[Illustration: Fig. 121. Nawab Sadik Muhammad Khan.] [Sidenote: Area, 167 sq. m. Pop. 71,144. Rev. Rs. 900,000 = L60,000.] ~Malerkotla~ consists of a strip of territory to the south of the Ludhiana district. The capital is connected with Ludhiana by railway. The Nawab keeps up a company of Sappers and Miners for imperial service. He is an Afghan, and his ancestor held a position of trust under the Moghal Empire, and became independent on its decline. The independence of his successor was menaced by Maharaja Ranjit Singh when Malerkotla came under British protection in 1809. ~Pataudi, Dujana, and Loharu.~--The three little Muhammadan States of Loharu, Dujana, and Pataudi are relics of the policy which in the opening years of the nineteenth century sought rigorously to limit our responsibilities to the west of the Jamna. Together they have an area of 275 square miles, a population of 59,987 persons, and a revenue of Rs. 269,500 (L18,000). The Chief of Loharu, Nawab Amir ud din Ahmad Khan, K.C.I.E., is a man of distinction. 4. _Hindu Hill States_ [Sidenote: Area, 1200 sq. m. pop. 181,110. Rev. Rs. 500,000 = L33,333.] ~Mandi~ is a tract of mountains and valleys drained by the Bias. With Suket, with which for many generations it formed one kingdom, it is a wedge thrust up from the Sutlej between Kangra and Kulu. Three-fifths of the area is made up of forests and grazing lands. The _deodar_ and blue pine forests on the Kulu border are valuable. At Guma and Drang an impure salt, fit for cattle, is extracted from shallow cuttings. A considerable part of the revenue is derived from the price and duty. The chiefs are Chandarbansi Rajputs. The direct line came to an end in 1912 with the death of Bhawani Sen, but to prevent lapse the British Government has chosen as successor a distant relative, Jogindar Singh, who is still a child. [Illustration: Fig. 122.] [Sidenote: Area, 420 sq. m. Pop. 54,928. Rev. Rs. 200,000 = L13,333.] ~Suket~ lies between Mandi and the Sutlej. Its Raja, Ugar Sen, like his distant relative, the Raja of Mandi, came under British protection in 1846. His great-grandson, Raja Bhim Sen, is the present chief. [Sidenote: Area, 1198 sq. m. Pop. 138,520. Rev. Rs. 600,000 = L40,000.] [Illustration: Fig. 123. The late Raja Surindar Bikram Parkash, K.C.S.I., of Sirmur.]