Faridkot State
Faridkot State was a self-governing princely state of Punjab ruled by Brar Jats outside British India during the British Raj period in the Indian sub-continent until Indian independence. The state was located in the south of the erstwhile Ferozepore district during the British period. The former state had an area of around 1649.82 square kilometres. Its population in 1941 was around 199,000. The state's rulers had cordial relations with the British.
History
Origin
The state originated as one of the many chiefdoms the Sikhs had established in the former Mughal province of Delhi after the collapse of Mughal and Afghan authority in the region. The formation of a state of Faridkot took many years in the making, with various rulers governing the area with no single authority. It is said that Raja Mokalsi was the founder of the locality of Faridkot and he constructed a fort in Mohalkar in the 12th century. He was succeeded by various rulers of the same dynasty but at some point the dynasty ceased to govern the Faridkot region. The Manj chief, Nawab Isa Khan, killed Kapura Brar, the chief of Kotkapura and an ancestor of the dynasty of the Faridkot state.Faridkot State was established in 1763 by Hamir Singh, with Faridkot as its capital. Faridkot State was founded by Brar Jats. The ruling family of Faridkot State claimed descent from Jaisal. Kotkapura used to be the capital but Hamir Singh shifted the capital to Faridkot. The successive rulers of Faridkot would come from Hamir Singh's lineage. Between 1765 and 1815, the estates became divided amongst the claimants. The state had poor-relations with Patiala State and Lahore State, which led to it losing territory to those other states. Its rivalry with Patiala in-particular was an "old enmity". Eventually, Faridkot State was reduced to Faridkot and Kot Kapura, which they only maintained after paying heavy fees.
Colonial period
The Sikh Empire of Ranjit Singh occupied Faridkot State in 1807, whom was eager to conquer the Malwa states. The Sikh Empire's annexation over Faridkot State made the other Malwa states anxious as they were threatened by the encroaching Sikh Empire. However, the Malwa states were sandwiched between the Sikh Empire and also the advancing British East India Company, whom had annexed the Marathas and were closing in on the remaining frontier of the last remaining independent states in Punjab and Sindh. The Malwa states decided to side with the British over the Sikh Empire as they believed it would take a long time for the British to overcome them while they were threatened by immediate annexation from the Sikh Empire. Due to the rise of Napoleon back in Europe, the British temporarily ceased their territorial advancements in India. In 1808, the British began to take an interest in Punjab affairs again as their fears of a Franco-Russian attack via the subcontinent went away. The British sided with the Malwa states over the Lahore State.Control over Faridkot was restored to chief Gulab Singh on 3 April 1809 due to the signing of a treaty between the Lahore Darbar and the British East India Company. The Sikh Empire forfeited its claims over the Malwa states south of the Sutlej river, including its claim over Faridkot State. Therefore, the survival of Faridkot State against the advancing Sikh Empire was thanks to intervention by the British. However, the British after this point lost interest in the Faridkot region as it was not a good source of revenue for them.
Faridkot was one of the Cis-Sutlej states, which came under British influence in 1809. It was bounded on the west and northeast by the British district of Ferozepore, and on the south by Nabha State. Gulab Singh died in 1826, being succeeded by his only son Attar Singh. However, the young Attar Singh would die shortly after in 1827. The successor to Attar Singh could have been either Attar Singh's uncle, Pahar Singh, or prince Sahib Singh. However, Pahar Singh was the one who succeeded Attar Singh, rather than Sahib Singh.
