ALA SINGH, BABA (1691–1765), a Sikh misl leader who became the first ruling chief of Patiala, was born in 1691 at Phul, in present-day Bathinda district of Punjab, the third son of Bhai Ram Singh. His grandfather, Baba Phul, as a small boy, had been blessed by Guru Hargobind, Nanak VI. Ala Singh’s father and uncle, Tilok Singh, had both received the rites of initiation at the hands of Guru Gobind Singh, who conferred upon their family the panegyric, “Your house is mine own.”
Ala Singh 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 Punjab). He had three sons, Bhumia Singh, Sardul Singh, and Lal Singh (all of whom died during his lifetime), and a daughter, Bibi Pardhan. Ala Singh’s career of conquest began soon after the execution of Banda Singh Bahadur in 1716, a time when central Punjab lay in utter confusion. Living at Phul, about 40 km from Bathinda, Ala Singh gathered a band of daring young men.
In 1722, he established his headquarters at Barnala, 32 km farther east, with his territory initially comprising 30-odd villages. At Barnala, Ala Singh defeated Rai Kalha of Raikot, an influential chief, in 1731. Aided by roving bands of the Dal Khalsa, he annexed several villages belonging to the Bhattis and founded new ones like Chhajali, Dirba, Laungoval, and Sheron. For a period, Ala Singh was held in the custody of Ali Muhammad Khan Rohilla, Mughal governor of Sirhind (1745–48). He was released only when the latter fled Sirhind at the approach of Afghan invader Ahmad Shah Durrani in February 1748.
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 Mughals, cutting off Durrani’s supplies and capturing his camels and horses. In 1749, Ala Singh repulsed Farid Khan, a Rajput chieftain, who, with the imperial governor of Sirhind’s support, sought to construct a fort at Bhawanigarh. Three years later, Ala Singh captured the Sanaur district (chaurasi, lit. eighty-four, from the number of villages it comprised). In 1763, he built a fort at one of the villages in chaurasi, which became his permanent seat and later gained fame as Patiala.
By the end of 1760, Ala Singh’s territories included 726 villages, many of which were towns. On the eve of the 1761 battle of Panipat, while the Maratha camp was blockaded by Ahmad Shah Durrani, Ala Singh aided the Marathas with food grains and provisions. During the Wadda Ghallughara (Great Carnage) of February 1762, Ala Singh remained neutral. Ahmad Shah punished him by devastating Barnala. When Ala Singh presented himself in Durrani’s camp, he refused to shave his head and beard, instead offering a sum of one and a quarter lakh rupees. The Shah accepted the payment but later took him to Lahore, where Ala Singh secured his freedom by paying another five lakh rupees.
Ala Singh took the pahul in 1732 from Nawab Kapur Singh, leader of the Dal Khalsa. He allied with Jassa Singh Ahluwalia during the 1764 attack on Sirhind, later purchasing the town from Bhai Buddha Singh, who had been assigned it by the Khalsa. Ahmad Shah Durrani recognized Ala Singh’s sovereignty over his territories on 29 March 1761 through a written decree. During Durrani’s seventh invasion of India in 1765, he confirmed Ala Singh as the ruler of Sirhind, granting him the title of Raja, along with royal insignia, a drum, and a banner. Ala Singh passed away on 7 August 1765 at Patiala, where he was cremated in the Fort, now part of the city.
References:
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Kirpal Singh, Life of Maharaja Ala Singh and His Times, Amritsar, 1954.
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Griffin, Lepel, The Rajas of the Punjab [Reprint], Delhi, 1977.
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Latif, Syad Muhammad, History of the Panjab
More Information:
Ala Singh (1691 – 1765) was born in the village Phul (Bathinda) as the third of six sons to Chaudry Ram Singh of the Phulkian misl. The Phulkian misl was named after his grandfather Phul Singh, who established the misl in the service of Sikh Guru Gobind Singh ji. The original chaudriat of the misl had been conferred by Mughal emperor to an ancestor named Brahm, in 1526 for their service in the 1st Panipat war. This misl had a long stroked history and it would be a middle child, Ala Singh, who took it princely status.
