Gulab Singh Jamwal (1792–1857) was the founder of

Dogra dynasty The Dogra dynasty of Dogra Rajputs from the Shiwalik Himalayas created Jammu and Kashmir when all dynastic kingdoms in India were being absorbed by the East India Company. Events led the Sikh Empire to recognise Jammu as a vassal state in 1820 ...

and the first

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

of the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

, the largest princely state under the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

, which was created after the defeat of the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a state originating in the Indian subcontinent, formed under the leadership of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established an empire based in the Punjab. The empire existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahor ...

in the

First Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 in and around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession of ...

. During the war, Gulab Singh stayed aloof which helped the British victory, and even became prime minister of the Sikh Empire for the final 38 days of conflict. The

Treaty of Amritsar (1846) The Treaty of Amritsar, executed by the British East India Company and Raja Gulab Singh of Jammu after the First Anglo-Sikh War, established the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir under the suzerainty of the British Indian Empire. Description ...

formalised the sale by the British to Gulab Singh for 7,500,000 Nanakshahee Rupees of all the lands in Kashmir that were ceded to them by the Sikhs by the

Treaty of Lahore The Treaty of Lahore of 9 March 1846 was a peace-treaty marking the end of the First Anglo-Sikh War. The treaty was concluded, for the British, by the Governor-General Sir Henry Hardinge and two officers of the East India Company and, for the ...

Early life

The Hill fort of Maharaja Gulab Singh, 1846 drawing

Gulab Singh was born on 17 October 1792 in a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Dogra Rajput The term Dogra Rajput refers to Dogra people who are of Rajput clans found in the Jammu region and parts of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Dogra Rajput dynasty ruled Jammu and Kashmir till 1947. Hari Singh was the last ruler of this dynasty. The ...

family. His father was Kishore Singh Jamwal. He joined the army of

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

in 1809 and was sufficiently successful to earn a

jagir A jagir ( fa, , translit=Jāgir), also spelled as jageer, was a type of feudal land grant in the Indian subcontinent at the foundation of its Jagirdar (Zamindar) system. It developed during the Islamic rule era of the Indian subcontinent, start ...

worth 12,000 rupees and also 90 horses. In 1808, following the

Battle of Jammu The Battle of Jammu was fought between the Sikhs under the command of Banda Singh Bahadur against the Mughal forces near the hills of Jammu on January 22, 1712. The Mughals were able to achieve victory against the Sikhs. Background After t ...

, the kingdom was annexed by Ranjit Singh. Ranjit Singh appointed a governor to administer the newly conquered area which was expanded in 1819 with the annexation of

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

by a Sikh force. In 1820, in appreciation of services rendered by his family and Gulab Singh in particular, Ranjit Singh bestowed the Jammu region as a hereditary fief upon Kishore Singh. Apart from their sterling services, the family's intimate association with the region commended Kishore Singh's candidature to the Lahore court. In 1821, Gulab Singh captured conquered Rajouri from Aghar Khan and Kishtwar from Raja Tegh Mohammad Singh (alias Saifullah Khan). That same year, Gulab Singh took part in the Sikh conquest of Dera Ghazi Khan. He also captured and executed his own clansman,

Mian Dido Jamwal Mian Dido Jamwal was a Dogra Rajput warrior from the Jamwal clan who rebelled against the overlords of Jammu, the Sikh Empire. He was descended from Raja Hari Dev of Jammu. Mian Dido was extremely popular among the common people of Jammu, and even ...

, who had been leading a rebellion against the Sikhs. Gulab Singh of Jammu and Kashmir

Raja of Jammu

The palace of Maharaja Gulab Singh, on the banks of Chenab, Jammu, mid 19th century

Kishore Singh died in 1822 and Gulab Singh was confirmed as Raja of

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi Ri ...

by his suzerain, Ranjit Singh. Shortly afterward, Gulab Singh secured a formal declaration of renunciation from his kinsman, the deposed Raja Jit Singh. As Raja (Governor-General/Chief) of Jammu, Gulab Singh was one of the most powerful chiefs of the

. Under the Imperial and Feudal Army arrangement, he was entitled to keep a personal army of 3 Infantry Regiments, 15 Light Artillery Guns and 40 Garrison Guns. In 1824 Gulab Singh captured the fort of Samartah, near the holy

Mansar Lake Mansar Lake is a lake located from the city of Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is fringed by forest-covered hills, and is over a mile () in length and half-a-mile () in width. Surinsar-Mansar Lakes are designated as Ramsar Convention i ...

. In 1827 he accompanied the Sikh Commander-in-Chief

Hari Singh Nalwa Hari Singh Nalwa (1791–1837) was Commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Fauj, the army of the Sikh Empire. He is known for his role in the conquests of Kasur, Sialkot, Attock, Multan, Kashmir, Peshawar and Jamrud. Hari Singh Nalwa was respons ...

