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KALSIA STATE & GURBAKHSH SINGH


Bhai Gurbakhsh Singh Sandhu (? – 1785), of Kalsia (district Lahore) was initiated into the Sikh faith by Bhai Mani Singh, in 1725. He was one of the senior leaders of Karoria Misl. He made remarkable participation in the Sikhs’ struggle for sovereignty. In 1764, he captured Chhachhrauli (district Yamunanagar, Haryana) and 114 villages around the town. This State was named Kalsia after Bhai Gurbakhsh Singh’s village Kalsia. Later, he captured Bambeli (district Hoshiarpur). He pillaged several places in the present day Haryana and Rajasthan provinces and collected a lot of wealth. Some years later the Patiala ruler captured some of the territory of the Kalsia State which, the latter recovered within a short period. Bhai Gurbakhsh Singh died in 1785. He was succeeded by Jodh Singh (died 1817), followed by Sobha Singh (died 1858), Lehna Singh (died 1869), Bishan Singh (died 1883), Jagjit Singh (died 1886), Ranjit Singh (died 1908), and Ravishvar Singh etc. In 1948, the State was merged into PEPSU.

(Dr Harjinder Sinh Dilgeer)