Col J P Singh
Gen Zorawar Singh was born on 13 April 1786 at Kahloor, in Himachal. He became a legend in his own life time because of his conquests over impregnable Himalayan Highlands. Very little is known about his early life except that when 16, he took up a job with Mian Jaswant Singh, Jagirdar of Marmat near Ramnagar. He learnt archery, riding and swordsmanship under Mian’s guidance. Thereafter he met Raja Gulab Singh at Jammu who appointed him as Sepoy under Kiledar of Reasi which finally became his family abode.
Seeing him intelligent and enthusiastic, Kiledar appointed him Courier for contact with Raja Gulab Singh. In one of the meetings with Gulab Singh, he explained certain serious flaws in Supply Department. When corrections were made, lot of savings accrued. Following this he was appointed ‘Inspector of Commissariat of Supplies’ for all Forts in Jammu region. When Gulab Singh became Raja of Jammu in 1822, Zorawar Singh was appointed Governor of Reasi, Arnas, Kussal and Kishtwar with a title of Wazir. It is not very certain whether Raja Gulab Singh had conquests of Himalayan Highlands in mind while positioning Zorawar Singh at Kishtwar, the gateway to Ladakh, but the co-relation can’t be overlooked because the Highlands of Ladakh & Gilgit-Baltistan were the main objective of Jammu Raja because of ancient Silk Route passing through their capitals Leh & Skardu.
Later, as General of Raja Gulab Singh, what Zorawar Singh achieved is unprecedented in the annals of military history. He launched Trans-Himalayan campaigns starting on 15 April 1834 with an army of 5000 Dogras and within 8 years conquered Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Kailash Mansarovar and Western Tibet. His martyrdom on 12 December 1841 ended the saga of Himalayan conquests by a legendary General after he had already taken Indian boundaries to Central Asian Republics.
During the controversial drive for correcting the aberrations of History, let me recount Gen Zorawar Singh’s Trans-Himalayan adventures, some written, some in the folk lore, for the academicians to know his achievements and include them into the curriculum.
Average height of the Himalayan Highlands conquered was 14,000 ft where air was rarified, lacking oxygen and making breathing difficult. During the winters, rivers froze, passes got blocked and tracks got covered with snow with snow-storms & blizzards as common phenomenon. Food grains, animal fodder and fuel won’t be enough for the local population. Hence the terrain, climate and altitudes made living and logistics difficult to support a military campaign. But that didn’t deter the legendary Dogra. For the investment of Ladakh, Gen Zorawar Singh entered Ladakh through the Suru River in April 1834 where he defeated a local army of General Mangal and established Dogra control over Western Purig by mid August. After a brief pause to refurbish his force, the Dogra General marched towards Leh. King sent Gen Banko Kahlon to cut off Zorawar Singh’s lines of communication. The astute 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 with 5000 Dogras and marched his victorious troops to Leh. The panic stricken King sued for peace which was accepted by the General. As per the agreement Ladakh became a vassal state of Dogra Kingdom. Ruler Tse-Pal was retained as King. Soon after the two sides had signed the peace agreement, the Chief of Sod rose in arms. Dogra General quickly suppressed that revolt. Having restored order in Ladakh, Gen Zorawar Singh triumphantly returned to Jammu at the end of 1835 little knowing that the conquest was illusory. Yet this is considered as one of the first greatest victories of Gen Zorawar Singh. This success is attributed to his strategic and diplomatic acumen learnt from his legendary mentor.
In 1837, on the instigation of Sikh Governor of Kashmir, Ladakh King revolted. Gen Zorawar Singh speed-marched to Leh. Moment he reached Leh, the King begged for forgiveness. Dogra General exploited Ladakh’s internal feuds to his advantage and forced King to abdicate in favour of a noble Ngorub Stabzin. Appointing Stabzin as the ruler, he returned to Jammu. In 1838, Stabzin also revolted. Zorawar Singh marched back to Leh via Zanskar. Stabzin was deposed and original King Tse-Pal was re-installed. In 1839, he marched to Ladakh yet again to face another challenge from the ousted Ngorub Stabzin. Dogras promptly suppressed the rebellion, arrested the leading insurgents and returned to Jammu.
In 1840, head of Purig rebelled. Zorawar Singh reappeared in Ladakh 5th time and this time brutally suppressed the rebellion.
Folk lore is that whenever/wherever Gen Zorwar Singh appeared, lot of gloom and scare would prevail. But the General would meet locals telling them that he is just the messenger of Raja Gulab Singh telling them to be his associate. “If you accept his suzerainty, there will be no bloodshed”. If there was resistance, he would explain that Raja Gulab Singh is very powerful whom they can’t face. He would assure status quo and non interference. In most of the cases, he prevailed. That could be the reason that General never employed larger armies in his campaigns.
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 enabling General to reach Balti capital Skardu and besiege its strategic Fort.
Having militarily/diplomatically consolidated Gilgit-Baltistan, Raja Gulab Singh revived an ancient Ladakhi claim over Western Tibet and in May 1841 ordered Gen Zorawar Singh to enter the Tibetan Plateau with 6000 Dogras, Ladakhis & Baltis. Sweeping all resistance along the way, he passed the Mansarovar Lake and converged at Gartok forcing Tibetan Commander to flee to Taklakot. Zorawar Singh stormed Taklakot Fort on 6 September 1841 and captured the strategic city. Envoys from Tibet and Nepal met the General there to negotiate peace. Seeing his diplomacy succeeding and winter setting in, he seems to have modified his plan. But as the ill luck would have it, in November a composite army of 10,000 Chinese and Tibetans marched to Taklakot. The adversaries came face to face on 10 December at To-Yo. The fierce battle began. Temperature by then had fallen to minus 50 due to sweeping blizzards. Yet the Dogras gave a tough fight. On 12 December 1841, the Dogra General was fatally wounded in the battle of To-Yo. The death of the valiant commander decided the fate of the battle but living up to their bravery, Dogras executed the Chinese General to avenge their commander’s killing.
On 12th December 1841 ended the saga of glorious conquests of Himalayan Highlands but that didn’t end the legacy of the warrior. Tibetans raised a memorial for the fallen General at To-Yo. It is visited by pregnant women for blessings for a brave son like him; a rare honour extended to the invader nowhere else in the world. This leaves Napoleon far aside of Gen Zorawar Singh.
Our forefathers were the fighting force of Dogra Warrior who extended Dogra Kingdom to Central Asian Hinterland in the nineteenth century. Survivors told stories of their conquests to people back home, from whom they continued to pass on to stay alive as folk-tales, folklore and folk-songs. Ironically they have not been documented, neither by the Dogras who kept fighting battles/wars and nor by Indian historians who remained focused on the ingress of East India Company in the Indian heartland. Luckily some British writers have documented military adventures across Himalayas which stand proof of Dogras’ achievements and continue to be discussed world over. I am from the generation who have heard folk-tales and hence feel privileged to have some understanding of Trans-Himalayan Conquests. Some reflections of rich heritage with regards to disputed Aksai Chin over which our ancestors had trampled through have resounded in Indian Parliament many times since 1959. To counter Chinese renaming places in Arunachal, Aksai Chin should be named as ‘Indian Aksai Chin’.
With LAC standoff in Himalayas worsening by the day, Maharaja Gulab Singh and Gen Zorawar Singh should continue to be role models for military and political leaders for defending the national frontiers. Hence their conquests must be included in the under correction curriculum.
(The author is member of management committee of Maharaja Gulab Singh Memorial Trust.)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
