor added to his existing Mansab,
a Mansab of 25000 Swar, Doaspa (two horses) and Sihaspa
(three horses) 19.
Under
Aurangzeb, Wazir Khan was the Faujdar of Sirhind. The practice of
continuning to vest all the three powers in the same hands, just as it was done
in the case of Todal Mal, was continued and Wazir Khan was the Faujdar, Amin
as wel as the Diwan for the Sarkar of Sirhind. A contemporary
historian, Khafi Khan testifies to his reputation for firm Government in his
work Muntakhab-ul-Lubab, wherein he describes him as
having some states that Sirhind was an opulent town, with wealthy merchants.
Bankers, tradesmen, men of money and gentlemen of every class and there were
especially learned and religious men in great numbers residing there. There is
thus no doubt that under the strong and beneficent patronage of the seconds,
third and the fourth Mughal sovereigns, Sirhind continued to march on the road
to peace and prosperity. It became one of the most flourishing town of the
empire which was said to have contained 360 mosques, tombs, sarais and
wells. The extent of its prosperity and popularity may be measured form the
ruins of the old city which commence about a mile from the Sirhind Railway
Station and extend for several miles. But suddenly then Wazir Khan, perhaps,
taking cue from the policy of religious fanaticism unleashed by Auranghzeb, embarked
upon a course of action which not only convulsed the peace of whole State but
also jeopardised the interest of the Mughal dynasty.
The
last Mughal campaign against Anandpur under Emperor Aurangzeb’s order was led
by Wazir Khan, the Faujdar of Sirhind. When the combined forces of the
Mughals and of the Hill Rajas failed to take the face by assault, they laid a
close siege to it. This continued for several months without any success. But
it reduced the besieged Sikhs to extremities for want of food. The imperialists
then took to a strategy which they thought would work better with the Guru and
his followers. They called a Saiyid (or reputed descendant of Ali, the
Prophet’s son-in-
law)
and a Brahman, both
of whom were to swear (by the Holy Quran
19. Ibid.,
pp 40-41
and the sacred cow), on behalf of the allied
armies, solemn oaths of safe conduct for the Guru, should he vacate
Anandpur. All the
Hindu chiefs
put their seals to this letter. The oaths of
both the Mughals and the Hindus had no real meanings for them. The Holy Quran
forbids the violation of the oaths solemnly taken and so do the Hindu Shastras,
but in spite of making the holy Prophet a witness to their promise, the
imperialists went back upon their pledge and attacked the Guru’s followers
during their retreat on the night of 6-7
Poh 1762, BK.( 5-6 December 1705), and killed a number of them. The Guru
himself was surrounded and besieged at Chamkaur (December 8). During the battle
some of his closed associates and two elder sons, Ajit Singh and Jujhar Singh
were killed and he could escape from their clutches only under the cover of
darkness at night.
During the sudden attack by the
combined forces of Wazir Khan of Sirhind and his allies on the bank of the
Sirsa rivulet, the retreating Sikhs were scattered in different directions and
camel loads of their property and manuscripts were sunk. While the Guru had
crossed the rivulet towards Chamkaur and his wives had moved towards Delhi, his
aged mother and younger sons, Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh, strayed away with
no place to go to. At this time they fell in with an old Brahman servant named
Gangu. He first took them to his village Saheri on the Rupnagar-Morinda road
and then betrahyed them to the Pathan officials of Morinda who, in turn, handed
them over to Faujdar Wazir Khan at Sirhind20.
Wazir
Khan had returned to Sirhind greatly frustrated at the escape of Guru Gobind
Singh from Chamkaur. With his conscience deadened, he found in the young sons
of the Guru as easy target to satisfy his inner vengeful self. They were only
nine and seven years old. But their tender ages failed to move Wazir Khan’s
pitiless heart. And, as the tradition has it, on their refusal to accept Islam,
he ordered them to be bricked up alive.
Hearing his order issued against the young boys, Nawab Sher Muhammad Khan of
Malerkotla, who happened to be present there, protested against the
cold-blooded murder of the innocent children. The imperial officers did not pay
heed to the remonstrance. Thus was written the bloodiest chapter in the history
of Sirhind and became an important centre of political activities in the Punjab21.
On
receipt of the news of the disturbed State of affairs in the Punjab and the Sarkar
of Sirhind, emperor Aurangzeb wrote to the Subedars of Shahjahanabad and
Lahore to conciliate Guru Gobind Singh
20
Ibid., p 97
21 Ibid., pp
97-98
and
to arrange for
his journey to the Deccan to see him there. In response to the imperial summons, the Guru wrote his well–known
letter, the Zafarnama, wherein he told His Majesty
that he had received
the royal messages, both in writing and
verbally, but he could not trust and rely upon them. He, however, assured the
Emperor that he was willing to the Deccan to see him there, if he received the
royal farman addressed to him direct. The letter was sent to the Emperor
through one of the Guru’s most trusted associates, Bhai Daya singh. The Emperor
favourably responded to the Guru’s letter and sent the desired farman to
him through Muhammad Beg Gurz-barddr and Shaikh Yar Muhammad mansabdar
who accompanied Bhai Daya Singh back to the Punjab. He had waited for several
months for the return of Daya Singh and had received no news of the result of
his mission to the Emperor. He, therefore,deceided to move towards the Deccan.
He was in the neighbourhood of Baghaur in Rajasthan when Daya Singh returned
from the Deccan and met him. And soon came the news that Emperor Aurangzeb had
dies at Ahmadnagar on 20 February 1707. There was then no point in going
further south. The Guru , therefore, returned to the north. He was at Delhi
when the heir-apparent Prince Muazzam arrived there to defend his primogenitary
right to the throne against his usurping brother Prince Azim. In response to Muazzam’s
request for assistance, the Guru not only deputed Kuldipak Singh as a liaison
officer
with him but also helped him in the battle of Jajau on 8 June 1707, with a depatchment of Sikhs who joined the battle at a crucial moment. With his victory, Prince Muazzam became the Emperor of India under the name of Bahadur Shah. The greatful Emperor invited the Guru to his Darbar at Agra on 23 July 1707, and honoured him. The news of the Emperor’s reconciliation with the Guru, the Guru’s intention to return to the Punjab and his call to the Sikhs seem to have alarmed Faujdar Wazir Khan. He feared that the main burden of the Guru’s wrath on his return to Anandpur in the Kahlur area would fall upon him. He, therefore, according to the Chatur-Jugi, deputed two of his trusted men to do away with the Guru before he could return to the Punjab.22 The Guru was at Nander in the Deccan on the left bank of the Godavri where the Emperor was also then encamped. When the assasins from Sirhind deputed by Wazir Khan stabbed him in the stomach to put an end to his life. This was the second strong nail in the coffin of the tyrannical Mughal rule in Punjab which was uprooted in less than two years thence by the infuriated Khalsa under the command of Banda Bahadur.
22 Ibid., pp. 98-100
Banda Bahadur was the first great commander of the Sikhs who led them to great victories over the Mughals in Punjab. The role of Banda Bahadur in the context of Fatehgarh Sahib District is very
significant, as the conquest of Sirhind, now falling in Fatehgarh Sahib District was the greatest achievement of Banda Bahadur. The conquests of Samana, Ghuram and Chhat-Banur were also great achievements of this brave man. Banda Bahadur was the first great Sikh General who shook the very foundation of the mighty Mughal Empire in Punjab, more particularly in the area of Fatehgarh Sahib District, as most of his glorious victories were achieved in this area. If it is observed minutely, it will be apparent that weakening of the Mughal Empire by Banda Bahadur became a potent factor in helping the Phulkian families to establish themselves in this area.
