Phulkian States was the collective name given to the three small princely states of

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

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 ...

during 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 India.

Area

was the largest of the three Phulkian princely states.

had an area of 5,942 sq mi (15389.709 sq km).

had an area of 1,299 sq mi (3364.395 sq km). Nabha had an area of 947 sq mi (2452.72 sq km). Collectively, these states covered a total area of 8,188 sq mi (21206.82 sq km).

History

Bhati was a direct descendant of

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

and belonged to the

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 ...

. He defeated fourteen princes and annexed their territories. His descendants later came to be known as the Bhatis. One of them, Jaisal, founded

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed ''The Golden city'', is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur, in the heart of the Thar Desert. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Jaisalmer district ...

. Jaisal had four sons: Shalivahan, Kailan, Hemhel, and Pem. Hemhel, his third son, sacked the town of

Hisar Hissar () means fort or castle in Arabic, with variants adopted into Persian (hesar, hessar) and Turkish (hisar). Hissar, Hisar and Hesar may refer to: Places Asia (South and Central) India *Hisar (city), a city in Haryana **Hisar Airport in Hi ...

. He captured a number of villages in its vicinity and overran the surrounding countryside up to the walls of

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 ...

. Shams ud-Din Iltutmish drove Hemhel back but later received him into his favour and appointed him

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Sirsa Sirsa is a city and a municipal council in Sirsa district in the westernmost region of the Indian state of Haryana, bordering Punjab and Rajasthan. It is located near the Thar Desert, 250 kilometres north-west of New Delhi and 260 kilometers s ...

and

Bathinda Bathinda is a city and municipal corporation in Punjab, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of Bathinda district. It is located in northwestern India in the Malwa Region, west of the capital city of Chandigarh and is the fifth ...

in 1212 A.D. He founded the town of Hanesar and died there in 1214. He was succeeded by his son Jandra. Jandra had twenty-one sons. Each of his sons became the progenitor of a distinct clan. His son, Batera, is the ancestor of the

Sidhu Sidhu is a Punjabi Jat clan found in Punjab. The Sidhus have had a significant impact on Sikh history. Etymology and origin During British Raj, historians like HA.Rose and Alexander Cunningham note an account of local bards (bhatts) hi ...

clan. Batera was succeeded by his son Manjalrab, who was beheaded at Jaisalmer. Manjalrab was followed by his son Undra (Anand Rai), and Undra was succeeded by his son Khewa. Khewa first married a woman from a

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

family but had no children with her. He then married the daughter of a

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 ...

zamindar. From this second marriage, he had a son named Sidhu. However, the

Rajputs Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

did not accept this union. According to their customs, Sidhu could not inherit his father's caste and was therefore identified by his mother's caste. The

clan has derived its name from him. Sidhu had four sons: Dhar (also known as Debi), Bar, Sur, and Rupach. The rulers of the Phulkian States are descended from his second son, Bar. Bar had a son, Bir, who had two sons, Sidtilkara and Sitrah. Sitrah had two sons, Jertha and Lakumba. Jertha had a son, Mahi, who was followed in successive generations by Gala, Mehra, Hambir, and Barar. Barar had two sons, Paur and Dhul. Dhul was the progenitor of the

Rajas ''Rajas'' (Sanskrit: रजस्) is one of the three '' guṇas'' (tendencies, qualities, attributes), a philosophical and psychological concept developed by the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy.James G. Lochtefeld, Rajas, in The Illustrated ...

of Faridkot. The two brothers quarrelled, and Paur fell into poverty. Several generations of his family remained in this state until Sangrur restored their fortunes. Sangrur assisted

Babur Babur (; 14 February 148326 December 1530; born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also ...

in his invasion of

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 ...

and was killed during the

first battle of Panipat The First Battle of Panipat, on 21 April 1526 was fought between the invading forces of Babur against Ibrahim Khan Lodi, the List of sultans of Delhi, Sultan of Delhi, in North India. Babur's forces, em ...

. After

's victory over

Ibrahim Lodhi Ibrahim Khan Lodi (; 1480 – 21 April 1526) was the last Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, who became Sultan in 1517 after the death of his father Sikandar Khan. He was the last ruler of the Lodi dynasty, reigning for nine years until 1526, when ...

