The Phulkian dynasty (or Phoolkian) of

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

s or ''

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 ...

'' were

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 ...

royals and aristocrats in the

Punjab region 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 ...

of India. Members of the dynasty ruled the

Phulkian states Phulkian States was the collective name given to the three small Princely state, princely states of Patiala State, Patiala, Jind State, Jind, and Nabha State, Nabha in Punjab during the British Raj in India. Area Patiala State, Patiala was the l ...

Badrukhan Badrukhan is a big village about 5 km from Sangrur, the district headquarters, on Sangrur-Barnala road in Punjab, India. History The residents of five small villages, Vada Agwarh, Vichla Agwarh, Dalamwal, Dhaliwas and Thagan wali Patti, und ...

Bhadaur Bhadaur is a town in Barnala district in the state of Punjab, India. It is part of the Bhadaur Assembly Constituency. History Bhadaur was an independent princely state till 1857, then it was brought under subordination of Patiala by British ...

, Faridkot,

Jind Jind is one of the largest and oldest cities in Jind district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is the administrative headquarter of Jind district. Rani Talab is the main destination for tourists while Pandu Pindara and Ramrai are the ma ...

Malaudh The town of Malaudh, or Maloud, is situated at a distance of about 40 kilometres from Ludhiana on the Ludhiana-Malerkotla Road and is linked by approach road kup-payal road though village Rorian which is now part of it as Nagar Panchayat. It l ...

Nabha Nabha is a city and municipal council in the Patiala district in the south-west of the Indian state of Punjab. It was the capital of the former Nabha State. Nabha is also a sub-division city which comes under Patiala district. Geography Nabha ...

, and

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubar ...

, allying themselves with the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

according to the terms of the Cis-Sutlej treaty of 1809. The dynasty is named after Phul Sidhu-Brar, the 17th-century common ancestor of the Phulkian states and the founder of the

Phulkian Misl The Phulkian dynasty (or Phoolkian) of Maharajas or '' sardars'' were Sikh royals and aristocrats in the Punjab region of India. Members of the dynasty ruled the Phulkian states of Badrukhan, Bhadaur, Faridkot, Jind, Malaudh, Nabha, and Patia ...

. After

India's independence The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic movement t ...

in 1947, the Phulkian states had all acceded to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

by 1948. Members of the various royal families of the Phulkian dynasty retained their titles until 1971, when the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

abolished their titles with the 26th Amendment to the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...

Lineage

Mythological

Descendants of Rao Bhati, including members of the former and historical Phulkian dynasty, claimed to be direct descendants of

Yadu This is a list of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes that are mentioned in the literature of Indian religions. From the second or first millennium BCE, ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes turned into most of the population in the north ...

, a

mythological Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

Hindu monarch from whom Bhati claimed descent. Yadu was the founder of the mythological

Yadu dynasty The Yadava (), not to be confused with Yadav, were an ancient Indian people who believed to have descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Satvatas, Andhakas, Bho ...

, a branch of the legendary

Lunar dynasty The Lunar dynasty (IAST: Candravaṃśa) is a legendary principal house of the Kshatriyas varna, or warrior–ruling varna (Social Class) mentioned in the ancient Indian texts. This legendary dynasty was said to be descended from moon-related ...

(

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Brahmic family, Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that ...

: Candravaṃśa), according to

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology refers to the collection of myths associated with Hinduism, derived from various Hindu texts and traditions. These myths are found in sacred texts such as the Vedas, the Itihasas (the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Ramayan ...

Historical

Members of the Phulkian dynasty claimed descent from Hem, a younger son of

Rawal Rawal may refer to: Places * Rawal, Uttar Pradesh, India * Rawal, Kapurthala, India * Rawal lake, in Pakistan Other uses * Rawal (caste), an Indian community from Rajasthan and Gujarat * Rawal (name), including a list of people with the nam ...

Jaisal Singh Rawal Jaisal Bhati (1113–1168) was the founder and first ruler of the Kingdom of Jaisalmer, ruling from 1156 to 1168 CE. Jaisal was a Rajput chief of the Bhati clan who lived during the 12th century, Jaisal rose to power in 1143 by defeating ...