After
having come into contact with Guru Gobind Singh at Nander (in Maharashtra) in
1708, Banda Bahadur marched to the Punjab and waged a series of fights against
the Mughal rulers. His fight was neither a religious campaign nor a war against
Islam nor was it a vindictive mission as is commonly believed. In fact, it was
war against tyranny and injustice of the alien rulers. In doing so, he tried to
chastise the evil-doers for their sins and excesses perpetrated on innocent
people, including the sons of the Guru. So it can be said that Banda was an
ardent advocate of the cause of the common people and a fighter for the
liberation of India.
Before
his departure to the heavenly abode, Guru Gobind Singh had deputed Banda
Bahadur to wage a relentless war against the tyrannical rulers of Punjab. After
receiving the Guru’s commandments, instructions and blessings, Banda left for
Punjab with 25 Singhs, sometimes in October 1708. He was briefed by Guru Gobind
Singh about the route to be followed, the tasks to be accomlished, the source
of his reinforcements and the sequence of action. At the same time, Guru Gobind
Singh issued decrees to the Singhs in the Punjab to join Banda in his
adventure.
The
news of the Guru’s assassination set the Punjab Sikhs literally on fire. The
cold-blooded murder of his two young sons at Sirhind only a few years ago was
still rankling in their minds and hearts. Therefore, when they heard of Banda’s
coming, they gathered round him from all sides, irrespective of the
difficulties put in their way by the local administrations. Of course, they
knew what formidable force they were fighting against.23
23 Gopal Singh Dr, A History of Sikhs 1469-1988 p 335
Before
falling upon Sirhind, Banda thought it militarily prudent that first of all,
the places surrounding Sirhind should be attacked so that enemy could not get
reinforcement from these places. In 1709, Banda attacked Samana, the native
village of Jalal-ud-din, the executioner of Guru Teg Bahadur, the father of
Banda’s master.The town was inhabited
by highly placed Sayyids and Mughals. Banda and
his followers advanced upon Samana. Its faujadar and the Mughals had a
low estimate of the invaders. As Samana was an ancient and wealthy town in
those times, it was expected to yield a good booty. The Sikhs fell upon Samana
and ravaged it. The families of Sayyid Jalal-ud-din and those leaders and
grandees, who had deceived Guru Gobind Singh by treacherously including him to
evacuate the fort of Anandpur were put to death and the town was plundered.24
It
is held that
every member of Banda’s army made
sufficient
money from this plunder to live upon for many
days to come, whereas this exploit also added to the resources of Banda for his
further expeditions. Banda himself stayed here for about a week and then
marched towards Sirhind. The next village falling a prey to Banda was Ghuram,
east of Samana.
After the conquest of Samana and Ghuram, Banda Bahadur conquered Shahbad, Sadhaura and many other places now falling in Ambala District of Haryana. After increasing his strength by these victories, Banda thought it now appropriate to turn towards Sirhind. Chhat and Banur were on his way to Sirhind, Banda was able to occupy both these places without much opposition. After the conquest of Chhat and Banur, Banda Bahadur started his march towards the battle field of Chappar Chiri (near Landran in Kharar Tahsil of Rupnagar District), where the famous battle with Wazir Khan of Sirhind was fought and won.
Sirhind Conquerred by Banda Bahadur
The conquest of Samana, Ghuram and Chhat-Banur, may be small victories, but these certainly encouraged the followers of Banda, boosted their morale and attracted others to come under his banner. These victories also served as a stepping stone to a bigger one to follow,i.e. the victory of Sirhind.
The
Battle of Chappar Chiri (Sirhind)
Sirhind was the main target o f Banda, as two sons of Guru
24 Gurdev Singh Deol, Banda Bahadur (Jalandhar, 1972), p.34
Gobind Singh were bricked alive at this place by Wazir Khan, Governor of Sirhind. It is believed that this most famous battle of Banda with
Wazir Khan was fought in the plain of Chappar Chiri which falls in Kharar Tahsil on Banur-Kharar Road.
But, Sirhind was not an easy target to capture. It was the seat of
the provincial capital. Its Nawab, Wazir Khan was one of the pillars of the Mughal Empire with a huge army under his command. He had been in power for long years and had accumulated considerable wealth and position.
Wazir Khan made extensive arrangements to meet the challenge of Sikhs under Banda. He proclaimed to jehada religious war against Sikhs, the accursed infidels or kafirs. A large number of gazis or religious warriors from far and wide responded to his call. He collected his noted faujdars, zamindars and sardars. He had a large number of elephants, mounted gunnery, archers, lancers and swordsmen. Banda had no artillery, no elephants and not even sufficient supply of good hourses. He and his soldiers only possessed long spears, arrows and swords.
The organization and regrouping of troops before they are launched into battle is one of the fundamentals of war, in which Banda Bahadur was not lacking. So he organized his troops into two assaulting groups (Jathas). In the first group were the Malwais put under the command of Fateh Singh, Karam Singh, Dharam Singh and Ali Singh. The Majhel Singhs formed the second group under the command of Baba Binod Singh, Bhai Baj Singh, Ram Singh and Sham Singh.
Now Faujdar, Wazir Khan marched out in person with his large army with elephants in front to check the advance of the Sikhs. Banda ordered his commanders to advance and himself sat on a mound nearby to watch and direct the operation. The moment the battle started, the irregulars comprising robbers took to their heels. It is with regard to these people that Irvine in his Later Mughals remarks,”At the first shock, the Sikhs, after a feeble resistance turned and fled.” A sanguinary battle now ensued. The Sikhs shouted the war cry of ‘Sat Sri Akal,’ whereas, the war cry of ‘Ali, Ali’, was raised by the Muslims. The entire atmosphere resounded with these war cries. First, the Muslim artillery caused a heavy destruction of lives. Realizing this disadvantage, the soldiers of Guru Kalgidhar decided to do or die for a noble cause and sallied forth enmasse towards the cannon. Though they suffered heavy casualties, they succeeded in snatching the cannon. Then they started a hand-to-hand fight. Even then, the enemy was at an advantage. Then Baj Singh, second-in-command, rushed to Banda, who had remained aloof so far, with a request to play his role. Banda then rushed forward to the forefront of his army. To quote Sohan Singh. “Then rose he (Banda) like a hungry lion from his cave and sprang upon the army like a bolt from the blue. His appearance very much encouraged the Khalsa, whereas it struck a general terror among the enemy. Just as Julius Caesar, all of a sudden and with a single attack had turned the tables of fortunes against the hitherto obviously winning Gauls, the irresistible Banda with a single sally changed the whole scene.”
Encouraged by the advent of their leader on the battlefield, the Singhs fell in a compact body upon the Muhammadans. The onslaught was so penetrating that it became difficult for the enemy to stand it. Khazan Singh holds that “when the battle was raging a strong storm set in and with that the Singhs rushed at the enemy with drawn swords and put them to flight. “Money and baggage, horses, elephants, fell” says Khafi Khan,”into the hands of the infidels ( Singhs) and not a man of the army of Islam escaped with more than his life and the clothes he stood in. Horsemen and footmen in great numbers fell under the swords of the infidels who pursued them as far as Sirhind.” During that confusion, Wazir Khan fell from his horse and was captured alive, as stated by Khazan Singh. However, thereafter he was put to death.
According to another historian, when
Wazir Khan found that the battle was being lost, he rushed forward and struck
the commander Baj Singh with a lance. Baj Singh snatched the lance from the
Khan’s hand and wounded his horse with
it. Wazir Khan then shot an arrow at Baj Singh, wounded him in the arm and
rushed forward with his sword to cut him down. At this stage Sardar Fateh Singh
who was nearby, pounced upon Wazir Khan and dealt so severe a blow of his sword
at him that it cut him in two from shoulder to waist and hurled him dead on the
ground. The death of Wazir Khan gave the Sikhs a devisive victory and they
occupied Sirhind on 14 May25.
