State of Patiala
1763–1947
Coat of arms of Patiala
Coat of arms
CapitalPatiala
Common languagesPunjabi (official)
Religion
Sikh
GovernmentAbsolute monarchy (1763 - 1947)
Maharaja 
• 1707 - 1765
Ala Singh
• 1938 - 1947
Yadavindra Singh
History 
• Established
1763
• Disestablished
1947
Area
• Total
15,389 km2 (5,942 sq mi)
Population
• 1881[1]
1,467,433
• 1891[1]
1,583,521
• 1901[1]
1,596,692
CurrencyRupee And Paisa
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Mughal Empire
Durrani Empire
Phulkian Misl
East India Company
Sikh Empire
PEPSU
Republic of India
Today part ofIndia
Pakistan

Patiala State was a self-governing princely state of the British Empire in India, and one of the Phulkian States, that acceded to the Union of India upon Indian independence and partition. Patiala Kingdom/State was founded by Sidhu Jat Sikhs.

Early proposals of a Sikh nation of ‘Sikhistan’ led by Maharaja of Patiala were published by Dr VS Bhatti in 1940 for a “Khalistan led by the Maharaja of Patiala with the aid of a cabinet consisting of representative federating units”.[2][3][4][5] These would consist of the central districts of Punjab province then directly administered by the British, including Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Ambala, Ferozpur, Amritsar and Lahore; the 'princely states' of the Cis-Sutlej, including Patiala, Nabha, Faridkot and Malerkolta; and the 'Shimla Group' of states. After partition of India in 1947, The Liberator, a Sikh publication advocated for Khalistan which would include East Punjab merged with PEPSU led by Maharaja of Patiala as its monarch.[6]

Etymology

The state's name came from the name of its principal city and capital, Patiala, which itself comes from the roots patti and ala. The word patti means "strip of land" in Punjabi, and 'ala' comes from the name of the founder of the city and Patiala state, Ala Singh, thus meaning ‘the land of Ala Singh’ [7]

1946 map of India showing the various states; Patiala is found in the middle of eastern Punjab

Brief history

In 1763, the Sikh confederation captured the fortress of Sirhind

Rulers

Main article: Maharaja of Patiala

The rulers of Patiala bore the title 'Maharaja-e Rajgan' from 1810 onward.[citation needed]

Maharajas

Raja-e Rajgan

Maharaja-e Rajgan

Demographics

Religion

Religion in Patiala State (1941)[8]: 42 
Religion Population Percentage
Sikhism 896,021 46.28%
Hinduism [a] 597,488 30.86%
Islam 436,539 22.55%
Christianity 1,412 0.07%
Others[b] 4,799 0.25%
Total Population 1,936,259 100%

Gallery

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Including Ad-Dharmis
  2. ^ Including Jainism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Tribals, others, or not stated

References

  1. ^ a b c Imperial gazetteer of India. Vol. XX Pardi to Pusad. 1908. pp. 40, 42.
  2. ^ Shani, Giorgio (2007). Sikh Nationalism and Identity in a Global Age. doi:10.4324/9780203937211. ISBN 9781134101894.
  3. ^ Shani, Giorgio (6 December 2007). Sikh Nationalism and Identity in a Global Age. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-10188-7.
  4. ^ Archives, The National. "The National Archives - Homepage". The National Archives. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  5. ^ Pathak, Ritika (12 December 2020). "Khalistan movement: Origin and the two different narratives". Newshour Press. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  6. ^ Singh, Amar. "Let Patiala Lead The Panth To Glory". National Achieves UK.
  7. ^ Kaur, Roopam Jasmeet; Idris, Mohammad (2011). "The Development of Education in Patiala District (1948-2001): A Gendered Analysis". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 72: 1460–1470. JSTOR 44145757.
  8. ^ "Census Of India, 1941 Volume VI Punjab Province". Retrieved 17 January 2023.

2.https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V20_046.gif

Further reading

31°07′N 77°38′E / 31.117°N 77.633°E / 31.117; 77.633