As soon as Ala Singh was free from the battle of ruler of Bhatinda, who had been active in exciting rebellion among his subjects during his imprisonment. The Saraoo Jats of villages Uba,human, the surrounding villages of Kutiwal, Bhaini and Churwali, were encouraged by Jodha to throw off the allegiance of Ala Singh. The latter was successful in suppressing the revolt of his subjects and now he was on the lookout to give punishment to the instigator. Jodha Singh had offended Ala Singh in another way 100. He had in lended to marry the fiance of Sarao Jat Chief Gurbaksh Singh Kaleka, the friend of Ala Singh. When the latter came to know of his nefarious designs, he sent him a word through his nephew. Baga Mal (son of Dunna Singh), to desist from this action. Paying no heed to this, Jodha brought that girl (daughter of Ganda Chahil) into his matrimonial alliance. This led to an attack by Ala Singh and his friend Gurbaksh Singh.’ They also invited the Khalsa Dals’ to their side. Jodha could not face the combined forces which exacled a tribute from his territory. The villages of Chak Bhucho and Gobind pura were conquered and subsequently assigned to Bhai Gurbaksh Singh. After the chastisement of Jodha, Ala Singh turned his attention to the consolidation of Dodan. Dodan, (modern Bhawanigarh) was originally founded by Sabha Singh’ the elder brother of Ala Singh. But soon he was removed by the cruel. hands of death. After his death Dodan passed into the hands of Ala Singh, who decided to build a stronghold there. But he was opposed by Farid Khan, a powerful man of the locality. Farid Khan resided in the village of Kakra.’ two miles from Dodan. He considered Ala Singh’s possession so near his village, as very dangerous and decided to oust him from Dodan. He was fully aware that he alone could not fight against the rising Sikh Jat chief. In order to enlist help against his enemy, he set out to Samana, the Pargana headquarter. On the way Amar Singh, an official of Ala Singh, fell upon Farid Khan. In the scuffle that followed, Farid Khan was killed and his companions fled. The estate of Farid Khan which constituted about one fourth of the Pargana of Samana, was annexed. The neighbouring villages were also conquered.’ A fort was constructed at Dodan. Around the fort there grew up aprosperous town which later came to be known as Bhawani- Garh. ‘ This fort proved very important base for further extension of his territories towards Munak. The conquest of Munak is associated with the military exploits of Lal Singh, the youngest son of Ala Singh. Lal Singh once requested his father to grant him some Jagir. Ala Singh, tactful as he was, replied, “You are a young Brar. “cannot you conquer some territory yourself.” This remark greatly pricked Lal Singh, who determined to conquer some area, 12 Prior to the rise of Ala Singh, Munak was included in the Pargana of Tohana” and was beld by Sardar Khan, a Muslim Rajput of the locality. Owing to the confusion which followed Nadir’s invasion and the weakening of the Mughal Government, the inroads of the Bhatti marauders had increased.The inhabitants of Munak sought the help of Abu Khan and Salim Khan, who came there and established their influence at Munak. After some time, Sardar Khan felt jealous of the power and influence of the new comers. He, therefore, pursuaded Lal Singh to oust Abu Khan and Salim Khan from Munak. “Lal Singh was already on the lookout to conger some territory. He agreed to the proposal and sent a force with Sardar Khan. Abu Khan and Salim Khan were away from the fort. Taking advantage of the absence of the enemies, Sardar Khan led a night attack with 300 horsemen, and occupied the fort. He informed about his success to Lal Singh, who hurried to reinforce him. Abu Khan and Salim Khan had no courage left to oppose the occupation. This happened in 1750 A.D.Is The fort of Munak proved to be one of the most important base for carrying on war into the Bhatti territory. Ala Singh took special measures to keep a large force there. For all the subsequent battles with the Bhattis like the battle of Khudal and the battle of Rampura, Ala Singhused this fort as his military base. Moreover, with the conquest of Munak Lal Singh resettled and occupied the neighbouring territories. Munak was linked with the territory of Tohana which was under the ultimate control of Kamgar Khan, Nawab of Farrukh Nagar.” Kamgar Khan sent Bahadur Khan, one of his employees’7 to collect revenue from the territory of Hissar. When Bahadur Khan reached Tohana, Lal Singh left Munak and its surrounding territory, ” Bahadur Khan exacted tributes from the area and left Tohana after a few months. Immediately after his departure, Lal Singh returned to Munak and reoccupied his possessions. He resettled the following villages:-
- Salemgarh
- Kularian
- Lalun
- Dhamtan
- Lawan
- Khari
- Peepal Theh
- Balupur
- Bel Rekhan
- Surjan
So long as Lal Singh was alive he took keen interest in the administration of this territory but after his death in 1757A.D.” the territory came under the direct control of Ala Singh.The conquest of Munak and Samana brought immense popularity to Ala Singh. He began to be looked upon as the most powerful man of the area. The villages which came under Ala Singh prospered because the villagers had a sense of safety from dacoits and Bhatti raids. In those chaotic times, Maharaja Ala Singh had sufficient force and strength to protect the lerritorie sunder him. His founding of Longowal, Chhajli, Dirba and Uba was a sufficient proof of his deep interest in the peasants of the area. Moreover his secular outlook which was demonstraled by his help even to the deserving Muslims” won him the sympathies of the Muslim zamindars outside his control. Mohammad Saleh Khokhar of Pargana Sanaur, also known as Chaurasi because it consisted of 84 (eightyfour) villages, was an ardent admirer of Ala Singh. He persuaded the zamindars of his Pargana to accept the overlordship and protection of Maharaja Ala Singh. His advice was accepted and presents were made to the Sarao Jat chieftain as a token of their submission. Ala Singh appointed Gurbaksh Singh Kaleke, a cousin of his wife, to the control of the newly acquired territory,? In order to consolidate the newly acquired territory Ala Singh wanted to build a stronghold in the territory of Sanaur. There was a small village Pattan Wala (Theh), three miles from Sanaur. Ala Singh encouraged Gurbaksh Singh Kaleke to build a mud fort at the site, (which is now knownas Garhi Sodhian in Patiala) and stationed there one thousand soldiers.” Gradually a prosperous town grew up there. Subsequent events, especially the sack of Sirhind and the deathof Zain Khan, the Faujdar of Sirhind, favoured further growth of this town, which was made the capital of the State in the closing years of Ala Singh.
References :-
- Baba Ala Singh (Gurmukhi) by Karam Singh, pp. 141-142
- Aina-I-Brar Bans, Vol 3, pp. 321. Tarikh-i-Patiala, p. Sl.
- Tazakira-i-Khandan-i-Rajaha-i-Phulkian
- Giani Gian Singh, Raj Khalsa, p. 16
- Baba Ala Singh Of Patiala By Kripal Singh