Faridkot (Princely State)

DynastyJaisal
ClanBarar Bans
StatePEPSU (now Punjab)
Gun Salutes11
AgencyPunjab Hill States Agency
Accession20th August 1948
Revenue₹ 17,41,000 (1940)
Area1,652.42 km²
Population199,283 (1941)
Privy Purse₹ 381,400
ReligionSikhism
Hindi Nameफरीदकोट 
Last Updated24th Nov, 2022

Present Head/Ruler

H.H. Farzand-i-S’aadat Nishan-i-Hazrat-i-Kaiser-i-Hind Barar Bans Raja AMARINDER SINGH [Battie Brar] Bahadur, 14th and present Raja of Faridkot since 8th January 2017, born 13th December 1971, married, Rani Deepak Kaur Sahiba, and has issue, one son and one daughter.

  • Kumari Gurmehak Inder Kaur
  • Tikka Karaninder Singh Brar

Short History

Kapura, a descendant of Jaisal, founder of the principality of Jaisalmer in 1156, founded in 1643 the principality of Kot Kapura which, in 1763, split into two states: Kot Kapura, the parent state, which was conquered by the Sikhs of Lahore in 1807, and Faridkot, which remained with the Jaisal dynasty. In 1808, Faridkot submitted to Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Lahore, and the territory was granted to Diwan Mokam Chand, the Lahore General. But in 1808-9 the British Government demanded from the Maharaja the surrender of his conquests on the left bank of the Sutlej, and Faridkot was given back to its original possessors. The state ranked 13th in the Punjab Darbar (1918).

The Raja maintains a military force of 70 cavalry, 300 infantry, and 6 guns, and is entitled to a salute of 11 guns (in 1893). 