, and in recognition of Sangrur's services,

appointed his deceased son Wariyam (also known as Bairam or Beeram) as

Chowdhury 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 ...

of the territory to the south-west of

. Wariyam was later confirmed in this office by

Humayun Nasir al-Din Muhammad (6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), commonly known by his regnal name Humayun (), was the second Mughal emperor, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Northern India, and Pakistan from ...

. He was killed in 1560 during a conflict with the

Bhattis Bhati (also romanised as Bhattī) is a Rajput clan. The Bhati clan historically ruled over several cities in present-day India and Pakistan with their final capital and kingdom being Jaisalmer, India. History The Bhatis of Jaisalmer belong ...

. His grandson Satu also fell alongside him. Wariyam left two sons: Mehraj, who succeeded him, and Garaj. Mehraj was succeeded by his grandson Pakhu. Pakhu was killed in a battle against the

Baddowal Baddowal is a village in Punjab in ludhiana district of Punjab State, India. The village is most of belong to jatt GREWAL caste administrated by Sarpanch A sarpanch, gram pradhan, mukhiya, or president is a decision-maker, elected by the vi ...

. Pakhu had two sons, Habbal and Mohan. Mohan succeeded him. Mohan was unable to pay the arrears owed to the government and was continually harassed by the Bhattis. He fled to Hansi and Hisar, where he assembled a force. He then returned home and defeated the Bhattis at Baddowal. Following the advice 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 ...

, he founded a village, which he named Mehraj after his great-grandfather. Mohan and his eldest son, Rup Chand, were killed in a fight with the Bhattis. Mohan son, Kul Chand, succeeded him and became the guardian of Rup’s sons, Sandhali and Phul. Soon after

visited

, Kul instructed his nephews that when they saw the

, they should place their hands on their stomachs as if they were hungry. Upon seeing the

, they followed his instructions.

inquired about the reason for their gesture. Kul explained that the boys were starving. Upon hearing this, the Guru responded, “What matters the hunger of one belly, when these boys shall satisfy the hunger of thousands?” He then asked for the names of the children. When he heard the name Phul, he remarked, “The name shall be a true omen, and he shall bear many blossoms.” File:Patiala flag.svg,

Flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

File:Nabha flag.svg,

Phul was later confirmed in the office that his family had held for many years by

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...

. Phul had seven children: six sons—Tiloka, Rama, Raghu, Channu, Jhandhu, and Takht Mal—and a daughter, Rami Ram Kaur. Hamir Singh, a descendant of Tiloka, is the progenitor of the

royal house A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

. Hamir Singh was the son of Suratiya, who was the son of Gurditta, who in turn was the son of Tiloka. Upon the death of Bhagwan Singh, the direct line of Gurditta, who was ruling at

, came to an end. Hira Singh, a son of Sukha Singh and a grandson of Basawa Singh—himself a lineal descendant of Gajpat Singh of

, who was a cousin of Hamir—was placed on the throne of

. Gajpat Singh, the son of Sakhchain and grandson of Tiloka, was the progenitor of the

. Gajpat's daughter,

Raj Kaur Rani Raj Kaur was the wife of Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia Misl and the mother of Ranjit Singh, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the founder of the Sikh Empire. She was affectionately known as ''Mai Malwain'' after her marriage. She is also r ...

, married

Maha Singh Maha Singh ('; 1760 – 15 April 1790 or 1756 – April 1792), also spelt as Mahan or Mahn Singh, was the second Sardar of the Sukerchakia Misl, which as a Sikh grouping with its guerilla militia was one of twelve Sikh Misls that later became ...

and was the mother 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 ...

. When Sangat Singh of

died without an heir, Swarup Singh succeeded him as the ruler of

. He belonged to the Bazidpur branch of the

family. His father, Karam Singh, was the son of Bhup Singh and the grandson of Gajpat Singh.

Ala Singh Ala Singh (1691–1765) was the founder and first ruler of Patiala State, Patiala. Singh was born into the Sikhs, Sikh Phulkian dynasty, rising to power through key battles in his early life, Singh expanded his territory in Punjab, India, Punjab ...

, son of Rama is the progenitor of the

. File:Coat of Arms of Patiala.png,

Coat of Arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

File:Nabha State Coat of Arms.png,

File:Jind State CoA.png,

Accession

Following

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 ...

, the rulers of the Phulkian States acceded to the

Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India, * * was an independent dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations existing between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950. Until its Indian independence movement, independence, India had be ...

