princely state · Indian princely states

Malerkotla State

1454 CE – 1948 CE (approx.) · capital Malerkotla

An Afghan-ruled Muslim state in the Punjab whose Nawab protested the execution of Guru Gobind Singh's young sons, an act Sikhs remembered for centuries.

Origins

Tradition holds that the Sufi Shaikh Sadruddin Sadr-i-Jahan, of Sherwani Afghan descent, settled in the area in 1454 and married a daughter of Bahlul Lodi, receiving land grants. His descendants became hereditary Nawabs of Malerkotla.

Rule and society

In 1705 Nawab Sher Muhammad Khan, then serving the Mughal governor of Sirhind, protested against the execution of the young sons of Guru Gobind Singh. Sikhs later honoured this, and Malerkotla survived among Sikh states. The town was the scene of the killing of Kuka (Namdhari) rebels by blowing from guns in 1872.

Decline and legacy

Malerkotla was largely spared the violence of Partition in 1947. In 1948 it joined the Patiala and East Punjab States Union, which merged into Punjab in 1956. Malerkotla became a district of Punjab in 2021.

Lineage

Malerkotla StatePatiala and East Punjab States Union 1948 CE – 1956 CE

Connections (2)

Malerkotla State was a protectorate of Company rule in India1809 CE – 1858 CE
Malerkotla State was a protectorate of British Raj1858 CE – 1947 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Malerkotla State. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/malerkotla-state
MLA: “Malerkotla State.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/malerkotla-state. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Malerkotla State.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/malerkotla-state.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Malerkotla State’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/malerkotla-state (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