KASHMIR-12

Dogra Rule

1.       Raja Gulab Singh who (a Dogra Rajput) was the ruler of Jammu and had proved to be indispensable to Ranjit Singh and alongwith his brothers – Dhyan and Suchet, dominated the Sikh Kingdom. Interestingly, the name, Dogra was derived from the word ‘Dogirath’ which means ‘two lakes’. Gulab Singh had assisted the Sikh army in their successful expedition to annex Kashmir in 1819. In 1822, Gulab Singh had been bequeathed with the principality of Jammu for his proven loyalty to Ranjit Singh.  In  1828,  Dhyan  Singh  (Gulab Singh’s brother)  was granted the jagir of Poonch and other hill territories. The three brothers continued to expand their territories as largesse given by Ranjit Singh from time to time. The expanded territories included Kishtwar, Ladakh and Balitistan. Ladakh was conquered by the famous general Zorawar Singh in 1834.

                       

2.       After Ranjit Singh’s death, the Sikh kingdom weakened and Gulab Singh made most of the opportunity, through palace intrigues,  to expand his territories and attain enhanced powers from the Sikhs. Gulab Singh’s ambitions to annex Tibet ended in failure and Zorawar Singh was killed in a battle against Tibetans. The British had also strongly objected to the Dogras move on Tibet. In 1841, Gulab Singh volunteered to put down a mutiny by Sikh soldiers (who had killed governor Mian Singh) in Kashmir and after this was achieved, a new Muslim governor, Sheikh Ghulam Mohi ud din was appointed.

British Interests

3.       In the meanwhile the British watched, keenly, the decline of the power of the Sikh Empire and contemplated annexation of Punjab at a later stage. The British, to this end, attempted to build bridges with Gulab Singh with the intent to split the linkages between Sikhs and Dogras. In 1842, the British were forced to retreat from Afghanistan and a new force was sent for its capture under General Pollock. Gulab Singh moved with a large force to escort the British Army in this campaign. This was a distinct start to a growing friendship between the British and Dogra rulers, which had wide ramifications later in shaping events in the region.

4.       The Sikh Empire was slowly degenerating and diabolical plots were played out with the murders of Rani Chand Kaur, Sher Singh, Suchet Singh and finally Hari Singh. The relations between the British and the Sikhs, which had steadily declined after the death of Ranjit Singh, reached abysmal depths.   

THE SALE OF KASHMIR

5.         Gulab Singh endeared himself to the British and earned their trust. His diplomatic skills ensured that he remained the Wazir in the Sikh State even while secretly negotiating with the British on territorial expansionism. The sale of Kashmir, in 1846, by the British to Gulab Singh is steeped in controversy and this singular incident is widely considered to be a major landmark in the history of Kashmir which has its effect even till this day. 

The Fall of Sikhs 

6.         By 1844, the British were firm in their belief that Gulab Singh would side with them in case of their conflict with the Sikhs at a later stage. The Sikhs under Rani Jindan, at this point of time, were wary of Gulab Singh’s intentions in asserting his independence. Therefore, a 35,000 strong force was sent by the Sikh queen in February 1845 against Gulab Singh in Jammu. He was taken to Lahore under protective custody and barely managed to avoid being killed by Sikh soldiers. Gulab Singh was finally allowed to leave on a promise that he would return the lands belonging to his brother and nephew (which he had taken over after their death) and on a payment of 68 lakh rupees. This commitment was never kept.

7.         In the meanwhile, the Sikh Darbar declined, largely due to infighting among the leadership. Gulab Singh made secret overtures to the British and assured them of his support against the Sikhs. However, due to a variety of reasons the British did not show much interest in this issue, but kept it in mind for the future. In December 1845, the First Anglo-Sikh war was fought at Mudki and Firuzshar resulting in a defeat of the Sikhs, albeit inconclusively. It is interesting to note that the Sikh army leadership was in league with the British in their machinations against the Sikh Darbar. It was at this time, in January 1846, Gulab Singh again offered his help to the British, in defeating the Sikhs, but this was spurned by the former. Gulab Singh was simultaneously, being courted by the Khalsa to take on the mantle of wazir, to which  he replied ambiguously. However, due to pressures from the ‘Panches’, Rani Jindan appointed Gulab Singh as Wazir and he again contacted the British for the future territorial agreements. Gulab Singh, in a display of dubious duplicity and hypocrisy worked towards demoralizing

 the Sikh troops and in the same breath making grandiose military plans (to lull the Sikh Darbar into imposing their trust in him) against the British which he never intended to put into place. 

