K P Singh
12th December is etched in Dogra’s psyche as day of remembrance of their intrepid and invincible General. This is the day when most illustrious chapter of Dogra history came to stand still. Unexpected set- backs in a nation’s history such as martyrdom of Gen Zorawar Singh are ever revealing account of their achievements and glory. As General of Raja Gulab Singh, what Zorawar Singh achieved is unprecedented. His Trans-Himalayan campaigns starting on 15 April 1834 with an army of 5000 Dogras puts him at top of the military campaigns pedestal. Within 8 years he conquered Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Kailash Mansarovar and Western Tibet i.e. almost entire geography of Northern India. Nation owes him a great gratitude for what he has done for India. To represent the grateful nation, the Indian Army, JKESL, UT Administration, Gen Zorawar Singh Memorial Trust and the civil society join hands in paying tribute to the legendary General at Zorawar Chowk on the day of reckoning. Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha himself leads the celebration with full grace and military honours that martyr deserves. This Tuesday function starts at 12 PM with the arrival of LG Manoj Sinha for which all the arrangements have been made appropriately.
On this day of deliverance I recount Gen Zorawar Singh’s Trans-Himalayan adventures and leave it for the readers to judge what Dogras are and what they did under the command of their invincible General.
Table-land Ladakh and Gilgit-Baltistan were the main objective of Jammu ruler because the ancient Silk Route passed through their capital towns Leh and Skardu. The average height of this area was above 12,000 ft where airwas rarified, oxygen very rare and breathing difficult. During the winters, rivers freeze, passes getblocked and tracks get covered with snow. Snow storms and blizzards were common phenomenon. Foodcrops, fodder and fuel was not enough even for the local population. Hence the terrain, climate and altitudes made living and logistics difficult to support a military adventure. When I hear stories of our army’s deployment in Ladakh and the administrative support they get I wonder how did our forefathers endure those difficulties.
In 1834 the Raja of Timbus, sought Raja Gulab Singh’s help against Ladakhi King. Finding the opportunity,Raja Gulab Singh ordered his able commander Zorawar Singh to march into Ladakh. The Dogra General had been waiting for such opportunity to excel. Gen Zorawar Singh entered Ladakh through the Suru River i.e. Kargil side where he defeated a local army of General Mangal and established Dogra control over Western province of Purig by mid August. After a brief pause to refurbish his force, the Dogra Commander marched towards Leh. King sent his military commander Gen Banko Kahlon to cut off Zorawar Singh’s lines of communication. The astute Dogra General rushed back to Kartse where he sheltered his troops through the winter. In the spring of 1835, he defeated 22,000 strong Army of Gen Kahlon and marched his victorious troops to Leh. The panic stricken King sued for peace. As per the agreement, he was retained as King with Ladakh as vassal state of the Dogra Kingdom. Soon after the two sides had signed the peace agreement, the Chief of Sod rose in arms against the Dogras. Dogra General crushed that rebellion and all other rebellions that followed one after the other. To put Ladakh under firm control of Dogra kingdom, General had to march to Ladakh five times in 8 years span.
With Ladakh firmly under control, the challenge lay to the Northwest which was predominantly a Muslim region under Afghan patronage. Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s death in 1839 gave Jammu ruler a free rein in Himalayas. Encouraged by the rifts amongst various Principalities and Royal households, Raja Gulab Singh ordered Zorawar Singh to invade Baltistan. With an army of 15,000, comprising of Dogras and Ladakhis, Dogra General marched to Baltistan at the end of 1840. His bold speed-march in winters and crossing Indus over frozen waters caught the Baltis off-guard and decisively beaten enabling Gen Zorawar Singh reach Balti capital of Skardu and besiege its strategic Fort.
Having consolidated his reign in Gilgit-Baltistan, Raja Gulab Singh revived an ancient Ladakhi claim over Western Tibet and in May 1841 let Gen Zorawar Singh enter highlands of Tibet with 5,000 men comprising of Dogras, Ladakhis and Baltis. Sweeping all resistance on the way, he passed the Mansarovar Lake and converged at Gartok. Tibetan commander fled to Taklakot. Zorawar Singh stormed Taklakot Fort on 6 September 1841 and captured the strategic city. Envoys from Tibet and Nepal met the General at Taklakot to negotiate peace. Unexpectedly, in November a composite army of 10,000 Chinese and Tibetans marched to Taklakot to drive Dogras out. The adversaries came face to face at Tojo on 10 December. The fierce battle began.Temperature by then had fallen to minus 50 due to sweeping blizzards. Yet the Dogras gave a tough fight. On12 December 1841, the Dogra General was fatally wounded. The death of the valiant commander decided the out come of the battle. Living up to their bravery, Dogras executed the enemy General to avenge their commander’s martyrdom. On 12th December 1841 ended the saga of glorious military adventures of the Dogra Warrior. Tibetans raised a memorial for the fallen General which is visited by the pregnant women for blessings for a brave son; a rare honour extended nowhere else in the world. This leaves Napoleon far aside of Gen Zorawar Singh. Many Indians including Army officers have gone to this memorial called Chortan in Tibet to pay homage to the Indian warriors during their Mansarovar yatra and Tibet visit on Chinese Visa. Listening their stories is a great treat for any Dogra.
My forefathers and other Dogras of Jammu were the fighting force of Dogra Rulers who extended their Kingdom to far off places in Central Asian Hinterland in the nineteenth century. They took part in all the Trans-Himalayan campaigns in the course of expansion of Dogra empire. Survivors told stories of their conquests to people back home, from whom they continued to pass on. They are still alive in the form of folk-tales, folklore and folk-songs. Ironically they have not been documented, neither by the Dogras who kept fighting battles and wars, one after the other, and nor by other Indian historians who probably remained writing about East India Company invasion on the Indian soil. Luckily British writers documented military adventures across Himalayas which stand proof of Dogras’ achievements and continue to be discussed and celebrated in J&K.
Luckily I am from the generation who have heard stories of achievements of our forefathers and hence feel privileged to have some knowledge of glorious Dogra heritage. To pass it on, I formed a Raj Tilak Committee in 2002 to commemorate Maharaja Gulab Singh’s Coronation at Jeo Pota Akhnoor in which role of Gen Zorawar Singh in the extension of Dogra Empire is always highlighted with garce. Some reflections of rich heritage with regards to disputed Aksai Chin over which my ancestors had trampled through have resounded in Indian Parliament many times since 1959.Hence celebration of Gen Zorawar Singh in Jammu as a public function is befitting tribute to the Dogra Napoleon of Himalayas.
(The author is Chairman of Raj Tilak Celebration Committee)