Maharaja Gulab Singh Jamwal

Maharaja Gulab Singh Jamwal - The Return of the King

The era of the fall of the Mughal Empire is one of the most remarkable in Indian history, not just because of the decline of the great dynasty, but also for the rise of regional ones. The region of modern-day Jammu, was traditionally ruled by the Dogra Rajputs, who too were not untouched by the terminal collapse of the Mughal Empire. They were nominal feudatories to Delhi, largely maintaining their autonomy, yet often joining the Mughals in their Northern conquests like those of Balkh in 1646 undertaken by Emperor Shah Jahan. However, the invasion of Nadir Shah in 1739, rendered the Mughals incapacitated to even demand let alone exact any feudatory duties from them, Jammu and the Dogras were now independent.

The Mughals passed away and were succeeded by the Afghans, this time under Ahmad Shah Abdali, who invaded Kashmir in 1752. In Jammu, this was the time when Raja Dhruv Deo and his son Raja Ranjit Deo rose into political prominence, with the latter even acquiring a Jagir from the Durrani king. Ranjit Deo then proceeded to expand and absorbed Kishtwar, Chenani, Bhadarwah, Besolhi, Jasrota and parts of Gujrat in Western Punjab.

The rise and independence of Raja Ranjit Deo of Jammu however was not lasting. The Durrani power in Punjab was giving way to the Sikh Misls, and North Punjab as well as Jammu came under threat from them. In 1770, Jammu under Ranjit Deo would be attacked by chiefs of the Bhangi Misl, beginning the period of Sikh involvement in Jammu. Not soon after Brij Lal Deo, Raja Ranjit Deo's son rebelled against his father with the support of Charat Singh Sukarchakia. Brij Laj Deo took Jammu in 1780 but a musket accident resulted in the death of Charat Singh. Alarmed by the death of their leader, the Sukarchakias killed the Bhangi chief Jhanda Singh as well to equalize the level playing field. Jammu now effectively became part of the struggle for supremacy between the prominent Sikh Misls, specifically the Bhangis, the Sukarchakias and the Kanhaiyas. The struggle between the Sikh Misls culminated in the rise of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, grandson of Charat Singh. By 1799 Ranjit Singh would legaly acquire the title of Raja and by the first decade of the 19th century, he would go on to subjugate and unify the Sikh Misls, along with the Rajas of Jammu, who had now lost their sovereignty over all of their former territories save for Jammu, which was now reduced to a petty state.

The first decade of the 19th century also saw the rise of the family of Raja Dhruv Deo again. Dhruv Deo's great-great-grandsons Gulab Singh, Dhian Singh and Suchet Singh join Maharaja Ranjit Singh's court and rose rapidly through the ranks, setting themselves apart and above the Maharaja's Sikh courtiers. Gulab Singh, the eldest of the three brothers was responsible for expanding the empire into much of Kashmir and Ladakh after the Maharaja himself failed in the endeavor in 1813. In 1822, the same year that Kashmir was included in Lahore's territories by Gulab Singh, he like his ancestors, would become the Raja of Jammu, and despite not being a Sikh, would go on to become the most powerful King of the Sikh Empire, save for maybe Maharaja Ranjit Singh himself.