Ala Singh Sidhu-Brar (1691–1765) was the first king of the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

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 Mubarak ...

. He was born in 1691 at Phul, in present-day

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 l ...

district of the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, in

Jat sikh Jat Sikh (also known by the more conventional endonym Jatt Sikh) is a sub-group of the Jat people and the Sikh religious group from the Indian subcontinent. They are one of the dominant communities in the Punjab owing to their large land holdin ...

family to Chaudhary Ram Singh of

Phulkian Misl Phulkian Misl was a Sikh misl named after Choudhary Phul Singh. Maharaja Ala Singh, Maharaja Amar Singh, Raja Sahib Singh, Raja Gajpat Singh, Maharaja Hamir Singh all are rulers of Phulkian misl (Bhadaur Barnala, Sangrur). It was a Kshatriya ...

. His father had six children, from eldest to youngest Dunna, Subha, Ala, Bakha, Budha, Ludha. The Chowdhriat of the Misl had been originally conferred on his ancestor Brahm by

Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā 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 ...

, after the

First battle of Panipat The first Battle of Panipat, on 20 April 1526, was fought between the invading forces of Babur and the Lodi dynasty. It took place in North India and marked the beginning of the Mughal Empire and the end of the Delhi Sultanate. This was one of ...

in 1526 A.D. Ahmad Shah Durani attacked

Barnala Barnala is a city in the state of Punjab of India. Barnala city serves as the headquarters of the Barnala district which was formed in 2006. Prior to formation of Barnala district, this city was located in Sangrur district. It is situated ne ...

in the absence of the Maharaja, when he was at

Moonak Moonak is a town and a nagar panchayat in Sangrur district in the Indian state of Punjab. Moonak is situated near the Punjab-Haryana border. The nearest towns of Haryana are Jakhal Mandi and Tohana. The nearest commercial airport to Moonak is ...

. He forced the Maharaja to pay Rs. four lacs, out of which only Rs. fifty thousand were paid. The Durani King conferred upon him the title of "Raja" and granted him an area comprising 727 villages. Ala Singh at the age of 57, in 1763 A.D., laid the foundation of the city of Patiala. In the same year heading the Sikh confederacy he conquered Sirhind and surrounding territories along with

Nanu Singh Saini Sardar Nanu Singh Saini was a Sikh army general and a well-known jagirdar in Phulkian riyasat. He was a close associate of Maharaja Ala Singh who founded the Patiala state in 1753 AD. He gained this jagir from Maharaja Ala Singh as a recognition ...

. He died in 1765, leaving the ''gaddi'' to his grandson Maharaja Amar Singh, his three sons having predeceased him. Sardaul Singh the eldest died in 1753, Bhumian Singh died in 1742 and Lal Singh the youngest died in 1748.

References

Further reading