The Dogra dynasty of Dogra Rajputs from the Shivalik hills created Jammu and Kashmir through the treaties with the East India Company following the First Anglo-Sikh war. Events led the Sikh Empire to recognise Jammu as a vassal state in 1820, and later the British added Kashmir to Jammu with the Treaty of Amritsar in 1846. The founder of the dynasty, Gulab Singh, was an influential noble in the court of the Sikh emperor Maharaja Ranjit Singh, while his brother Dhian Singh served as the prime minister of the Sikh Empire. Appointed by Ranjit Singh as the hereditary Raja of the Jammu principality, Gulab Singh established his supremacy over all the hill states surrounding the Kashmir Valley. After the First Anglo-Sikh War in 1846, under the terms of the Treaty of Lahore, 1846, the British East India Company acquired Kashmir from the Sikh Empire and transferred it to Gulab Singh, recognising him as an independent Maharaja. Thus, Jammu and Kashmir was established as one of the largest princely states in India, receiving a 21-gun salute for its Maharaja in 1921. It was ruled by Gulab Singh and his descendants until 1947.
The last ruling Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir was Hari Singh, who contributed troops to the British war effort in World War II and served on Churchill's Imperial War Cabinet. Following the Partition of India in 1947, Hari Singh faced a rebellion in the western districts of the state and a Pakistan-supported tribal invasion, leading him to accede to the Union of India and receive military assistance. Pakistan contested the accession, giving rise to the enduring Kashmir conflict.
With India's support, the popular leader of Jammu and Kashmir, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, forced the Maharaja to abdicate in favour of his son, Yuvraj (Crown Prince) Karan Singh, who subsequently accepted the position of a constitutional head of state (Sadr-i-Riyasat) and voluntarily gave up the title of Maharaja.
Etymology The term Dogra is thought to derive from Durgara, the name of a kingdom mentioned in an eleventh century copper-plate inscription in Chamba. According to Mira Seth, the Durgara region was situated between the outer hills located between the Ravi and Chenab rivers and was derived from a tribal name. In medieval times the term became Dugar, which later turned into Dogra. Kalhana's Rajatarangini makes no mention of a kingdom by this name, but it could have been referred to by its capital (either Vallapura, modern Balor, or Babbapura, modern Babor). In modern times, the term Dogra turned into an ethnic identity, claimed by all those people that speak the Dogri language.
The family of Raja Gulab Singh is referred to as Jamwal (or Jamuwal). According to some accounts, Raja Kapur Dev, who ruled the area of Jammu around 1560 AD had two sons named Jag Dev and Samail Dev. The two sons ruled from the Bahu and Jammu on the opposite banks of the Tawi River and their descendants came to be called Bahuwals and Jamuwals respectively. The members of the family however claim descent from a legendary Suryavanshi (solar) dynasty ruler Jambu Lochan, who is believed to have founded the city of Jammu in antiquity.
Origin Prior to the arrival of the Dogras in the region, the local inhabitants of the Durgara region (also known as Durgara Pradesh) were likely Khasas and Kanets, who originally inhabited the Western Himalayan-range. Migrations of Dogri-speaking peoples later followed. The Dogras claim descent from migrants who originated from the present-day regions of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal prior to the Islamic invasions of the Indian subcontinent. Most of the ruling families of the Pahari Hill States traditionally trace their ancestry back to Ayodhya, claiming descent from Sumitra, who was the last descendant of the Suryavanshi lineage of Rama. although is most likely origin myth to claim higher ritual status but are really descendents of local feudal clans.
An ancestor named Jambu Lochan is said to have first moved to the Jammu region, where he established the settlement of Jammu. According to local mythology beliefs, Jambu decided to construct a settlement at Jammu after he witnessed a wild goat and lion drinking from the same water-hole in a forest that was located at the site, being impressed by how two species of predator and prey could peacefully co-exist. From there onwards, branches of the family spread-out to conquer the surrounding mountainous areas of the region, establishing their own dynasties.
Jammu State
History of the Jamwal rulers In around the year 850, the Dogras came to power in Jammu, being established by Raja Bhuj or Bhuj Dev. The centres of power for the Dogra rulers at this era were Bahu, Babbapura (Babor), and Jammu. The first historical mention to a Pahari ruler relates to two copper-plate inscription dated to the years 1056 and 1066 that eulogize the feats of Raja Sahilavarman of Chamba State (r. 920–940).
The earliest type of administration in the region consisted of reigns by feudal chieftains, referred to as a thakur or rana. This form of government gradually shifted to one that was hereditary based on primogeniture, leading to the formation of dynasties. These states often warred with one another, absorbing or being absorbed by other states, with the winner usually being the stronger state and the loser the smaller one. By the tenth century, the following prominent Dogra states arose in the Pahari Hills region of the Western Himalayas:
Jammu – ruled by the Jamwal clan Mankot – ruled by the Mankotia clan Jasrota – ruled by the Jasrotia clan Lakhanpur – ruled by the Lakhanpuria clan Samba – ruled by the Sambial clan Tirikot – ruled by the Tiri Kotia clan Akhnur – ruled by the Akhnuria clan Riasi – ruled by the Riasial clan Dalpatpur – ruled by the Dalpatia clan Bhau – ruled by the Bhauwal clan Bhoti – ruled by the Bhatial clan Chenehni – ruled by the Hantal clan Bandralta – ruled by the Bandral clan Basholi – ruled by the Balauria clan Bhadrawaha – ruled by the Bhadrawahia clan Bhadu – ruled by the Bhaduwal clan Kashtwar – ruled by the Kashtwaria clan Punch – ruled by the Mangral clan Kotli – ruled by the Mangral clan Rajauri – ruled by the Jarral clan
Mahmud of Ghazni's army passed through the Punjab and invaded Poonch State, however he did not attack Jammu State and the polity was spared from fighting. There is a mention in Kalhana's Rajatarangini of three Dogra rulers, namely Kirti and Vajradhara of Babbapura and Umadhara. All three of these rulers are also mentioned in the Vansavali (genealogy) of the Jammu ruling house, albeit with minor variations. The Jammu rulers were close with the Kashmiri rulers, such as during the reign of Kalasa and Bhikshachara. The Dogra-ruler Vajradhara is said to have allied with Trigarta (Kangra), Vallapura (Balaor), Vartula (Batal), and Thakkuras of the Chandrabhaga Valley, to pledge allegiance to Bhikshachara of Kashmir. Bhikshachara asceded to the throne of Kashmir in 1120.