Predecessors

  • Sangar, married and had issue.
    • Chaudhri Bhallan, he was appointed Chaudhri of the Brar tribe by Emperor Akbar. He died spm in 1643.
    • Lala, married and had issue.
      • Chaudhuri Kapura Singh, born 1628, founder of Kot Kapura in 1643, married and had issue. He died 1708 (or 1711).
        • Chaudhuri Sajja Singh 1708/1710, died sp 1710.
        • Chaudhuri Sukha Singh 1710/1731, born 1681, married and had issue. He died 1731.
          • Chaudhuri Jodh Singh 1731/1767, married and had issue. He died 1767.
            • Chaudhuri Tegh Singh of Kot Kapura 1767/1806, married and had issue. He died 1806.
              • Sardar Karam Singh of Kot Kapura in 1807, incorporated into Nabha in 1807, married and had issue.
                • Sardar Gajja Singh of Kot Kapura, married and had issue.
                  • Kanwar Thakar Singh, he was adopted by Rani Pratap Kaur (see below)
              • Chaudhuri Jagat Singh of Kot Kapura 1806/1807, married and had issue. He died 1825.
                • Rani Pratap Kaur, married 1825, Maharaja Sher Singh of Lahore. She died 23rd August 1857.
                  • (A) Thakar Singh, born about 1843, adopted in 1847, son of his mothers cousin, Gajja Singh.
            • Sardar Jit Singh [aka Amrik Singh], died 1767.
          • Sardar Hamir Singh (see below)
          • Sardar Bir Singh
        • Sardar Makhu Singh, ancestor of the families of Rori and Matta.
  • Sardar HAMIR SINGH, 1st Sardar Sahib of Faridkot 1763/1782, he built Faridkot and made it his capital; married and had issue. He died 1782.
    • Sardar Mohar Singh (qv)
    • Sardar Dal Singh (qv)
  • Sardar MOHAR SINGH, 2nd Sardar Sahib of Faridkot 1782/1798, he was deposed by Sardar Charat Singh and died in exile; married a daughter of Sardar Sobha Singh of Mán in Jind, and had issue, as well as further issue by a Muhammedan concubine, named Teji. He died 1798.
    • Sardar Charat Singh (qv)
    • Bhupa Singh (by Teji)
  • Sardar CHARAT SINGH, 3rd Sardar Sahib of Faridkot 1798/1804, he was attacked and killed by his uncle, Dal Singh, who usurped the gaddi, married and had issue. He died 1804.
    • Sardar Ghulab Singh (qv)
    • Raja Pahar Singh (qv)
    • Sardar Sahib Singh, died 1831.
    • Sardar Mehtab Singh
  • Sardar DAL SINGH, Sardar Sahib of Faridkot in 1804 (one month), he was assassinated in 1804 by a cousin, Fauja Singh, who then acted as guardian for Sardar Ghulab Singh.
  • Sardar GHULAB SINGH, 4th Sardar Sahib of Faridkot 1804/1826, born about 1797, Faridkot was attacked by Diwan Mokham Chand in 1806-1807, acting on behalf of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, but the fort was only taken two years later by the Maharaja himself; married 1stly, a daughter of Sardar Jodh Singh Kaleka of Jamma in Patiala, married 2ndly, Sardarni Dharam Kaur, daughter of Sardar Sher Singh Gill of Gholia in Moga district, and had issue. He was assasinated on 5th November 1826, apparently with the connivance of his brother, Sahib Singh.
    • Sardar Attar Singh (qv)
  • Sardar ATTAR SINGH, 5th Sardar Sahib of Faridkot 1826/1827, born 1822, he died in August 1827.
  • Raja PAHAR SINGH, 6th Raja of Faridkot 1827/1849, born 1800, an able and liberl-minded ruler, who devoted himself to the improvement of his possessions; when the first Sikh war broke out in 1845, he attached himself to the English, using his utmost exertions to collect supplies and carriages, and furnishing guides for the army, afterwards he received as his reward the title of Raja in 1846, together with half the territory confiscated from the Raja of Nabha, and in this obtained possession once more of Kot-Kapura, the ancestral seat of his family, married 1stly, Rani Chand Kaur, daughter of Sardar Samand Singh Dhalwil of Dina, married 2ndly, Mai Desu, daughter of a Gill zamindar of Mudki, married 3rdly (by chaddar dálna) in 1831, the widow of his younger brother, married 4thly, Rani Jas Kaur, daughter of Rai Singh of Kaleka in Patiala, and had issue. He died in April 1849.
    • Raja Wazir Singh (by Rani Chand Kaur) (qv)
    • Rajkumar Dip Singh (by Mai Desu), died 1845.
    • Rajkumar Anokh Singh (by Mai Desu), died 1845. 
  • Raja WAZIR SINGH Barar Bans Bahadur, 8th Raja of Faridkot 1849/1874, born 1828, a devout Sikh, he received the rites of initiation at Gurdwara Sri Hazur Sahib, Nanded, he built new villages and introduced several reforms in the land revenue system; he joined the English in the second Sikh war, and greatly distinguished himself during the Mutiny of 1857 by seizing mutineers, guarding the ferries over the Sutlej, and attacking a notorious rebel named Sham Das, whose village he destroyed, his troops served with credit under General Van Cortlandt in Sirsa and elsewhere, for these services he was granted the title of Barar Bans Raja Sahib Bahadur, a khilat of increased value and a salute of eleven guns; he was also exempted from the service of ten horsemen, which he previously had to provide and in 1862 he received a sanad conferring the right of adoption, married 1stly, Rani Ind Kaur, daughter of Sardar Sham Singh Mann of Munsab, married 2ndly, a daughter of Basawa Singh of Raipur, married 3rdly, a daughter of Sardar Gajja Singh of Lahore, married 4thly, 1845, the widow of his brother Anokh Singh, and had issue. He died 22nd April 1874 at Kurukshetra.
    • H.H. Farzand-i-S’aadat Nishan-i-Hazrat-i-Kaiser-i-Hind Barar Bans Raja Bikram Singh Bahadur (by Rani Ind Kaur) (qv)
