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| Rise and fall of dogra empire | | | Col J P Singh, Retd | 11/4/2011 9:51:41 PM |
| Somewhere be tween Lahore; the capital of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Kashmir, the citadel of Afghan Ruler lay Principality of Jammu, where Gulab Singh was born in the later part of 18th century. In the 19th century, he made history by knitting together smaller principalities, sult-nats, jagirs and feudatories of hills and plains; into a vast empire called Jammu & Kashmir; treading over an area of 86,023 Sq Miles. His empire included Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit, Baltistan, Hunza, Nagar and Haveli. He extended the boundaries of his kingdom up to the point where three great empires met. Born in a small feudatory family, courage, determination and bravery was an inherited trait of Gulab Singh, to which his grand uncle, Mian Mota, the Dewan of Jammu Principality, added the fine art of statesmanship by bringing him up in own care. Gulab Singh proved his soldierly qualities in the Battle of Gumat in 1808. Having heard of his remarkable valour, Ranjit Singh; ruler of Punjab employed him as cavalryman. An opportunity came his way to rise, which he fully exploited. For the distinguished services to Lahore Darbar, Maharaja Ranjit Singh rewarded him with the Raj of Jammu. Evolution of State of Jammu & Kashmir began thereon. An act of significance is also attached to this history in which Maharaja Ranjit Singh applied Raj Tilak to Gulab Singh on 17 June 1822 (4th Har 1879) at Jia Pota Akhnoor. When he applied Tilak upside down, Pandits objected, to which the Maharaja said, " I am planting a tree of Dogra rule with roots deep down up to Patal (under world) so that it cannot be uprooted". True to his saying this Dogra dynasty ruled for 130 years while many such regimes collapsed to the British pressure and were either annexed or decimated. From that day onwards began the process of consolidation of a state under the astute leadership of a great visionary. Within two decades Gulab Singh conquered many principalities North & West of Jammu and established his sovereignty over vast area. Later by a stroke of good luck, he acquired the Principality of Kashmir and its dependencies of Gilgit, Indus valley and Chilas by paying Rs.75 Lac against war indemnity (liability of Lahore Darbar). Governor General gave him absolute control over Kashmir on 16 March 1946 by the Treaty of Amritsar. Thus came into existence the vast empire of Jammu & Kashmir under the direct rule of Maharaja Gulab Singh. He was the person who built the edifice of Dogra empire brick by brick. The Dogra empire was a unique example in the world those days. It had people from different religions and ethnicities yet lived peacefully under the benign rule of Dogra rulers. Gulab Singh was succeeded by son Ranbir Singh and grand son Partap Singh. Both were progressive and benevolent rulers. The state witnessed modernization and development during their rule.
A century later, during the reign of Hari Singh, political and social changes swept the subcontinent. Mahatma Gandhi led the Freedom Movement against British rule and as a counterpart of Quit India Movement, Sheikh Abdullah started Quit Kashmir Movement against Dogra rule. Quit India movement led to the end of British rule; similarly Quit Kashmir movement led to the end of Dogra rule. Hari Singh's rule witnessed lot of political upheavals. He ruled the state during the most turbulent period of history witnessing struggle for freedom from Imperial rule led by Mahatma Gandhi, Quit Kashmir Movement led by Sheikh Abdullah, World War I & II, Indian independence with its partition & communal strife and 1st ever Indo - Pak war which was fought on the soils of Jammu & Kashmir. Under the weight of increasing momentum of political turbulence, the Dogra empire was fast getting eroded, although Maharaja seemed to be blissfully unaware of the tremendous forces that were on the move and working against him. Within the state, Sheikh Abdullah converted Muslim Conference to his National Conference in 1931. Surcharged as he always was with anti Dogra feelings, he played skillfully on Pt Nehru's anti feudalism by making Hari Singh the main target of his political assault. On 20 May 1947, Maharaja arrested Sheikh Abdullah. Hearing this Pt Nehru announced his visit to Kashmir. Maharaja banned his entry but Nehru defied the ban. He was arrested at Kohala Bridge. His arrest was the turning point in the history of Jammu and Kashmir. Pt Nehru was the future Prime Minister of Indian Republic and most charismatic leader of the time. Instead of welcoming him warmly and seeking his cooperation in resolving problems with Sheikh, he was arrested and made enemy for no alarming reason. It seems tragic that an intelligent ruler as Hari Singh was and in many ways democratic and progressive, could not understand the dangers of arresting Pt Nehru. He grievously misjudged the political situation in the country as well as political storm in his state. It is from then on that the die was cast, an ironical erosion of Dogra empire commenced. It was just a matter of time before the disaster struck and the edifice collapsed. Nature decides the life and longevity on earth. This empire could not be an exception. Being an effective ruler is one thing, coping with once-in-the millennium historical phenomenon is another.
At the time of partition there were four major forces at work in the subcontinent. Ironically Maharaja was inimical with each one of them. First were the British who had decided to transfer the power after dividing India. Hari Singh never trusted them and was suspect of their handing over power. Being nationalist he did not strike any surreptitious deal with them. The second was Indian National Congress which was sweeping the subcontinent with freedom movement to which Maharaja was hostile mainly because of Pt Nehru's anti feudalism and close association with his arch political rival Sheikh Abdullah. The third force was Muslim League led by Jinnah. Despite the fact that Jinnah opposed Sheikh Abdullah which Hari Singh could have exploited but he could not digest Jinnah's aggressive communal agenda.
This led him to spurn all the attractive offers coming from Pakistan. Finally it was National Conference, the main political force within the state led by Sheikh Abdullah which Maharaja feared to be the main threat to his throne and the Dogra rule. He therefore did not trust and tolerate its leaders. The net outcome was that when the crucial time came, all the four forces were jointly arrayed against him. Thus at the time of reckoning, he stood alone and helpless. The edifice of Dogra Empire built so painstakingly by Gulab Singh and successors, started collapsing brick by brick from 1931 onwards. It finally fell on 15 September 1952, when Yuvraj Karan Singh, the Regent and the inheritor of the empire himself abolished monarchy in J&K.
The scribe is a columnist, can be accessed at jaipalsingh1947 @ gmail.com |
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