Dr Rahul Gupta, Goverdhan Singh Jamwal
It is said that Truth can’t be hidden for long, just like the sun and the moon. For over the last century, facts of Dogra history were not written and a malicious attempt was made to distort their history. A gentle attempt is being made here to present the untold victorious saga of loyal and brave soldiers of Dogra Motherland.
According to legend, the house of the Jammu Dogras (derived from Durgara) has descended from the suyavansi branch of Rajputs and its first scion, Agnigiri from Ayodhya. His descendant, Jambul Chand (Manhas clan) moved into Jammu hills from the present-day Sialkot, and laid the foundations of Jammu raj.
Daya Karn son of Raja Puran Kara is said to have conquered and goverened all of Kashmir and so did his descendants for 52 generations. According to Kangra tradition, Dogra is a descendant of the founder of the Katoch branch of the Lunar race of Rajputs.
History of Dogra Martial Empire dates back to the time of Mahabharta (Trigat Naresh fought for Kauravas). Also, Alexander’s excursion to the east was stopped by Dogra ruler Porus. He was defeated and killed at Salal, Reasi. The descendant (King Aishwarya Chandra) of the King Porus (King Parmananda Katoch) recently said that Porus is a title, meaning “Mountain lion”.
Lalitaditya Muktapida (eighth century), the fifth ruler of the Karkota dynasty of Kashmir recruited his army from the hilltribes, probably the forebears of the Dogras. Lalitaditya and his well prepared army succeeded in extending his empire across the Punjab, Kanauj, Bihar, Bengal Orissa and then helped the Deccan leader after moving to the southern India. After his return from Gujarat and Rajasthan, he captured an area up to Caspian Sea and then conquered Ladakh. He foiled any attempt by the Arabs and Tibetians to move into Kashmir. After the thirteenth century, the capital of Durgara (Dogras) was shifted from Babbapura to present day Jammu city; the Rajas of Jammu and their clan took their name, Jamwal from the capital city.
The territory under the Dogra rulers extended from the northern Punjab plains into the hills of Jammu and Kangra. From the eleventh century onwards, the motherland had to bear successive incursions which led to disarray and weakening of central authority. In 1808, The Dogras lost the Battle of Jammu against the Sikhs (Hukam Singh Chimni) and the Jammu city was captured. With Jammu’s fall, Kashmir was conquered in 1819by Sikh army under Misr Diwan Chand of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. In 1822, Gulab Singh ji was installed as the Raja of Jammu by Maharaja Ranjit Singh because of his brave performance in many battles, his loyalty, great leadership abilities and also to calm the mounting revolt of the Dogra Rajputs (led by Mian Dido Jamwal and Chib Rajputs) against the Sikhs. Maharaja Ranjit Singh ji had applied the Raj Tilak to the Gulab Singh ji on June 17, 1822 at Jia Pota Akhnoor located on the banks of Chenab River.
Raja Gulab Singh ji conquered and merged Rajouri and Kishtwad under Dogra Empire. Dogras under his leadership helped and supported Hari Singh Nalwa, the Sikh General in many battles and conquests especially in North West frontier regions to suppress the revolt of Afghanis.
In 1837, when the information of Afghan attack on Sikh fort of Jamrud reached Maharaja Ranjit Singh ji, Raja Gulab Singh Ji was given the task of saving the fort.
Though Hari Singh Nalwa was killed in the Battle of Jamrud, the fort was saved by the bravery of 800 Sikh soldiers fighting against 36,000 Afghan army including tribals and guerilla fighters. The Afghans fled and withdrew due to the fear of the advancing army under Raja Gulab Singh Ji. Gulab Singh Ji, the trustworthy Raja of Maharaja Ranjit Singh sternly suppressed the rebellion of Muslim tribes in Kashmir and Hazara after the martyrdom of Hari Singh Nalwa.