This was the first territorial conquest of the Sikhs which placecd them in possession of the entire country south of the Satluj to the neighbourhood of Delhi. And with this the ilaqa, now included in the Fatehgarh Sahib District became the first centre of the first Indepenent Sikh Kingdom in the Punjab; and it fired the people of the country with hopes of greater successes.
Banda Bahadur repaired the old imperial fort of Mukhlispur occupied by him at the time of conquest of Sadhaura, gave it the name of Lohgarh and established his capital.
25 Fauja Singh Dr, Sirhind Through The Ages pp. 102-103
Establishment of Government.-After capturing Sirhind, Banda Bahadur had established his own government here. The entire administration was taken into hand by the Sikhs. Baj Singh was appointed the Governor of Sirhind with Baba Ali Singh as his Naib. Taking Sirhind as a firm base, detachments were sent to occupy the surrounding territories. All the twenty-eight parganas of Sirhind with an annual income of Rs 52 lakhs came under the control of Sikhs. Thus the Sikhs under Banda were able to acquire sovereign power for the first
time in the province of Sirhind including most of the area of present day Fatehgarh Sahib District.
Banda
Bahadur also introduced an official seal for his hukamnamas (orders) and
firmans (letters). He introduced his own sammat or year commencing
with his victory at Sirhind. His coins and seals are the living monuments of his unflinching devotion to Guru Nanak
Dev and Guru Gobind Singh whom he claimed to be his guiding angels and from
whom he proclaimed to have obtained all the Tegh and Deg, power
and property.
Banda was really a great personality; credit goes to him for introducing the peasant proprietorship in the Punjab and giving the concept of a standing national army among the Khalsa. Another contribution of Banda to the history of the Punjab is that he was the first Sikh hero who prepared the ground for the establishment of the Sikh rule. Ganda Singh also endorses this point when he records that it was Banda Singh Bahadur who laid the foundation of the Sikh Empire in 1710. After giving defeat to Mughals in various battles, Banda was captured at Gurdas Nangal in Gurdaspur District and met a heroic death in the hands of Mughals.
Moreover,
credit goes to Banda for introducing reforms in the land tenure in the Punjab.
The Mughals had introduced the zamindari system, which had led to
absentee landlordism which was responsible for the exploitation of the
cultivators and reducing them to the position of serfs. On assuming power after
the fall of Sirhind, Banda took up the question of land reforms. He abolished
the zamindari system, thus eliminating, big landlords. The land, thus
taken away from them, was distributed among the actual tillers of the land and
they were given proprietary rights. In a nutshell, he introduced the system of
peasant-proprietorship in place of the zamindari system, which was later
put on firm footing by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Thus Banda Bahadur can be said to
be the true advocate of the peasant-proprietorship in the Punjab, which is his
greatest contribution to the fiscal reforms in the country.26
26 Gurdev Singh Deol, Banda Bahadur (Jalandhar,1972) p.113
Paying his tribute to Banda, Ganda
Singh says,”He (Banda) was the first man to deal a severe blow to the intolerant
rule of the Mughals in the Punjab and to break the first sod in the conquest of
that province by the Sikhs. Although it was forty years after his death that
the capital
of Lahore was occupied by the Khalsa and a
regular Sikh Badhshahat was declared, with Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia
as Padshah; it was Banda Singh Bahadur who laid the foundation of the
Sikh Empire in 171027.
Really,
Banda Bahadur was one of the most remarkable men that India produced during the
eighteenth century. The people of Fatehgarh Sahiob District were fortunate
enough to have come under his benevolent rule after the fall of Sirhind in
1710. The peasant-community of this area will ever remain grateful to him for
liberating them from the oppressive zamindari system.
On
hearing the disorders that the entire Pujab had passed intothe hands of Sikhs
people, Ahmad Shah again crossed the Indus. The Sikhs left Lahore in a hurry
and the Shah established his headquarters there in January 1762. He issued
orders to all the Jagirdars and Chiefs to join with their contingents
the Governor of Sirhind who was surrounded by the Sikh forces at that time. He
himself also marched out on 3 Februrary 1762 toward the same place. About
30,000 Sikhs were camping at this time with their families at a village called
Kupp, near Malerkotla, with a view to attacking Sirhind. The Shah send
instructions to the Nawab of Sirhind to attack from front, while he would
himself take care of the rear28.
He surprised the Sikhs by his sudden
appearance. The Sikhs fought recklessly, but thousand were killed. This
terrible caranage occurred on 5 February 1762 and is known as Wada
Ghalughara. The Shah remained busy keeping more humiliations and insult
upon their heads. The burngas (rest-houses) around the Amritsar Golden
Temple were destroyed. The holy tank was desecrated with blood of kine and
filled with mud and refused. The humaliation he (Shah) had heaped on the whole
Sikh people, was too much to bear. The Shah was still at Lahore, when they (the
Sikhs) again attacked Sirhind in May 1762 and the Nawab, Zain Khan, defeated
and obliged to pay tribute. The Shah dared not come to his rescue. On 17
October 1762, on the occasion of the Diwali festible, about 60,000 Sikhs
assembled at Lahore and resolved to avenge the insults he had offered both to
their religion and their sense of dignity as a people. They attacked the
neighbourhood of Lahore and renasacked the country from Sirhind to Sialkot29.
27 Ganda Singh, Banda Singh
Bahadur( Amritsar,1935) p. 256
28 Gopal Singh Dr, A History
of the Sikh People 1469-1988 p 405
29 Ibid., pp. 405-408
The Shah, alarmed and perplexed
tried at first to negotiate peace with them but failed. He was now left with no
choice but to meat their challenge and attacked Amritsar on 16 October one day
before Diwali, but the recklessness and fervour with which the Sikhs fought
compalled him to beat retreat. Hearing of some disturbances in Kandhar during
this period, the Shah had suddenly to leave Lahore on 12 December 176230.
No sooner had the Afghan forces crossed the
Chanab then the Sikhs fell upon Kasur,
a Pathan settlement,
which they sub
dued and plundered. Then, they sacked Malarkotla and slew its Nawab,
Hingan Khan, who had became notorious for Sikh-baiting. In December 1763, they
seized Sirhind with a force of 50,000. Its Governor, Zain Khan was killed and
the whole cursed city set on fire once again, to fulfil the Guru’s prophecy.
Brick clashed with brick and the ruins were ploughed over by donkeys. The place
where the two tender sons of Guru Gobind Singh, aged 5 and 7, were done to
death was commemorated with a Gurdwara called ‘Fatehgarh Sahib, ( the Fort of
Victory). At Morinda, near Sirhind, the two perons most responsible for it,
Jani Khan and Mani Khan were captured and butchered, alongwith their families31.
History of Patiala State.- The eartiest history of Patiala is that of the Phulkian State, and its history as a separate and ruling State nominally dates from 1762, in which year Ahmad Shah Durrani conferred the title of Raja upon Ala Singh, its chief, but it may be more justly regarded as dating 1763, when the sikh confederation took the fortress of Sirhind from Ahmad Shah’s Governor and proceeded to partition the old Mughal Province of Sirhind. In this partition Sirhind itself with its surrounding country*fall to Raja Ala Singh32 . The founder of Patiala State was Raja Ala Singh who belonged to the Sidhu Jat clan of Rajput origin. It was the fall of Sirhind in 1763 which facilitated the establishment of Patiala State. It is worthwhile to note that Ala Singh took an active part to overthrow Zain Khan, the Afghan Governor of Sirhind. After this victory, the town of Sirhind and its neighbourhood was made over to Raja Ala Singh who made no attempt to rebuild the city of Sirhind which was considered to be accursed by the Sikhs. Instead, he encouraged the inhabitants of Sirhind to settle at his newly founded town of Patiala where he soon afterwards built a fort.Ala Singh was certainly one of the most distinguished Sikh chiefs of his days. He
30. Ibid., p
408
31. Ibid., pp. 408-409
32 Phulkian States( Patiala, Jind &
Nabha) Gazetteer 1904 p 46
* According to Dr. Gopal
Singh, A History Sikh People(1469-1988) page 409 “Ala Singh, Raja of Patiala
brought over the ruins of Sirhind for a sum of Rs 25,000 from Bhai Budh Singh,
an old campanion of Guru Gobind Singh, to whom the town had been assigned after
its conquest by the Sikh forces.”
was the most powerful Chief,
south of the Satluj. He had three sons, Sardul Singh, Bummian Singh and Lal
Singh who all died during his
life time. When Raja Ala Singh died in August 1765, his grandson, Amar Singh
became the Raja of Patiala.
