Kalsia was a princely state in

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 a ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, one of the former

Cis-Sutlej states The Cis-Sutlej states were a group of states in the modern Punjab and Haryana states of northwestern India during the 19th century, lying between the Sutlej River on the north, the Himalayas on the east, the Yamuna River and Delhi District on the ...

. It was founded by Raja Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu in 1760. After India's independence, it was included in PEPSU and later in the Indian

East Punjab East Punjab (known simply as Punjab from 1950) was a province and later a state of India from 1947 until 1966, consisting of the parts of the Punjab Province of British India that went to India following the partition of the province betwee ...

after the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. The area of Kalsia is now located in the modern day Indian states of

and

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

. In 1940 the population of Kalsia was 67,393. Kalsia was ruled by

Jat The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and su ...

Sikhs.

Geography

The area of Kalsia was 435 km² (168 sq mi), consisting of 20 detached pieces of territory in the

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala has two sub-are ...

and

Ferozepur district Firozpur district, also known as Ferozepur district, is one of the twenty-three districts in the state of Punjab, India. Firozpur district comprises an area of . Firozpur (Ferozepur) is the capital city of the district. It is situated inside ...

s, lying mainly between 30° 12 and 30° 25 N and 77° 21 and 77° 35 E. It was divided into 3 major parts: two

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administ ...

Chhachhrauli Chhachhrauli is a ''tehsil'' and Gram Panchayat town consisting of 20 wards in Yamuna Nagar district in the state of Haryana, India. It is 11 km north-east of Jagadhari. Chachhraulli is often known as "Cherapunjii of Haryana" as it receives ...

and

Basi ''Basi'' is a native ''Ilocano'' fermented alcoholic beverage or wine made with sugarcane juice, particularly those produced in the region of ''Northern Luzon'' particularly in ''Ilocos Region''. This wine is processed in ''“burnay”'' ( ...

, and a sub-tehsil named Chirak, in

. It had contained 181 villages in 1903. The capital of Kalsia state was

History

The state of Kalsia was founded by Gurbaksh Singh in 1760. He joined the Kroria Misl of the Sikh confederacy.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

had granted the estate of Chhachhrauli to Raja Gurbaksh Singh, a commander of his troops and a resident of Kalsia village. Maharaja Goorbaksh Singh named the state "Kalsia" and Chhachhrauli became its capital city. Raja Gurbaksh Singh was not famous, but his successor and son, Jodh Singh was an able person. At that time the area of Kalsia state comprised the territory between the Yamuna and the Markanda stream. Jodh Singh captured

Dera Basi Dera Bassi is a satellite city of Chandigarh and a municipal council in Mohali district in the state of Punjab, India. Dera Bassi is located on the Chandigarh – Delhi National Highway, 8 km from Chandigarh. It is located within 20 km ...

from Sardar Khajan Singh and also acquired territories of Lohal and Achrak. When

attacked and occupied

Naraingarh Naraingarh (also: Narayangarh) is a city, municipal committee and assembly constituency in the Ambala district of the Indian state of Haryana, located on the border with the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Due to its geographical location, th ...

in the Shivaliks in 1807, Jodh Singh was with him. In recognition of his services, Ranjit Singh presented him territories of Badala, Kameri and Chhabbal. Jodh Singh died in

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the old ...

in 1818. After his death, his son Sobha Singh assumed charge of Kalsia state and held it until his death in 1858. Lahna Singh, his successor sided with the British in crushing the revolt of 1857. After 1858, a period of peace started. When Lahna Singh assumed power, the Kalsia territory was intact as a British protectorate. The state's annual income was nearly Rs 300,000 per annum, and the population was around 62,000. After Lahna Singh, came Ranjit Singh Kalsia, then his son Ravi Sher Singh, and finally Ravi Karan Singh. Ravisher Singh in 1916 gave himself the title of Raja. The Kalsia

raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

s held their estate until 1947, when it was merged with the Indian Union. Both Ranjit Singh Kalsia and Ravi Sher Singh built several public utility buildings, including a charity hospital and schools. Raja Ravi Sher Kalsia Hospital was inaugurated in 1910 by Lt Governor of the Punjab, Sir Luis William Daney. The old court building still exists at Chhachhrauli. The

dewan ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the e ...

of the state used to live in a building known as ‘Janak Niwas’. The Kalsias were undoubtedly staunch

Nanakpanthi Nanakpanthi (Gurmukhi: ਨਾਨਕਪੰਥੀ; ''nānakapathī'') is a follower of the teachings of Guru Nanak (1469-1539), the foundational guru of a spiritual community natively known as Nanakpanth while known world-wide as Sikhism. Nanakpan ...

s. In volume XIX (Part 1) of the Census of India 1891, E. D. Maclagan, the Provincial Superintendent of Census Operation, records: "Some eighty years ago (i.e., in 1811 AD) the grandfather of the present Lambardar of Jainpur village was carried off by the Sikh chief of Kalsia, and had all his fingers burnt off, because he refused to acknowledge that

Nanak Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated wor ...

was the true Guru." The state was under the political control of the commissioner of the

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

division.

Rulers

The rulers of Kalsia State bore the title of 'Sardar', and Maharaja although from 1916 they adopted the title of 'Maharaja', including the last head of the state.Princely States of India
/ref>

Sardar / kings

*1763 - 1785 Maharaja Gur Bakhsh Singh (d. 1785) *1785 - 1818 maharaja Jodh Singh (b. 1751 - d. 1818) (1818 - 14 Feb 1858 Maharaja Sobha Singh (d. 1858) *1858 - 19 Feb 1869 Maharaja Lahna Singh (d. 1869) *1869 - 10 Jul 1883 Maharaja Bishen Singh (b. 1854 - d. 1883) *1883 - 1886 Maharaja Jagjit Singh (b. 1880 - d. 1886) *28 Aug 1886 - 1908 Maharaja Ranjit Singh (b. 1881 - d. 1908) *25 Jul 1908 - 1916 Maharaja Ravisher Singh (b. 1902 - d. 1947)

Kings and Queens (Raja and Rani )

* 1916 - 1947 Ravisher Singh

References