In the year 1834 and beyond, General Zorawar Singh Chandel (Kalhuria), the commander of Gulab Singh, conquered a large part of Ladakh including Zanskar, Baltistan and Skardu. These regions became part of Jammu & Kashmir Kingdom under Dogra Rule. He had also captured places like Hanle, Tashigong, Rudok and Gartok during his missions. He is known as ‘Conqueror of Ladakh’, ‘Napoleon of India’ or ‘Napoleon of the East’, although his military genius and his military conquests were far greater in proportions than the Napolean of France. Zorawar Singh ji and his dogra warriors were great Shiv bhakts. After capturing Taklakot, Zorawar Singh ji and his men went on epic Hindu pilgrimage to Mansarovar and Mount Kailash to pay obeisance to Bhagwan Shiv ji. After taking Holy dip in the Mansarovar Lake, he returned back to To-yo near Taklakot. Zorawar Singh ji had done meticulous preparations for maintaining the supply lines of Dogra forces. Mehta Basti Ram of Dogra army was given the command of 500 men, withcannons at the fort of Chi-T’ang near Taklakot. The supplies for the Dogra army over such a long distance failed after the onset of winter due to blockage of all the passes and roads by intense cold and snow over months. The army lost men due to starvation and many soldiers lost their fingers and toes to frostbite. The Chinese allies, Tibetans and Balti rebels regrouped themselves, bypassing the Dogra fort of Chi-T’ang and betrayed the wounded Zorawar and his men (when Dogra men were at their weakest) at the Battle of Toyo on 12 December 1841. The undeterred greatest General of Raja Gulab Singh ji was killed by a Tibetan commander Migmar who charged and thrusted his lance in Zorawar Singh’s chest.
Barely 6 months after the death of the General Zorawar Singh ji, the enemy General was killed by a combined army of Dogras and Sikhs during the battle of Chushul in the month of August in 1842. The fear of advancing Dogras must have sent shivers down the spine of Tibetans to sign the peace treaty of Chushul. Tibet and China surrendered and pledged to honour the traditional boundaries in the coming years. Tibetan built a samadhi or memorial in Toyo near Taklakot in West Tibet to honour Zorawar Singh ji. The Tibetans made their kids wear taviz made with bones of general Zorawar Singh, thinking that the kids will grow up to be as strong and brave as the general. He is aptly known as ‘Conqueror of Ladakh’, ‘Napoleon of India’ or ‘Napoleon of the East’.
After signing the treaty of Amritsar in 1846, Raja Gulab Singh Jamwal became the first Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. It was the largest princely state under the British Raj. Dogra dynasty ruled Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Gilgit, Baltistan, Ladakh, Aksai Chin, and Shaksgam valley and were de facto head of state of feudatories like Hunza, Nagar and Chitral.
The Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir kept a larger number of State Forces than any other ruler of an Indian State under the British Raj. The state forces under their own native officers fought as Imperial Service Troops in both the 1st and 2nd Second World Wars in East Africa, Palestine and Burma. An Army magazine on World War 1 complimented the Dogra men in uniform as, “More solid than brilliant, they are full of quiet and resolute courage when face to face with danger. Law abiding and well behaved, steady and resolute, though not showy of courage, their virtues shine forth in moments of peril when they will face certain death with a calm and determination to do before they die.”
In Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, Brigadier Rajendra Singh Jamwal, the commander in chief of state forces of Maharaja Hari Singh ji fought against hordes (thousands) of indoctrinated murderous heavily armed kabayali jihadi army of Pakistanis and Afganis at Uri. He and his 120 men stopped their advance to Srinagar for four crucial days till the Indian Army landed at Srinagar airport. He was conferred with MahaVir Chakra posthumously. With lesser men left after defection from State Muslim Soldiers, the Jammu and Kashmir forces lost no less than 1990 officers and men killed, died of wounds, or missing presumed dead) in the first war against Pakistan. For their gallant stand they earned three MahaVir Chakra, 20 Vir Chakras and 52 Mentioned in Dispatches. J&K State Force were highly outnumbered and ill-equipped, but highly motivated men who saved the state until the arrival of Indian Army. The Jammu and Kashmir State Forces were the only former Princely State Forces of India to be absorbed into the Indian Army as a distinct and separate Regiment and is presently designated as Jammu and Kashmir Rifles.
Dogras over the centuries have given their sweat and blood to guard and protect the North-western borders and save the motherland. Dogras have borne the brunt of the bloody wars, filthy politics, unjust appeasement policies and conspiracies to malign the Hindu Dogra community since the last century. Dogras faith in Devi Shakti Mata Rani Vaishno Devi ji has always given us strength to face these challenges.
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