RAI SINGH, son of Chaudhary Lakhmir Singh of Amritsar and a leader of the Bhangi Misl, captured, together with his brother Bagh Singh, 204 villages around Buria after the sack of Sirhind by the Sikhs in January 1764. Eighty-four of these villages including Jagadhri and Dialgarh fell to the share of Rai Singh. Jagadhri had been completely ruined by Nadir Shah. Rai Singh invited traders and artisans to settle there and they turned it into a flourishing town. Rai Singh also controlled Haridwar and received considerable income from the city at the time of fairs and festivals. The state of Garhwal was tributary to him as well.
At the time of one of the invasions of Ahmad Shah Durrani Parja Singh was taken captive and was converted to Islam. He came back home after a longtime but remained a Muslim. The remaining three brothers took pahal from the Bhangi misl chief, joined the band commanded by Jhanda Singh Bhangi and started on a career of plunder At this time the three brothers joined Nanu Singh,aJat of Jhawal mandan near Amritsar and seized Buria, Jagadhri, and the neighbouring territory consisting of 204 villages in all.
References :-
- Gandhi, Surjit Singh, Struggle of the Sikhs for Sovereignty. Delhi, 1980
- Gupta, Hari Ram, History of the Sikhs, vol. IV. Delhi, 1978
- The Sikh Encyclopedia
- Bute Shah 263b-64a.
- History of the sikhsvol 2 by Hari ram Gupta