Patiala
Patiala is a city in the Punjab state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Patiala District, and was the capital of the premier princely state in the former Punjab Province of British India.
The city of Patiala is a famous seat of learning. It houses the Punjabi University, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology[1], Mohindra College, Govt. Medical College, M M Modi College, Govt. College for Girls, Bikram College, Khalsa College, Govt. Ayurvedic College, Yadvindra Public School (most Famous Sports School of Punjab esp for cricket - ex students like Navjot Singh Sidhu - PLayed for India A team Cricket) and above all Netaji Subhash National Institute of Sports. Patiala is also the sports hub of Punjab. It has a number of playgrounds (both indoor and outdoor) which facilitate practice by the aspirants. The biggest is POLO GROUND, which houses an indoor stadium and open ground enabling a number of track and field events taking place simultaneously.Then there is Yadavindra Stadium, Rink Hall, Swimming Pools at the NSNIS and Defence Club.Punjabi University has its own sprawling grounds. Besides this Patiala also houses very important administartive offices of Punjab state viz. Punjab State Electricity Board, Punjab Pollution Control Board, Commissioner Office, Bhasha Vibhag and also the Head Office of State Bank of Patiala.
Princely History
The early history of the founders of Patiala state is more myth and mystery than reality, the rulers of the erstwhile states of Patiala, Nabha and Jind trace their ancestry to one Jat Chota Phul. Apparently the appellation of dynasty ‘Phulkian’ is derived from their common founder. One of his sons, Chota Ram Singh was baptized and blessed by Guru Gobind Singh. His sons Ala Singh assumed the leadership in 1714 when Banda Bahadur was engaged in the fierce battle against the Mughals. A man with vision and courage, Ala Singh carved out an independent principality from a petty Zamindari of 30 villages. Under his successors, it expanded into a large state, touching the Shivaliks in north, Rajasthan in the south and upper courses of the Yamuna and Sutlej rivers while confronting the most trying and challenging circumstances.
In the middle of the eighteenth century, Baba Ala Singh, unlike many of his contemporaries, displayed tremendous courage and shrewdness in dealing with the Mughals, Afghans and Marathas and successfully established and maintained a state which he had started building up bit by bit from its nucleus Barnala.
In 1763 Baba Ala Singh laid the foundation of the Patiala fort known as Qila Mubarak, around which the present city of Patiala is built. After the Third Battle of Panipat in 1761 in which the Marathas were defeated, the writ of the Afghans prevailed through out Punjab. It is at this stage that the rulers of Patiala began to acquire ensigns of royalty. Ahmad Shah Abdali bestowed upon Ala Singh furm and banner, after latter’s death, his grandson Amar Singh succeeded and received the title of Raja-I-Rajaan. He was also allowed to strike coins.
After forty years of ceaseless struggle with the Mughals, Afghans and Marathas the borders of the Patiala state witnessed the blazing trails of Ranjit Singh in the north and of the British in the east. Bestowed with the grit and instinct of survival, making the right choice at the right time the Raja of Patiala entered into a treaty with the British against Ranjit Singh in 1808, thus becoming collaborators in the empire building process of the British in the sub-continent of India. The British treated the rulers of Patiala, such as Karam Singh, Narinder Singh, Mahendra Singh, Rajinder Singh, Bhupinder Singh and Yadvindra Singh with respect and dignity.
Maharaja Bhupinder Singh (1900-1930) gave Patiala a prominent place on the political map of India and in the field of international sports. This included his dog kennels and he and the Maharaja of Jind were equally interested in a range of dog breeds. His son Yadvindra Singh was among those Indian princes who readily came forward to sign the Instrument of Accession, thus facilitating the process of national integration. In recognition of his services, he was appointed the Rajpramukh of the newly established state of Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU), from its founding in 1948 until its merger with Punjab in 1956. The famous downtown area of Patiala is Adalat Bazar, which means 'the court corridor', because this was used as the administrative building by one of the caretakers, before the King had reached the age of majority.