Patiala was a princely state of India. It was one of the Phulkian States that acceded to the Union of India upon Indian independence and partition in 1947. It was founded as a kingdom by Ala Singh in 1762. During the reign of Maharaja Karam Singh from 1813 to 1845, Patiala was the second-largest Sikh state in Punjab. After the collapse of the Sikh Empire, Patiala emerged in the mid-19th century as a powerful state, leading to greater revenue and territory, with the patronage of the arts.ANNE-COLOMBE “SAT KAUR” LAUNOIS. “Essence Du Pouvoir de Pattâlâ: Les Estrades Royales Du Qila Mubârak.” Arts Asiatiques, vol. 62, 2007, p. 55. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43486550. Accessed 11 June 2026. The state's ruler, the Maharaja of Patiala, was entitled to a 17-gun salute and held precedence over all other princes in Punjab during the British Raj. The state was ruled by Jat Sikhs of the Sidhu clan.
The kingdom's imperial troops also fought in World War I and World War II on behalf of the British Indian Empire.
Etymology The state took its name from its principal city and capital, Patiala, from Punjabi patti ("strip of land") and ala (referring to Ala Singh), together meaning a strip of land belonging to Ala Singh, founder of the city and state.
History
Family background
The ruling family traced their origin to Krishna, via Yadu. The Patiala ruling family remotely claimed origins from Bhati Rajputs of Jaisalmer in the 12th century, specifically the Jadon Bhati chief Jaisal who was the founder and first ruler of Jaisalmer. Based on this, the Phulkian rulers claimed Rajput status up-to the 20th century. At some point, their ancestors moved from Jaisalmer in Rajasthan to Phul in Punjab. The ruling house claims descent from Rao Hem Hel of Jaisalmer, the third son of Jaisal, who settled in 1185 at Bhatinda. Other sources describe Hem Hel as being the grandson of Jaisal. Hem Hel would expand to Hisar, where he was pushed back to Bhatinda by Prithviraj Chauhaun. Hem Hel managed to take control of territory located south of Muktsar and expelled the previous Punwar rulers from the tract. Hem Hel died in 1214 and was succeeded by his son Jaidrath (Jundar).
Between 1526 and 1560, the ancestral family of the later Patiala rulers was headed by chaudhary Bariam, a Phulkian Jat. Bariam was awarded with a chaudhriyat grant by the Mughal emperor Babur in 1526 due to his actions in supporting the Mughal invader at the First Battle of Panipat. This grant allowed Bariam to collect revenue from the badlands located to the southwest of Delhi.
In 1560, custodianship over the family was then led by Mehraj, who was followed by Pukko. Pukko was followed by Mohan, who led the family until 1618. Mohan and his son Rup Chand were killed in circa 1618 during a skirmish with Bhattis.
From 1618 onwards, the family was led by Kala, who was the second-son of Mohan. Kala was succeeded by Phul, a son of Rup Chand. According to lore, Phul met with Guru Hargobind, with the guru prophesying that Phul's descendants would spread-out and be successful. This was through the Sikh guru making a pun on Phul name, which means "flower", and that Phul's descendants would "bear many blossoms" and "satisfy the hunger of many". Phul had seven sons and two wives, with two prominent sons being Rama and Tiloka, with both being born to the same mother. The progeny of Tiloka would form the houses of Nabha and Jind whilst Rama's descendants became the Patiala ruling-house. Phul headed the family until 1652, being succeeded by Rama Chand. Rama's son was Ala Singh. According to Kavita Singh, the family converted to Sikhism in the generation before Ala Singh.
In 1696, Guru Gobind Singh is believed to have blessed the family, having issued a hukamnama edict on 2 August 1696 (2 Bhadon 1753 Bk.) addressed to Rama Chand and Tiloka Chand of the family urging them to visit the guru's court and bring with them men and horses. The Sikh guru also gifted Rama and Tiloka a battle-standard and eleven weapons, which is seen as bestowing a special accord onto the family. In 1702, Rama and Tiloka underwent the pahul ceremony at Damdama Sahib, with their Khalsa baptism being conducted by Guru Gobind Singh himself. Thus-after, the family started appending the Singh title to their name. However, according to Barbara Ramusack, Ala Singh was the first member to adopt the Singh title. Out of the six sons of Rama, two of them also appended their name with Singh (with one of these two being Ala Singh). Rama Chand was succeeded as head of the family by Ala Singh in 1714. Whilst Rama's descendants formed the ruling house of Patiala State, the descendants of Tiloka formed the ruling house of Nabha and Jind states.
Ala Singh, the founder of Patiala State, was a descendant of the Sidhu clan of Jats. He was born into the Phulkian dynasty, a confederacy established by Chaudhary Phul Sidhu-Brar. Ala was the third-son of his father Rama. Ala Singh's leadership and military prowess enabled him to establish Patiala as a significant princely state in the Punjab region. “Jats in Hindustan under three different chiefs : first, the Jats around Delhi, in the same government as Patiala, Malar, etc., areas in the domain of Ala Singh Jat.”
Founding and territorial evolution The state originated as one of the many chiefdoms the Sikhs had established in the former Mughal province of Delhi after the collapse of Mughal and Afghan authority in the region. According to Giani Gian Singh's Twarikh Guru Khalsa, Ala Singh was bestowed the title of raja by emperor Muhammad Shah of the Mughal Empire in 1725 C.E. (1781 Bk.) at the Delhi Durbar to recognize Ala Singh's efforts toward fighting insurgents. Ala Singh was awarded the title by Wasiyar Khan of Sirhind. Afterwards, Ala Singh would expand and consolidate his power. Ala Singh, establisher of Patiala, had been conquering territory since around 1730.
