Col J P Singh
Gen Zorawar Singh became a legend in his own life time because of his conquests over impregnable Himalayas. He was born on 13 April 1786 at Kahlur, in neighboring Himachal. Very little is known about his early life except that he took up a job with Rana Jaswant Singh of Marmat, (Ramnagar) when he was 16. He learnt archery, riding and swordsmanship under Rana’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 where the Kahluria family with two brilliant daughters live. Admirably they are in the forefront to revive the legacy of their legendary ancestor.
Being intelligent and enthusiastic, Zorawar Singh won favours of Kiledar who appointed him as courier between him and Raja Gulab Singh. In one of the meetings with Raja, he explained certain flaws and wastages in Supply Department. When corrections were made, lot of savings accrued. Following this he was appointed ‘Inspector of Commissariat of Supplies’ for all Forts. 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 Himalayas in mind while positioning Zorawar Singh at Kishtwar, the gateway to Ladakh, but the co-relation can’t be overlooked because the Table-land Ladakh and Gilgit-Baltistan were the main objective of Jammu ruler because of ancient Silk Route passing through their capitals Leh & Skardu.
Later as General of Raja Gulab Singh, what Zorawar Singh achieved is unprecedented. 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 auspicious Amrit Mohatsav calling for celebration of Indian heritage, let me recount Gen Zorawar Singh’s Trans-Himalayan adventures, some written, some in the folk lore, for the readers to know his achievements. Average height of the areas conquered was 14,000 ft where air was rarified, lacking oxygen and making breathing difficult. During the winters, rivers freeze, passes get blocked and tracks get covered with snow. Snow storms and blizzards were common phenomenon. Food crops, 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.
Beginning of conquests in 1834 has its origin in Raja of Timbus seeking Raja Gulab Singh’s help against Ladakhi King. Finding the opportunity, Dogra Raja ordered Gen Zorawar Singh to march into Ladakh. He had been waiting for such opportunity to excel. Gen Zorawar Singh entered Ladakh through the Suru River 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 Commander 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 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 Dogra Kingdom. Soon after the two sides had signed the peace agreement, the Chief of Sod rose in arms. Dogra General quickly suppressed the revolt. Having restored order, Zorawar Singh triumphantly returned to Jammu at the end of 1835. This is considered as one of the greatest victories of Gen Zorawar Singh. His success is attributed to his strategic & diplomatic acumen.
In 1837, on the instigation of Sikh Governor of Kashmir, Ladakh King revolted. This forced Gen Zorawar Singh’s return to Leh speedily. 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 Ngorub as the ruler, he returned to Jammu. In 1838, Ngorub also revolted. Zorawar Singh marched back to Leh via Zanskar. Ngorub 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. Dogras promptly suppressed the rebellion, arrested the leading insurgents and returned to Jammu. In 1840, Sukamir 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 them telling them that he isn’t Alexander or Babar. He is just carrying on Raja Gulab Singh’s orders who desires 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 against whom they can’t stand. He would assure status quo and non interference. In most of the cases, he would prevail. 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 let Gen Zorawar Singh enter highlands of Tibet with 5/6K 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. Seeing his diplomacy succeeding and winter started, 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. 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 outcome 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.
Our forefathers were the fighting force of Dogra Rulers who extended their Kingdom to far-off places in Central Asian Hinterland in the nineteenth century. Survivors told stories of their conquests to people back home, from whom they continued to pass on and still alive as folk-tales, folklore and folk-songs. Ironically they have not been documented, neither by the Dogras who kept fighting battles and wars and nor by Indian historians who remained focused on the ingress of East India Company in the Indian heartland. Luckily British writers documented military adventures across Himalayas which stand proof of Dogras’ achievements and continue to be discussed world over. Luckily I am from the generation who has heard folk-tales and hence feel privileged to have some understanding of glorious heritage. 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.
Of late, Sikh historians have started claiming Gen Zorawar Singh as General of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and glorifying his achievements much more than any historian has done. The fact that he was sent to Lahore Darbar by Jammu Raja after his Ladakh conquest to mollify Maharaja Ranjit Singh and later Kashmir Governor Mahan Singh instigating a revolt against Dogra rule in Ladakh refutes their claim of otherwise well orchestrated acclamation.
With LoC & LAC standoff in Himalayas, Gen Zorwar Singh will continue to be a role model for military leaders defending the Indian frontiers.
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