Amar Singh was the second son of Sardul Singh and was born in 1747. He was eighteen years old when his grandfather died. In 1767, Ahmad Shah Abdali, for the last time invaded India, but he advanced no
further than, Ludhiana. Here he was met by Amar Singh, who was
cordially received,
and the title of Raja, which had been granted to his grandfather, was continued
to him with additional honour as ‘Raja-i-Rajgan Buhadur’. In honour of this
reception, Amar Singh spent a lakh
of rupees in ransoming the captives who had been taken by the Delhi Emperor in the neighbourhood of Mathura and Saharanpur, gaining for himself the popular title of “Bandi Chhor” or “Releaser of captives”.
Raja Amar Singh of Patiala was a great conqueror. He defeated Garib Das of Manimajra with the support of hilly Rajas and annexed Pinjour District to his Kingdom. He also gave a crushing defeat to Jodh Singh, the Brar Chief of Kot Kapura. In 1771, he conquered the fort of Bathinda and thus enlarged his territory. He was also successful in suppressing the intrigues of Himmat Singh, his step-brother who wanted to usurp his empire.
About
7 km to the north-east of Patiala was a strong fort, which had been built by
Nawab Sef Khan, and called Sefabad after his own name. It is now known as
Bahadurgarh. Its nearness to the town was a sufficient reason for Raja Amar
Singh to capture it. Consequently, he attacked Sefabad with the assistance of
the Raja of Nahan and conquered it.
The
next important battle of Amar Singh was with Hari Singh of Sialba (now in
Kharar Tahsil of Rupnagar District). Sardar Hari Singh had the support of many
powerful Chiefs and it was not very easy to defeat him. Patiala forces were
utterly routed with the loss of several hundred men, among whom was Bakshi
Lokhna. Diwan Nanun Mal was also wounded, and Sardar Chandu Singh and Mahan
Singh were taken prisoners.
Raja
Amar Singh was much distressed at this defeat. He sent messengers to his
kinsmen and friends to assemble at Patiala with all their forces. Consequently,
various chiefs friendly to Patiala offered their services. The command of the
Patiala troops was given to Sardar Chuhr Singh Malod, while the contingents of
the Chief marched under their own leaders. A large number of soldiers of Sialba
went to other side by accepting bribe. Moreover, due to the clever diplomacy of
Patiala, many chiefs who had promised Hari Singh to help, deserted him. At
last, Sardar Hari Singh found himself, left almost alone, and had no option but
to make such terms for himself as he best could. He accordingly submitted and
presented nazrana token of obedience
to the Raja Amar Singh of Patiala who withdrew his troops without attempting to
retain possession of any of the Sialba territories.
In February 1781, Raja Amar Singh who was only thirty-five years of age, died. Raja Sahib Singh, the new Chief of the Patiala State was only six years of age. Through the influence of Rani Hukman, the grandmother of the young Chief, Diwan Nanun Mal was appointed Prime Minister. The Diwan was an Aggarwal of Sunam, who had served Raja Amar Singh, both in the council and in the field. But after the death of Raja Amar Singh, it became very difficult for him to maintain law and order as there were revolts all round, he persuaded Dhara Rao, a Maratha leader to help him in this behalf for a consideration of two lakhs of rupees.
The
Diwan, in company with Dhara Rao, marched against Banur. This town, with
the neighbouring villages, had been conquered by the Singhpuria Sardars. But
Raja Amar Singh, who had assisted in its conquest, obtained half share of the
revenue. However, during the troubles which followed the death of Amar Singh,
Sardar Khushal Singh Singhpuria had seized the whole district. But Diwan Nanun
Mal was able to recover the Patiala share of the town. He had moreover,
recovered much of the territory which the neighbouring Chiefs had seized during
the troubles which followed Amar Singh’s death.
However,
in due course, as Raja Sahib Singh grew in years, his mind was poisoned against
the Diwan by the cunning intrigues of courtiers. Consequently, he was
thrown out of power. However, he did his best to regain power with the help of
Ataulla Khan, the Nawab of Malerkotla,
but failed miserably. He did not long survive and died at Malerkotla in 1792.
It goes to the credit of Dewan Nanun Mal that he alone saved Patiala
from utter collapse after the death of Raja Amar Singh,when every neighbouring
Chief was ready to dismember it, and when feudatories and subjects were in open
revolt.
Rani
Rajinder Kaur was another remarkable personality who had served Patiala State
during the minority of Sahib Singh. The Marathas had occupied the fort of
Bahadurgarh and then demanded a huge nazrana. But Rani Rajinder Kaur had
paid her visit to Sindhia, the Maratha Chief at Mathura and settled the issue.
Unfortunately, when she returned to Patiala, a great suspicion was created
against her in the mind of Sahib Singh by the intriguing courtiers. She made
several attempts to see Sahib Singh, but he persistently avoided her, and at
last, wearied out and mortified at the ingratitude which she received in return
of her most devoted service, she took to her bed and died at Patiala, after a
short illness.
Raja
Sahib Singh was not competent enough to control the affairs of the State. He
was compelled to call for Sahib Kaur, her sister who was married to Sardar
Jaimal Singh Kanheya, the master of a great part of the Bari Doab, above
Dinanagar. She was as courageous as her cousin Rani Rajinder Kaur.
In 1794, a large Maratha force, under the command of Anta Rao and Lachhman Rao crossed the Yamuna and marched in the direction of Patiala. Many of the chiefs made their submission and expressed their devotion. But Sahib Kaur who now ruled the feeble Patiala chief was not inclined to yield to the invaders without a struggle. Raja Bhag Singh of Jind, Jodh Singh Kalsia, Bhanga Singh and Mehtab Singh of Thanesar, and the Bhadour Sardars, Dip Singh and Bir Singh, agreed to join her against the Marathas. The whole force, numbering together about 7,000 men, marched to meet the enemy near Murdanpur, a few miles from Ambala, where a brisk engagement took place. But the Sikhs who were far inferior in discipline and numbers to the Marathas, began to give way. Retreat would have soon turned to flight had not Bibi Sahib Kaur, who had come herself with the troops, leaving her brother at Patiala, stepped down from her chariot and, drawing her sword, declared that the Sikhs would be for ever disgraced if they allowed her, a woman and sister of their chief, to be slain, far she was determined never to retreat. This gallantry so ashamed and encouraged the soliders that they returned with renewed fury to the fight. Moreover Bibi Sahib Kaur arranged a night attack on Maratha camp which proved successful and great confusion was created among Marathas. Ultimately, Anta Rao was compelled to retire towards Karnal.
Rani Aus Kaur wife of Raja Sahib Singh became jealous of the rising power of Sahib Kaur. This lady both clever and ambitious, thought the influence possessed by Bibi Sahib Kaur over the Raja belonged legitimately to her. Accordingly, in alliance with the cunning courtiers, she was able to poison the mind of her husband against Bibi Sahib Kaur. Consequently, she was thrown out of power, and the unjust treatment of her brother probably shortened her life and she died in 1799.