In the autobiography of Timur from 1399, known as the Malfuzat-i-Timuri, there is a reference to a ruler of Jammu ("Raja-Jammu") but no mention of their specific name is given but it would have been Raja Mal Dev of Jammu who resisted the Timurids. This is the first mention of the region of Jammu in recorded-history. According to the Timurid account, Jammu was invaded and Raja Bhim was converted to Islam. The Timurid account mentions that large amounts of booty that consisted of grain and property were taken from Jammu by them. However, these early contracts with Islamic polities did not leave any lasting impression on Jammu until the rule of the Mughals. Raja Mal Dev was the fourth ruler of the Dev dynasty and he ruled Jammu from 1361 to 1400, establishing his headquarters at Purani Madi. After Raja Mal Dev, between the years 1400 to 1733, ten descendants of Raja Mal Dev ruled Jammu. For some centuries, the Jammu-Babbapura rulers would reign nearly independently and supported the Sultans of Delhi. Raja Hamir or Bhim Dev was recorded as being a supporter of Mubarak Shah (r. 1421–1434) of the Sayyid dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate against the Khokhars of the Darvabhisara Hills.
With the oncoming of the Mughal empire, the Jammuite rulers resisted their attempts overwhelm them but finally succumbed once they could reach favourable terms. The Mughals were aggressive toward the small states of the Western Himalayas, with Akbar declaring himself as their sovereign ruler. Twenty-two of the hill states recognized the sovereignty of Akbar and each dispatched a local prince to the Mughal court. The princes would effectively be hostages to ensure that the small hill states would act courteous to the Mughal authority. However, the hill states often resisted the Mughals and rose up in rebellion against them, such is the case with Jammu State, which rose in insurrection against the Mughals on three separate instances during this time: the first between the years 1588–9, the second between 1594–5, and the third from 1616–17.
During the reign of Akbar between the years 1594–95, the Jammu ruler Raja Parasram Dev teamed-up with fellow Pahari rulers Rai Pratap of Jasrota and Rai Balbhadra of Lakhanpur in a rebellion against the Mughals, which raged from Kangra to the Jammu Hills. As per the Ain-i-Akbari, Raja Sangram Dev of Jammu was against Raja Man, viceroy of Lahore, with him slaying Raja Man in 1616–17 during the reign of emperor Jahangir. During the reigns of the Mughal emperors Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, Dogra relations with the Mughals had pacified, with the vansavali recording that Rajas Bhup Dev (r. 1624–1650) and Raja Hari Dev (r. 1650–1686) were employed as mansabdars by the Mughals. However, not all of the hill chiefs were amicable to the Mughals still, as the rulers of Basohli State, resisted them further between 1635 and 1673, whilst the Mughal forces were commanded by Zain Khan Koka. Raja Hari Dev died in 1686 during the Deccani campaigns of Aurangzeb.
The successor of Hari Dev, who was Raja Gaje Dev (r. 1686–1707), moved toward re-establishing the independence of Jammu from the Mughals. His successor, Raja Dhruv Dev, worked toward the same ambition.
Dhruv Dev
Jammu was a small principality until the decline of Mughal authority in the early 18th century, where-after it arose to become a regional powerhouse during the reign of Raja Dhruv Dev. Jammu was ruled by the Dev Dynasty, which descends from Raja Mal Dev. Raja Dhruv Dev laid down the foundations of the Jamwal rulers of Jammu in 1703. During the reign of Dhruv Dev, Jammu was unified and it established authority and dominance over the other surrounding Hill States. The other hill states of Jasrota, Basohli, Mankot, and Bandralta were brought under Jammu's writ under Raja Dhruv Dev.
Raja Ranjit Dev had four sons: Ranjit Dev, Ghansar Dev, Surat Dev, and Balwant Dev. Ranjit Dev was the successor to the Jammu throne whilst Balwant Dev was given control over the jagir of Sarunisar. Balwant Dev was the patron of Pahari artists, such as Nainsukh. Surat Dev, the third son of Dhruv Dev, was married to two women, one from the Salaria clan of Bara Pind, and the other from the Chibs of Batala. Surat Dev would go-on to produce four sons with these two wives: Zorawar Singh, Mian Mota, Bhulla, and Dulla. Zorawar Singh was granted the jagir of Deval. Zorawar Singh would later marry a Jit Rajput women of Charhai whilst Mian Mota married into the family of Raja Jai Singh Jaswal. Zorawar Singh's son was named Kishore Singh, with Kishore later marrying a Bhadwal woman from Marhta in Basohli tehsil. Kishore's son was Gulab Singh.
Ghansar Dev