The predecessor state was founded in 1454 A.D. by Sheikh Sadruddin-i-Jahan, a pious man of the Sherwani tribe of Afghanistan area, and was ruled by his descendants. Local tradition says that Behlol Lodhi, the Afghan king who had most of western India under his control, desired to rule Delhi and on his way, he was caught in a sand drift. In the darkness the King spotted a dim light of a lamp still burning in the wind. It was the hut of Sheikh Sadruddin and when the king found out he came to the hut to show his respect and asked the holy man to pray for him to bear a son and have victory. During 1451 and 1452, the king married off his daughter Taj Murassa to Shaikh Sadruddin after being enthroned in Delhi, and also gave him the area of Malerkotla as a jagir. The descendants of Shaikh Sadruddin branched into two groups. One started ruling the state and were given the title of Nawab when the Mughal Empire arose. The other branch lived around the Shrine of Shaikh Sadruddin, controlling its revenue from pilgrims. The State of Malerkotla was established in 1657 by Bayazid Khan. After saving the life of Mughal EmperorAurangzeb in a tiger attack, Bayazid Khan was granted the privilege to build a fort, which he named Malerkotla and eventually gave its name to the state. On 3 May 1809 Maler Kotla became a British protectorate and was made part of the Cis-Sutlej states until 1862. Malerkotla ranked 12th in the PunjabDarbar in 1890. During the 1947 riots when Punjab was in flames, the State of Malerkotla did not witness a single incident of violence; through it all, it remained a lone island of peace. The roots of communal harmony in the area date back to 1705, when Sahibzada Fateh Singh and Sahibzada Zorawar Singh, 9- and 7-year-old sons of 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, were ordered to be bricked alive by the governor of Sirhind, Wazir Khan. His close relative, Sher Mohammed Khan, Nawab of Malerkotla, who was present in the court, lodged a vehement protest against this inhuman act and said it was against Islam. Wazir Khan nevertheless had the Sahibzadas tortured and bricked into a section of wall while still alive. At this, the Nawab of Malerkotla walked out of the court in protest. Guru Gobind Singh on learning this kind and humanitarian approach profusely thanked the Nawab of Malerkotla and blessed him with his Hukamnama, Kirpan, etc. In recognition of this act, the State of Malerkotla did not witness a single incident of violence during partition. Many local people attribute this peaceful strain to the presence of the shrine of 'Baba Haidar Sheikh', the Sufi saint, who founded the town of Malerkotla more than 500 years ago. Nawab Sher Mohammed Khan married a lady of Guru Gobind Singh's family who converted to Islam, hence all the succeeding Nawabs descend in the female line from Guru Hargobind Singh. Following Indian independence and the signing of the instrument of accession to the Indian Union in 1948, Maler Kotla joined the newly established state of Patiala and East Punjab States Union until its merger with Punjab in 1956.
Rulers
The rulers were titled 'Nawab'. They had the right to an 11 gun salute.