Rani Aus Kaur was very ambitious and her relations with her husband became much strained. She turned her arms against Raja Jaswant Singh of Nabha and Raja Bhag Singh of Jind. For this purpose, she made alliance with Bhai Lal Singh of Kaithal and Sardar Bhanga Singh of Thanesar. Raja Bhag Singh and Raja Jaswant Singh requested Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Lahore to interfere in the matter. Ranjit Singh felt very happy in getting an opportunity of interference and on 26 July 1806, crossed the Satluj with a big force. Though both Raja Bhag Singh and Raja Jaswant Singh were able to strengthen their positions with the help of Ranjit Singh, yet he did not make sincere efforts to restore friendship between the Patiala Raja and his wife. However, he received from both large sums of money to secure his good-will. Consequently, the Patiala House was completely despoiled to reward the friends and allies of Ranjit Singh. Moreover, inspite of the heavy expenses incurred by the Patiala State in connection with the visit of Ranjit Singh, the relations between the Raja and the Rani did not improve. The departure of the Raja of Lahore was the signal for a renewal of the conflict between Raja Sahib Singh and Rani Aus Kaur again.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh was again invited and he reached Patiala in September 1807, with a big force. Both the Raja and the Rani did their best in order to induce him to espouse the cause of one party or the other. It was a mere question of money, and the Rani bribed highest. Besides money and diamonds, she gave Ranjit Singh brass gun named Khuri Khan afterwards taken by the English during the Satluj campaign. A compromise was at last effected, by which an estate of Rs 50,000, consisting of the districts of Banur, Manimajra, Sanour, Surali, Bissoli and Minarthal, was settled upon Rani Aus Kaur for the maintenance of herself and her son Kaur Karam Singh.
In order to strengthen the ties of friendship with Raja Sahib Singh of Patiala, Maharaja Ranjit Singh arranged a meeting with him at Lakhnaur (Ambala District) on 24 November 1808. He received Raja Sahib Singh with the utmost kindness and swore to remain always his friend. As a token of eternal brotherhood, Ranjit Singh exchanged turban with Sahib Singh. Maharaja Ranjit Singh had to take this diplomatic step so that Raja Sahib Singh might not seek the shelter of the British. But Raja Sahib Singh did not believe in the sincerity of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He alongwith other Cis-Satluj chiefs requested the British Government to give protection to them against the aggressive designs of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The British Government acceded to their request and according to their treaty with Maharaja Ranjit Singh made on 25 April 1809, Cis-Satluj chiefs were made free from any kind of interference from Lahore Government.
Colonel Ochterlony arrived at Patiala on 6 April 1812 in order to settle disputes between Raja Sahib Singh and Rani Aus Kaur. The Treasury and Toshakhana(Private Royal Treasury) were put in charge of the Rani. The monthly stipend of the Raja was reduced to Rs 12,000 for his private expenses and amusements, and he was given to understand that any improper conduct would reduce his allowance and subject him to personal restraint. After this settlement, Raja Sahib Singh did not survive for long. He fell suddenly ill and died on 26 March 1813.
Maharaja Sahib Singh was succeeded by Maharaja Karam Singh who was only a minor. During his minority till 1820, the whole administration was in the hands of his mother, Rani Aus Kaur. She carried the administration efficiently with the help of Misr Noudha, who was Chief Minister of Patiala. Misr Noudha was a very capable man who had saved Patiala from anarchy and restored it to prosperity.
However, Raja Karam Singh fell into the hands of bad advisers and determined to remove Misr Noudha and the Rani from power. Misr Noudha died in October 1818, and after his death, Rani continued to lose influence and power. A dispute arose between the mother and the son, which was ultimately settled by the British Government in October 1823. She was offered the town and fort of Sanaur and she voluntarily gave all power to his son.
In 1845, when hostilities became certain between the British and Lahore Government, Maharaja Karam Singh declared his loyalty and devotion to the British Government. Besides men and materials, he gave them a loan of Rs 5 lakhs and himself marched at the head of his troops towards Ambala and Karnal keeping the roads to Delhi clear. But soon he fell seriously ill and died in December 1845.
Raja Karam Singh was succeeded by his son, Narinder Singh who was a yongman of 23. He gave much support to the British during the Anglo-Sikh Wars. He provided them with a contingent of men, supplies and carriage during the war. At the couclusion of the wars, the Maharaja of Patiala was rewarded for his services by the grant of a Sanad expressing the high sense which the Government intertained of his loyalty. Moreover, Maharaja Narinder Singh was given full control over Banur estate. Previously, Banur was shared with the Singhpuria Sardars. He had also been rewarded by the British with certain estates which had been resumed from Raja Devinder Singh of Nabha who had proved to be anti British during the Anglo-Sikh War. Maharaja Narinder Singh of Patiala remained very loyal to the British Government during Mutiny of 1857. He unhesitatingly placed his whole power, resources, and influence at the absolute command of the English, during the mutiny.
In this context, it is pointed out that the success of the great India Mutiny of 1857 mainly aimed at the restoration of the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah. The people of the Punjab, particularly the Sikhs, had suffered very heavily at the hands of the Mughals and had fought so vehemently against them during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that they could not be persuaded to take up their cause. The Maharaja of Patiala, alongwith many other Indian Chiefs, helped the British Government to curb the mutiny and maintain law and order in the country.
Maharaja Narinder Singh of Patiala was amply rewarded for his services to the British during the Mutiny of 1857. More territories including Narnaul Division of the Jhajjar territory were added to Patiala State. Like other Phulkian Chiefs, he was granted the right of adoption and power to inflict capital punishment. On 1 November 1861, he was invested with Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, at Allahabad. He was also appointed member of the Governor General’s Council for making laws and regulations. The Maharaja accordingly left for Calcutta, arriving there in time for the opening of the Session, on 15 January 1862. However, it was a great calamity for Patiala that the life of this enlightened ruler was destined to be short as he died on 13 November 1862, at the age of 39, after reigning about for 17 years.
Mohinder Singh, the only son of the Maharaja, was only 10 years old at the time of his father’s death. Accordingly, the whole administration of Patiala State was carried on by the Council of Regency till February 1870, when Maharaja Mohinder Singh was invested with full powers. In May 1870, the Maharaja was nominated a Knight of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India.
Maharaja Mohinder Singh was very liberal and contributed rupees one crore and twenty-three lakhs towards the cost of the construction of the Sirhind Canal, rupees seventy thousand for the University College Lahore. He also founded the Mahendra College at Patiala.
Maharaja Mohinder Singh of Patiala deserved much praise for his patronage of learning, works of public utility, and for measures connected with the improvement and general well-being of the State. He promoted higher education in his State by establishing Mahendra College, Patiala. He was charitable by temperament and donated one lakh of rupees for the relief of the famine stricken people of Bengal. He died in April 1876.
Maharaja Mohinder Singh was succeeded by Maharaja Rajinder Singh who was only four years old when his father had died. A Council of Regency worked during his minority. During his reign, the broad-guage railway line between Rajpura-Patiala and Bathinda was opened. He was exempted from presentation of nazars in Durbar in recognition of the services rendered by his troops during the Afghan War. He died in 1900.
Maharaja Rajinder Singh was succeeded by Bhupinder Singh who again was a minor of 9 years. A council of Regency worked during his minority. Maharaja Bhupinder Singh was a good administrator and a successful ruler. He was an influential representative of the Indian States, and in 1928 he presented the Princes case before the Indian States Committee. He was also selected as one of the representatives of the Princes at the Round Table Conference in London in 1930. He was a great patron of art and literature, and his collections of great historical, artistic and zoological interest were highly admired by all who happened to see them. His efforts in the cause of Panjabi language deserves highest commendation. He did his best to raise it to the position of the Court language and the Patiala State Gazettee, started in 1910, was also published in Punjabi. It was at his suggestion that the Remingtons invented the Gurmukhi typewriter and named it Bhupendra typewriter. In the field of sports, Maharaja Bhupindera Singh was an international figure and was known all over the world for his polo and cricket.