, who fought and defeated a horde of

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

rebels led by Sayyid Ahmed at the

Battle of Shaidu A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. Between 1831 and 1839 Ranjit Singh bestowed on Gulab Singh the

of the salt mines in northern Punjab, and the nearby Punjabi towns like Bhera, Jhelum, Rohtas, and Gujrat. 1837 Poonch Revolt In 1837, after the death of Hari Singh Nalwa in the Battle of Jamrud, the Muslim tribes of Sudhan, Tanolis, Karrals, Dhunds, Sattis and Maldayal rose in revolt in Hazara and Poonch. The insurgency of Poonch was led by Shams Khan, a Chief of the Sudhan tribeSir Lepel H. Griffin, ''The Panjab Chiefs.'', (T. C. McCarthy, Chronicle Press, 1865), Page 59

/ref> and former confidential follower of Raja Dhyan Singh. Thus the betrayal of Shams Khan Sudhan against the regime was taken personally and Gulab Singh was given the task of crushing the rebellion. After defeating the insurgents in Hazara and Murree hills, Gulab Singh stayed at Kahuta for some time and promoted disunion among the insurgents. Then his forces were sent to crush the insurgents. Eventually, Shams Khan Sudhan and his nephew Raj Wali Khan were betrayed and their heads were cut off during their sleep while the lieutenants were captured, flayed alive and put to death with cruelty. The contemporary British commentators state that the local population suffered immensely.

Intrigue at Lahore

On the death of Ranjit Singh in 1839, Lahore became a center of conspiracies and intrigue in which the three Jammu brothers were involved. They succeeded in placing the administration in the hands of Prince

Nau Nihal Singh Kunwar Nau Nihal Singh (9 March 1821 – 5 November 1840) was the third Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. He was the only son of Maharaja Kharak Singh and his consort, Maharani Chand Kaur. He was known as Yuvraj Kunwar Nau Nihal Singh. He was also kn ...

with Raja

Dhian Singh Raja Dhian Singh (22 August 1796 – 15 September 1843) was the longest serving wazir of the Sikh Empire, during the reign of Maharajah Ranjit Singh, and four of his successors. He held the office for twenty five years, from 1818 up till his death ...

as prime minister. However, in 1840, during the

funeral procession A funeral procession is a procession, usually in motor vehicles or by foot, from a funeral home or place of worship to the cemetery or crematorium. In earlier times the deceased was typically carried by male family members on a bier or in a cof ...

of his father Maharaja Kharak Singh,

together with Udham Singh, son of Gulab Singh, died when an old brick gate collapsed on them. In January 1841

Sher Singh Sher Singh (4 December 1807 – 15 September 1843) was the fourth Maharaja of the Sikh Empire. Elder of the twins of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire and Maharani Mehtab Kaur. His reign began on 18 January 1840 following his ...

, son of Ranjit Singh tried to seize the throne of Lahore but was repulsed by the Jammu brothers. The defense of the fort was in the hands of Gulab Singh. After peace was made between the two sides, Gulab Singh and his men were allowed to leave with their weapons. On this occasion, he is said to have taken away a large amount of the Lahore treasure to Jammu.

Recognition as Maharaja

Meanwhile, in the continuing intrigues at Lahore, the Sandhawalia Sardars (related to Ranjit Singh) murdered Raja Dhian Singh and the Sikh Maharaja

in 1842. Subsequently, Gulab Singh’s youngest brother, Suchet Singh, and nephew, Hira Singh, were also murdered. As the administration collapsed the

Khalsa Khalsa ( pa, ਖ਼ਾਲਸਾ, , ) refers to both a community that considers Sikhism as its faith,Kha ...

soldiery clamored for the arrears of their pay. In 1844 the Lahore court commanded an invasion of Jammu to extract money from Gulab Singh, reputed to be the richest Raja north of the Sutlej River as he had taken most of the Lahore treasury. However, the Gulab Singh agreed to negotiate on his behalf with the Lahore court. These negotiations imposed an indemnity of 27 lakh Nanakshahee rupees on the Raja. Lacking the resources to occupy such a large region immediately after annexing portions of Punjab, the British recognised Gulab Singh as a Maharaja directly tributary to them on payment of 75 thousand Nanakshahee Rupees for the war-indemnity (this payment was justified on account of Gulab Singh legally being one of the chiefs of the Kingdom of Lahore and thus responsible for its treaty obligations). The angry courtiers of Lahore (particularly the baptized Sikh, Lal Singh) then incited the governor of Kashmir to rebel against Gulab Singh, but this rebellion was defeated, thanks in great part to the action of

Herbert Edwardes Major-General Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes DCL (12 November 1819 – 23 December 1868) was a British administrator, soldier, and statesman active in the Punjab region of British India. He is best known as the "Hero of Multan" for his pivotal ...

, Assistant Resident at Lahore. In the second Sikh War of 1849, he allowed his Sikh soldiers to desert and go to fight alongside their brethren in Punjab. The treaties of Chushul and Amritsar had defined the borders of the Kingdom of Jammu in the east, south, and west but the northern border was still undefined. In 1850 the fort of Chilas in the Dard country was conquered. Maharaja Gulab Singh died on 30 June 1857 and was succeeded by his son, Ranbir Singh.

''Gulabnama''

Stamp of India - 2009 - Colnect 159936 - Maharaja Gulab Singh

Diwan Kirpa Ram, the "Maharajah's private secretary and the son of Dewan Jwala Sahai, the Maharajah's Prime Minister", of the Diwans of Eminabad family, wrote the first biography of Gulab Singh titled ''Gulabnama'' in the 19th century in Persian. K. M. Panikkar describes ''Gulabnama'' as an authoritative source;

Notes

Bibliography

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