, the founder and first ruler of the

Kingdom of Jaisalmer The Kingdom of Jaisalmer was a kingdom of Bhati Rajput, Rajputs in the far-western part of present-day Rajasthan, India, from the mid-12th century CE until 1947. In 1156 CE, Rawal Jaisal moved his capital from Lodhruva to Jaisalmer because t ...

(r. 1156–1168), who migrated to the present-day

Malwa Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...

region 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 ...

. The dynasty further traces its lineage to

Rao Bhati Rao Bhati (also Rao Bhatti or Raja Bhatti) was the progenitor (apical ancestor) ancestor of the Bhati clan of Rajputs. Said to have been a Hindu raja (monarch) who ruled during the 3rd-century, Bhati's descendants claim descent from the H ...

, a 3rd-century

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

monarch. The rulers of the

shared a common ancestor, the 17th-century

Chaudhary Chowdhury (also: Choudhuri, Chaudhuri, Choudhury, Chaudhri, Chaudhary) is a title of honour, usually hereditary, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an adaption from Sanskrit. During the Mughal rule, it was a title awarded to eminen ...

Phul Sidhu-Brar, also known as Baba Phul (1627–1689). Baba Phul was the grandson of a Sikh of Guru Hargobind named Mohan. Mohan founded the settlement of Mehraj in 1627, named after his great-grandfather, Mehraj. In 1631, it is claimed that Mohan once sought the assistance of the sixth Sikh guru against hostile neighbours, who provided military help in the form of 500-men. Another tale connects Phul to the Sikh gurus: it is said that Phul and his brother Sandli were once blessed by Guru Har Rai after being presented to the guru as two starving orphans by their uncle Kala. Sikhs believe the blessing of Guru Har Rai bestowed on the young Phul allowed his descendants to found dynasties and become prosperous rulers. Baba Phul was the founder of the

, which was named after him. He lived through the times of

Guru Hargobind Guru Hargobind (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿਗੋਬਿੰਦ, pronunciation: l 19 June 1595 – 28 February 1644) was the sixth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He had become Guru at the young age of eleven, after the execution of his ...

, the sixth

Guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

of the

religion as well as

Guru Har Rai Guru Har Rai (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਰਾਇ, pronunciation: ; 16 January 1630 – 6 October 1661) revered as the ''seventh Nanak'', was the seventh of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. According to historical accounts, Phul had received blessings from both Guru Hargobind and Guru Har Rai. Eventually, Phul received the official designation of '' Chaudari'' from the Mughals and became a tributary ''

sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar (, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royal family, royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other Aristocracy (class), aristocrats. It ha ...

'' of them. Through his eldest son, Tiloka, Phul is the ancestor of the rulers of

and

. Through his second son, Rama, Phul is the ancestor of the rulers of

and

History

Phulkian Misl

The Phulkian Misl was a

Sikh Misl 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 ...

founded by Choudhary Phul Sidhu-Brar, also known as Baba Phul or Phul Singh, and named after him. A claimed descendant of the Bhati Rajputs, Phul was a direct descendant of Rawal Jaisal Singh, the founder and first ruler of the Kingdom of Jaisalmer. Phul's descendants became the royal families of the Phulkian dynasty

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

, which included the states of

, and

. Historians have disputed whether the Phulkian Misl was ever a true Sikh Misl, as its practices and policies were more centralized and akin to a

petty kingdom A petty kingdom is a kingdom described as minor or "petty" (from the French 'petit' meaning small) by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it (e.g. the numerous kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England unified into t ...

than those of a true Sikh Misl.

Misl status dispute

Some historians, such as Kirpal Singh, claim the Phulkians were never truly a "Misl" at all. Historian Surjit Singh Gandhi also claimed that the Phulkian Misl was never a true Misl because they shared almost no common practices with the other

Misls, and the administrative nature of the Phulkian Misl's political state varied considerably from that of the other Misls. Gandhi based his arguments on various facts and events. When the Sikh Misls divided themselves into the Buddha Dal and Taruna Dal of the Dal Khalsa in 1734, no Phulkian leader was represented, and there was no Phulkian presence in the Dal Khalsa in 1748. Phulkian leaders did not attend

Sarbat Khalsa Sarbat Khalsa (lit. meaning ''all the Khalsa''; Punjabi: ( Gurmukhi) pronunciation: ), was a biannual deliberative assembly (on the same lines as a Parliament in a Direct democracy) of the Sikhs held at Amritsar in Punjab during the 18th cent ...

meetings or distribute loot and territory among their followers, instead adopting

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

practices of appropriating resources for themselves and rewarding their men with payments and Jagirs. While other Misls fought relentlessly against the Mughal Empire and the

Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...

