Foreword To 'History Of The Ruling Family Of Sheikh Sadruddin' By Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan

From its very inception in 1965, the Department of Punjab Historical Studies, Punjabi University, Patiala, has undertaken the responsibility to translate, edit and publish the rare source material in English, Punjabi and Persian languages which is otherwise out-of-reach to the scholars as well as to the students of history. Reconstruction of the past is only possible if such material is made available to them for writing true and objective history. The present work is a part of this series.

The Malerkotla state, located in the cis-Sutlej region was an important Chiefship though it was not of considerable consequence in terms of territory and populations compared to the Phulkian States of Patiala, Nabha and Jind. It was the only Muslim principality in this area and its ruling Nawabs, by and large, adopted the policy of religious toleration. It is significant to observe that no communal disturbances had taken place in the history of the state and even at the time of partition of 194 7, the state was free from communal riots.

The manuscript entitled 'History of the Ruling Family of Sheikh Sadruddin Sadar-i-Jahan of Malerkotla' was lying in the rare collection of the Library of late Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan, the last ruler of the Malerkotla state, before it was made available to the University due to the courtesy of Sardar Balwant Singh, Ex-Minister, Law and Order, Malerkotla state. The manuscript yields valuable information about the profile of the Nawabs though it is not free from short-comings. Dr R. K. Ghai, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Punjab Historical Studies, has laboured hard in editing and annotating the manuscript by consulting many original works on the subject. He has also written a comprehensive and scholarly 'Introduction' for which he deserves to be felicitated.

I cherish the hope that this work will promote further research on the subject and at the same time it will be very useful for the researchers as well as for the general readers.

Punjabi University, Patiala.

March 10, 2000

DR JASBIR SINGH AHLUWALIA Vice-Chancellor