Bhadaur

For early history see Sidhu Dynasty

The Bhadhaur jagirdars like the ruler of Patiala, Jind and Nabha belong to the Phulkia branch of Brar sept of Sidhu clan. They all claim descent from Chaudhary Phul Chand who settled Phul(a place on his name) in 1627. He left 7 sons, the second, Ram Singh is the common ancestor of Patiala, Malod and Bhaudhar family. Ram Singh was appointed by the Mughals as the Chaudhary of Sangrur, Bhadaur and several other districts. His eldest son Duna Singh,the founder of the Bhadaur family, lived at Bhadaur with his brother Ala Singh, Until the latter left for Barnala in 1718, when Bhadaur came into his sole possession. He was a man of peace, and, not being a Sikh, he did not join his kinsmen in rebellion against the Mughal Empire, by which he had been entrusted with authority, as Chaudhry over Sangrur, Bhadaur and other districts, which his father Ch.Ram Singh had enjoyed.

In 1725, the Governor of Lahore demanded the customary payment and Duna left for the capital, his brothers promising to sent their quota after him. This they failed to do, and Duna, and his son Dau, were thrown into prison, in which the latter died. The intercession of a friend, Shaikh Alayas of Khawaspur, obtained the release of Duna, but the hardships of his imprisonment destroyed his health, and, returning to Bhadour, he died there in the year 1726. He left four sons, of whom Ch.Bigha succeeded him; the youngest, Suma Singh, being the ancestor of the Rampuria Sardars.

Regarding Ch.Bigha little of importance is recorded. He, like his father, fell into difficulties about the revenue, and Bigha was imprisoned till he contrived to pay the amount of his arrears, In the mean time, Gurdas Singh his eldest son had died, and his mother, distracted with grief poisoned herself. These melancholy events had so much effect upon Bigha, that he resolved to resign his office of Chaudhry and become a recluse ; but the Phulkia Chiefs induced him to abandon this design, and he married a second wife who bore him Chuhar Singh and Mohr Singh. His third wife, was the widow of his brother Sukhu Singh. She became the mother of Dal Singh, from whom the Sirdars of Kot Duna, a village founded by Chaudhri Duna, have descended. Bigha was succeeded by his eldest son Chuhr Singh, in 1773. This Chief was the most famous of all the Bhadourstock, and his prowess and energy added much to his ancestral possessions, and the fame of “Chuhr Singh ke Bar” ; his victories over the Muslim Bhatis, and his charity to the poor, are still sung, in many ballads, by the village bards. He was the acknowledged arbiter in all disputes ; the people preferred their complaints before him, and he punished offenders severely.

In the year 1799, Chuhar Singh was appointed Chaudhri and collector of revenue in the Pihora and Bhadaur districts, by Timur Shah, who, in that year, had invaded India, desiring to recover some of the authority possessed by his father Ahmad Shah. After the death of Raja Amar Singh of Patiala and the succession of the weak-minded Sahib Singh, the Bhadour Chief began to extend his possessions at the expense of the Pattiala State. He seized ninety villages in the neighbourhood of Bhadour, many of which he subsequently lost; attacked the Maler Kotla Afghans, whose villages were redeemed by Pattiala giving certain others in exchange, and even gained for a time possession of the district of Barnala. But in the midst of his successes, treachery put an end to his life. Sirdar Chuhar Singh and his brother murdered in 1793 AD – On his road home from Barnala he remained to rest at the village of Ghanne, and was invited by a Burar of the name of Sujjan to sleep in a small burj or tower for the night. Chuhr Singh, who was accompanied by his brother Dal Singh, suspected nothing; but their deceitful host, having drugged their liquor and seeing them in a deep sleep, surrounded the tower with armed men, and, piling brushwood against the walls and doors, set it on fire. Awoke by the heat and noise and finding all exit barred, the two brothers mounted to the roof, from which they shot arrows at their enemies till the roof fell in and both perished in the flames. This happened in 1793.

The news of their father’s murder had no sooner reached his two sons, Bir Singh and Dip Singh, than they determined to avenge it. They set out in search of Sujjan, and surprised him hawking, riding the horse of the murdered Chief. They killed him and seized Ghannewith the ten neighbouring villages forming the Ilaka of Malukha. Pattiala troops joined in this expedition under the command of Albel Singh and Bakshi Seda. Bir Singh, the elder son of Chuhr Singh, succeeded to the estate, but in 1813, after the Cis-Satlej States had been taken under British protection, the two brothers divided it equally between them.

On the demarcation of boundaries in 1809, Maharaja Ranjit Singh retained two Bhadour villages, Saidokiand Bhagta. The British Government did not insist on their surrender, but paid to Bhadaur Rs. 2000 per annum, as an equivalent, which sum was paid direct to the descendants of Bir Singh and Dip Singh, from 1813 to 1840, when Pattiala, with the design of supporting her unjust claim of supremacy over Bhadour, contrived to obtain its payment through her vakils.The death of Bir Singh and Dip Singh in 1822 AD – Dip Singh accompanied Raja Bhag Singh of Jhind on his visit to Lahore in 1805, and returned with him the next year, when Ranjit Singh made his expedition against Pattiala ; but refused to join against the head of the Phulkia house, and left the camp of Ranjit Singh at Jagraon. This Sirdar died in 1822, and his brother the following year.

After the Cis-Satlej States came under British protection, the history of Bhadaur is contained in that of Pattiala, and although its Chiefs asserted vigorously their independence, yet they admitted Pattiala to be their head and had no policy distinct from hers. There is, therefore, little further of interest to record. Kharak Singh, the son of Dip Singh, succeeded to his father’s share of the estate, and, although a man of considerable character and ability, was more devoted to religion than administration, and built and endowed many temples and charitable institutions. At the time of the Satlej campaign he gave assistance to the British with a contingent, and furnished supplies to the army. After the Campaign, when the whole question of the relations of Government to the States and their relations to each other was discussed and settled, the connection of Patiala and Bhadaur could not but come under review, and since the question was disputed with especial warmth and earnestness, it is necessary to explain the circumstances of the case with some detail.

The supremacy over Bhadaur granted as a reward to Maharajaa Patiala for service in 1857.The supremacy for which the Maharaja of Patiala had struggled with so much pertinacity, but which he was unable to establish as a right, was granted as an act of grace and as a reward for loyal service to the British Government in the year 1858. All the rights of the paramount power were yielded to Pattiala : the jurisdiction over Bhadour, the right of escheats ; the reversion of lapsed estates ; and the annual commutation tax, amounting to RS. 5,265. Attar Singh, who succeeded his father Kharak Singh in 1858, is the present head of Bhadour family, and was born in the year 1833. He was educated at Benares, and there acquired a taste for learning. He had a good library at Bhadaur, stocked with valuable MSS., Sanskrit, Gurmukhi and Persian, and has founded a School, in which these languages are taught free of all charge, the very poor being fed as well as taught. Besides encouraging learning, Attar Singh is himself a good scholar and composes in a graceful style. In 1870 he was appointed one of the Senate of the Punjab University College. The family ruled Bhadaur as vassals of the Kingdom of Patiala till 1947.