Under Pahar Singh
Pahar Singh is noted for paying particular attention to the common-folk of his dominion, ensuring their welfare. Pahar Singh kept advisors around him to look-after the needs of the civilians in the state and to provide him valuable advice. Some of the useful advisors that Pahar Singh employed were sardars Meenha Singh, Ghamand Singh, and Koma Singh. Furthermore, Pahar Singh awarded his brothers, Sahib Singh and Mehtab Singh, a jagir grant consisting of villages for them to rule-over. Under Pahar Singh, the jungles that surrounded Faridkot were deforested to clear the land for development. A canal branch linking to the Sutlej was constructed, which provided valuable irrigation to the state. However, this initially built canal eventually dried-up and there was an inadequate amount of funds in the state's treasury for the construction of a new one. Therefore, Pahar Singh assisted the local zamindars with the construction of a well instead.The relations between Faridkot State and Lahore State were cold. Diwan Mohkam Chand of the Lahore Darbar and the diwan of Lahore, coveted the state and wished to absorb it. Pahar Singh developed friendly ties with the British in-light of this. During the First Anglo-Sikh War in 1845 the chief, Raja Pahar Singh, was allied with the British, and was rewarded with an increase of territory. Pahar Singh had provided the British valuable assistance during the Battle of Mudki. During the Battle of Ferozeshah, the British were accepting their defeat and stepped-back, but the Sikh forces under Lal Singh and Tej Singh had also done the same, leaving valuable weaponry behind such as cannons and other resources at the battleground. After witnessing this, Pahar Singh reported to the British general Bradford about the situation. Due to the request of Pahar Singh, they were able to take possessions of the cannons and other items left behind at the abandoned battlefield. Pahar Singh was bestowed with the raja title by the British in 1846 as a reward for the helped he provided them.Pahar Singh married Chand Kaur, who was the daughter of Samand Singh of Deena Wale. Chand Kaur gave birth to a son, Wazir Son. Pahar Singh would marry another woman who was from a Muddki royal lineage. His second-wife would give birth to princes Deep Singh and Anokh Singh. Pahar Singh died at the age of 50. Both Deep Singh and Anokh Singh had died in childhood, leaving Wazir Singh behind as the rightful heir to the Faridkot throne.
Under Wazir Singh
Pahar Singh's successor, Wazir Singh, continued the pro-British policies and relations. Wazir Singh involved himself in statecraft even at a young age, which helped improve his ability to rule later-on. Wazir Singh inherited the throne during a period of peace in the Punjab, allowing him to divert most of his focus on internal politics and projects. Wazir Singh established an administrative division system in the state, where he divided the polity into Faridkot, Deep Singh Wala, Kotakpura, and Bhagta, into separate administrative entities. Faridkot and Kotkapura divisions had tehsils established within them, with a tehsildar being appointed for each tehsil. He also established a policing system, with each division having its own police station with their own inspectors. Wazir Singh also initiated a system of recording land statistics, which had not been done before. This led to the land of the polity being measured, with the Nambardars being consulted for calculating the total hectare amounts. This land surveying project was called Moti Ram Bandobast and documentation related to Sajra, Khushrah, Khatoni, and Khevad were created. He also made reforms to the taxation system, where as before payment was done in food grains, now payments must be done in legal tender. The taxation rate was 2 rupees per acre for barren land and 8 rupees per acre for irrigated land. Reforms to the financial system were also conducted by Wazir Singh, whom assumed direct control over it. But Wazir Singh taking control over the finances of the state, it had previously been the responsibility of the dewan, but there was mismanagement going-on under that scheme. Also, Wazir Singh established courts in the state, where the people could have their disputes solved through them. In-regards to business developments, Wazir Singh opened up the first bazaar market in the state in 1861, inviting businessmen from distant places to come there.In the Indian Rebellion of 1857, Wazir Singh's forces guarded the Sutlej ferries, and destroyed a rebel stronghold. He also sent an army of troops to meet the Deputy Commissioner of Ferozepore. Revolutionaries arrested by the Faridkot forces were handed-over to the British. Due to his actions during the war, the British awarded Wazir Singh with the title of Brar Vansh ''Raja Bahadur. The British also upgraded the amount of honorary cannons for Faridkot from seven to eleven. These rewards were declared by Queen Victoria in a special assembly meeting on 21 April 1863. In the aftermath of the 1857 rebellion, the British stopped their expansionist policies and the surviving princely states were assured of their protection under certain conditions. The British appointed a resident at the court of the larger princely states, enacting indirect control over them. However, Faridkot State was a small state, and thus no British resident was appointed for its court. Rather, Faridkot formed part of the provincial circle under a British representative.
Wazir Singh also paid attention to religious affairs, as he was a believer of the Guru Ghar. Wazir Singh gave service to Gurdwara Lohgarh in Dina. This location has a special meaning to the Brar community as it is here where Guru Gobind Singh declared the Brar tribe as one of his very own communities as he had written and dispatched the Zafarnama'' epistle from Dina. In his later years, Wazir Singh took his congregation along with him to visit religious sites in Haridwar, Calcutta, Allahabad, and Patna. He constructed a Sikh shrine called Gurdwara Sangat Sahib at one of these locations.
Wazir Singh died in 1874, he was succeeded by his son, Bikram Singh.