Inspite of his merits, Maharaja Bhupindra Singh was extremely arrogant and despotic. He crushed mercilessly the Praja Mandal Movement started by Sardar Sewa Singh Thikriwala for the human rights. His clash with Praja Mandal and Sewa Singh Thikriwala has been detailed elsewhere in the chapter. He died in 1938 at the age of 47.
Maharaja Yadvindra Singh was the last ruler of Patiala State. He succeeded Maharaj Bhupinder Singh in 1938. He was a progressive ruler who repealed many oppressive laws operating in the State. He was ruling at the time of Independence and partition of the country in 1947. On 5 May 1948, the eight princely States of Patiala, Kapurthala, Jind, Nabha, Faridkot, Melerkotla, Nalagarh and Kalsia were amalgamated as the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) of which Maharaja Yadvindra Singh became the Rajpramukh and Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala became the Up-Rajpramukh. As a result of the passing of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, PEPSU and Punjab were amalgamated into the new State of Punjab with effect from 1 November 1956.
History of Nabha State.-The founder of Nabha State was Hamir Singh who was the fourth descendant of Chaudhary Phul, the common ancestor of the Phulkian ruler of Nabha, Patiala and Jind States. He was a brave and energetic chief who was able to acquire a large territory. He founded the town of Nabha in 1755 and made it his capital. In 1763, he joined Raja Ala Singh of Patiala and the other Sikh Chiefs in the final fall of Sirhind when Zain Khan, the Muhammadan Governor of Sirhind was slain. After this victory, Raja Hamir Singh got Amloh as his share of the spoil. Many of the successes of Hamir Singh were mainly due to the ability of his Muhammadan Diwan, popularly known as ‘kubba’ or the homp-backed. A mint was also established at Nabha.
In 1774, the marriage of Sardar Mahan Singh Sukarchakia, the father of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was celebrated with Raj Kaur, the daughter of Raja Gajpat Singh at Badrukhan (near Sangrur). The Gujranwala Chief came with a large retinue and a trifling incident became the cause of a serious quarrel between Nabha and Jind. As the attendants of the bridegroom were cutting grass for their horses in the Nabha territory, they were attacked by the Nabha forces. After the departure of the marriage party, Raja Gajpat Singh of Jind State resolved to avenge the insult. On some pretext he imprisoned Hamir Singh and attacked Amloh and Bhadswon, two strong places in Nabha territory, and attached Sangrur. Before this incident, Sangrur was a part of Nabha State.
Sardarni
Deso, wife of Hamir Singh put up a strong defence, but she was no match for the
Raja of Jind. Ultimately with the interference of Raja of Patiala, the dispute
was settled. Bhadson and Amloh were restored to Raja of Nabha, but Sangrur was
retained by the ruler of Jind State. The prestige of Hamir Singh suffered a lot due to this
incident. He died in 1783. At the time of death of Hamir Singh, his son Jaswant
Singh was only eight years of age. Rani Deso was selected as a Regent to carry
on the administration of the State. She was a competent lady who carried on the
administration efficiently on behalf of his son till her death in 1790. Raja
Jaswant Singh of Nabha made friendly relations with the Raja of Jind and the
British. That is why he refused to give any help to Holkar, the Maratha Chief
who had halted at Nabha while advancing towards Lahore. In 1809, he received Colonel
Ochterlony on his arrival at Nabha with the utmost cordiality and sought the
protection of the British Government.
Raja
Jaswant Singh had always administered the affairs of Nabha State justly and
well. His police was excellent and his subjects were contented. He had been a
faithful ally of the British Government. He died on 22 May 1840 and his death
was much lamented because he was very popular with his people.
Devinder
Singh, the son and successor of Raja Jaswant Singh was formally installed as
Raja on 5 October 1840 in the presence of the Agent of the Governor General.
This was the first installation that had taken place in Nabha since the English
connection with the States. But he earned the displeasure of the British
Government during the Anglo-Sikh wars of 1845-46, wherein he did not give
adequate help to the British. Rather the conduct of the Raja was found hostile
to the English during these wars. Accordingly, Raja Devinder Singh was deposed.
His eldest son, Bharpur Singh who was then a boy of seven was placed on the
throne under the guardianship of his step-grand-mother, Rani Chand Kaur.
One-fourth of the Nabha territory was also confiscated. A pension of Rs50,000
was allowed to Raja Devinder Singh for life from the revenue of Nabha. First he
was shifted to Mathura and then to Lahore in 1855 in the palace of Maharaja
Kharak Singh. Raja Devinder Singh died at Lahore in November 1865.
Major
Mackeson, Commissioner of the Cis-Satluj States visited Nabha in January 1847
to install Bharpur Singh as Raja of Nabha, under the guardianship of
grand-mother, Rani Chand Kaur. Raja Bharpur Singh attained his majority a few
months after the breaking out of the mutiny of 1857. At this critical time, he
acted with utmost loyalty and intelligence. He deputed his forces for the
British cause and advanced to Government a loan of two and a half lakhs of
rupees. The Raja was suitably rewarded for his services after the mutiny. A
sanad was granted to Raja Bharpur Singh in May 1860, confirming to him his
estates and conferring independent powers and privileges. The right of adoption
was also included in this sanad. In September 1863, Lord Elgin, the
Viceroy offered Raja Bharpur Singh a seat in the Legislative Council.
Raja
Bharpur Singh of Nabha was an enlightened ruler. The good of his people was
always in his mind. He was well-learned and of studious disposition. He died
issueless on 9 November 1863.
Bhagwan
Singh, the younger brother of Raja Bharpur Singh was installed as Raja of Nabha
on 17 February 1864, in the presence of Maharaja of Patiala, the Raja of Jind,
the Nawab of Malerkotla and a number of cis-Satluj chiefs. Raja Bhagwan Singh
was well read in Persian and gave good administration to Nabha. He ruled only
for seven years and died in 1871 without an issue.
Hira
Singh was one of the most capable rulers of Nabha State. Before becoming the
Raja of Nabha he was a Jagirdar of Badrukhan, a small village near
Sangrur, then falling in Jind State. He was descendant of Phul, common ancestor
of Phulkian rulers, and a relative of Raja Bhagwan Singh whio died issueless.
The claim of Hira Singh was duly recognised and he was installed, as ruler of
the Nabha State in 1871 with the help of the British Government. That is why he
remained fully devoted to the Britishers throughout his rule. Sewa Singh of
village Dhamo Majra (Patiala Tahsil) also gave him much support to be fully
recognised as ruler of Nabha. For this very reason, Sewa Singh rose to the
position of Prime Minister of Nabha. Even two of his descendants continued to
hold the important position.
Like
Raja Jaswant Singh, Hira Singh ruled over Nabha State for over 40 years and did
much to consolidate the State. When he became the Raja of Nabha, there was a
deposit of Rs 20 lakhs in the State treasury which he spent in beautifying his
State. The construction of Hira Mahal and a large number of palatial houses
numbering about 40 in number at Shimla is a standing monument to his wisdom and
intelligence. The city was like a village when he came and Hira Singh spent
large sums of money in the construction of roads and beautifying the city. Raja
Hira Singh was a great patron of education. He established a High School at
Nabha and also gave liberal stipends to brilliant students of his State for
study of engineering at Roorkee.
Raja
Hira Singh had great respect for all religions. He would patiently listen to
the scholars of various religions. He had a perfect secular outlook.
Hira
Singh had two issues, one son, Ripudaman Singh and one daughter, Ripudaman Kaur
who was married to the Maharana Sahib of Dholpur. Adequate arrangements were
made by Raja Hira Singh for proper education of Ripudaman Singh. As it was a
general practice with the Britishers to safeguard themselves as much as
possible from the princes by offering them positions of trust Ripudaman Singh
was nominated by them as a member of the Imperial Legislative Council, which
had its office at Calcutta in those days. Ripudaman Singh, on joining the
Council made good friends with the political leaders of the time. He had great
regard for Gokhale whom he gave full support in all the proceedings of the
Council. Ripudaman Singh was also sent to England to study the British
Parliamentary System.
