The State is well served by railways, Nábha itself being on the Rájpura-Bhatinda line. The Mahárája maintains a battalion of infantry for imperial service. Hamír Singh, one of the chiefs who joined in the capture of Sirhind, may be considered the first Rája. He died in 1783 and was succeeded by his young son, Jaswant Singh. When he grew to manhood Jaswant Singh proved a very capable chief and succeeded in aggrandising his State, which he ruled for 57 years. His son, Deoindar Singh (1840—47), was deposed, as he was considered to have failed to support the British Government when the Khalsa army crossed the Sutlej in 1845. A fourth of the Nábha territory was confiscated. Bharpur Singh, who became chief in 1857, did excellent service at that critical time, and the Báwal nizámat was his reward. He was succeeded by his brother, Bhagwán Singh, in 1863. With Bhagwán Singh the line died out in 1871, but under the provisions of the sanad granted after the Mutiny a successor was selected from among the Badrúkhan chiefs in the person of the late Mahárája Sir Hira Singh. No choice could have been more happy. Hira Singh for 40 years ruled his State on old fashioned lines with much success. Those who had the privilege of his friendship will not soon forget the alert figure wasted latterly by disease, the gallant bearing, or the obstinate will of a Sikh chieftain of a type now departed. His son, Mahárája Ripudaman Singh, succeeded in 1911.
Fig. 118. Mahárája Sir Hira Singh.
2. Other Sikh States
Area, 630 sq. m. Cultd area, 424 sq. m. Pop. 268,163. Rev. Rs. 14,00,000 = £93,333, exclusive of Rs. 13,00,000 = £86,666 derived from the Oudh estates.
Kapúrthala.—The main part consists of a strip of territory mostly in the valley of the Biás, and interposed between that river and Jalandhar. This is divided into the four tahsíls of Bholath, Dhilwan, Kapúrthala, and Sultánpur. There is a small island of territory in Hoshyárpur, and a much larger one, the Phagwára tahsíl, projecting southwards from the border of that district into Jalandhar. Two-thirds of the area is cultivated and the proportion of high-class crops is large. The chief agricultural tribes are the Muhammadan Arains and the Játs, most of whom are Sikhs.
The real founder of the Kapúrthala house was Sardár Jassa Singh Ahluwália, who in 1763, when Sirhind fell, was the leading Sikh chief in the Panjáb. He captured Kapúrthala in 1771 and made it his headquarters, and died in 1783. A distant relative, Bágh Singh, succeeded. His successor, Fateh Singh, was a sworn brother of Ranjít Singh, with whom he exchanged turbans. But an alliance between the weak and the strong is not free from fears, and in 1826 Fateh Singh, who had large possessions south of the Sutlej, fled thither and asked the protection of the British Government. He returned however to Kapúrthala in 1827, and the Mahárája never pushed matters with Fateh Singh to extremities. The latter died in 1836. His successor, Nihál Singh, was a timid man, and his failure to support the British in 1845 led to the loss of his Cis-Sutlej estates. In 1849 he took the English side and was given the title of Rája. Randhír Singh succeeded in 1852. His conspicuous services in the Mutiny were rewarded with the grant of estates in Oudh. The present Mahárája, Sir Jagatjít Singh Bahádur, G.C.S.I., is a grandson of Randhír Singh. He was a young child when he succeeded in 1877. The State maintains a battalion of infantry for imperial service.
