Pahar Singh (1799 – April 1849) was the

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 ...

of the Princely state of Faridkot, ruling from 1827 to 1849.

Biography

Pahar Singh succeeded to the '' gaddi'' (throne) of Faridkot after the passing of Attar Singh. His reign lasted 22 years and was marked by peace and prosperity. He found many villages and dug wells in Faridkot. Pahar Singh had four wives, including Chand Kaur. Pahar Singh is noted for paying particular attention to the common-folk of his dominion, ensuring their welfare. Pahar Singh kept advisors around him to look-after the needs of the civilians in the state and to provide him valuable advice. Some of the useful advisors that Pahar Singh employed were ''

sardars Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar (, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other aristocrats. It has also been used to denote a chief ...

'' Meenha Singh, Ghamand Singh, and Koma Singh. Furthermore, Pahar Singh awarded his brothers, Sahib Singh and Mehtab Singh, a ''jagir'' grant consisting of villages for them to rule-over. Under Pahar Singh, the jungles that surrounded Faridkot were deforested to clear the land for development. A canal branch linking to the Sutlej was constructed, which provided valuable irrigation to the state. However, this initially built canal eventually dried-up and there was an inadequate amount of funds in the state's treasury for the construction of a new one. Therefore, Pahar Singh assisted the local ''

zamindars A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is th ...

'' (landlords) with the construction of a well instead. The relations between Faridkot State and

Lahore State The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the British East India Company fol ...

were cold. Diwan Mohkam Chand of the Lahore Darbar and the '' diwan'' of

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, coveted the state and wished to absorb it. Pahar Singh developed friendly ties with the British in-light of this. Pahar Singh helped the military forces of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

in the

First Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 around the Firozpur district of Punjab. It resulted in the defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession of Jammu ...

in 1845–46 against the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the East India Company, Br ...

. During the

Battle of Ferozeshah The Battle of Ferozeshah was fought on 21 December and 22 December 1845 between the British East India Company and the Sikh Empire, at the village of Ferozeshah in Punjab. The British were led by Sir Hugh Gough and Governor-General Sir Henry H ...

, intel provided by Pahar Singh helped the British forces against the Lahore State. During the

in 1845 the chief, Raja Pahar Singh, was allied with the British, and was rewarded with an increase of territory. Pahar Singh had provided the British valuable assistance during the

Battle of Mudki The Battle of Mudki was fought on 18 December 1845, between the forces of the East India Company and part of the Sikh Khalsa Army, the army of then declining Sikh Empire of the Punjab. The British army won an untidy encounter battle, sustainin ...

. During the

, the British were accepting their defeat and stepped-back, but the Sikh forces under Lal Singh and Tej Singh had also done the same, leaving valuable weaponry behind such as cannons and other resources at the battleground. After witnessing this, Pahar Singh reported to the British general Bradford about the situation. Due to the request of Pahar Singh, they were able to take possession of the cannons and other items left behind at the abandoned battlefield. Pahar Singh was bestowed with the ''

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 ...

'' title by the British in 1846 as a reward for the helped he provided them. Due to this, he was awarded the title of

and granted half of the land which was seized from the Raja of Nabha by the British Government. Pahar Singh married Chand Kaur, who was the daughter of Samand Singh of Deena Wale. Chand Kaur gave birth to a son, Wazir Son. Pahar Singh would marry another woman who was from a Muddki royal lineage. His second-wife would give birth to princes Deep Singh and Anokh Singh. Pahar Singh died at the age of 50. Both Deep Singh and Anokh Singh had died in childhood, leaving Wazir Singh behind as the rightful heir to the Faridkot throne. He died in April 1849 and was succeeded by his only surviving son, Wazir Singh.

Notes

References

category:1799 births 1849 deaths Indian rajas {{improve categories, date=July 2023