8.         The British and the Sikhs fought on the banks of the Sutlej on 10 February 1846 which resulted in the Sikh army being routed largely due to lack of support from the Dogras and also due to lack of will to fight by the Sikh leaders. The British welcomed Gulab Singh after the battle and this duplicity on the latter’s part resulted in Rani Jindan dismissing him as wazir and reinstating Lal Singh. Rani Jindan offered the lands of Jammu & Kashmir to the British as payment for Sikh war debt as a measure to annul Gulab Singh’s rising feudatory.

     

9.         The British under the Governor-General, Sir Henry Hardinge embarked upon achieving the twin objectives to defeat and conquer the Sikhs and also reward Gulab Singh for his assistance in defeating the Sikh Army. It is pertinent to note that Hardinge considered Gulab Singh as ‘the greatest rascal in Asia’ and the decision to reward Gulab Singh was more a result of political expediency and practicality on the part of the British. 

Treaty of Amritsar  

10.         The Treaty of Peace was ratified at Lahore on 09 March 1846 between the Sikh Maharaja Dulip Singh and the British. Under the terms of this treaty the Sikhs were required to cede, to the British, the territories between river Beas and Indus including the provinces of Kashmir and Hazara for a sum of one crore rupees. Also, the Sikhs were obliged to recognize ‘the independent sovereignty of Raja Gulab Singh in such territories and districts in the hills as may be made over to the said Raja Gulab Singh by separate agreement between himself and the British Government … and the British Government in consideration of the good conduct of Raja Gulab Singh also agreed to recognize his independence in such territories and to admit him to the privilege of a separate treaty with the British government’. 

11.         On 16 March 1846, the British signed another treaty,  the Treaty of Amritsar with Gulab Singh. Under the provisions of the treaty the British Government transferred to Gulab Singh ‘all the hilly or mountainous country with its dependencies situated eastward of the river Indus and the westward of the river Ravi, including Chamba and excluding Lahul, being part of the territories ceded to the British government by the Lahore state according to the provision of the Article IV of the Treaty of Lahore, dated 09 March 1846’.  Gulab Singh had to pay the British a sum of rupees one crore out of which rupees twenty five lakhs was reduced since the British retained the area of Kulu and Mandi across river Beas. Additionally,  Gulab Singh  had to agree to the supremacy of the British over this area and as a token of this acceptance, was required to pay the British annually, ‘one horse, twelve perfect shawl goats and three pairs of Kashmiri shawls’. Under the terms of the treaty, Gulab Singh could not expand these territories ‘without concurrence of the British Government’. Thus after forty years, Gulab Singh finally severed his links with the Sikhs and became a maharajah in his own right.

12.         The sale of Kashmir was a great blow to the psyche of the Kashmiri people. The action of the British was widely criticized and condemned. Even as late as in 1994, Mian Abdul Qayum, President of Srinagar’s Bar Association bitterly remarked, (referring to the sale) that “each one of us was purchased by the Dogra rulers for 3 rupees”. However the British defended their actions and some of the major reasons offered by Sir Hardinge for the sale are as follows :-

(a)    That Sikhs and Dogras had a common interest and would, together, resist the rise of any Muslim  power.

(b)    It was impractical for the British to hold Kashmir due to the long distance from river Sutlej (last post of the British).

(c)      In order to reward Gulab Singh for his loyalty to the British during the Anglo-Sikh wars.

(d)      To fill the depleted coffers of the British.

13.         Gulab Singh had to fight repeatedly to actually take over possession of Kashmir since the governor there (appointed by Sikhs) offered stiff resistance.  In final settlement of the treaty,  in 1847, Hazara was returned to the Sikhs, and then to the British and Gulab Singh obtained the districts of Suchetgarh, parts of districts of Gurdaspur and a part of Kangra. ‘The Jhelum River became the western boundary of the state of Kashmir between Jhelum and Muzaffarabad. Lahul and  Spiti  bordered  the  state to the south and the border  of  northern  Ladakh  along  the  Kunlun Mountains was never fully defined’.

14.       It is pertinent to note that even as late as in 1946, during the Quit Kashmir movement, Sheikh Abdullah challenged the ‘potential and moral status of the sale deed’. He even contemplated raising seventy-five lakh rupees, by each Kashmiri paying a rupee each to buy back the independence of Kashmir’. It is widely recognized that the development of Kashmir suffered as a result of this sale since it would perhaps have gained more under the rule of the British. Finally, of great  significance  is  the  feeling  expressed  by  Victoria Schofield  in  her   book  ‘Kashmir  in the Crossfire’ that ‘had Kashmir been annexed by Britain and become part of British India when the sub-continent became independent from British rule in 1947, according to the principle of the partition, it could have been divided along communal lines and the predominantly Muslim valley would undoubtedly have been allocated to Pakistan’.