Fall of the Mughal Empire v1.c15.s2.9

v1.c15.s2.9

The unusually prolonged life and exceptional ability of Ala Singh Jat (in power from 1714 to 1765) enabled him to found the kingdom of Patiala in the Sarhind district on an enduring basis. His success was crowned at the close of his life when he was recognised as the lawful governor of Sarhind (in 1764.) During the intervening period he was the centre of nearly all the lawless risings in this region. The Rai family of Raikot (converted to Islam in the 13th century) were the leading landowners of this district, till they were eclipsed by the house of Patiala in the middle of the 18th century. They first shook off the authority of the Delhi Government about 1740 and, though defeated and driven out in 1741 by a combination of the imperial faujdar of Sarhind and Ala Singh, soon afterwards recovered their patrimony, gained Ludhiana in 1760, and extended their dominions by an amicable settlement of their respective spheres of influence with the Patiala Rajahs and other Sikh chiefs of the district. Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1767 confirmed Amar Singh, the grandson and successor of Ala, as governor of Sarhind with the title of Maharajah, and the whole of this tract up to Ambala city finally fell into the hands of the Sikhs (Phulkian and their Manjha allies), each chief or confederacy (misl) seizing as many villages as they could. (Ludhiana Gazetteer, 22-24.)