At an early age Ala was married to Fateh Kaur, who is known commonly as Mai Fatto, daughter of the zamindar Chaudry Kala Singh of Kaleke (Sangrur). Ala Singh had 3 sons, who would die within his lifetime, and 1 daughter. Already a family man his days of conquest would not begin until the execution of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur in 1716, which had left the central Panjab region in a massive power struggle. It was at this point that Ala Singh established his own force under the Phulkian misl and sought to take control of territory near his native village.
In 1722 Ala Singh set up headquarters at Barnala, not too far from his village, and controlled 30 odd villages in the region. In 1731 Ala Singh with help from other forces within the Dal Khalsa would defeat the large forces of Rai Kalha of Raikot, and he subsequently took control of many existing villages and helped establish many more. By this point Ala Singh had become quite powerful on his own and would not have a major life event for the next decade or so, following which he was apprehended by Mughal governor Al Muhammad Khan Ruhila for a brief period between 1745-48. Ala Singh was freed when Ahmed Shah Durrani attacked Panjab and the governor fled in response.
On March 11 1748 Ala Singh joined battle in Manpur (north of Sirhind), by siding with the Mughals to fend off Ahmed Shah Durrani. In this battle Ala Singh would cut off the supply chains for the Durrani forces and ensure victory for the Mughals, which in turn took him out of any scrutiny with the Delhi based administration. Ala Singh would follow this up with a decisive victory in 1749 over rajput chieftain Farid Khan who had sought to stop the former from constructing the fort at Bhavanigarh. Just three years later in 1752 he followed this up with a decisive capture of the Sanaur region (now Patiala district) and razed the 84 villages which comprised it.
Ala Singh continued to grow his territory and by 1760 he had under his control over 720 villages and many towns. His ambitions were not yet over and more major battles were yet to come. In the third Panipat warn which took place in 1761, Ala would help the blockaded camp of the Maratha forces by sending grain and other provisions. During the 1762 Vadda Galughara (big massacre) in which Sikhs were genocides by Afghan forces, he would remain neutral and earn the ire of the Sikh and Panjabi community for centuries to come. Despite his neutrality he was not spared by Ahmed Shah Abdali who suspected him of being an ally to the Sikhs of Majha and had his troops burn down Barnala on their way to capture him at Bhavanigarh fort. Ala would pay a humiliating fee of 5 lakhs tribute to Najib us Daula, former Mughal and current Durrani serviceman, in order to gain safe passage with another 125,000 fee with a promise to appear before Abdali at a later date.
Ala Singh was detained by the Durrani empire eventually, but was let go in turn for an annual tribute. Despite all the humility this far Ahemed Shah Abdali would attack Barnala once again in the absence of Ala Singh, and demand an additional 4 lakh tribute of which which only 50,000 rupees was paid. In turn for this tribute Abdali would make Ala an ally and conferred upon him the title of raja for the 720+ villages he already controlled.
In 1763 on the graves of one if the 84 villages he had razed in Sanaur, Ala founded a fort where he would establish his princely seat. This new home of his would be come to known as Patiala, from the words pati (strip of land) and Ala meaning land of Ala Singh. The same yera he would capture Sirhind and surrounding territories with his general Nanu Singh Saini who had helped free him from Mughal captivity in 1747. He died in 1765 and left the royal gaddi (seat) to his grandson Raja Amar Das.
Some quick notes: the Phulkian may never have been a proper misl at all (this is disputed), the Phulkian misl was not a part of the Dal Khalsa at it had at the very least been excommunicated for repeatedly siding with the enemies of Sikhs and Panjab in general, the title of “maharaja” is not an accurate title as the Phulkian never truly ruled over an empire and the title has been liberally applied since the British started conferring it upon their puppet rulers.
