Patiala

Patiala, or Puttiala, a native state of India, within the Punjab. It is the premier state of the Punjab, and chief of the three Sikh Phulkian states - Patiala, Natha and Jind. It consists of three detached blocks of territory, mostly in the plains, though one portion extends into the hills near Simla. Area 5412 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 1,596,692; estimated revenue, 440,000; military force (including Imperial Service troops), 3429 men. The state was founded by a Sikh chieftain about 1763, and came under British protection, with the other cis-Sutlej states, in 1809. Patiala remained conspicuously loyal to the British during the Mutiny of 1857, Narindar Singh, its ruler, setting an example to the other Sikh states which was of the utmost value. The maharaja, Rajendra Singh, who died in 1900, was devoted to riding and sport. He took part personally in the Tirah campaign of 189798, with a battalion of his own Imperial Service infantry and a field troop of Imperial Service lancers. In recognition of his services on this occasion he received the G.C.S.I. He was succeeded by his son, Bhupindar Singh, who was born in 1891. The town of Patiala has a station on the branch of the NorthWestern railway from Rajpura to Bhatinda. Pop. (1901), 53,545. It contains several fine modern buildings, including palaces, hospitals and schools.

See Phulkian States Gazetteer (Lahore, 1909).