, the Phulkian chiefs maintained good relations with these imperial powers, obtained titles from them. Unlike other Misls, they did not inscribe the names of the

Sikh gurus The Sikh gurus (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ਸਿੱਖ ਗੁਰੂ; Hindi: सिख गुरु) are the spiritual masters of Sikhism, who established the religion over the course of about two and a half centuries, beginning in 1469. The year ...

on their coins but instead issued coins in the names of rulers of the Mughal Empire and Durrani Empire. In the entire 18th century, none of the Phulkian leaders visited

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

's holy cities of Anandpur and

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

, but they frequently visited and were visited by the

and Durrani rulers.

Phulkian States

In 1767, the city of

Kaithal Kaithal () is a city and municipal council in the Kaithal district of the Indian state of Haryana. Kaithal was previously a part of Karnal district and later, Kurukshetra district until 1 November 1989, when it became the headquarters of the ...

fell into the hands of the Phulkian chieftain, Desu Singh, who established

Kaithal State Kaithal State was a Sikhs, Sikh state based out of Kaithal. It was one of the Cis-Sutlej states. The Sikh chieftains of Kaithal ruled from 1767 until the state's fall in 1843. At the state's height, it was the second-largest cis-Sutlej state, a ...

. In the early 19th century, the Phulkian states, concerned about the rising power of

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 M ...

, sought protection from the

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 ...

. Although Ranjit Singh was generally moderate towards the Phulkian rulers and willing to address their issues, his growing influence led to suspicions about his intentions. Consequently, the

Cis-Sutlej states 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 ...

, including the Phulkian states, convened and decided to send a deputation to the British Resident in

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 ...

. The delegation pledged their loyalty to the British and sought their protection, leading to a treaty on 25 April 1809, where Ranjit Singh agreed not to extend his military campaigns into the Cis-Sutlej territories. As the Phulkian states were freed from the threat of Ranjit Singh, internal conflicts among them surfaced, prompting further British intervention. By 22 August 1811, the British issued another proclamation to protect these states from each other, thereby enhancing their power of interference and control. Over time, these states transitioned from being independent rulers in a treaty alliance with the British to becoming dependencies, or what the British described as princely states, significantly diminishing their autonomy and consolidating British dominance in the

British Raj

The Maharajas of the three largest Phulkian states (Patiala, Nabha and Jind) supported the East India Company during the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

, both with military forces and supplies, as well as by offering protection for European people in affected areas. In return, the three Maharajas were given additional territories, honours and titles by the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. In 1858, the British Raj authorities rejected a petition to allow them to adopt heirs to ensure lines of succession. They believed that such processes could be dealt with on an ''ad hoc'' basis if and when the situation arose, and that to accept the petition would be contrary to the Doctrine of Lapse. The matter was eventually taken up by the government in Britain, who demanded that the Raj authorities should grant the petition in recognition of the considerable loyalty that had been demonstrated during the rebellion. Later, on 19 January 1860 at a

durbar Durbar may refer to: * Conference of Rulers, a council of Malay monarchs * Durbar festival, a yearly festival in several towns of Nigeria * Durbar floor plate, a hot-rolled structural steel that has been designed to give excellent slip resistance o ...

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 ...

, Charles Canning, the

Governor-General of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the emperor o ...

, acceded to the request. During the British Raj, the Phulkian states of Patiala, Nabha, and Jind were noted for their patronage of

North Indian North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

artists, musicians, and scholars at their court.

