Rai Bular Bhatti

Early life

Rai Bular Bhatti was born to Rai Bhoe Bhatti, a prominent Muslim Rajput family in Central Punjab. Rai Bhoe was the landlord owner of over 100,000 acres of land with Talwandi as its center of commerce – Talwandi thus also became to be known as Rai Bhoe Di Talwandi (Rai Bhoe’s Talwandi).

The exact date of Rai Bular's birth is not known but records kept by bards date it circa 1425 A.D., in the city of Talwandi. Rai Bular was the only son of Rai Bhoe’s six children. One of Rai Bhoe’s daughter was married into the family of Sikandar Lodhi, the father of Ibrahim Lodhi, the last ruler of the Delhi Sultanate. Ibrahim Lodhi was an Afghan (specifically of the Ghilzai tribe of Pashtuns) who ruled over much of India from 1517-1526 after he ousted the Sayyid Dynasty. Many Muslim Rajputs were conferred titles by the Delhi Sultans and the title of 'Khan' was given to Rai Bular Bhatti by Ibrahim Lodhi. Around 1520 A.D., Babur, the first Moghul Emperor laid claim to the lands of the Sayyid dynasty. Babur believed himself to be the rightful heir to the throne of Timur as Timur had originally left Khizr Khan in charge of his empire in the Punjab. Khizr Khan became the leader, or Sultan, of the Delhi Sultanate, founding the Sayyid dynasty.

There was a fierce battle, called the First battle of Panipat, which was fought on April 21, 1526 between Babur and Ibrahim Lodhi. Ibrahim Lodhi was killed in this battle and Babur took possession of both Delhi and Agra.

In the year A.D. 1469, when Rai Bular was forty four years old, a child was born to one of his employees Metha Kalu in Talwandi. That child was named Nanak and later came to be known as Guru Nanak and the founder of the Sikh religion.

Many Muslim Rajputs were also conferred titles by the Delhi Sultans and the Mughal Emperors

Discovery of Guru Nanak

Rai Bular Bhatti is known to be the first person along with Guru Nanak's sister to dicover the divine qualities in the boy Nanak.