Nabha

Nabha is a city and municipal council in the Patiala district to the south-west of the Indian state of Punjab. In 1998, the annual income of Nabha state was Rs 1,50,000/-.^[1]

Nabha
—  city  —
Nabha Location of Nabha in Punjab and India
Coordinates	30°22′N 76°09′E / 30.37°N 76.15°E / 30.37; 76.15Coordinates: 30°22′N 76°09′E / 30.37°N 76.15°E / 30.37; 76.15
Country	India
State	Punjab
District(s)	Patiala
Population	61,953 (2001[update])
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 246 metres (807 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 147201

Princely State of Nabha

Main article: Nabha State

Princely flag of Nabha

Nabha (Gurmukhi: ਨਾਭਾ, Devanagari: नाभा) was a state of the Sikh Royal House of Siddhu Jat origins founded by the grandson of Chaudhary Phul Singh. Chaudhary Phul Singh (under the patronage and protection of Sikh Guru's Guru Har Gobind and Guru Har Rai) ^[2] had six sons namely,^[3] 1.Tiloka 2.Ram Singh 3.Rudh 4.Chunu 5. Jhandu and 6.Takhtmal. Annual income of Nabha state was Rs 1,50,000/-.^[4]

Claiming descent from the Jaisal, founder of Jaisalmer State in 1156, the founder of this Sikh dynasty, Phul, was Chaudhri (Governor) of a country located at the south east of Delhi. Phul’s descendants founded 4 States: Patiala State, Jind State, Faridkot State and Nabha State. Nabha was founded by the great-grandson of Phul in 1755.

Sir Hira Singh, Raja of Nabha (c.1843-1911).

Tiloka had two sons namely, 1. Gurudutta 2. Sukh Chain. Sukh Chain's descendants ruled Jind state and Gurudatta's descendants ruled Nabha state. Gurudatta's only son was Surat Singh. Surat Singh died in 1742 prior to Gurudatta in 1744. Surat Singh had two sons 1. Hamir Singh (1755–1783 ) and 2. Kapur Singh. Hamir Singh's son Raja Jaswant Singh (1783–1840) became the ruler. He had two sons namely 1. Maharaja Devendra Singh and 2. Ranjit Singh. Maharaja Devendra Singh had two sons namely, Maharaja Bharpur Singh and Maharaja Bhagwan Singh. Maharaja Bharpur Singh died in 1863 prior to Maharaja Devendra Singh. Maharaja Bhagwan Singh ruled from 1864–1871, he also died without an heir. According to tradition, Hira Singh a distant relative in a neighbouring village was deicided upon as the next in line according to the Maharaja of Patiala and Jind. Maharaja Hira Singh (1871–1911), who ruled from 1871-1911. He was honoured with G.C.S.I. and G.C.I.I. titles by British. His only son was Maharaja Ripudman Singh (1911–1923), who became ruler in 1912 after Maharaja Hira Singh. His son was Maharaja-Tika Pratap Singh (1923–1995) born in 1919.

The town of Nabha was formerly the capital of the eponymous princely state in the British Raj. Its territories were scattered; one section, divided into twelve separate tracts, was interspersed among the territories of Patiala and Jind, in the east and south of the Punjab; the other section was in the extreme southeast of that province. The whole of the territories physically belonged to a plain; however, they varied in character from the great fertility of the Pawadh region to the aridity of the Rajputana desert.

The ruling dynasty of Nabha are Sikh the state was founded around 1763 by a member of the Phulkian family. The first relations of the state with the HEIC occurred in 1807-08, when the Raja obtained protection against the threatened encroachments of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. After British India's independence, the Princely state of Nabha united with four other Phulkian states to form the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU), which later merged into Punjab state following the merging of other Princely states after 1949.

Colour nabhi (Maroon) is named after state of Nabha. Nabhi colour use to be state's official colour for turban. The old part of the city, sometimes termed 'Purani nabhi', is a veritable maze of narrow winding alleys which astonish you by emerging at the most unexpected places.

This is the first city which still has the Rolls Royce in the shape of animals, specially crafted for the kings of this city. These were used by the kings and are preserved in the Nabha museum.This is the city which has given us HansRaj as a very noble and respectable inspector.

Geography

Nabha is located at 30°22′N 76°09′E / 30.37°N 76.15°E / 30.37; 76.15.^[5] It has an average elevation of 246 metres (807 feet).

Demographics

As of 2001^[update] India census,^[6] Nabha had a population of 61,953. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Nabha has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 69%. In Nabha, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Landmarks of the City

1. Hira Mahal: Residence of the royal family. The gardens and orchards surrounding it have developed into the Hira Mahal Colony
2. Qila Mubarak: Situated at the heart of the city, it has housed various government offices, including the courts
3. Hira Singh Park: Now known as municipal park, near Duladdi Gate. The park is home to the statue of Maharaja Hira Singh
4. Royal Samadhis: on circular road, built in memory of deceased rulers of Nabha, now in a state of disrepair
5. The Courthouse of Nabha, the original residence of Wazir Ishwari Singh Katoch, Prime Minister of Kangra, father of Maharani Lilavati and cousin of Maharaja Sansar Chand of Kangra (father-in-law of Maharaja Ranjit Singh).
6. Gurdwara Dera Baba Ajaypal Singh famously known as Gurdwara Ghodhiyan Walla
7. Old Temple of Attharan Bhuji (goddess with eighteen arms statue)
8. Vedas Mandir in Sadar Bazar