  • H.H. Farzand-i-S’aadat Nishan-i-Hazrat-i-Kaiser-i-Hind Barar Bans Raja BIKRAM SINGH Bahadur, 9th Raja of Faridkot 1874/1898, born January 1842; he succeeded to the gadi on 22nd April 1874, he modernized the state administration and employed retired British officials with experience and in 1875 set up offices and courts on the British model and adopted British law, he opened schools and charitable hospitals, constructed dharamsalas and rest houses for travellers, established free kitchens at Faridkot, Thanesar and Amritsar, Sanskrit pathshalas, or schools were started where free food was served to the students, he was a patron of the Khalsa Diwan in Amritsar, he was appointed a Fellow of the Punjab University to which he donated large sums of money, he was granted the title of Farzand-i-S’aadat Nishan-i-Hazrat-i-Kaiser-i-Hind; married the daughter of Raja Nahar Singh of Ballabgarh and had issue. He died 8th August 1898.
    • H.H. Farzand-i-S’aadat Nishan-i-Hazrat-i-Kaiser-i-Hind Barar Bans Raja Balbir Singh Bahadur (qv)
    • Kunwar Gajindar Singh, born 1879?, married and had issue. He died 1900.
      • Maj. H.H. Farzand-i-S’aadat Nishan-i-Hazrat-i-Kaiser-i-Hind Barar Bans Raja Brijindar Singh Bahadur (qv)
      • Rajkumari Rajendra Kaur, married 1913, Col. H.H. Sawai Brijendra Maharaja Shri Kishan Singhji Bahadur Jung, 12th Maharajah of Bharatpur. She died 1929.
  • H.H. Farzand-i-S’aadat Nishan-i-Hazrat-i-Kaiser-i-Hind Barar Bans Raja BALBIR SINGH Bahadur, 10th Raja of Faridkot 1898/1906, born 30th August 1869, educated at Mayo College, Ajmer; he ascended the gadi of Faridkot state on 16th December 1898, he had constructed the Victoria Memorial Clock Tower and the Raj Mahal, he also did much to develop and promote the breeding of horses and cattle in the state, married a Rani of the Manimajra family, and had adoptive issue. He died sp in February 1906 after a short illness.
    • (A) H.H. Farzand-i-S’aadat Nishan-i-Hazrat-i-Kaiser-i-Hind Barar Bans Raja Brijindar Singh Bahadur (qv)
  • Maj, H.H. Farzand-i-S’aadat Nishan-i-Hazrat-i-Kaiser-i-Hind Barar Bans Raja BRIJINDAR SINGH Brar Bans Bahadur, 11th Raja of Faridkot 1906/1918, born 26th October 1896, he ascended the gadi of Faridkot state on 15th March 1906, educated at Aitchison College, Lahore, he was invested with full ruling powers on 24th November 1916; he was appointed an Honorary Major and granted the title of Maharaja as a personal distinction on 1st January 1918 in connection with services provided during WWI; married H.H. Rani Mahinder Kaur Sahiba, and had issue. He died 22nd December 1918.
    • Lt. H.H. Farzand-i-S’aadat Nishan-i-Hazrat-i-Kaiser-i-Hind Barar Bans Raja Sir Harindar Singh Brar Bans Bahadur (qv)
    • Rajkumar Manjitindar Singh, born 22nd February 1916, married Kunwarani Jagdish Kaur, educated at Queen Mary’s School, Lahore, an artist and a swimming, hockey and tennis champion; and had issue. He died 1996.
      • Lt. H.H. Farzand-i-S’aadat Nishan-i-Hazrat-i-Kaiser-i-Hind Barar Bans Raja Bharatindar Singh Brar Bans Bahadur [Mickey Faridkot] (qv)
      • Kanwar Dashmesh Indar Singh [Prince Victor], born 1947, died unmarried 1992.
      • Kumari Devinder Kaur [Princess Wendy], born 1942, married 1965 (div.), a Greek gentleman, and has issue, one daughter, born in 1967 (unmarried). She died 6th January 2009 (Chandigarh, India)
  • Lt. H.H. Farzand-i-S’aadat Nishan-i-Hazrat-i-Kaiser-i-Hind Barar Bans Raja Sir HARINDAR SINGH Bahadur K.C.S.I., 12th Raja of Faridkot 1918/1989, born 29th January 1915, educated at Aitchison Chiefs’ College, Lahore (Diploma, 1932); he assumed full ruling powers on 17th October 1934; he successfully completed a course of military training with the Royal Deccan Horse; Honorary Colonel Sikh LI, Colonel Bengal Engineer Group, M.L.A. Pepsu LA, Member of National Defence Council of India, Member of the Standing Committee of Chamber of Princes, past Grand Master (Hon.) 1974, OSM 1971 Grand Lodge of India, District Grand Master for North India 1977, United Grand Lodge of England, he was granted the title of Maharaja in 1918; he was appointed a K.C.S.I. on 1st January 1941; married in February 1933, H,H. Rani Narinder Kaur Sahiba, daughter of Sardar Bahadur Sardar Bhagwant Singh of Manauli, and had issue. He died 16th October 1989.
    • Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, born 1934/1935.
    • Maharani Deep Inder Kaur [Princess Bunty], born 17th July 1936, married 1959, Maharajadhiraja Bahadur Dr. Saday Chand Mahtab [Prince Henry], Maharaja of Burdwan, and has issue, one son and one daughter.
    • Tikka Harmohindar Singh Brar [Prince David], born 22nd October 1937, educated at the Doon School, Dehra Dun, Uttaranchal, and later at Oxford University, England,U.K., he died vpsp in 1981 in a car accident.
    • Rajkumari Maheep Inder Kaur [Princess Anne], born 19th September 1944, educated at Tara Hall, Simla (passing out in 1960), and in New Delhi, she died unmarried, 26th July 2001 at Mashobra in the Faridkot complex near Shimla, cremated at Sahi Samadhan in Faridkot.
  • Lt. H.H. Farzand-i-S’aadat Nishan-i-Hazrat-i-Kaiser-i-Hind Barar Bans Raja BHARAT INDAR SINGH Bahadur, 13th Raja of Faridkot 1989/2017, born 1943, educated at Bishop Cotton School, Simla; married Tikka Rani Braham Prakash Kaur Sahiba, and had issue, two sons. He died 8th January 2017.
    • HH Farzand-i-Sadaat-i-Nishan-i-Hazrat-i-Kaisar-i-Hind Raja Amarinder Singh Brar [Prince Battie] (qv)
    • Kanwar Ravi Inder Singh Brar [Prince Attie], born 1978, educated at St. John’s High School, Chandigarh and at Panjab University (Law), married Kanwarani Meenakshi Kumari Sahiba.
  • H.H. Farzand-i-S’aadat Nishan-i-Hazrat-i-Kaiser-i-Hind Barar Bans Raja AMARINDER SINGH Bahadur, 14th Raja of Faridkot (see above)