Phulkian Misl

The Phulkian misl, counted as the twelfth misl, was the group of Sikh chiefships that arose south of the Sutlej, in Malwa, from the family of Phul. From it came the states of Patiala, Nabha and Jind. The Encyclopaedia of Sikhism says it was counted as a misl "though it did not form part of the Dal Khalsa" like the eleven others.

Origins: Phul (1627 to 1689) was the second son of Bhai Rup Chand, a Sidhu Jat. He founded the village of Phul and died on 28 January 1689. Tradition ties his family to the Gurus, but the Encyclopaedia's entries differ: one says Guru Har Rai met him, another that Guru Hargobind blessed him as a boy. His son Tilok Singh's line ruled Nabha and Jind. His son Ram Singh's line ruled Patiala.

Rulers and key moments

• Baba Ala Singh (1691 to 1765) became the first ruling chief of Patiala. He built a fort at Patiala in 1763. In March 1748 he sided with the Mughals at Manupur. In 1762 he stayed neutral during the Vadda Ghallughara, after which Ahmad Shah Durrani took him to Lahore for a ransom. Durrani gave him the title of Raja and in 1765 confirmed him as ruler of Sirhind. He died on 7 August 1765.
• Hamir Singh of Nabha joined the Dal Khalsa in the 1764 conquest of Sirhind, and Gajpat Singh of Jind also took part, though he kept acknowledging Mughal authority in Delhi.
• 1809: after the Treaty of Amritsar halted Ranjit Singh at the Sutlej, the chiefs south of the river accepted British protection.
• 1857: the chiefs of Patiala, Nabha and Jind were loyal to the British, writes the historian K.C. Yadav, who argues that the Sikh masses were not.
• 1948: Patiala, Nabha and Jind were merged with five other states into PEPSU, the Patiala and East Punjab States Union. It was formed on 5 May 1948, inaugurated by Sardar Patel on 15 July, and had Maharaja Yadavindra Singh of Patiala as Rajpramukh and Patiala as capital.
• 1 November 1956: PEPSU merged into Punjab.

Where it stands: the Phulkian states no longer exist. Their territory passed into PEPSU in 1948 and into Punjab in 1956.