Duladi
Duladi (Doladhi) is a village in Nabha tehsil of Patiala district in Punjab.
Location
It is 5 km north of Nabha.
Jat Gotras
History
The origin of village of Doladhi AD 1807
Lepel H. Griffin writes:[1]
Two miles from the city of Nabha is the little village of Doladhi, which, in 1807, was Settled and ploughed by Bhai Tara Singh, an Ahlkar (official ) of the Pattiala State. Raja Jaswant Singh of Nabha was indignant at this encroachment on his town land, and remonstrated ; but, receiving no redress, he occupied the land by force and the Bhai was slain in the skirmish that ensued.
Bhai Tara Singh slain :
Raja Sahib Singh of Pattiala, furious at the loss of a favourite officer, marched to Nabha and defeated Jaswant Singh at Nirwana, who shut himself in his capital and sent his friend Raja Bhag Singh of Jhind to ask help from Lahore. Ranjit Singh, on his arrival, besieged Sahib Singh in the arbitration of Mansurpur, and destroyed the wells of Doladhi, which he made over to the Pattiala Chief, forbidding the wells to be repaired or a strip of waste land, which be pointed out, to be ever cultivated. For twenty one years the neutral land of Doladhi remained untilled, and if either Pattiala or Nabha attempted to cultivate it the greatest jealousy and ill-will was the immediate result.
The quarrel revived in 1857:
In 1827 the old quarrel was revived, Nabha accusing the Doladhi villagers of encroaching on the disputed land and Pattiala retorting. The Chiefs refused to appoint arbitrators, and Captain Murray, the Political Agent, was himself compelled to visit the spot and draw the boundary line.
Captain Murray attempts to decide the case:
The point was a difficult one to decide. The decree of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, given in 1807, could not he held valid, for the proclamation of the British Government of 1809 only guaranteed the maintenance of the States at that time ; and in 1809 Nabha had become more powerful than Pattiala which had not been able to recover the land for which Bhai Tara Singh had fought and died. But Captain Murray was successful in fixing a boundary line which pleased neither party. The Raja of Nabha was only partially discontented ; but the Pattiala Chief was entirely so, and the case was referred for orders to to Dehli.*
The agents of the Kythal and Jhind Chiefs, together with the British officials, were then sent to fix a new boundary line between the wells of Doladhi and the city of Nabha ; to remove the pillars fixed by Captain Murray and to destroy all cultivation on the disputed land.
A new decision in favour of Pattiala:
The new decision was favorablo to Pattiala, and the Raja of Nabha became eager to preserve the boundary pillars which he had before been so anxious to destroy. But his remonstrances were unavailing ; the cultivation was destroyed by the cattle of Nabha and Doladhi ; the pillars, which the Nabha officials refused to remove, were thrown down and the new line marked out.
- * Captain Murray to Sir E. Colebrooke 12th April, and Sir E. Colebrooke to Gaptaia Morray dated 11th May and 18th June 1828.
- Sir E. Colebrooke to Captain Murray dated 25th July, 30th September, 2nd and 13th October. Captain Murray to Sir E. Colebrooke 30th July, 4th, 5th, and 21st October 1828.
Nabha appeals against it:
The Raja of Nabha appealed against this decision, which Only injured him in as much as it was a triumph for Pattiala, and daily complaints were made of encroachments and quarrels, until the direct injunction of the Resident at Dehli compelled the boundary, fixed under sanction of the British Government, to be respected.*
And Captain Murray's decision confirmed by the the Supreme Government:
The Raja of Nabha was still dissatisfied, and directly charged Sir E. Colebrooke with having been unduly influenced by the Pattiala authorities ; and a commission was appointed to sit at Delhi and investigate the case. The conclusion of the Committee was thus expressed in a note by Mr. Trevelyan, Assistant to the Resident at Dehli : —
- " I will conclude by remarking that the proceedings afford strong grounds for confirming Captain Murray's decision ; and the proceedings held before the Special Commissioners by evincing the motives which induced Sir E. Colebrooke to set it aside, afford still stronger. Should it please His Lordship in Council to confirm Captain Murray's decision on the Doladhi case, in consideration of the unlawful means that were taken to set it aside, a memorable example will be afforded to all Hindostan, which will have more effect in checking these illicit practices than the punishment of many delinquents."
The Governor General, agreeing with the opinion of the Commissioners, authorized the Resident at Dehli, if he thought fit, to set aside Sir E. Colebrooke's decision and to confirm that of Captain Murray ; which was done, and the boundary pillars
- * Captain Murray to Sir E. Colebrooke 13th December 1828, and letters to Maharaja of Pattiala and Raja of Nabha.
set up by the last named officer were restored. *
The grave results of this dispute:
To this Doladhi quarrel, trivial as was its origin and worthless as was the subject in dispute, may, more distinctly than to anything else, be traced the ill-feeling which has existed between Pattiala and Nabha for sixty years, which beyond all doubt had a considerable influence over the Nabha policy during the first Sikh war, and which has not, even to this day, entirely disappeared.
The mediation of Ranjit Singh of Lahore requested
Lepel H. Griffin writes:[2]
The contest was continued for some time with varying success and much bloodshed, till, at length, Raja Bhag Singh, desirous of putting an end to it in a manner favorable to himself and his ally of Nabha, requested the aid of his nephew Ranjit Singh of Lahore. Raja Jaswant Singh of Nabha joined in his request, for he had just been defeated by the Pattiala Chief at Mirwana, and was eager for revenge. Ranjit Singh was only too glad of an opportunity of interference, and, on the 26th of
July, 1806, crossed the Satlej with a force which was estimated at 30,000 horse, though half this number would be nearer the truth, accompanied by Sirdar Fatah Singh Ahluwalia; Gurdit Singh Ladwa and other Chiefs. On the 28th he took possession of Doladhi, a town belonging to the Raja of Pattiala and the subject of dispute between him and Nabha, and some twenty two miles to the north of the capital ; and the following day he reached Nabha.
Notable persons
External links
References
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