Abolition

By 1948, all of the Phulkian states had acceded to the

, which became

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

in 1947. The royal families of the Phulkian dynasty retained their royal titles in India until 1971, when they were abolished with the 26th Amendment to the

Inter-state dispute

A dispute in the early 1920s between Bhupinder Singh, who had become Maharaja of Patiala in 1909, and his fellow Maharaja in Nabha, Ripudaman Singh, who became ruler in 1911, had significant ramifications both for relationships within the

community and for British policy in the Punjab. According to historian Barbara Ramusack, the pair were "ambitious, arrogant, energetic, and jealous" and "shared the hypersensitivity on matters of ''izzat'' or honor and status common to most Indian princes". What began initially as a war of words from around 1912 had become physical by the 1920s, with Bhupinder Singh complaining that the law courts of Ripudaman Singh had been falsely convicting Patiala police officers, as well as kidnapping girls from Patiala for the royal harem. On top of this, were frequent boundary disputes, which had been a feature of strife between the states for many years because of the way in which the territories intertwined. There were numerous attempts, with varying degrees of formality, to resolve the dispute. These included high-level court meetings, independent mediators and Sikh community groups such as the

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee ( SGPC; Supreme Gurdwara Management Committee) is an organization in India responsible for the management of ''gurdwaras'', Sikh places of worship, in the states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and ...

(SGPC). The situation was eventually referred to the British authorities in 1923, who instituted a quasi-judicial inquiry the conclusions of which generally supported the grievances raised by Bhupinder Singh and were critical of how Ripudaman Singh was administering his state and attempting to undermine the position of Patiala. Ripudaman, who had gained support from some extremist Akalis, was told that the British would formally intervene unless he abdicated and that this would lead to him being officially deposed. The abdication on 8 July 1923, which was effectively forced upon him, saw the British take over the administration of Nabha and caused uproar in Punjab. People in Punjab protested in what they considered to be unwarranted political interference, and lauded Ripudaman Singh both as a Sikh leader and a nationalist. Newspapers in the region, with the support of the SGPC, pointed to his past favouring of the views of nationalists such as

Gopal Krishna Gokhale Gopal Krishna Gokhale ( International Phonetic Alphabet, �ɡoːpaːl ˈkrɪʂɳə ˈɡoːkʰleː9 May 1866 – 19 February 1915) was an Indian political leader and a social reformer during the Indian independence movement, and political me ...

, noted that he had spurned some rituals at his coronation, and alleged he sympathised with the Akalis. They also erroneously claimed that Bhupinder Singh opposed the abdication, which he was quick to deny. Bhupinder Singh's decision to side with the British and instigate a counterpropaganda campaign at their request drove a wedge between

Punjabi Sikhs Punjabi Sikhs are ethnic Punjabis who adhere to Sikhism. They are the second-largest religious group amongst Punjabis after the Punjabi Muslims, who predominantly inhabit Pakistani Punjab. Punjabi Sikhs form the largest religious community i ...

. Patiala was considered to be the most important of the Sikh states and its prime minister,

Daya Kishan Kaul Daya may refer to: Religion *Daya (Sikhism), the concept of compassion in Sikhism * Daya (virtue), the concept of compassion in Hinduism Media and music * ''Daya'' (film), a 1998 Malayalam film * ''Daya'' (EP), a 2015 recording by the American ...

, attempted to mobilise its supporters among the SGPC as well as those citizens of Nabha who had been ill-treated by Ripudaman. He also attempted to feed the press with stories in support of both his state and the British.

Gallery

File:Guru Gobind Singh's letter written to Rama and Tiloka.jpg,

Gobind Singh Guru Gobind Singh (; born Gobind Das; 22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708) was the tenth and last human Sikh Guru. He was a warrior, poet, and philosopher. In 1675, at the age of nine he was formally installed as the leader of the Sikhs after ...

's ''

hukamnama A Hukamnama ( Punjabi: ਹੁਕਮਨਾਮਾ, translit. ''Hukamanāmā''), in modern-times, refers to a hymn from the Guru Granth Sahib which is given as an injunction, order, or edict to Sikhs. It also refers to edicts issued by the contemp ...

'' addressed to Rama and Tiloka, sons of Phul Singh. Dated August 2 1696, from the

Maharaja of Patiala The Maharaja of Patiala was the title of the ruler of the princely state of Patiala State, Patiala, in Presidencies and provinces of British India, British India. The first ruler of Patiala was Baba Ala Singh (1691 – 1765), who held the title o ...

's collection. File:Punjab-Districts 1911.png, Phulkian states in a 1911 map of Punjab

References

{{Reflist Sikh families Sikh monarchs Dynasties of India