In
1911, Raja Hira Singh fell seriously ill when his son, Ripudaman Singh was in
England. He died on 25 December 1911. The cremation ceremonies of Raja Hira
Singh were performed by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala State who then
enjoyed complete confidence of Ripudaman Singh.
Ripudaman
Singh returned to India in January 1912 and State mourning was declared for a
year during which there were no festivities on behalf of the State. The
Maharaja and the members of his personal staff wore mourning dress throughout
the year.
Raja
Ripudaman Singh introduced many reforms in Nabha State. He wanted to move with
the requirements of time. He established a High Court to be presided over by
three judges. The Penal Law, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Evidence Act and
all other laws were made applicable to the Nabha State. The High Court had below
it a proper Sessions Court and courts of magistrates. He also enacted, “The
Nabha Courts Act”.
On
the executive side, he had a proper ministry to help and guide the Maharaja in
executive matters. The Maharaja was himself responsible for the foreign office.
Pandit Madan Mohan Malvia, a great patriot of India was his friend and guide,
and as per his advice, he appointed Rajrishi Shree Purushottam Dass Tandon as
Political Advisor. Mr Tandon was then a practising Lawyer at Allahabad and later on became the
President of the All India Congress Committee.
Maharaja
Ripudaman Singh also encouraged his people for higher education. A special fund
was collected and Hira Singh Trust was established. The interest was to be
utilised for sending brilliant boys to England for higher education. But it is
astonishing to note that these beneficiaries, after availing themselves of the
State help for higher education, generally preferred to serve elsewhere than
Nabha.
Maharaja
Ripudaman Singh was also anxious to introduce democratic form of Government in
Nabha State. Accordingly, in 1917, he established a Legislative Council for
Nabha. A Legislative Council Act was introduced and to begin with 8 members
were taken. Meetings were often held and one or two important measures were
passed. But later on, in view of political troubles, the council was abolished.
With the introduction of Montague Chelmsford Reforms, there came into being the
Chamber of Princes of which the Maharaja was an active member. He had thought
that the Chamber would give a valuable opportunity for the princes to fight
their battles. Having been a Parliamentarian himself and having seen much of
parliament life of England, he was perfectly sanguine that it was a big boon
granted to the Indian Princes. However, after a couple of years, he felt
greatly disappointed. Of Course, the annual gathering was a big show and
princes appeared in their best. Ripudaman Singh drove in his specially
manufactured Swan Car which was more of an ornamental type and was to be easily
recognised. With the assumption of the office of Political Agency by Mr. Crump,
many of the troubles had subsided. The Maharaja had just then selected Mr. D.M.
Narasinga Rao, the then Chief Scretary to the Mysore Government as his Prime
Minister.
The
Maharaja had full faith in Narasinga Rao, as he had been successful in solving
most of his problems. He was able to get sanction of the British Government for
the Maharaja to purchase the ‘Himalaya Club’, a building with 40 rooms at
Mussoorie. In 1921, a meeting of the Tilak School of politics was held at
Mussoorie where the Maharaja was residing. The Maharaja received invitations to
preside which he accepted inspite of the protests made by his Prime Minister.
On this occasion, he gave a speech, which annoyed the British Government. Later
on, he criticised the British Government and more particularly General Dyer who
was responsible for imposing martial law in Punjab and massacring a large
number of men, women and children in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar on 13 April
1919. It may also be mentioned here that the area of Jallianwala Bagh had once
belonged to one Bhai Hamit Singh Jallawala, courtier of Raja Jaswant Singh of
Nabha. Maharaja Ripudaman Singh expressed much anger against the British
Government for Nankana Sahib Tragedy where Mahant Narayan Das had been
responsible for burning down several Sikhs alive. As a protest, the Maharaja
began to tie a black turban. He even attended the meetings of the Political
Department in black turban. This considerably enraged the Political Department.
By
the end of 1922, relations between Nabha and Patiala became much strained. Each
had complaints against the other. Consequently an enquiry had to be instituted
by the British Government. Accordingly, the enquiry was started at Ambala on 3
January 1923 at the Circuit House. When the Maharaj found that the proceedings
of the enquiry were going against him, he preferred to abdicate on grounds of
ill-health. Consequently, Col. Minchin arrived at Nabha on 8 July 1923 with a
force and took the charge of Nabha State. On 9 July 1923, Maharaja was taken to
Dehradun alongwith his wife and children, just like a prisoner. However, a big
meeting was held in Gurudwara Akalgarh (Nabha) to condemn the action of the
British Government. Many arrests were also made. Thus, in this mysterious
manner, Maharaja Ripudaman Singh of Nabha was deposed by the British Government
in July 1923. This sent up a strong wave of resentment among the Sikhs who
looked upon the deposed prince as a great patriot and a devout Sikh. Sewa Singh
Thikriwala expressed deep sympathy with the deposed Maharaja and criticised in
strong terms anti-Nabha policy of the British Government.
Jaito
Morcha is an important event in the history of the Sikhs. At that time, Jaito
was in Nabha. A large number of Sikhs of Nabha State took part in this Morcha
and lost their lives. The terrible situation might have been avoided if only
the Government could have grasped the religious character of the Akali movement
and left the Sikhs to settle their own problems. It may be recalled that
Maharaja Ripudaman Singh had been taken to Dehradun on 9 July 1923 and the
Nabha administration was placed under the British Administrators. Political
meetings were prohibited by the administration of Nabha within the State but
even then, agitation continued and many people were arrested. The Akalis
demanded the restoration of the Maharaja. Pandit Jawaher Lal Nehru, late Prime
Minister also visited Nabha to support the agitation of Akalis. But he was
arrested and kept in a jail for a few days. The jail building, where Nehru
spent a few days has now been turned into a public park with the statue of
Maharaja Hira Singh. The arrest of Jawahar Lal Nehru brought the Nabha
situation to a greater significance. Pandit Moti Lal Nehru also visited Nabha
to see his son.
Maharaja
Ripudaman Singh was shifted forcibly from Dehradun to Kodaikanal in the distant
south. He was completely isolated from his family. He died there in December
1942. Four years after his death, just a few months before Independence, his
son Mohinder Partap Singh Was installed as ruler of
Nabha. India became free in August 1947 and Maharaja Partap Singh signed
the instrument of accession to India. In 1948, the State of Nabha merged with
the Patiala and East Punjab States Union called by the name of PEPSU and in
November 1956, PEPSU also disappeared from the map and merged with Punjab.
The Struggle for freedom
Most of the
people of present Fatehgarh Sahib District were not under the direct control of
the British Government. They were under the autocratic rule of the Maharajas of
Patiala and Nabha. There was not much reaction in the parts of Fatehgarh Sahib
District which were then in Nabha States. However, people were not happy with
the Maharaja of Patiala for their oppressive policies. As the Phulkian rulers
of Patiala had full support of the British Government, they did not bother for
the sentiments of the people.
Inspite of this,
people of present Fatehgarh Sahib District did not remain completely unaffected
by the National Movements going in the British areas. They were inspired by the
revolutionary ideas created by the Ghadar Movement and episode of Kamagata
Maru. They were also inspired by the visits of national leaders like Pandit
Jawahar Lal Nehru who infused patriotic spirit in them during the famous Jaito
Morcha Lauched by the Akalis.