The locality of Patiala was founded by sardar Ala Singh in 1752. Ala Singh's rule is characterized by careful statecraft that allowed him to build his revenue and political status through careful geopolitical navigation, balancing both allegiance and independence vis-a-vis the Mughals and Durranis, much to the dismay of the Dal Khalsa. In 1761, the Afghans defeated the forces of Ala Singh at Barnala. Ahmad Shah Abdali had targeted Barnala locality of the Patiala chief due to Ala Singh assisting the Marathas by providing them supplies. Mai Fatto, Ala Singh's wife, responded diplomatically to the situation and managed to arrange a meeting between Ala Singh and Ahmad Shah Abdali through negotiations with Shah Wali Khan, the wazir of Abdali. Ala Singh was captured by the Afghans and taken to Ahmad Shah Abdali. This was the first meeting between Abdali and Ala Singh. The Afghans demanded a four lakh rupee ransom to secure Ala Singh's release. Abdali wanted to win-over Ala Singh to his cause and Ala Singh became a vassal of the Afghans. In a firman issued by Ahmad Shah Abdali to Zain Khan Sirhindi on 29 March 1761, it is noted that Ala Singh possessed 726 villages, particularly in the parganas of Sunam (224), Samana (266), Sirhind (52), Sanaur (89), Chhat (8), Masigan (17), Kohram (6), Banur (37), and Mansurpur (23), and there were four villages in other locations. Aside from the confirmation of the villages in his possession, Ala Singh also received a robe-of-honour from Abdali. The firman commanded Zain Khan to recognize Ala Singh as an independent chief and an ally of the Afghans. Mir Taqi was appointed to obtain tribute from Ala Singh. Thus, Ala Singh in 1761 was bestowed with a sanad giving him chaudhari rights and the raja title from the Durranis.
Patiala State was founded by Ala Singh as a chiefship slightly later in March 1762 after Ahmad Shah Abdali bestowed Ala Singh with the raja title, gifting him with a robe-of-honour, nagadas (war drums), the right to coin money, and an embrace. Yet Ala Singh was expected to bestow an annual tribute on the Afghan ruler. Ramusack dates this bestowal several years later in 1765. In 1763, after the Battle of Sirhind, the Sikh Confederation partitioned the Sirhind area and gave the territory to Ala Singh. The areas in Sirhind, along with Ala Singh's other conquered territories, formed the initial territories of the Patiala state. Also in 1763, Ala Singh constructed a mud-fortress (kachigarhi) around a mound, known as the Qila Mubarak (meaning "blessed fort"), which may have been established to ward off Afghan invasions. Human settlements and bazaars would form around this fort, leading to the formation of Patiala as a population centre. Ala Singh established the rules for the right of succession based on primogeniture. Indu Banga describes Ala Singh as being politically expedient in his external relations, where local Sikh leaders benefited from a complex series of relations in a region where various parties were vying for dominance. Ala Singh relied more on negotiation rather than aggression to expand his territory. However, his diplomatic approach toward the Mughals and Afghans differed from that of the Sikh Misls in the Majha region, which brought him into conflict with the Majha Sikhs, who were more militaristic toward their perceived enemies.
After Ala Singh reconciled with the Afghan ruler, becoming his vassal and receiving a robe-of-honour, he was criticized by his fellow Sikh chiefs of the Dal Khalsa as a traitor. Ala Singh defended himself by stating that he only had two options, fight Abdali and lose, meaning a loss of Sikh control over the cis-Sutlej region, or become his vassal and preserve Sikh power in the area. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia helped Ala Singh make his case to the rest of the Sikh leaders, and the other Sikh chiefs accepted Ala Singh once again. After Abdali's departure, the cis-Sutlej region was embroiled in-conflict again, with the Sikhs launching raids and extracting tribute from the Sirhind region and its governor, Zain Khan Sirhindi, being unable to get the situation under control. The diwan of Zain Khan, named Lakshami Narain, was attacked by Sikhs while en-route during revenue-collection, who stole the funds. Aside from Sirhind, the situation in Lahore province was also dire for the Afghans, as the governor Khwaja Obed was killed by the Sikhs under Charat Singh. Thus, Abdali decided to act and punish the Sikhs for their antics, which would lead up into a mass-killing known as the Vadda Ghalughara, in-which around 12,000–15,000 Sikh men were slaughtered by the Afghan forces.
According to many, Ala Singh failed to assist his religious kin during the massacre. He stayed neutral during the events and did not initiate hostilities against the Durranis. However, this neutrality would not save Ala Singh as Abdali, whom had been told that Ala Singh was a "secret ally of the Majhi Sikhs" by Zain Khan and Bikhan Khan, would later burn down Barnala and advanced upon Bhawanigarh, where Ala Singh was holed up. Ala Singh sought out the help of Najib-ud-Daula and was forced to pay a humiliating fee of "five lakhs of rupees as tribute and a hundred and twenty-five thousand rupees more for permission to appear before him with his long hair intact" to placate Abdali. After this, Ala Singh was detained for a short-while but was released on the promise that his polity would pay an annual tribute to the Durranis.