Hindutashravi at 03:25, 7 March 2026

2026-03-07T03:25:04Z

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{{Short description|Sikh kingdom}}

{{Infobox former country
| image_map = Detail of the main, continuous tract of territory of Ladwa State from a map created by the British East India Company of the Malwa region of Punjab showing the various polities, borders, and settlements of the area, ca.1829–1835.jpg
| map_caption = Detail of the main, continuous tract of territory of Ladwa State from a map created by the British East India Company, ca.1829–1835 (not including its exclaves viewable on the full-map)
| capital = [[Ladwa]]
| year_end = 1846
| year_start = 1763
| today = [[Haryana]], [[India]]
}}

'''Ladwa State''' was a [[Sikhs|Sikh]] kingdom.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Shah |first=Muhammad |title=The First Punjab War: Shah Mohammed's Jangnamah |publisher=Singh Brothers |year=2001 |isbn=9788172052287 |pages=266 |translator-last=Nijhawan |translator-first=P. K.}}</ref> It was one of the [[Cis-Sutlej states]].<ref name=":0" /> The state is notable for being one of the few Sikh polities south of the Sutlej that actively sided with the [[Sikh Empire]] against the British.

== History ==

=== Establishment and rule by Gurdit Singh ===
In the [[Power vacuum|power-vacuum]] that formed in the aftermath of the [[History of Sirhind|fall of Sirhind]] and the downfall of the [[Maratha Confederacy|Marathas]] in the region due to the [[Third Battle of Panipat]], the Sikhs were an ascending force in the area.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Sharma |first=Suresh K. |title=Haryana: Past and Present |publisher=Mittal Publications |year=2006 |isbn=9788183240468 |pages=132–33 |chapter=History of Karnal: The Sikh Rule}}</ref> In circa 1763, Gurdit Singh seized the localities of [[Ladwa]] and Shamgarh.<ref name=":1" /> Gurdit Singh would later wrest control of the territories of [[George Thomas (soldier)|George Thomas]].<ref name=":1" /> During the reign of Gurdit Singh, Ladwa State and its dependencies had an annual revenue of 204,700 rupees.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Hasrat |first=Bikrama Jit |title=Life and Times of Ranjit Singh: A Saga of Benevolent Despotism |publisher=V.V. Research Institute Book Agency |year=1977 |pages=88}}</ref> Gurdit Singh of Ladwa joined forces with the other Sikh chiefs of the region, such as Sher Singh of Buria, Roy Singh of Jagadhri, Mehtab Singh of Thanesar, Jodh Singh of Kalsia, and Karam Singh Shahidi, to launch raids into British-controlled territory.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Hasrat |first=Bikrama Jit |title=Anglo-Sikh Relations, 1799-1849: A Reappraisal of the Rise and Fall of the Sikhs |publisher=V. V. Research Institute Book Agency |year=1968 |pages=43–47}}</ref> In 1804, Colonel Burn routed the Sikh forces of Ladwa State and Thanesar State.<ref name=":1" /> In the following year in 1805, British forced marched upon the fortress of [[Karnal]], capturing it from Gurdit Singh of Ladwa.<ref name=":1" /> Gurdit Singh of Ladwa and Bhanga Singh of Thanesar had supported the Marathas, thus the British took measures to punish them.<ref name=":3" />