PEPSU

The rulers of

, and

united in 1948 to form the

Patiala and East Punjab States Union The Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) was a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

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 ...

was inaugurated on 15 July 1948 by

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ''Vallabhbhāī Jhāverbhāī Paṭel''; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, was an Indian independence activist and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime ...

Yadavindra Singh Yadavindra Singh (), also spelt as Yadvinder Singh, was the ninth and last ruling Maharaja of Patiala from 1938 to 1947. Singh kept his royal titles until 1971, when princely titles were abolished through the 26th Amendment to the Constit ...

, 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 ...

, was appointed the

Rajpramukh Rajpramukh was an administrative title in India which existed from India's independence in 1947 until 1956. Rajpramukhs were the appointed governors of certain Indian provinces and states. Background The British Indian Empire, which incl ...

of it on the occasion. The capital and principal city of

was

. On 1 November 1956,

was merged into

. A portion of

presently lies within the state of

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 ...

Population

In 1931, the population of

was 1,625,520. The population of

was 324,676, while that of

was 287,574. Collectively, these three states had a population of 2,237,770.

Salutes

The ruler of

was entitled to a salute of 17 guns and a permanent local salute of 19 guns. The ruler of

was entitled to a salute of 13 guns and a permanent local salute of 15 guns. The ruler of

was entitled to a salute of 13 guns.

Succession

All three of the Phulkian States adhered to

male primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit all or most of their parent's estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relat ...

. This is a form of succession in which the eldest male child inherits the throne. Upon the death of the ruler of any of the Phulkian States, their heir immediately and automatically succeeded them to the throne of their respective state. The

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

phrase "Le roi est mort, vive le roi!" () aptly describes this system. In 1858, the rulers of these states jointly submitted a request to Earl Canning, the then

Viceroy 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 of ...

. In their petition, they requested the right to adopt an heir in the event of failure of male issue as a reward for the service they rendered to 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 ...

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 ...

. Earl Canning, however, refused their request; two years later, in 1860, upon his visit to

, he granted them the right of adoption. This decision was made at the Ambala Darbar that was held in Ambala between 18–20 January 1860. Another request they made in 1858 was that if any ruler of these states died leaving behind an infant heir, a

council of regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the Interregnum, throne is vacant and a new monarch has not y ...

should be appointed. This council was to comprise three elderly and trusted ministers of the state, none of whom were related to the heir. The

British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

, acting on the advice of the rulers of the other two states, was to select the council. This request was granted.

Rulers

List of rulers of the Patiala

List of rulers of the Jind

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! rowspan="2" , Name (Birth–Death) ! rowspan="2" , Portrait ! colspan="2" , Term of office ! rowspan="2" , Note(s) ! rowspan="2" , Reference , - !Start date !End date , - , Gajpat Singh (1738 – 1789) , , 1758 , 1789 , , , - , Bhag Singh (1760 – 1819) , Miniature_portrait_painting_of_Raja_Bagh_Singh_of_Jind_State

Miniature_portrait_painting_of_Raja_Bagh_Singh_of_Jind_State

, 1789 , 1819 , , , - , Fateh Singh (1789 – 1822) , Miniature_portrait_painting_of_Raja_Fateh_Singh_of_Jind_State

, 1819 , 1822 , , , - , Sangat Singh (1810 – 1834) , Raja_Sangat_Singh

, 1822 , 1834 , , , - , Swarup Singh (1812 – 1864) , , 1834 , 1864 , , , - , Raghubir Singh (1832 – 1887) , , 1864 , 1887 , , , - , Ranbir Singh (1879 – 1948) , , 1887 , 1948 , , , - , colspan="5" , Titular , , - , Rajbir Singh (1948 – 1959) , , 1948 , 1959 , , , - , Satbir Singh (1940 – 2023) , , 1959 , 2023 , Upon the death of his father, Rajbir Singh, in 1959,

, the

, installed him as the

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 ...

. , {{Cite web , date=2025-05-23 , title=Dalit activists protest on Punjab’s Sangrur jail premises, demand 927 acres of erstwhile Jind Riyasat to set up ‘Begampura’ , url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/dalit-activists-protest-punjab-sangrur-jail-premises-927-acres-jind-riyasat-begampura-10023331/ , access-date=2025-05-25 , website=The Indian Express , language=en

References

Princely states Salute states Former British protectorates Phulkian dynasty Patiala State Jind State Nabha State