DAYĀ KAUR, RĀṆĪ (d. 1823), widow of Gurbakhsh Siṅgh of the Nishānāvālī principality of the Sikhs who ruled over Ambālā, assumed control of the misl and the family estate upon her husband's death in 1786. She ruled over the territory remarkably well for nearly 37 years. Sir Lepel Griffin in his The Rajas of the Punjab says, "She was an excellent ruler and her estate was one of the best managed in the protected territory. " In November 1808, Mahārājā Raṇjīt Siṅgh ejected Dayā Kaur from the city and seized all her property and possessions. He divided her country between Rājā Bhāg Siṅgh of Jīnd, his maternal uncle, and Bhāg Siṅgh's friend and ally, Bhāī Lāl Siṅgh of Kaithal. In 1809, the cis-Sutlej chiefs passed under British protection. Dayā Kaur appealed to Colonel David Ochterlony, agent to the Governor-General at the Ludhiāṇā Political Agency, who forced the chiefs of Jīnd and Kaithal to restore to Dayā Kaur territories which originally belonged to her.

         Dayā Kaur died in 1823 and on her death her estates and property lapsed to the British government.