Kalsia was a princely state in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, one of the former

Cis-Sutlej states The Cis-Sutlej states were a group of states in the contemporary Punjab and Haryana states of northern India during the 19th century, lying between the Sutlej River on the north, the Himalayas on the east, the Yamuna River and Delhi District on ...

. It was founded by Gurbaksh Singh Kalsia in 1760. After India's independence, it was included in

PEPSU The Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) was a state of India, uniting eight princely states between 1948 and 1956. The capital and principal city was Patiala. The state covered an area of 26,208 km2. Shimla, Kasauli, Kandaghat and ...

and later in the Indian

East Punjab East Punjab was a state of Dominion of India from 1947 until 1950. It consisted parts of the Punjab Province of British India that remained in India following the partition of the state between the new dominions of Pakistan and India by the ...

after the

States Reorganisation Act, 1956 The States Reorganisation Act, 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries of India's states and territories, organising them along linguistic lines. Although additional changes to India's state boundaries have been made since 1956, the States ...

. The area of Kalsia is now located in the modern day Indian states of

and

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

. In 1940 the population of Kalsia was 67,393. Kalsia was ruled by

Jat The Jat people (, ), also spelt Jaat and Jatt, are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, many Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in l ...

Sikhs Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Sikh'' ...

Geography

The area of Kalsia was 435 km² (168 sq mi), consisting of 20 detached pieces of territory in the

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab (India), Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala ...

and

Ferozepur district Firozpur district, also known as Ferozepur district, is one of the twenty-three districts in the state of Punjab, India. Firozpur district comprises an area of . Firozpur (Ferozepur) is the capital city of the district. It is situated inside t ...

s, lying mainly between 30° 12 and 30° 25 N and 77° 21 and 77° 35 E. It was divided into 3 major parts: two

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...

s, Chhachhrauli and Basi, and a sub-tehsil named Chirak, in

. It had contained 181 villages in 1903. The capital of Kalsia state was Chhachhrauli.

History

The state of Kalsia was founded by Gurbaksh Singh in 1760. He joined the Kroria Misl of the

Sikh Confederacy The Sikh Confederacy was a confederation of twelve sovereign Sikh states (each known as a Misl, derived from the Arabic word مِثْل meaning 'equal'; sometimes spelt as Misal) which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the n ...

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia Misl ...

had granted the estate of Chhachhrauli to Raja Gurbaksh Singh, a commander of his troops and a resident of Kalsia village. Maharaja Goorbaksh Singh named the state "Kalsia" and Chhachhrauli became its capital city. Raja Gurbaksh Singh was not famous, but his successor and son, Jodh Singh was an able person. At that time the area of Kalsia state comprised the territory between the Yamuna and the Markanda stream. Jodh Singh captured Dera Basi from Sardar Khajan Singh and also acquired territories of Lohal and Achrak. When

attacked and occupied

Naraingarh Naraingarh (also: Narayangarh) is a town, municipal committee and assembly constituency in the Ambala district of the Indian state of Haryana, located on the border with the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Due to its geographical location, th ...

in the Shivaliks in 1807, Jodh Singh was with him. In recognition of his services, Ranjit Singh presented him territories of Badala, Kameri and Chhabbal. Jodh Singh died in

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

in 1818. After his death, his son Sobha Singh assumed charge of Kalsia state and held it until his death in 1858. Lahna Singh, his successor sided with the British in crushing the revolt of 1857. After 1858, a period of peace started. When Lahna Singh assumed power, the Kalsia territory was intact as a British protectorate. The state's annual income was nearly Rs 300,000 per annum, and the population was around 62,000. After Lahna Singh, came Ranjit Singh Kalsia, then his son Ravi Sher Singh, and finally Ravi Karan Singh. Ravisher Singh in 1916 gave himself the title of Raja. The Kalsia

raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

s held their estate until 1947, when it was merged with the Indian Union. Both Ranjit Singh Kalsia and Ravi Sher Singh built several public utility buildings, including a charity hospital and schools. Raja Ravi Sher Kalsia Hospital was inaugurated in 1910 by Lt Governor of the Punjab, Sir Luis William Daney. The old court building still exists at Chhachhrauli. The

dewan ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the el ...

of the state used to live in a building known as ‘Janak Niwas’. The Kalsias were undoubtedly staunch

Nanakpanthi Nanakpanthi (Gurmukhi: ਨਾਨਕਪੰਥੀ; ''nānakapathī'', "follower of the way of life of Nanak"), also known as Nanakshahi, is a syncretist movement which follows Guru Nanak (1469–1539), the founder of Sikhism, but without necessari ...

s. In volume XIX (Part 1) of the Census of India 1891, E. D. Maclagan, the Provincial Superintendent of Census Operation, records: "Some eighty years ago (i.e., in 1811 AD) the grandfather of the present Lambardar of Jainpur village was carried off by the

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

chief of Kalsia, and had all his fingers burnt off, because he refused to acknowledge that

Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also known as ('Father Nanak'), was an Indian spiritual teacher, mystic and poet, who is regarded as the founder of Sikhism and is t ...

was the true Guru." The state was under the political control of the commissioner of the

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

division. Kalsi is a gotra of the Dhiman and

Ramgarhia The Ramgarhia are a community of Sikhs from the Punjab region of northwestern India, encompassing members of the Lohar (blacksmiths) and Tarkhan (carpenters) subgroups. Etymology Originally called Thoka, meaning ''carpenter'', the Ramgarhia ...

castes. Ravisher Singh of Kalsia was the first ruler of Indian to purchase an aeroplane for himself. He flew his aircraft at a speed of 161 kph (100 mph).

Demographics

List of rulers

The rulers of Kalsia State bore the title of 'Sardar', and 1916 they adopted the title of 'Raja', including the last head of the state.Princely States of India
/ref>

Notes

References