PATIALA, or PUTTIALA  , a native state of India, within the Punjab . It is the premier state of the Punjab, and chief of the three Sikh Phulkian states—Patiala, Natha and Jind . It consists of three detached blocks of territory, mostly in the plains, though one portion extends into the hills near Simla . Area 5412 sq. m.; pop . (1901), 1,596,692; estimated revenue, £440,000; military force (including Imperial Service troops), 3429 men . The state was founded by a Sikh chieftain about 1763, and came under British protection, with the other cis-Sutlej states, in 1809 . Patiala remained conspicuously loyal to the British during the Mutiny of 1857, Narindar Singh, its ruler, setting an example to the other Sikh states which was of the utmost value . The maharaja, Rajendra Singh, who died in 1900, was devoted to riding and sport . He took part personally in the Tirah campaign of 1897-98, with a battalion of his own Imperial Service infantry and a field troop of Imperial Service lancers . In recognition of his services on this occasion he received the G.C.S.I . He was succeeded by his son, Bhupindar Singh, who was born in 1891 . The town of Patiala has a station on the branch of the North-Western railway from Rajpura to Bhatinda .

Pop . (1901), 53,545• It contains several

fine modern buildings, including palaces, hospitals and schools . See Phulkian States Gazetteer (Lahore, 1909) .