=== Under Ajit Singh and annexation ===
[[File:Detail of a painting of Ajit Singh of Ladwa State, from the Tazkirat Al-Umara of James Skinner, ca.1836.jpg|thumb|Detail of a painting of Ajit Singh of Ladwa State, from the Tazkirat Al-Umara of James Skinner, ca.1836]]
Ajit Singh of Ladwa was of an anti-British disposition and had cordial relations with [[Ranjit Singh]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Mittal |first=Satish Chandra |title=Haryana: A Historical Perspective |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distributors |year=1986 |pages=41 |chapter=Revolt of Ajit Singh of Ladwa 1845–46}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite book |title=Proceedings - Punjab History Conference |publisher=Publication Bureau, Punjab University |year=1966 |volume=1 |location=Patiala |pages=112–14}}</ref> The Sikh Empire's court chronicler, [[Sohan Lal Suri]], mentions in his ''Umdat-ut-Tawarikh'' that Ajit Singh of Ladwa had made plans to visit Lahore in November.{{Efn|Umdat-ut-Tawarikh, part V, page 259|group=note}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Atwal |first=Priya |title=Royals and Rebels: The Rise and Fall of the Sikh Empire |date=15 January 2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780197566947 |pages=236}}</ref> By 1845, the British grew increasingly irritated by Ajit Singh and placed him under surveillance at [[Saharanpur|Sahranpur]], declaring him a "rebel".<ref name=":4" /> The British charged Ajit Singh of Ladwa with corruption and mismanagement, suggesting that he should be removed.<ref name=":4" /> Ajit Singh escaped his confinement and teamed-up with [[Ranjodh Singh Majithia]] during the [[First Anglo-Sikh War]], with both crossing the Sutlej at Phillaur with a force of 8,000 men and 70 guns.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Singh |first=Khushwant |title=A History of the Sikhs: 1839-1964 |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1966 |series=A History of the Sikhs |volume=2 |pages=51}}</ref> Their joint-force took control over [[Fatehgarh Sahib|Fatehgarh]], [[Dharamkot, Moga|Dharamkot]], Gangarana, and [[Baddowal]].<ref name=":6" /> Ladwa State was one of the only Cis-Sutlej states that actively sided with the Lahore State against the British during the First Anglo-Sikh War.<ref name=":0" /> The joint forces of the states of Ladwa and Lahore burnt a portion of the Ludhiana cantonment.<ref name=":4" /> In the aftermath, the British marched upon Karnal and annexed the polity in 1846.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bal |first=Sarjit Singh |title=A Brief History of the Modern Punjab |publisher=Lyall Book Depot |year=1974 |pages=3}}</ref><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pasha |first=Mustapha Kamal |title=Colonial Political Economy: Recruitment and Underdevelopment in the Punjab |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1998 |isbn=9780195777628 |pages=158}}</ref> The reason the British annexed the state was due to pro-Lahore activities during the war.<ref name=":5" />

== List of rulers ==
{| class="wikitable"
!{{Abbr|No.|Number}}
!Name
{{small|(Birth–Death)}}
!Portrait
! class="unsortable" |Reign
!Ref.
|-
|1.
|Gurdit Singh
|
|1763–?
|<ref name=":2" />
|-
|2.
|Ajit Singh
|[[File:Ajit Singh of Ladwa.jpg|179x179px]]
|?–1846
|<ref name=":0" />
|}

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths="300" heights="240">
File:Map of the protected Sikh states exhibiting the possessions of the petty chiefs and independent Jagirdars in the Punjab, by G. R. Clerk, 1841 (cropped) Ladwa North Enclaves.jpg|Ladwa State northern exclaves, in the [[Ludhiana district|Ludhiana District]] near [[Sahnewal|Sanewal]] & [[Baddowal|Buddowal]] enclave.
File:Map of the protected Sikh states exhibiting the possessions of the petty chiefs and independent Jagirdars in the Punjab, copy from 1843 (F.4-6) (cropped) Ladwa enclaves.jpg|Ladwa State northern exclaves, in the [[Ludhiana district|Ludhiana District]] near [[Sahnewal|Sanewal]] & [[Baddowal|Buddowal]] enclave with details of village.
File:Map of the protected Sikh states exhibiting the possessions of the petty chiefs and independent Jagirdars in the Punjab, copy from 1843 (F.4-7).jpg|'''1843 Map of the Cis-sutlej states Including Ladwa state'''
File:Map of the protected Sikh states exhibiting the possessions of the petty chiefs and independent Jagirdars in the Punjab, copy from 1843 (F.4-6).jpg|'''1843 Map of the Cis-sutlej states Including Ladwa state with village level details'''
</gallery>

== See also ==

* [[Cis-Sutlej states]]
* [[Treaty of Amritsar (1809)]]
* [[Ferozepore (jagir)]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:1763 establishments in India]]
[[Category:1846 disestablishments in India]]
[[Category:History of Sikhism]]
[[Category:Sikhism in India]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1846]]

Ladwa State - Revision history

Hindutashravi at 03:25, 7 March 2026