HISTORY

 Baba Ala singh                               Rulers of patiala                           Gates of patiala

The early history of the founders of Patiala state is more of a myth and mystery than reality, the rulers of the erstwhile states of Patiala, Nabha and Jind trace their ancestry to one Chaudhary Phul. Apparently the appellation of dynasty ‘Phulkain’ is derived from their common founder. One of his sons, Chadhary Ram Singh was baptized and blessed by Guru Gobind Singh. His son Ala Singh assumed the leadership in 1714 when Banda Bahadur was engaged in the fierce battle against the Mughals. A man with vision and courage, Ala Singh carved out an independent principality from a petty Zamindari of 30 villages. Under his successors, it expanded into a big state, touching the Shivaliks in north, Rajasthan in the South and upper courses of the Jamuna and Sutlej while confronting the most trying and challenging circumstances.

In  1763 Baba Ala Singh laid the foundation of the Patiala fort known as Qila Mubarak, around which the present city of Patiala is built. After the third battle of Panipat in 1761 in which the Marathas were defeated, the writ of the Afghans prevailed through out Punjab. It is at this stage that the rulers of Patiala began to acquire ensigns of royalty. Ahmed Shah Abadali bestowed upon Ala Singh furm and banner, after latter’s death, his grandson Amar Singh succeeded and received the title of Raja-I-Rajjan. He was also allowed to strike coins. After forty years of ceaseless struggle with the Mughals, Afghans and Marathas the borders of the Patiala state witnessed the trailing blaze of Ranjit Singh in the North and the other of the British in the east. Bestowed with the grit and instinct of survival, making right choice at right time the Raja of Patiala entered in a treaty with the British against Ranjit Singh in 1808, thus becoming collaborators in the ground empire building process by the British in the sub-continent of India. The British treated the rulers of Patiala, such as Karam Singh, Narinder Singh, Mahendra Singh, Rajinder Singh, Bhupinder Singh and Yadvindra Singh with respect and dignity
It was Maharaja Bhupinder Singh (1900-1930) who gave the Patiala State a Prominent place on the Political map of India and in the field of international sports. Most of the buildings with very nice architectural designs were constructed during his reign.His son Yadvindra Singh was among those Indian princesses who readily came forward to sign the Instrument of accession, thus facilitating the process of national integration. In recognition of his services, he was appointed the Rajpramukh of the newly established state of PEPSU