time the Mughal empire was tottering to its fall, and local powers began to assert their independence. The Rais of Raikot, who until then had held a considerable tract of land around Ludhiana in lease from the emperors, were some of the first to assert their independence. Raja Ala Singh of Patiala, the representative of the crumbling Delhi Sultanate and Rai Kalha II were the principal actors contenders for power in the region. "Rai Kalha III,who appears to have been a ruler of very great ability, extended his power up to Ludhiana. He established independent power over the whole of the Jagraon(the place of the Rais)and the greater part of Ludhiana Tahsils, and a large portion of the Ferozepur District." Khan Bahadur Rai Inayat Khan of Raikot (the custodian of Guru Gobind Singh ji's Ganga Sagar) was the chief of Rai family at the time of partition of India 1947. Hatur, Chakar, Talwandi Rai in 1478 AD, Halwara and Raikot in 1648 AD and Jagraon in 1680 AD were founded by the Manj Rai family of Raikot and their ancestors.
In 1741, Ala Singh defeated Rai Kalha III and chased him out of the country, but he soon recovered the territory.
Thinking to take advantage of this power struggle, Nadir Shah invaded and crossed the Sutlej at Ludhiana, which was then on its banks, and marched through the district along what is now the Grand Trunk Road. Nadir Shah is said to have ordered a general massacre of the inhabitants of Ludhiana on the account of some petty fault, but it seems doubtful that he did.
His successor, Ahmed Shah Durrani, invaded in 1747. On reaching the Sutlej at Ludhiana, he found his passage opposed by the son of the emperor, Kamardin, with a huge army that had advanced from Sirhind. Durrani avoided the conflict but ended up in direct confrontation with him very near Khanna. While Ahmad Shah Bahadur was defeated, the losses were very heavy on both sides. The subsequent invasions of Ahmad Shah were not resisted by the Mughal troops from
