Patiala is one of the twenty districts in the north Indian state of Punjab in the Indian republic. Located in the south-eastern part of Punjab, Patiala borders the state of Haryana and a Union territory namely Chandigarh. The district has an area measuring 3625 square kilometres and this makes it the fifth largest district in Punjab in terms of land area.
The district is divided for the purposes of administration into 5 tehesils (sub-divisions): Patran, Nabha, Patiala, Rajpura and Samana. The tehesils are further parted into 3 sub-tehesils and 8 blocks. Out of these five tehesils, Patiala, a former princely state, houses the administrative headquarters of the district.
The climate of Patiala is hot and dry and both the winters and the summers are extreme and the rainy season (monsoons) lasts for around three months. More than four-fifths of the land in Patiala is arable and agriculture is the back bone of the local economy; about 38% population is directly involved in agriculture but the authorities are also trying hard in the recent years to develop it in order to put it on the industrial map of the nation. As per the 2001 census, the population of the state is close to two million; this makes Patiala the sixth most populous district in the state.
Etymology:
The name of the district comes from its principal city, Patiala. The name Patiala is made up of two roots pati and ala. Pati is an Urdu word which means a ‘strip of land’ and ala comes from the name from the founder of the city, Baba Ala Singh. Therefore, Patiala can be translated into English as ‘the land of Ala’.
History:
Baba Ala Singh – the Founder (1762 – 1765)
Historians have tried to trace the origins of Patiala back to the Vedic Times but the evidence is so sparse that this notion is more of a speculation. Even the widely known theory which says that Patiala was founded by Baba Ala Singh, the jathedar (general or leader) of the Phulkian Misl (a warrior clan), in 1762 when he laid the foundation of the ‘Qila Mubarak’ (the Fortunate Fort), is surrounded by myths. Baba Ala Singh was also the first ruler of Patiala but he didn’t rule for long; he died in 1765, just three years after laying the foundation of the new city.
Amar Singh – the grandson of Baba Ala Singh (1765 – 1781)
People had already started dwelling around the newly built fortress in 1763. In the year following the death of Baba Ala Singh, a war broke out between the new city and the neighbouring state of Malerkotla. In the same year another struggle began in Patiala and it was within its borders – the struggle for the throne had already begun.
Amar Singh, the grandson of Baba Ala Singh, succeeded in defeating his rivals and became his successor. To save the new city, he helped the advancing forces of Ahmad Shah Abdali against the other Indian rulers; Abdali in turn gave the rights to mint coins to Amar Singh. Amar Singh, with the help of Ahmed Shah Abdali, forced Malerkotla into submission in 1767. Confident of his powerful friends and his new-found power, Amar Singh invaded and occupied the neighbouring states of Hissar (1774), Faridkot (1777) and Kot Kapura (1777). He was, however, defeated by a Sikh coalition army when he tried to occupy Mani Majra, Sialba and Gharib Das. The Mughals also sent their army against Patiala but it returned for reasons unknown.
Sahib Singh (1781 – 1813)
Sahib Singh was only seven when his father, Amar Singh, died. He was publicly declared the new Raja-e-rajgan (the King) of Patiala although it was his mother, Rani Aus Kaur, who administered the city during the minority of her son. Sahib Singh had to face a rebellion against regency in 1790 but it was crushed. The Marathas tried to exploit the situation for their own gains and attacked Patiala in 1794, but were defeated.
An Irish adventurer, George Thomas, came to Patiala in 1798. He worked for the British East India Company and tried to establish diplomatic relations between the Company and the regime. His efforts didn’t go in vain; Patiala refused to aid the Maratha king Holker against the East India Company in 1805 and signed a treaty with the Company in 1809 which brought Patiala under the protection of the company. Another reason could have been the fear of the Maharaja Ranjit Singh who had already tried twice to bring Patiala under his rule. Sahib Singh died in 1813.
Karm Singh (1813 – 1845)
The rein of Karm Singh brought relative calm to Patiala. During his rule, he had to go to only one major battle against the Gurkhas to help the East India Company in 1814. He died in 1845.
Narendra Singh (1845 – 1862)
Narendra Singh assumed the command of the state in 1845 and improved relations with the East India Company. Narendra Singh also walled the city and constructed ten big gates; a couple of them still survive while there are talks to rebuild them where they once stood. (Sheran Wala Gate or The Lion Square was razed after Patiala joined the Indian Union to facilitate traffic but it has been rebuilt.) Moti Bag Palace and the Patiala Town were also constructed in the period. Bahadurgarh also became a part of Patiala in 1858, four years before Narendra’s death.
Mohinder Singh (1862 – 1876)
Mohinder Singh succeeded Narendra Singh in 1862 and he was among the very first rulers in the East who understood the importance of science, technology and education. Ten years after he took control, a telegraph line was laid between Ambala and Patiala. He revised the ban on liquor consumption and established the first degree college in the region, Mohindra College (now known as the Govt. Mohindra College) in 1875. He died the following year.
Rajindar Singh: (1876 – 1900)
Just two years after Rajindar Singh came to power, the Second Anglo-Afghan War began, Rajindra Singh sided with the British and sent a contingent to the war. The Sirhind canal was dug during his rule in 1882 and in 1884 Patiala began to issue postage stamps. An American Methodist Episcopal Mission was established in Patiala in 1890 which was followed by the establishment of Mission of American Reformed Presbyterian Church in 1892. Patiala stopped issuing coins in 1895.
Bhupinder Singh (1900 –1938)
Rajindar Singh was succeeded by Bhupinder Singh in 1900. It was during his rule that Patiala was granted the status of a municipality in 1904. Bhupinder Singh is a controversial figure. Many blame him for his ostentatious lifestyle and his neglect of the state duties while others call him a reformer who brought many social changes in Patiala.
Yadvinder Singh (1938 – 1948)
Yadvinder Singh’s reign was short lived. He was an excellent sports man and established many sports facilities in Patiala. He was also the founder of the Yadvindra Public School. The British left India in 1947 and Yadvinder Singh agreed to join the newly formed Indian Union. In fact, Patiala was the first of more than 500 princely states in India to join the Indian Union.
PEPSU (1948 – 1966)
PEPSU stands for the ‘Patiala and East Punjab States Union’, a conglomerate of eight former states (districts) – Patiala, Nabha, Nalagarh, Malerkotla, Jind, Faridkot, Kapurthala and Kalsia – that existed before the state boundaries were redrawn on linguistic basis. Patiala was the capital and the principal city in PEPSU and Yadvindra Singh was appointed the Rajpramukh (governor) of PEPSU; he remained at the position till the Punjab state was dissolved in 1966.
PEPSU was divided in 1966 into three separate states: Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. ‘Shimla’ became the capital of Himachal Pradesh while both Punjab and Haryana still share ‘Chandigarh’ as the common capital. Patiala was no longer the capital but just another district in the state of Punjab.
Economy:
Agriculture is the backbone of the district’s economy. The district has 81% cultivable land and as per the government, more than 62,000 families depend upon agriculture as the primary source of income. Although the River Ghaggar flows through the district, 93% of the land area is irrigated using tube-wells and only canals are used to water only 3% of the land. Wheat, paddy, barley and sugarcane are the major crops in the district.
Patiala hasn’t traditionally been an industrial hub but the efforts are underway to develop the district as an industrial centre. There are several industrials units scattered in the district; most of them are centred on Rajpura, Samana, Nabha, Dera Bassi and Patiala. Rajpura, Patiala and Banur each have three industrial states but the income from industry still form a small part of the city’s economy.