Please note that there are two locations of Royal Samadhis, one is for the family of Hira Singh, the other, the original rulers of Nabha is located on the grounds of Punjab Public School, near the water tank, on what was originally known as Shyam Bagh (near Jamunawali Sark (Road)), there rests Maharaja Devinder Singh, his two sons, his wives, Maharani Lilavati, Maharani Mann Kaur and "Cheteanwali" Rani. Dr. Sumerendra Vir Singh Chauhan, from the family of Maharani Lilavati, and uncle of the present Rajkumari of Nabha wife of Maharaja Pratap Singh's second son, is negotiating with the present authorities to allow for repairs to take place of the Royal samadhis of the original rulers. Also the Samadhi of Maharani Lilavati's mother is located in the Ram Temple near Hira Mahal.

People

The descendants of famous General of Ranjit Singh, Hari Singh Nalwa, reside in Nabha.

The descendants of Wazir Ishwari Singh Katoch, former Prime Minister of Kangra during Maharaja Sansar Chand (Father-in-Law of Maharaja Ranjit Singh), once lived in Nabha and have now emigrated to Canada. Wazir Ishwari Singh's daughter was Maharani Lilavati of Nabha w/o Maharaja Devinder Singh. Wazir Ishwari Singh was the close friend of Hari Singh Nalwa and was thus given refuge in Nabha upon the fall of Kangra. The last known descendant Dr. Sumerendra Vir Singh Chauhan, cousin to the present Maharaja, grandson of Colonel Shivraj Singh Katoch of the Royal Army of Nabha, is negotiating with local authorities to repair old tombs and other places of historical significance. The rest of the descendants have moved to Nepal and Canada.

The Nagar Brahmin family protected Maharaja Hira Singh and allowed him to come to the throne of Nabha. For saving his life he gave the Nagar family "Nagara Chownk" or the Chowk of Nagar Family, located in old Nabha. There is still the family of Dr. Inderjit Nagar and his brother's descendents staying there.

This is the city where freedom fighter S Bhan Singh and social worker Late Sh. Prem Kumar Shahi lived .He had spent time with the first prime minister of India (pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru), when the later had come to spend time in park bagh. The room still exists there in park bagh nabha. This room is in poor condition.

Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha (Punjabi ਭਾਈ ਕਾਨ੍ਹ ਸਿਂਘ ਨਾਭਾ ): Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha (30 August 1861- 24 November 1938), a celebrated Sikh scholar and encyclopaedia writer famously known for Mahan Kosh, who was born on 30 August 1861 (Bhadori vadi 10, 1918 Bk), in a Dhillon Jatt family at the village of Sabaz Banera which is about 5 miles from Nabha, in what was then territory of the princely ruler of Patiala.

Modern Nabha

In 1947, Nabha formed a part of Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU). At a subsequent reorganization, Patiala was created as a district and Nabha formed a subdivision in Patiala District. The modern Nabha is a thriving, if somewhat dusty town (about 30 kilometres from Patiala). Nabha boasts of several institutions which are somewhat unusual for a town of this size:

1. Malwa Public School is a well known English medium school known for its excellent academic results.
2. Punjab Public School (PPS), Nabha is one of the more well known "public schools" in India (other notable schools of this league being YPS Patiata and Mohali, Scindia School, Gwalior, MNSS, Rai and Sainik School, Kapurthala, Lawrence School Sanawer and Doon School in Dehradun.
3. Govt. Ripudaman College Nabha
4. A factory of Glaxo Smith Kline (better known as Horlicks factory).
5. A high security jail which was used to house terrorists in the height of Khalistani movement in the late 1980s. (Jawahar Lal Nehru served a prison term in this jail during India's freedom movement against the British.)
6. Like many other cities of India, Nabha has landmarks called "gates" which roughly circumscribe the city. In Nabha, these are named Patiala Gate, Alhoran gate, Dulladi Gate, Mehs Gate and Bouran Gate.
7. Indian Oil Gas Plant is situated at the outskirts of city on the Nabha - Bhawani garh Road.
8. Punjab Scooters Ltd in Focal Point, now known as Swaraj Automotives Pvt Ltd Doing direct business with Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors,Eicher, Swaraj Tractors, Swaraj Mazda etc.

References

1. ^ Dr Mahendra Singh Arya, Dharmpal Singh Dudi, Kishan Singh Faujdar & Vijendra Singh Narwar: Ādhunik Jat Itihasa (The modern history of Jats), Agra 1998
2. ^ Sikh Gurus
3. ^ A History of Sikh Misals - Bhagat Singh
4. ^ Dr Mahendra Singh Arya, Dharmpal Singh Dudi, Kishan Singh Faujdar & Vijendra Singh Narwar: Ādhunik Jat Itihasa (The modern history of Jats), Agra 1998
5. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Nabha
6. ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999. Retrieved 2008-11-01. 

External links

• Genealogy of the ruling chiefs of Nabha
• History Of Nabha

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

• Guru Har Rai Connection
• Nabha's Only Local newspaper
• Princely state