Malerkotla State
Malerkotla State | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1454–1948 | |||||||||
| Motto: Heaven's Light Our Guide | |||||||||
Detail of Malerkotla State from a map of British and native states in the Cis-Sutlej Division between 1847–51, by Abdos Sobhan, 1858 | |||||||||
| Capital | Malerkotla city | ||||||||
| Common languages | Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu | ||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||
| Government | Absolute Monarchy | ||||||||
| Nawab of Malerkotla | |||||||||
• 1657 - 1659 | Muhammad Bayazid Khan (First) | ||||||||
• 1710 or 1712 - 1717 | Ghulam Hussain Khan | ||||||||
• 1717 - 1762 | Jamal Khan | ||||||||
• 1762 - 1763/64 | Bhikan Khan | ||||||||
• 23 August 1908 – 15 August 1947 | Ahmad Ali Khan (Last) | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 1454 | ||||||||
| 15 August 1947 1948 | |||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• | 77,506 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
The State of Malerkotla or Maler Kotla was a princely state of Afghan origin in the Punjab region established in the medieval era and lasting to the era of British India. It has been described as being a princely enclave.
Its rulers belonged to a Sarwani and Lodi Pashtun dynasty from Afghanistan, and its capital was in Malerkotla. In the 19th century, the Muslim-ruled state was surrounded by Sikh states. The state belonged to the Punjab States Agency. During the partition of Punjab in 1947, the state was mostly spared from bloodshed from Sikh mobs owing to the role the former ruler of the polity played in attempting to safeguard the sons of Guru Gobind Singh. The last Nawab of Maler Kotla signed the instrument of accession to join the Dominion of India on 20 August 1948.