Rai Bhoe Bhatti (c. 1380 - 1454 or 1461), alternatively spelt as Rai Bhoi Bhatti, was a Rajput landlord in medieval India. He was the founder of a rebuilt Nankana Sahib, formerly known as Rai-Bhoi-Di-Talwandi, a village in the province of

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 ...

(an '''iqtas'' rovinceof the ruling

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

). He was born a Hindu but embraced Islam later on in his life. He was the son of Rai Raaney Bhatti. Ancestors of Bhatti arrived in Punjab in the early 14th century during the reign of

Alauddin Khalji Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over lar ...

(1295-1315). Khalji's Army had attacked

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed "The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort contains a ...

, a state in

Rajputana Rājputana, meaning "Land of the Rajputs", was a region in the Indian subcontinent that included mainly the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan, as well as parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and some adjoining areas of Sindh in modern-day ...

(now

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

in India), to avenge raids by Hindu Rajputs. After a bloody battle, one of the Bhatti Rajput prince along with his clansmen who survived were taken hostage. They were sent to exile in northern Punjab, near Kotli (about 40 miles from the present-day Lahore). According to the legend, Khalji was so touched by their bravery that he paid a tribute to them by giving them about 1,50,000 acres of Punjab's most fertile land as compensation for their defeat and also as an enticement to keep them from rallying troops and building a new Rajput Bhatti Army. Bhoe Bhatti supervised the rebuilding of the village of Talwandi after it had been destroyed during the numerous invasions of the

(and wider subcontinent) by invaders such as

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...

. During his tenureship as the village's chief or ''

zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

'', the village successfully grew in population through developments supervised by Rai Bhoe and also the assured security from foreign invasions. Bhatti had a son named

Rai Bular Bhatti Rai Bular, (died c. 1515 or 1518) was a Muslim Rajput landlord of the Bhati clan during the latter half of the 15th century. He inherited the position as ''zamindar'' of Talwandi from his father Rai Bhoi. Although a Muslim Rajput, Rai was in ...

, born in circa 1425 (according to records kept by bards) or 1430, who would succeed him as the local zamindar. Bular Bhatti would later gain recognition for being the employer of

Mehta Kalu Mehta Kalu, formally Kalyan Das, (1440–1520) was the father of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. Kalu was born as 'Kalyan Das' to Shiv Ram Bedi and Mata Banarasi in a Hindu Khatri family of the '' Bedi'' gotra. He served as the ''patwari ...

, the father of Guru Nanak, the founder of

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

References

{{Reflist 14th-century Indian people