Bhai Gurbakhsh Singh Of Kaithal

Bhai Gurbakhsh Singh Of Kaithal, (d. 1764), founder of the Bhai family of Kaithal, was great-grandson of Sidhu Jat Chief Bhai Bhagatu of revered memory. His grandfather, Bhal Bhagatu’s elder son, Gaura, was a brave warrior who became the chief of Vinjhu, near Bathinda. His father, Dial Das, on the other hand was known as a saint of wide sanctity. Gurbakhsh Singh himself was an enterprising warrior. He developed friendship with Maharaja Ala Singh, founder of the princely house of Patiala, and together they made many conquests. In 1754, Bhal Gurbakhsh Singh led an expedition against Sardar Jodh Singh of Bathinda, but finding his forces inadequate to reduce the territory he sought Ala Singh’s help. The latter sent a considerable body of troops, but Jodh Singh withstood the attack. Ala Singh summoned help from some of the trans-Sutlej Sikh Jat Sardars. Jodh Singh was defeated and his territories pillaged. The combined force retired leaving the Bhai master of Bathinda and the surrounding district. Two years later Gurbakhsh Singh joined Maharaja Ala Singh Of Patialain the latter’s successful expedition against Inayat Khan and Wilayat Khan, Rajput chiefs of Buhai and Buloda. As a result Bhai Gurbakhsh Singh got possession of the district of Buloda.

After his death in 1764, the territories of Bhai Gurbakhsh Singh Of Kaithal were divided among his five sons. His second son, Bhai Desu Singh Of Kaithal, conquered Kaithal where he established himself as an independent ruler. One of his brothers, Buddha Singh, seized a part of Thanesar which, however, he later lost to Bhahga Singh. Another brother Sukkha Singh established a separate branch of the family at Arnauli, now in Haryana. Other descendants of the family of Bhai Gurbakhsh Singh are living in and around Bhuchcho in Bathinda district.