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Baba Ala Singh a Misl
Jathedar of Phulkian Misl, who became
the first ruling chief of Patiala, was
born in 1691 at Phul, in present day
Bathinda district of the Punjab, the
third son of Bhai Ram Singh. His grandfather,
Baba Phul, had been as a small boy blessed
by Guru Hargobind, Nanak VI. Ala Singh's
father and his uncle, Tilok Singh, had
both received the rites of initiation
at the hands of Guru Gobind Singh who
conferred on their family the panegyric,"Your
house is mine own."
Ala Singh was married at an early age
to Fateh Kaur, popularly known as Mai
Fatto, daughter of Chaudhari Kala of
Khana, a zamindar of the village Kaleke,
now in Sangrur district of the Punjab,
and had three sons, Bhumia Singh, Sardul
Singh and Lal Singh, all of whom died
in his lifetime, and a daughter, Bibi
Pardhan.
Ala Singh's career of conquest began
soon after the execution of Banda Singh
Bahadur in 1716 when central Punjab
lay in utter confusion. Ala Singh was
living at phul about 40 km from Bathinda.
He gathered around him a band of dashing
and daring young men. In 1722, he set
up his headquarters at Barnala, 32 km
farther east, and his territory comprised
30-odd villages. At Barnala, Ala Singh
defeated in 1731 Rai Kalha of Raikot,
an influential chief with a large force
at his command. Aided by roving bands
of the Dal Khalsa, he ransacked and
annexed several villages belonging to
the Bhattis. He also founded several
new villages such as Chhajali, Dirba,
Laungoval and Sheron.
For a period Ala Singh remained in
the custody of 'Ali Muhammad Khan Ruhila,
Mughal governor of Sirhind from 1745-48,
and was released only when the latter
fled his capital at the approach in
February 1748 of the Afghan invader
Ahmad Shah Durrani. In the battle fought
on 11 March 1748, near Manupur, 15 km
northwest of Sirhind, between the Mughals
and Ahmad Shah Durrani, Ala Singh sided
with the former. He cut off Durrani's
supplies and captured his camels and
horses. In 1749, Ala Singh defeated
and repulsed Farid Khan, a Rajput chieftain,
who had sought the help of the imperial
governor of Sirhind and stopped the
construction by him of a fort at Bhavanigarh.
Three years later, Ala Singh, captured
the district of Sanaur, called chaurasi,
lit. eighty-four, from the number of
the villages it comprised. One of these
where he built a fort in 1763 and which
was thenceforth his permanent seat,
became famous as Patiala. At the end
of 1760, Ala Singh possessed 726 villages
including many towns. On the eve of
the battle of Panipat (1761) when the
Marathas' camp was blockaded by Ahmad
Shah Durrani, Ala Singh helped them
with foodgrain and other provisions.
In the Vadda Ghallughara or Great Carnage
of February 1762, Ala Singh remained
neutral, Thus Phulkian Misl was declared
out of Dal Khalsa. Ahmad Shah punished
him with the devastation of the town
of Barnala.
Ala Singh presented himself in the
Shah's camp, was ordered to shave off
his head and beard. This he declined
to do and offered instead to pay a sum
of one and a quarter lakh of rupees.
The Shah accepted the money but had
him taken to Lahore where he secured
his freedom by paying another five lakh
of rupees.
Ala Singh took the pahul in 1732 at
the hands of Kapur Singh, leader of
the Dal Khalsa. He was an ally of Jassa
Singh Ahluvalia in the attack on Sirhind
in 1764. Later he purchased this town
from Bhai Buddha Singh to whom it had
been assigned by the Khalsa. On 29 March
1761, Ahmad Shah Durrani had already
recognized by a written decree the sovereignty
of Ala Singh over the territories held
by him. At the time of his seventh invasion
of India, he confirmed him in the government
of Sirhind (1765) and granted him the
title of Raja, with the robes of honour
as well as with a drum and a banner
as insignia of royalty.
Ala Singh died on 7 August 1765 at
Patiala and was cremated in the Fort,
now inside the city. Ala Singh though
not a truest Khalsa leader but was influential.
He worked more for his kingdom then
Khalsa. Neverthless, he was a Sikh and
it was because of his these qualities
that Sikhs of adjoining villages supported
him.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Copyright © Harbans Singh "The
encyclopedia of Sikhism. Vol III."
pages 126 - 127
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