The
Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee lauched a strong agitation against
the British when Maharaja Ripudaman Singh of Nabha was forced to abdicate. The
SGPC passed resolution demanding the restoration of the Maharaja and asked the
Sikhs to observe 9 September 1923 as Nabha Day. The Sikhs of Nabha State
organised Akhand Paths (continuous recital of Guru Granth Sahib) on the
occasion. One such Akhand Path was organised at Gurudwara Gangsar in
Jaitu. The Police of Punjab and Nabha States entered the shrine , interrupted
the recitation of the holy Granth and arrested some Akalis. This greatly hurt
the Sikh sentiments and a new morcha was launched. The Government
declared SGPC and Shiromani Akali Dal as unlawful bodies. Prominent Akali
leaders including Mehtab Singh, Teja Singh Samundri and Master Tara Singh were
arrested on the charge of waging war against the British Government and brought
to Lahore fort for trial. The jathas continued to march to jaitu. The
members of the jathas were severely beaten and many of them were imprisoned. On
21 February 1923, a jatha of 500
men was fired upon, but the member of the jatha continued marching
resulting considerable loss of life. The Indian National Congress declared its
full support to the Akali Morcha at Jaitu. Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, alongwith
some prominent members of the All India Congress Committee, proceeded to Jaitu
from Delhi to ascertain the exact position. They were arrested on the orders of
J.Wilson Johnston, I C S the
Administrator of Nabha on 3 October 1923 and subsequently released after a few
days. The Government ultimately surrendered in October 1924 and allowed a jatha
of Sikh Sudhar Sabha to enter the gurudwara at Jaitu in order to hold
the Akhand Path. The result of the peaceful Akali Morchas was
that the Government passed the Sikh Gurudwara and Shrines Act in 1925.
A struggle was also launched by the people of Patiala
State in the form of Punjab Riasti Praja Mandal Movement. Sardar Sewa Singh
Thikriwala was a prominent figure, who organised a strong reaction against
autocratic regime of self-willed Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala. A brief
description of the role of Punjab Riasti Praja Mandal Movement and sardar Sewa
Singh Thikriwala is briefly given as under:
The Punjab Riast Praja Mandal Movement came into
existence in 1928. The main objects of the Praja Mandal were to agitate against
the princely rulers so as to compel them to run the administration on
democratic lines. At that time, in Patiala State, autocracy prevailed and
political leader were subjected to inhuman tortures. Therefore, the main aim of
the movement was to put pressure on princely rulers, especially the Maharaja of
Patiala, to end their tyrannical rule and also under harassment to the
political workers and release political detenues. The condition of common
people in Patiala State was the worst. Anybody, who wished to seek some sort of
reforms in any branch of Government, was thrown in the jail without specifying
the cause of his offence. False cases were often made against people involved
in these activities. The Maharaja
bothered more to please political agents of the British Government than to care
for the public. Fundamental rights were denied to the people.
Sewa Singh Thikriwala, popularly known as ‘Kirpan
Bahadur’ was the prominent hero of the Punjab Riasti Praja Mandal to raise his
powerful voice against despotic rule of Maharaja of Patiala. His death in 1934
caused a serious setback to Riasti Praja Mandal Movement. However, the movement
received a great impetus after the death of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh in 1938
because his policies were repressive and anti-people. Moreover the Congress
Mandal also joined Praja Mandal.
The Praja Mandal Movement also gave
birth to Muzara Movement. Whose main object was to incite the tenants
against the payment of batai (share of crop) to the biswedars
(landlords). A Muzara Committee was formed and its representatives
approached Maharaja Patiala to settle the outstanding disputes of the peasants
with their landlords. But the Maharaja did not pay heed to their demands. So
they made a complaint to the British Resident who referred their case to the
Patiala State. Accordingly, the deputationists met the Revenue Minister
Patiala who appointed a Commission. But
the Tenants were not allowed by landlords to present their case before the
Commission. In 1942, the muzaras with their leaders reached Patiala to
put their case before the British Resident who happened to be there in
connection with an industrial exhibition. But nothing was done to settle their
grievances.
Through public meetings, the Punjab
Riasti Praja Mandal was inciting the people to demand for responsible
Government. According to the Praja Mandal, the only solution for all the ills
was fully responsible Government with the rulers as constitutional head and the
only way to achieve it was through the struggle. In this context, it is
worthwhile to mention here that in the Dera Bassi area of Patiala District,
which was then a part of Kalsia State, the Praja Mandal was very weak. The
issue of constitutional reforms gained momentum after the partition of the
country in1947. Ultimately, the Maharaja
of Patiala, compromising with the force of the circumstances, announced
constitutional reforms at his birthday Durbar in January 1948. It was followed
by others States. However, the Praja Mandal carried on its activities for
merger with Punjab. The traders were also anxious to move out of the opperssive
atmosphere of the States and breathe in the free air of the Punjab where the
political, economic and administrative conditions were better.
With the formation of the PEPSU in
1948, the Praja Mandal also changed its name to the PEPSU Pradesh Congress. The
Patila ruler was no more than the Constitutional head of the state and the real
power passed into the hands of people’s representatives. With the merger of
PEPSU with Punjab on 1 November 1956 the area of the present Fatehgarh Sahib
District became part of Punjab. With this even the constitutional position of
the Maharaja of Patiala ended.
Independence and its Aftermath
At the time of Independence in
1947, Maharaja Yadvindra Singh was ruling the Patiala State. He played a
significant role in the history of India by his sympathetic alliance and
cooperation with the nationalist forces of the country and took a leading part in
negotiations with the British Cabinet mission in 1946. He so moulded the
opinions of the ruling princes as to bring them in line with the progressive
leaders of the country and helped them achieve Independence particularly in the
crisis of 1947 when it was feared that some of them might play an obstructive
role. Under the Independence Act of 1947, India was declared a free nation with
effect from 15 August 1947. The most
agonising factor during this process was the mass migration of the
members of different communities from the West Punjab to the East Punjab and vice
versa. The intensity of disturbances was also felt in the present area of
Fatehgarh Sahib District alongwith adjoining areas. Almost the whole of
Muhamadan population of Fatehgarh Sahib District migrated to Pakistan. A large
number of Non-Muslims from West Pakistan shifted to Fatehgarh Sahib District
which disrupted the whole economy in the district. Maharaja Yadvindra Singh of
Patiala deserves appreciation for taking commendable steps for the relief and
resettlement of the refugees who had been reduced to a stage of utter penury
and misery.
Formation of PEPSU and its Merger with
The Patiala and the East Punjab
States Union, or the PEPSU came into existence on 20 August 1948, with the
integration of the princely States of Patiala, Nabha, Jind, Faridkot,
Kapurthala, Kalsia, Nalagarh and Malerkotla . This union came into being under
the active guidance of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, who was then the Home
Minister and in charge of Indian State Department. On15 July
1948, PEPSU was inaugurated by Sardar Patel. The Maharaja of Patiala and
Kapurthala were to be the first Rajpramukh and Up-Rajpramukh respectively.
Sardar Patel administered the oath to the Maharaja of Patiala.
Another effort was made in August 1948 to form a
Ministry but it failed. However an official caretaker Government was set up on
22 August 1948 with S Gian Singh Rarewala as the Premier. It was a stop-gap
arrangement. On 13 January 1949 a broad based ministry was constituted to
conduct the administration of the PEPSU. It was headed by again S Gian Singh
Rarewala. This 8 man ministry took oath on 20 June 1948. On 20 November 1949
this ministry was dissolved by the Government of India who took over the
administration. On 23 May 1951 a 7 man ministry was sworn in by the Rajpramukh
with Col. Raghbir Singh as the Chief Minister.
The State Re-organization Commission, which had been
appointed by ithe Government of India on 29 December 1953 submitted its report
in 1955 and recommended the merger of the PEPSU with Punjab. The Government
accepted the Commission’s recommendations and implemented it with effect from 1
November 1956.
With
this even the constitutional position of the Maharaja of Patiala ended. The end
of the status was in fact the end of one era and the beginning of another. The
Praja Mandalist now claimed that they had achieved consummation of the great
struggle which they had launched, nearly thirty years earlier.