Kapurthala

Kapurthala, a native state of India, within the Punjab. Area, 652 sq. m.; pop. (1901), 314,341, showing an increase of 5% in the decade; estimated gross revenue, £178,000; tribute, £8700. The Kapurthala family is descended from Jassa Singh, a contemporary of Nadir Shah and Ahmad Shah, who by his intelligence and bravery made himself the leading Sikh of his day. At one time it held possessions on both sides of the Sutlej, and also in the Bari Doab. The cis-Sutlej estates and scattered tracts in the Bari Doab were forfeited owing to the hostility of the chief in the first Sikh war; but the latter were afterwards restored in recognition of the loyalty of Raja Randhir Singh during the mutiny of 1857, when he led a contingent to Oudh which did good service. He also received a grant of land in Oudh, 700 sq. m. in extent, yielding a gross rental of £89,000. In Oudh, however, he exercises no sovereign powers, occupying only the status of a large landholder, with the title of Raja-i-Rajagan. Raja Sir Jagatjit Singh, K.C.S.I., was born in 1872, succeeded his father in 1877, and attained his majority in 1890. During the Tirah expedition of 1897-98 the Kapurthala imperial service infantry took a prominent part. The territory is crossed by the railway from Jullundur to Amritsar. The state has a large export trade in wheat, sugar, tobacco and cotton. The hand-painted cloths and metal-work of Phagwara are well known. The town of Kapurthala is 11 miles from Jullundur; pop. (1901), 18,519.